Classic Pre Fishing

[j bab]

Does anyone know the rules for pre fishing for the Classic?

I've heard that there is an off-limits period, but when is that?

I'm honestly just curious. I wonder how nerve-racking it is to not have access to the lake right before the tournament.

I also wonder how many of the guys have been practicing for the Classic in unmarked boats so they don't get followed.

[Catt]

I've not checked the rules but it's normally 4-5 dayd prior to the tournament.

[smallieking]

The guys on the bassmaster elite tour are used to no practice prior to the start of the tournament. Each event On the elite series has an off limits time period and they are usually 4 weeks. I'm not sure how long the off limits for the classic is. 

[Catt]

C3. PRACTICE AND COMPETITION
(i) Special off-limits and practice periods for the Bassmaster Classic will be announced 
by B.A.S.S. Off-limit periods for the Bassmaster Classic, Elite Events, Toyota 
Bassmaster Texas Fest (TBTF) and Angler of the Year Championship event will start on 
a Monday, 12:01 am local time of each event site as posted by B.A.S.S. There will be a
three-day practice period prior to the first competition day for Elite Series tournaments
and AOY events. Off-limits for Elite events begins on the Monday closest to 28 days 
prior to the first practice day. Off-limits for TBTF will begin on Monday, April 17, 2017,
with a three-day practice starting on Sunday, May 14, 2017. To accommodate the 
Memorial Day holiday, a three-day practice period for Elite No. 6 at Lake Dardanelle willbegin on Tuesday, May 30, with competition beginning on Friday, June 2 and concluding 
on Monday, June 5. Off-limits and practice dates for the AOY championship will be 
posted by B.A.S.S. During the off-limits periods, other than using publicly-available 
information (e.g. newspaper and Internet reports), competitors cannot solicit, gather or 
intentionally receive any information via phone, electronic devices or any other means 
about locating or catching fish on tournament waters. THERE SHALL BE NO 
EXCEPTIONS. All information must be opened or accessed prior to official off-limits 
periods. No exceptions. For a first offense, the competitor will be disqualified from the 
tournament. For a second offense, the competitor will lose his eligibility for the following 
year’s Elite Series events. During practice and competition, anglers cannot solicit, gather 
or intentionally receive any information from anyone other than another competitor in the 
tournament. NO EXCEPTIONS. Any contestant accused in writing of violating the off-
limits rule to tournament officials may be subject to a truth verification test relevant to 
the charges. Accusers may be required to take a truth verification test. Failure to pass the
truth verification test may result in disqualification from the tournament.
No practicing at night, defined as beginning at 30 minutes after local sunset and ending

[j bab]

@Catt what's all that mean for this year's classic? I'm very confused

[Catt]

1 hour ago, j bab said:

@Catt what's all that mean for this year's classic? I'm very confused

 

C3. PRACTICE AND COMPETITION
(i) Special off-limits and practice periods for the Bassmaster Classic will be announced by B.A.S.S. 

[Sam]

17 hours ago, Catt said:

 

C3. PRACTICE AND COMPETITION
(i) Special off-limits and practice periods for the Bassmaster Classic will be announced by B.A.S.S. 

 

Catt, about 15 years ago I was fishing the Chickahominy River with a friend during the week before a big B.A.S.S. tournament on the Historic James River and we saw something we had never seen before: six or seven beautiful Rangers and Tritons on the water at the same time on a weekday.

 

Not only did we see a lot of beautiful new bass boats, but the guys fishing were dressed in kaki's and clean long sleeve shirts and wearing high end sunglasses.  Totally 180* opposite of us in our shorts, tees and baseball caps. They looked professional while we looked like two guys having a good time.

 

The guys fishing never looked at us nor did they acknowledge us with a wave or a head nod. Totally ignored us, which is unusual for fishing Virginia waters. We all wave or at least acknowledge each other as we pass by.

 

At the ramp I asked a local guide who we bumped into about what we saw and was surprised to find out that these guys were "prefishing for their pros."

 

Yes, the pros would hire these guys to fish the river before the tournament and report their findings back to the pros. The guide told me that he had done it in the past for a pro coming down to fish the Historic James River system.

 

I have no idea if this practice is legal or is still going on, legally or not.

[Catt]

@Sam

During the off-limits periods, other than using publicly-available information (e.g. newspaper and Internet reports), competitors cannot solicit, gather or 
intentionally receive any information via phone, electronic devices or any other means about locating or catching fish on tournament waters. THERE SHALL BE NO EXCEPTIONS. 

 

Notice it states "During the off-limits periods"

[Hez]

I am curious to know the rules as well.  The B.A.S.S. Southern Open is on my home lake this coming week - the Harris Chain.  I have seen lots pros on the water this past two weeks - but everytime I look them up, I think they are FLW - not B.A.S.S.  (Scott Martin, Tom Redington and there were some others I couldn't see their name).

 

Then we have a pro (Brett Haus Cartwright) fishing the chain since December 31st with one of our professional guides.  How do I know?  I follow the guide on Facebook, and he has been posting pics the whole time.  

 

So it just has me curious.  

 

Are the FLW guys hanging around because B.A.S.S. is in town?  The FLW tournament isn't here until March.

 

 

[scaleface]

4 hours ago, Sam said:

 

  "prefishing for their pros."

 

I dont have any special knowledge or evidence but I always suspected  , to beat " some " pros  you would  be competing against a team . Bryan Kerchal did it .

