Purpleworm82 Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 Launched out of Fountainhead at noon yesterday and fished uplake from the park past Ryan's dam to the first bend. Nice overcast day with a bit of rain, but not too wet. Caught 10 bass in 6 hours, the biggest about 2.5 lbs. Spinnerbaits, flukes and topwaters worked well. Most fish came off the sides of points or grass edges near submerged wood. Caught a couple weird looking fish, looked like a combination between a perch and a crappie, maybe a Roanoake bass? Another tournament yesterday, apparently they have them there every other weekend. Most of those guys are really nice, a couple of them were really rude though. We got cut off pretty bad a couple of times. One guy came flying out of nowhere pushing a big wake and drops his trolling motor 50 ft in front of us on a point we had spent 10 minutes working up to. Then he runs his trolling motor right over where the fish are(where we were casting), makes 4 casts and then takes off, leaving us like a bobbing cork in the wake. My buddy had a few choice words for them, and after casting his jig on the deck of their boat a couple of times they got the idea. I expect this out the Potomac, but not at Occoquan. Its one thing to get cut off in Mattawoman by a pro fishing a Stren tourney-I understand that it's their job and they're trying to pay bills. But a couple dudes in a 10hp jonboat fishing a weekend club tourney? Cmon now, paying a $50 buy-in does not give anyone the right to ruin other people's fishing experiences. Hope these guys learn to respect their fellow anglers...
mudkart Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 That sucks about the rude tourney dudes. It reminds me of the negative aspects when I did a similar, (but much smaller) locals-only tournament years ago in Ohio. Some guys just took it too seriously.
NewAngler Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 you could have walked away with 10 bass, a few weird looking fellas, and a 220 lb jacka*s!
stunning Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 Ready to here the flip side of that coin and remember I am not trying to be a jerk. ;)First off I fish these tournies as a sub for two different teams. We/tourny anglers fish sometimes with a run and gun style, we have had locals/weekend fishermen cut us off a lot and accually had them throw the worm and bobber at our boat. Second, I doubt on Sunday that somebody threw a jig on someones deck. That would have been a subject well talked about at the weigh in and I heard nothing. Don't give someone a hard time by being childish yourself. It makes that point null and void! Third, it is getting time to see who is in the chase for the Classic and people are getting up tight. So excuse them for that. My parners and I try to give right of way to weekend warriors, but sometimes we just can't wait for people to work the spot........... Sorry, just fish them and you will understand.
RedskinsBassmaster Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 I as well fish these tourneys, and as Stunning stated there is another side to the coin. There are a couple of things I would like to address; First, if the manner in which the tourney angler approached and fished the spot you were on was as you say, it was wrong. There is an appropriate way to approach the situation and that would be to explain the situation to the "weekend" angler and ask that you be able to fish, having been on both sides of the situation I would think the"weekend" angler would oblige. Second, to say its just a $50 club tourney is a little naive, there is much more that goes in to this than showing up on sunday, paying the money and fishing for 10 hours, at least for some. Some invest hours and days of their time fishing the res, locating fish, learning their habits, etc. And as we all know the amount of money that can be spent on tackle, boats, etc. can be hefty. Now again, trying to be objective, I absolutley understand that the same can be said for the guy not in the tourney, as that was me before I started to fish em. However, as Stunning said things are very tight leading up to the classic, a very few lbs seperate the top 15. It may just be a club tourney but its something to take pride in, and believe it or not supplemental income for some. Look I understand how you feel, and if the situation presented itself to me I would not be happy either, but do understand that there is more than meets the eye. Also consider some of the "graduates" of that club/tourney trail, there are some sick sticks that have moved up in the ranks of tourney bass fishing and have done quite well for themselves. As for the jig incident, I do think that this is fabricated, as Stunning said it would have been a major point of contention at the weigh in, and nothing was said. I do take issue with making those kind of accusations, especially if untrue.
