Super User Felix77 Posted February 23, 2015 Super User Posted February 23, 2015 The underlined text above has been the root source as to why many a man has given away their integrity. Ethics is doing what's right when you're the only one who will ever know. This rubs me the wrong way and as a Fan of this event and This angler in particular, I'm disappointed. A-Jay Agreed. He seems like a great guy but this also feels real off to me. 3
Super User jbsoonerfan Posted February 23, 2015 Super User Posted February 23, 2015 I wonder how many guys in the NBA don't shoot in their home arena because they don't want an advantage on their opponent? I'm guessing none. He took advantage of the situation. Nothing stopped anyone else from doing the same thing.
Hyrule Bass Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 if its legal, and everyone had the opportunity to do it, then in no ways should anyone feel off about it. not Ashleys fault if no one else did something thats well within their rights to do. its like complaining he caught his fish on a senko and won when you chose to throw a power worm all day and ended up losing. plus if others found one of his structures, it was within their rights to fish it as well...fair game for everyone. 2
Super User ww2farmer Posted February 23, 2015 Super User Posted February 23, 2015 I am not a fan of it. But if it's not against the rules, then there is really nothing I can say other than " I am not a fan of it". 3
Super User BrianinMD Posted February 23, 2015 Super User Posted February 23, 2015 I think this is the first time I have ever heard that following the rules was unsporting. 3
Super User Jeff H Posted February 23, 2015 Super User Posted February 23, 2015 Didn't break the law and there will be no asterisk by his name in the record book but there will always be those who will imply unsportsmanlike conduct. Â I may not be a fan of it or agree with it but he did nothing wrong, at all. Â Congratulations to Casey! Â
BaitMonkey1984 Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 Congratulations is in order. Great job Casey in catching bass in tough conditions like us in the northeast are unfortunately pretty used to. I cant wait to try the fish head spin once my lake isnt frozen over. Enjoy it!
hoosierbass07 Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 Â OK, he won fair and square. Â Â Â As far as the planting of over fifty brushpiles - I've only been fishing for a couple of years now and only started paying attention to tournament fishing last year. Â But I have to say that is one crazy loony rule one can get away with. Â How can a competitor plant over fifty brushpiles and say it's fair? Â No way. Â BassMaster needs to change the rule book. Â 2
Super User jbsoonerfan Posted February 23, 2015 Super User Posted February 23, 2015 So basically you have no idea what you are talking about and want the rule changed? 4
tbone1993 Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 Nothing wrong with it. He's helping the fishery and staying within the rules of the game. Tell me other guys haven't done it on similar lakes and I'll retract my statement.  Ever wonder why local guides or even crappie guides dominate at their home lakes? They've planted piles years in advance. I bet Ashley has hundreds of piles planted already spanning years. He probably added a few to create a few new hot spots. If you're a spectator boat following ashley around where are you going to fish come next week?  Also " He used the a-rig that's not fishing, it should be illegal."  Was it against the rules? No. Did Paul Elias dominate everyone else? Did he cheat? no.  Same thing.   I find it more unsporting to get spots from a guide months in advance or go out with a guide before hand than planting brush piles that may never get fish. 1
Super User Choporoz Posted February 23, 2015 Super User Posted February 23, 2015 I think this is the first time I have ever heard that following the rules was unsporting. Must have been under a rock last month after the Patriots Ravens game...lol
WolfyBrandon Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 I believe there is a heck of a lot more to the game. Someone could plant 50, 100, 1,000, you name it brush piles in a lake, but who's to say the winning fish will be there let alone if you will catch them. All of the pros have a practice period to learn the lake and find stuff, and many did. I believe I read in the blog posts that some of the pros had fished the same water which shows how good they are at locating key areas. It's well known the home town advantage can just as well be as much of a disadvantage at times. I think if anything the late start played the biggest role, the anglers counting on the early bite the first day really suffered and could not recover. The scores were pretty close and with a different start time I think we could have seen a big change in the weights. Jacob Powroznik talked about this in the press conference, and also mentioned how the new electronics that show every detail should be the thing to look at as more of a cheat. Â WolfyBrandon
hoosierbass07 Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 So basically you have no idea what you are talking about and want the rule changed? Â Â Â I know what I'm talking about. Â What Ashley was able to legally do was crazy. Â I'm not saying he won it because of that. Â I'm not saying he cheated. Â I'm saying he won fair and square. Â But it's a loony rule and should be changed because it does sound very very unfair. Â If the state or Federal Government want to put brushpiles in the water to help the fish population, then that is good. Â But a competitor doing it for competition reasons? Â Not good. Â 2
plumworm Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 Wow, let the hate began. " he cheated", give me a freaking break. The kid fished his heart out and caught 4 lbs. more than his closest rival. Big ole "Ish" the boat boarding Samori, kept saying " Casey" go to a jig" and guess what, he didn't and won. Cangrats, Casey. 1
Super User everythingthatswims Posted February 23, 2015 Super User Posted February 23, 2015 Iaconelli doubled up on a tandem rig of flukes, where are the A-rig haters to say something about that  ?Â
NJBasstard Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 Nothing wrong with it. He's helping the fishery and staying within the rules of the game. Tell me other guys haven't done it on similar lakes and I'll retract my statement. Â Who are some of those other guys? I don't doubt it happens but this is the first time I've seen it..
