talked to a friend who is a boat owner but fished a tourney as a non-boater since the club has more boaters than non-boaters. the guy Brandon draws to fish with has the rep. of knowing the lake realllllly well. as the story goes they are catching fish, not big ones but paper fish and such and the topic comes up Brandon will be fishing a tourney as a boater in a few weeks on this very lake.

there were only 4 more fish caught after that and the spots picked by the boat owner with this huge rep. for the lake were labeled by the non-boater as junk.......

we think the boater threw this tourney to keep Brandon from learning a few good spots on this lake.

is this common?

After many years fishing bass clubs I wouldn't say that what happened is a "common" occurence but it does happen. Bass clubs have all kinds of different people. Usually the older fellas in the clubs are more laid back and more willing to help while the younger guys who think they're going to turn pro in two weeks wont be as much help.

So, yes, your buddy might have been shafted.

I fished a tournament last weekend and did not sow the non boater the best places as he is a person who would not only tell everyone but also fish them in the future.

I know two other guys who fish places shown to them by others, even if the other guys are in the same tournament.

When I fish alone I will fish these other places, but only 1) after they original guy had already fished them or 2) when the original guy went to another place.

I do my best to keep everyone's spots secret.