Never mind MLF rules...just don't crash

[Choporoz]

Two MLF boaters who crashed were suspended for year for wake zone violations.  

https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/toyota-series-suspended-32624.html

 

Thing is, they had no intention of following the rules.  Apparently, they only got suspended because they crashed.  They must have known that the penalties would be negligible had they not crashed.  

 

https://youtu.be/HQEyhXLQD1A?feature=shared

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Yeah I watched the video from the dude who locked in with those two fools.   

 

Honestly those two guys have no business competing in a derby ever again.   

 

Cheating and egregious safety violations should be lifetime ban offenses.  

[Glenn]

Makes you wonder how much they've been cheating all along.

[Team9nine]

Back in Indiana, if they gave out lifetime bans for running in an idle zone, there would be almost no boaters left. I'm guessing most of the big circuits would have to pull their events from the state for lack of participants. It was/is an every week occurrence on most reservoirs 

[Born 2 fish]

1 year isn’t enough they could have easily killed someone imagine if there was a kayaker or someone on a float tube. 

[GReb]

Without having a tournament official parked in every no wake zone how would you be able to prove it if they didn’t wreck?  Right decision to ban for a year but they should also have to pay the local fishery a fee before entering any other tournament after the ban. 

[Choporoz]

Rule enforcement is always tricky.  And, so is ruling based on intent.  However, what galls me is that these idiots were so willful in their intent, (and unbothered by potential MLF tournament consequences) that they announced the plan to other competitors. 

  

[Choporoz]

 

Locking in tournaments;

-Adds interesting strategic timing element?

-Detracts from the competition?

 

I have never locked in a tournament.         But, to me, it seems like it might be a good idea to disallow it.  Competitors fishing entirely different waters; somewhat unpredictable timing problems that lead to bad decisions; rule-breaking; time necessarily taken from fishing, etc.  (That said, I don't think much of allowing hour plus runs to different rivers and lakes, either...like Sabine to Houston, or St Clair to Erie, 1000 Is. to Oswego, etc.)

[Woody B]

Don't all the major tournaments require a camera in the boat recording continuously?   It would be easy enough to review footage and enforce the rules if "they" wanted to.   

The problem is way too many people think these guys are "heroes" because they make bad decisions, putting their own and other peoples lives at risk.   All of this is to "get there first".   These guys are supposed to be professionals.  The local "heroes" see this and try to emulate it.  In NC every bridge is a no wake zone.  Every few weeks I see a local "hero" blasting under a bridge at ~70mph.   

 

I always laugh when bass fishermen fuss about recreational boaters.  Most of the bass fishermen are good people, but there's a few (everywhere) that are the most dangerous people on the water.  

[TnRiver46]

I like the idea of fishing tournaments but I’m too chicken to ride in bass boats all the time. Stuff happens more often than ya think 

[Tennessee Boy]

Eventually someone is going to die in one of these incidents and a major tournament organizations is going to get sued for serious money.   That might change some things.

[slowworm]

9 hours ago, GReb said:

Without having a tournament official parked in every no wake zone how would you be able to prove it if they didn’t wreck?  Right decision to ban for a year but they should also have to pay the local fishery a fee before entering any other tournament after the ban. 

Same way they do it on trucks.  GPS logger.  Analyse the track post event and instant disqualification for exceeding 6 knots in a no wake zone. 

 

You just need to geofence the no wake zones and run the log data to check speeds in the geofenced zone.  

[Choporoz]

James Watson must have killed someone - his suspension is even longer

 

Jk, of course....I have no clue what he may have done

[Woody B]

On 3/27/2024 at 5:06 PM, Tennessee Boy said:

Eventually someone is going to die in one of these incidents

 

There was a death during BASS college practice on Lake Murray earlier this year.  I suspect participants sign multiple wavers, but sooner or later one of these speed junkies is going to hit a non participant.   

[volzfan59]

We're talking about mlf here. Rules are merely suggestions for some.

[TnRiver46]

On 3/27/2024 at 5:06 PM, Tennessee Boy said:

Eventually someone is going to die in one of these incidents and a major tournament organizations is going to get sued for serious money.   That might change some things.

That has already happened a few times .