[Team9nine]

Probably my biggest pet peeve about professional fishing ? The amount of info shared or obtained before the off-limits goes into effect. It's always happened, and likely always will. Had a friend who was just down on Cherokee and he said most of the Elite guys he saw practicing before the off-limits period had one or two locals in    the boat with them. These guys get lots of information beforehand. They're still some of the best in the world, but they get a lot more help in various forms than people realize. It's why at present, MLF is the only true game in town, IMHO. 

 

-T9

6 hours ago, Hez said:

I am curious to know the rules as well.  The B.A.S.S. Southern Open is on my home lake this coming week - the Harris Chain.  I have seen lots pros on the water this past two weeks - but everytime I look them up, I think they are FLW - not B.A.S.S.  (Scott Martin, Tom Redington and there were some others I couldn't see their name).

 

Then we have a pro (Brett Haus Cartwright) fishing the chain since December 31st with one of our professional guides.  How do I know?  I follow the guide on Facebook, and he has been posting pics the whole time.  

 

So it just has me curious.  

 

Are the FLW guys hanging around because B.A.S.S. is in town?  The FLW tournament isn't here until March.

 

 

 

Some are probably just scouting early, but many FLW guys are  probably there for the Open. If you look at the official roster when posted, you'll see a bunch of FLW pros. Some simply have nothing better to do, but most are either trying for an Elite Series bid or a B/M Classic invite with a win.

[A-Jay]

 

Not a fan of this particular "pre-fishing" move by a recent Classic winner.

A-Jay

[Team9nine]

39 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

 

Not a fan of this particular "pre-fishing" move by a recent Classic winner.

A-Jay

 

Agree - it shouldn't be who does (or can do) the most amount of private habitat enhancement to better their odds, but rather who makes the best decisions on the water when everyone has been dealt the same hand to play.

[wdp]

1 hour ago, Team9nine said:

It's why at present, MLF is the only true game in town, IMHO.

I like watching the Elites & FLW, but I agree 100%. MLF is the best bass fishing competition there is. Let's you know which of these guys really know how to catch em no matter the circumstances. And it's def the most entertaining to watch. 

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

 

Not a fan of this particular "pre-fishing" move by a recent Classic winner.

A-Jay

So, is this an actual photo of said angler doing this? I can't determine from the pic who it is. 

[A-Jay]

41 minutes ago, wdp said:

I like watching the Elites & FLW, but I agree 100%. MLF is the best bass fishing competition there is. Let's you know which of these guys really know how to catch em no matter the circumstances. And it's def the most entertaining to watch. 

So, is this an actual photo of said angler doing this? I can't determine from the pic who it is. 

 

No - it's more of a "Casey Ashley' re-enactment.

A-Jay

[wdp]

2 hours ago, A-Jay said:

 

No - it's more of a "Casey Ashley' re-enactment.

A-Jay

Holy Cow! So Casey Ashley was actually caught doing this?

[A-Jay]

7 minutes ago, wdp said:

Holy Cow! So Casey Ashley was actually caught doing this?

 

FYI ~

 

A-Jay

[Team9nine]

11 minutes ago, wdp said:

Holy Cow! So Casey Ashley was actually caught doing this?

 

Not "caught," perfectly legal by the rules as is many other types of "help/advantage" these guys get.    Good move on his part considering how close he lived. Obviously paid off. More a question of should it be allowed at that level of competition in my mind.

 

-T9

[gulfcaptain]

19 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

 

Not "caught," perfectly legal by the rules as is many other types of "help/advantage" these guys get.    Good move on his part considering how close he lived. Obviously paid off. More a question of should it be allowed at that level of competition in my mind.

 

-T9

 

If I could plant brushpiles on the lakes I fish I would (if it were legal but it's hard on S. Cal lakes to even get a boat on them let alone a brushpile).  If I planted 50 brushpiles months before the tournament, not off limits and easy to check waypoints during the offical practice.  Not a rule against that and anyone with a fishfinder could find those brush piles as well if they looked for them....just like most of us find them by accident from someone else who planted them.

[wdp]

30 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

 

Not "caught," perfectly legal by the rules as is many other types of "help/advantage" these guys get.    Good move on his part considering how close he lived. Obviously paid off. More a question of should it be allowed at that level of competition in my mind.

 

-T9

Yeah, I'm reading thru the 2015 thread that AJay gave me. I didn't realize it was legal. 

41 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

 

FYI ~

 

A-Jay

Interesting. I was unaware of this. Thx for info. Not really sure how I feel about this and obviously didn't know it was legal. Hmmmm. 

[A-Jay]

9 minutes ago, wdp said:

Yeah, I'm reading thru the 2015 thread that AJay gave me. I didn't realize it was legal. 

Interesting. I was unaware of this. Thx for info. Not really sure how I feel about this and obviously didn't know it was legal. Hmmmm. 

A-Jay

[12poundbass]

Hmmm I'm not sure how I feel about this either. 

[OCdockskipper]

It basically is allowing the competitors to alter the field of play.  I can't think of professional sport or competiton that allows that.  Baseball players can tweak the mound or infield for better footing, but it still needs to stay within certain regulations.  Same with the batters.

 

Next thing you know, you will have football players deflating the ball...

 

[wdp]

Well, getting into a debate over it again isn't cover any new ground that wasn't already discussed back in 2015. Personally, I'm not a fan of it. 

 

Again, and to agree with earlier comments, I think MLF is doing it right. Keep everything a secret til pretty much the last minute. And may the best fisherman win. 

[TxHawgs]

Yes I have heard about pros that are well of financially hiring several guides to pre fish the lake for them due to the size of the lake.