Purpleworm82 Posted July 7, 2009 Author Posted July 7, 2009 Sorry dude, but I have to disagree. My buddy and I have fished tournaments at much larger bodies of water like Anna and Buggs. We are not a couple of casual worm and bobber fisherman in a jonboat rental. We were fishing out of a 17 ft tracker that has a deck lined with g.loomis and a drybox crammed with thousands of dollars in tackle. We take fishing every bit as seriously as you do. I understand your difficulties in dealing with weekend guys, especially when you've got a park that rents boats right in the middle of it. However, someone who runs straight up in front of you within casting distance is just a jerk. It was obvious we knew what we were doing and we were moving quickly down the bank. They could have easily waited five minutes for us to leave. There is no doubt that my friend's jig landed right on their deck. He told them very clearly exactly how he felt about the situation. If it didn't come up at the weigh-in, they were either too embarassed to bring it up or perhaps not even part of the tournament at all. If the latter is the case, then I apologize for making that assumption. The point of the matter however remains the same. Participating in a club tourney does not give you the right to cut someone off that close. These guys were literally 50 feet away from us when they put their trolling motor down. Occoquan Reservoir is over 2,000 acres and there are bass everywhere. You guys are not pros fishing to pay your morgage. You are amateur anglers just like we are that happen to enjoy competing. It all boils down to a matter of respect-you either have it or you don't.
stunning Posted July 7, 2009 Posted July 7, 2009 Sorry dude, but I have to disagree. My buddy and I have fished tournaments at much larger bodies of water like Anna and Buggs. We are not a couple of casual worm and bobber fisherman in a jonboat rental. We were fishing out of a 17 ft tracker that has a deck lined with g.loomis and a drybox crammed with thousands of dollars in tackle. We take fishing every bit as seriously as you do. I understand your difficulties in dealing with weekend guys, especially when you've got a park that rents boats right in the middle of it. However, someone who runs straight up in front of you within casting distance is just a jerk. It was obvious we knew what we were doing and we were moving quickly down the bank. They could have easily waited five minutes for us to leave. There is no doubt that my friend's jig landed right on their deck. He told them very clearly exactly how he felt about the situation. If it didn't come up at the weigh-in, they were either too embarassed to bring it up or perhaps not even part of the tournament at all. If the latter is the case, than I apologize for making that assumption. The point of the matter however remains the same. Participating in a club tourney does not give you the right to cut someone off that close. These guys were literally 50 feet away from us when they put their trolling motor down. Occoquan Reservoir is over 2,000 acres and there are bass everywhere. You guys are not pros fishing to pay your morgage. You are amateur anglers just like we are that happen to enjoy competing. It all boils down to a matter of respect-you either have it or you don't. Lets just say that the jig thing did not happen, because if it did. that would make your buddy a bigger tool than the guy that cut you off. The point I am trying to make is, your buddy being a tool to a tool..... :-/....Shows that your partner has no respect either just like you said! Secondly, sign up for the next tourny. If you fish the "big water", come fish the little water and see how your Glommis/tackle measures up. :DRemember it's only 2,000 acres and we all are not paying the mortgage, that should put you in the top 5! Should'nt it? P.S. I fish all Kistlers! That means I should win! ;D
bigbasshunter Posted July 7, 2009 Posted July 7, 2009 There have been lots of issues, this year worse than previous, with the tourney anglers. They seem to get on a high horse and think they are better than everybody else. Cut infront of renters to fish. They take horrible care of the fish they catch. Run up and down these skinnie little waters like its the ocean. Then they take up the entire boat launch cause they is no orginization. My solution is everytime theres an issue call the main office of NVRPA and let them know. If theres enough complaints something will be done. Remember there are rules on the water just like the road, passing needs to be done with caution and respect. Its not hard to throttle down while passing, the bass arent going to disapear in 1 min it takes to slow and pass. On a side note I do have a friend who has flattened trailer tires on the potomac anglers. It would suck if I ticked someone off so bad they went and flattened every tire on every trailer in the lot. Tight lines and lots o' respect
-Drums- Posted July 7, 2009 Posted July 7, 2009 I as well fish these tourneys, and as Stunning stated there is another side to the coin. There are a couple of things I would like to address; First, if the manner in which the tourney angler approached and fished the spot you were on was as you say, it was wrong. There is an appropriate way to approach the situation and that would be to explain the situation to the "weekend" angler and ask that you be able to fish, having been on both sides of the situation I would think the"weekend" angler would oblige. So, I take it from this post that you are not a "weekend angler"? If so, what does that make you?
RedskinsBassmaster Posted July 7, 2009 Posted July 7, 2009 Not sure what you're getting at, I used that term to distinguish. I was giving some perspective from both sides, not taking one. Make no bones about it, I understand where I fall, I dont claim otherwise. I would think you would know that Drums.
Super User roadwarrior Posted July 7, 2009 Super User Posted July 7, 2009 ** MODERATOR NOTE ** This thread has turned ugly and ridiculous. Fishing in a tournament gives you NO SPECIAL PRIVILEGES. This thread is closed. -Kent a.k.a. roadwarrior Global Moderator
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