BigSkyBasser Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 I'm neutral about this because around here we always tournaments on lakes that everyone seems to live on so fishing planted brush piles is a given and most fisherman will gladly show you them, therefore evening the playing field. It's a grey area subject but seems less viable when done by a professional fisherman, though I guess I can't say I wouldn't do the same if I had the chance to win a classic and solidify my position as a full-time pro fisherman.
Hanover_Yakker Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 So here's a couple points to ponder.............  Do we have actual definitive evidence of when this occurred? As in when the artificial fish attractors were placed?  Now, once you have that information, compare it to when the Classic location was disclosed to the BASS competitors?  Did he place the fish attractors before or after that date?  Until you know the specifics of when the event happened, you run the risk of rendering an opinion without complete information. For all we know, he could have placed those attractors with the SCDNR some time ago as a part of a state funded conservation project.  Just some food for thought.....
Super User Lund Explorer Posted February 23, 2015 Super User Posted February 23, 2015 Let's build featureless concrete pits with no cover, stock them with a sterile strain of bass that maxes out at 5lbs, regulate the water temperature so it's 65 degrees year-round, make everyone use the same equipment, and take away their fishfinders. Â Bass fishing isn't comparable to other sports IMO and rules can't make it that way. Lucking into an 8-10 pound kicker would be like a touchdown randomly counting as 15 points, a regulation ball would be like having a regulation crankbait. Â Casey Ashley didn't break any rules, theoretically speaking anyone in the classic could plant as many brush piles as they wanted, so it's fine by me. Â In other words, turn it into NASCAR! 1
Super User Lund Explorer Posted February 23, 2015 Super User Posted February 23, 2015 I'm neutral about this because around here we always tournaments on lakes that everyone seems to live on so fishing planted brush piles is a given and most fisherman will gladly show you them, therefore evening the playing field. It's a grey area subject but seems less viable when done by a professional fisherman, though I guess I can't say I wouldn't do the same if I had the chance to win a classic and solidify my position as a full-time pro fisherman.  I'm going to agree that placing a bunch of brush piles doesn't guarantee that a person is going to win a tournament. Around here, some think the key to victory is the more nefarious practice of stocking a brush pile or dock with keepers during the days prior to blast off.  There are others who scope out the lake to see where the last tournament was held so they can target what are known as "retreads".  I'm starting to think that Ray Scott had a best idea back when the classic lake was announced to the anglers after they had all boarded the same plane! 4
Super User Montanaro Posted February 23, 2015 Super User Posted February 23, 2015 Why would ashley be on a plane? Just because there are 50 noodle arms on a huge lake doesn't mean there are fish on them. From what I know of Hartwell, it has large sections of featureless bottom. Ashley slightly improved the lake for everyone.
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted February 23, 2015 Global Moderator Posted February 23, 2015 I'm going to agree that placing a bunch of brush piles doesn't guarantee that a person is going to win a tournament. Around here, some think the key to victory is the more nefarious practice of stocking a brush pile or dock with keepers during the days prior to blast off.  There are others who scope out the lake to see where the last tournament was held so they can target what are known as "retreads".  I'm starting to think that Ray Scott had a best idea back when the classic lake was announced to the anglers after they had all boarded the same plane! I like that idea too but then all the fans get screwed and there's no way all the sponsors would keep it a secret where they were going to be setting up. The sport has become too big to keep the location a secret unfortunately. 1
Super User gardnerjigman Posted February 23, 2015 Super User Posted February 23, 2015 Who are some of those other guys? I don't doubt it happens but this is the first time I've seen it..  This is just the first time it's been brought into the light. You can't possibly think that this doesn't happen all the time. Right or wrong... Not my choice, but he was within the rules so it is what it is.  Anybody would use any advantage they could that was legal to up themselves in competition.Â
Logan S Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 In this case with Ashley, there is a rule that specifically allows what he did. Â Not a technicality or 'unwritten' rule, an actual rule that allows exactly what he did. Â Â Not only that, the practice of planting brushpiles is a part of bass fishing...There's a reason that the rule specifically allows it. Â Heck, Edwin Evers did an entire episode of the Bass Pro's TV show about how to make/plant brushpiles...Is anyone 'unsure' about him now? Â I've done it, it's a ton of work for what amounts to a very small reward. Â It also benefits the fishery and anyone with modern electronics can find them easily. Â 1
Bruce424 Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 Those bass were so tuned on blue back herring that I doubt the brush piles did alot.
Recommended Posts