Matt Herren Disqualified and Retires

[F14A-B]

4 minutes ago, JHoss said:

It's a weird place right now. I think they're having a hard time getting the letter of the law to match the spirit of the law. There needs to be something to prevent folks from buying info, but these situations seem to have gone too far. I thought the rule stated that you couldn't "solicit" info, which it doesn't sound like either of these guys did. Completely unfair to punish a competitor who didn't plug his ears fast enough when someone else started talking about stuff they shouldn't.

They fined him too?!?

Yes

[fishballer06]

Martin had over 60% ownership in his bucket for Fantasy Fishing. Unreal. 

[Tennessee Boy]

It’s ironic that Scott Martin wouldn’t even be here if pro anglers didn’t seek information before a tournament.  His father met his mother at a local tournament weight in when his dad and Bill Dance were watching the weightin before a BASS tournament.  I guess it was legal then. 😀

[Texas Flood]

28 minutes ago, fishballer06 said:

Martin had over 60% ownership in his bucket for Fantasy Fishing. Unreal. 

And that's the real victim in all of this

[fishballer06]

5 minutes ago, Texas Flood said:

And that's the real victim in all of this

It truly is... Scott was my only chance of catching @lmoore

[Logan S]

The need to just scrap the rule and instead completely wipe the data from all electronics the night before the tournament begins.  Let the inferior anglers beg for local spots as much as they want, the exact waypoints and trails would get wiped before they can compete.  It's still far from perfect, but it seems that the current version of the rule only seems to catch guys who get unlucky with coincidental or otherwise minor things ...And the (presumed) guys who are actually "gaining advantages" are avoiding punishment.

 

It's a shame that a guy has to rudely cut off other fisherman at a boat ramp or gas station who are just excited to talk fishing with a pro and don't know the rules.

[scaleface]

11 minutes ago, fishballer06 said:

It truly is... Scott was my only chance of catching @lmoore

Maybe lmoore wont know  and keep Scott on his roster. I have my fingers crossed.

[JHoss]

Scott just released a statement on his Instagram. Dude's as professional as they come. Sounds like the incident in question happened 3 weeks ago, so wouldn't have been real helpful for the derby by the time it rolls around anyway. 

 

Funny how it's all vets getting caught up in this and not the young kids everyone hated on last year. Makes you wonder if they're as bad as folks say or just better at circumventing the no info rule. 

[F14A-B]

Scott Martin knows that water better than anyone on that lake besides his father. That information was meaningless… likely a simple discussion, pretty sure Scott Martin knows how to go find and catch a big sack of LMB.. even without electronics. 

[fishballer06]

43 minutes ago, JHoss said:

Scott just released a statement on his Instagram. Dude's as professional as they come. Sounds like the incident in question happened 3 weeks ago, so wouldn't have been real helpful for the derby by the time it rolls around anyway. 

 

So much grey area in this rule. Scott literally lives on the water at Okeechobee. He can literally walk out his front door and see things like "water clarity" or "fish activity". 

 

Not defending Scott here. There are numerous elite anglers who also live on lakes they compete on. 

[lmoore]

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

Maybe lmoore wont know  and keep Scott on his roster. I have my fingers crossed.

I was begging for a chance to pick Cook there anyways 😁

 

Unfortunate reason though, always enjoyed Scott Martin since way back when he first had the Scott Martin Challenge on the Outdoor Channel.

[bowhunter63]

I remember growing up and being a kid and mom watching soap operas. These bass tourneys are just as crazy as that stuff was. Need somebody like Ray Scott running the show. 

[volzfan59]

Props to Scott for self reporting, as he should have. Real professional move right there. Matt could have done the same thing.

[Pumpkin Lizard]

3 hours ago, JHoss said:

Scott just released a statement on his Instagram. Dude's as professional as they come. Sounds like the incident in question happened 3 weeks ago, so wouldn't have been real helpful for the derby by the time it rolls around anyway. 

 

Funny how it's all vets getting caught up in this and not the young kids everyone hated on last year. Makes you wonder if they're as bad as folks say or just better at circumventing the no info rule. 

 

I don't understand the rule.

 

I watched Logan Parks' YouTube channel once and in the one episode I bothered he was rooming with John Garrett and Robert Gee and maybe some others and they were all sharing notes during either Champlain or St. Lawrence.

 

Can they share amongst competitors but not the outside?

[Glenn]

Remember, this all came about because a few fishing companies had their prostaffers prefishing for their pros, report back to them with their findings, and even share waypoints.  This was a prolific and common practice from the local circuits all the way up through the Classic and MLF Cup.  Any pro that was part of one of those "teams" had an unfair advantage over those that weren't.

 

So, the "no information" rule has merit.  Enforcing it is a difficult job, though.  There can't be any gray areas.  So enforcement, at times, can appear as overzealous.

[Choporoz]

56 minutes ago, Pumpkin Lizard said:

Can they share amongst competitors but not the outside?

Pretty sure that is true

[TnRiver46]

7 hours ago, MediumMouthBass said:

I wondered last week why i dont follow professional bass fishing tournaments, between everyone staring a screen fishing the same bait, the ridiculous rules, and drama... I answered my own question in under a minute.

 

The polygraph test isnt surprising. Many guys invested alot into these devices and refuse to stop using them because they dont want to look stupid, jokes on them🤣

The drama gets way more attention, this thread is exhibit A. I checked it at work earlier, just got home from fishing and there are a bajillion replies 😂 

4 hours ago, JHoss said:

Scott just released a statement on his Instagram. Dude's as professional as they come. Sounds like the incident in question happened 3 weeks ago, so wouldn't have been real helpful for the derby by the time it rolls around anyway. 

 

Funny how it's all vets getting caught up in this and not the young kids everyone hated on last year. Makes you wonder if they're as bad as folks say or just better at circumventing the no info rule. 

Rookie thompkins was DQ’d for the same rule last year 

[GReb]

5 hours ago, Glenn said:

Remember, this all came about because a few fishing companies had their prostaffers prefishing for their pros, report back to them with their findings, and even share waypoints.  This was a prolific and common practice from the local circuits all the way up through the Classic and MLF Cup.  Any pro that was part of one of those "teams" had an unfair advantage over those that weren't.

 

So, the "no information" rule has merit.  Enforcing it is a difficult job, though.  There can't be any gray areas.  So enforcement, at times, can appear as overzealous.

Did the trails terminate any sponsorships with those companies? Can’t imagine that was taken lightly by the organizations

[fishballer06]

7 hours ago, GReb said:

Did the trails terminate any sponsorships with those companies? Can’t imagine that was taken lightly by the organizations

The manufacturers are the ones funding the the entire operation. You can't bite the hand that feeds you. 

[Pumpkin Lizard]

9 hours ago, GReb said:

Did the trails terminate any sponsorships with those companies? Can’t imagine that was taken lightly by the organizations

It wasn’t against the rules when they were doing it.