Casey Ashley Planted Over 50 Brushpiles On Hartwell!

[PAGreg]

So, if I planted brush piles on my home lake and then 5 years later become an elite series pro, am I then supposed to not be allowed to fish any events on that lake?

[scaleface]

I've seen a lot of things in local tournaments. I had a hot streak for two years and a very recognizable boat. The last tournament I ever fished two competitor boats were barreling down the lake stopped and helped me fish my marker buoys .

[J Francho]

Gonna be hard to find a lake that none of the pros fished before. Someone will ALWAYS have home field advantage. The have nots will ALWAYS whine about it.

[senile1]

Finding them with your electronics and knowing exactly where they are located are two different things.  If I knew a lake very well because I was a local, I would be able to place brushpiles on what I knew to be commonly used structures by bass to create that spot on a spot. Other anglers would not have that advantage of local knowledge and they would not have the advantage of knowing exactly where the brushpiles are.  They would have to look for them, or if they placed their own piles, their lack of local knowledge of the lake would lower their odds of placing the pile in the best location.   Elite anglers, Casey included, place these piles to raise their odds of winning and I would say the odds would favor a local angler, all other things being fairly equal.  It doesn't guarantee a win, but it does raise your odds if only a bit.  For what other reason would an angler place brush piles just before an event occurred?  

 

Having said that, it doesn't violate the rules and is common among these anglers.  I don't really have a negative view of the people doing it.  I just wouldn't feel right doing it, myself.  

 

While local anglers have not always had great success in Elite tournaments on their local lakes, over the past 8 years or so that has changed somewhat.  In the Classic alone, 3 of the last 9 Classics have been won by a "local" angler:  Boyd Duckett at Lay Lake in 2007, Randy Howell at Guntersville last year, and Casey Ashley this year at Lake Hartwell.  This doesn't prove anything, but it is food for thought.

[retiredbosn]

I don't know if this has been discussed yet or not, SC lakes like Hartwell, Murray, Clark's Hill are all blue back herring based lakes. The bass here don't relate to cover as much. The bass primarily live in schools year round, out of cover, and suspended it's annoying and frustrating. This was mentioned over and over by Zona, the herring has changed the way these bass live, feed, and react forever. If you want to fish for these fish in traditional manner get off of the main lake, because it's hit or miss otherwise. The bamboo brush piles he placed did not play a key factor in this win. I think the best example of this was Takihiro, he was drop shorting OUTSIDE of the timber, because the bass don't go in there, they sit outside waiting for the herring to swim out. Allot of the time on the main lake largemouth schools will follow the stripers letting the stripers round up the herring and then clean up after the stripers decimate the herring.

[Trek]

I don't know if this has been discussed yet or not, SC lakes like Hartwell, Murray, Clark's Hill are all blue back herring based lakes. The bass here don't relate to cover as much. The bass primarily live in schools year round, out of cover, and suspended it's annoying and frustrating. This was mentioned over and over by Zona, the herring has changed the way these bass live, feed, and react forever. If you want to fish for these fish in traditional manner get off of the main lake, because it's hit or miss otherwise. The bamboo brush piles he placed did not play a key factor in this win. I think the best example of this was Takihiro, he was drop shorting OUTSIDE of the timber, because the bass don't go in there, they sit outside waiting for the herring to swim out. Allot of the time on the main lake largemouth schools will follow the stripers letting the stripers round up the herring and then clean up after the stripers decimate the herring.

 

Exactly ! I've never fished Hartwell but I have been to Clark's Hill and those herring do change the way those bass live. The key is to know where they roam frequently and hope they are there when you are. Sure Casey knew a lot of spots. For the na sayers how are you going to make up a rule for that ? This is one of the reasons I stopped fishing the federation and club tournaments. Guys that can't win are always trying to make up rules to find ways they can win. And then when they don't win they get their numbers and vote new rules in. When we do that it just makes it a bad sport. How about let's just go fishing and find a way to win ? That's what Casey did. Why because someone wins does that mean he cheated ? Casey is one heck of a fisherman and proved it this weekend. He had a game plan and stuck to it and it was the winning pattern. Give the guy some credit.

[MichiganBass80]

I didn't read through this whole thread for the answer, but when is it that he was supposed to have done this?

[gulfcaptain]

Wow, really don't care.  He lives there.  If he plants structure on the lake he LIVES ON why is that a big deal.  If he lived on the lake and had a boat dock, would we be discussing that he fished around it.  Come on, this isn't really that big of a deal.  Honestly it's not.  And he is the first person to EVER win a Classic on his home lake.  And that the OP didn't state the timeline or when he planted these brush piles.  If I lived on a lake I'd plant brush piles in it too.  And if I got lucky enough to fish at that level and had a tournament on my home waters, then it is what it is.  Congrats to Casey Ashley for his win in some tough fishing conditions.  

[Trek]

  And he is the first person to EVER win a Classic on his home lake.  

 

No he is the second to do that.

[gulfcaptain]

No he is the second to do that.

okay, my mistake.  Must have read it wrong.  But he still lives there which is my main point of that post.

[Trek]

okay, my mistake.  Must have read it wrong.  But he still lives there which is my main point of that post.

  I didn't mean it as your mistake. In years past it has always been a curse to fish your home lake. So now he wins and he must have planted brush piles. Really ?

[gulfcaptain]

No, if I was wrong about him being the first, then it was a mistake if someone else had one the Classic on their home lake.  But I am in agreement about this "brushgate"....that's what I'm calling it.  No congrat's post about how he fished hard to win, just "hey did you know he dropped 50+ brush piles in Lake Heartwell".  Then all the posts with the feel that he has done something wrong even though he lives there.  Maybe he fishes the lake when he's home!!!  Maybe that's why he planted them there over the many years of living there for his enjoyment when he's home fishing.  If he planted 50 brush piles at Grand Lake or 50 at Lake of the Ozarks months before a Classic then I could see someone making these statements.  When the lake is in your backyard almost literally then what's the big deal.  He lives there and he planted structure on his home lake.  Again, Congrats to Casey for winning a tough Classic in some very tough conditions. 

[BridgerM]

Does anyone know if Casey made the locations of the brush piles available to the other competitors or if he kept the locations to himself?

 

Did those locations allow him to catch more bass than his competitors?

[jbsoonerfan]

Does anyone know if Casey made the locations of the brush piles available to the other competitors or if he kept the locations to himself?

Does anyone know if he gave out the same bait he used to anyone else or kept them to himself?

[soopd]

I have made my own brush piles before and it is not as easy as people think. It is not like the "Field of Dreams" (If you build it, they will come).

1 out of 50 might be productive of the ones I built.

I haven't built any in awhile because it is easier to side scan for cover or structure.

By the way, he still had to catch the fish. Congratulations to him.

[Trek]

Does anyone know if he gave out the same bait he used to anyone else or kept them to himself?

 

That should be a new rule. If you find a new spot or make your baits you have to share them.

[J Francho]

Lol...

I'll answer:

1. No.

2. Probably.

Why? That's how a tournament works. The guy that has the biggest five fish wins. There's no awards for participation.

[J Francho]

Ok....so what does that have to do with Casey Ashley?

[fish365]

With today's electronics every competitor that pre-fished the lake can see the brush piles if they know how to read their electronics

[A-Jay]

I half expected a Lock Up on this one a few pages back.

 

A-Jay

[Mainebass1984]

Congratulations to him for the win on his home lake. Casey Ashley still had to get the bites and put those fish in the boat. I have no problem whatsoever that he caught some fish off of brush piles he planted. It was stated the he planted 50. I wonder did he planted them all right before the tournament or had he planted some years before ? It really doesn't matter though. Just because you plant a brush pile doesn't mean that automatically is going to produce fish. For the past 5 years my club in Vermont has been creating brush piles and planting them in a local lake. We need to get a permit from the state to do so.  We use Christmas trees that are anchored by concrete. The brush piles are set in 10 - 20 feet of water in a lake that has very little wood to fish. We have had club tournaments out there every single year and a bunch of the guys in my club fun fish that lake as well. Very few of the 75 plus trees hold fish. They suck. You would think that some of these trees, some over 12 feet tall, would hold big fish all the time. It just isn't the case. Just because you plant a brush pile doesn't mean it will hold fish. It doesn't mean that your going to win every tournament on that lake because you know a few brush piles. It is not like they are off limits to every other fisherman. With todays electronics anyone can find them.  I have planted some brush piles, very few. Usually with some pretty crappy results. They are a pain to make and they usually don't work worth a crap. Some rot away over time. Fisherman have been doing this for years and years this isn't something new. It is a non issue. Nobody is breaking any rules then it should be fine. Almost every single lake that anyone on here fishes has had a brush pile planted in it. 

[F14A-B]

I half expected a Lock Up on this one a few pages back.

A-Jay

Mum's the word! Lol..

[Trek]

 " I laugh at local guys who have shallow water anchors because the only time they are able to use them is during the spawn. After that the bass move off shore almost instantly and we are back to fishing with our boat in deep water. So they spend thousands of dollars for something that they can only use a few weeks out of the year. "

 

You are so wrong on that statement. My guess is you made it because you don't own them. I use mine all year long and more then just for fishing.

[buzzed bait]

 " I laugh at local guys who have shallow water anchors because the only time they are able to use them is during the spawn. After that the bass move off shore almost instantly and we are back to fishing with our boat in deep water. So they spend thousands of dollars for something that they can only use a few weeks out of the year. "

 

You are so wrong on that statement. My guess is you made it because you don't own them. I use mine all year long and more then just for fishing.

 

perhaps you're aware that topography would allow for different depths at different geographical locations? if you're fishing a lake where average depth is above 10' the probability is that you will not use them much unless you are fishing right on top of the bank. A lake like Hartwell where average depth is 45' is a no brainer that most water would not allow you to use the power poles. Let alone a lake like Fontana in western NC where depth goes above 400' and the average depth is 135'.

Just saying don't be so definitive in your "so wrong on that statement"

[Glenn]

Hey guys, let's be really clear on this (just to stop the "I'm right, you're wrong" nonsense)

 

1.  Power-Poles, Talons, etc. aren't used in water deeper than 15 feet - duh.  (exception goes to Power-Pole Paddles, which is for drifting)

2.  Power-Poles, Talons, etc. are used on nearly every trip, regardless of where/how you're fishing.  There are tons of uses in addition to holding on a spot while fishing.

 

Before I got my Power-Poles, I was of the same mindset - why have them if you only use them briefly during the spawn?  Turns out, I use them on every outing.  I was very surprised to discover just how useful they are throughout the day of normal fishing.  From holding the boat at the dock, to keeping the boat in place while I retie/rerig, to holding the boat while I release a fish, to....well you get the idea.  It's like the argument people had against depthfinders when they first came out ("don't need it, waste of money").  Once you use them, you wonder how you ever got along without them.

 

Ok, so moving on....