Tournament fishing--a negative view

[Marty]

What follows is a letter to the editor (for your pleasure or pain, whatever side you're on) that appeared today in the Rochester (New York) Democrat and Chronicle. I have deleted the writer's last name.

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Fishing spirit lost in tournaments

There is a downside to the world of competitive bass fishing not pointed out in the Oct. 22 article on the topic.

The conversion of a recreational hobby into a competitive sports business has led to unsportsmanlike behavior, crowding of lakes and boat ramps, and noise pollution.

While trying to fish peacefully, friends and I have been repeatedly buzzed and nearly swamped by bass tournament boats screaming by only 30 yards away at 30 to 40 mph.

On the first morning of a long-anticipated vacation at a quiet, little-populated lake in the Adirondacks, I was rudely awakened at 6 a.m. by 19 high-powered bass boats roaring past my cottage at full throttle as they began their tournament.

So much for relaxation.

A friend wanting to fish with his family arrived at Conesus Lake's boat ramp on a tournament day to find it crowded with literally dozens of boats, postponing his launch for hours.

He drove to another lake.

Fishing is an activity that has as its goals relaxation and the enjoyment of nature. Much of that is lost in the high-speed, competitive, big-dollar bass tournament business.

FRED ______

GREECE

[preach4bass]

I don't know how reliable Mr. Fred is.  I've never had a bass boat go by me going 30-40 mph.  60-70, yea, but not 30-40.  Fred dosn't know what he's talking about ;D

[BASS fisherman]

Wow, 30-40 mph?  Thats screamin : fast!   ;D

[roadwarrior]

If you fish from a john boat powered by a 10hp motor, 30-40mph seems pretty fast. The point, however is well made: Tournament fisherman seem to think since they are in a "competative event" that they own the lake. Since they are "competitors" they can run by you without regard to your safety or comfort, fish in front of you and control an area that is "theirs." If you are fishing from a dock or the bank, you of course, have no rights and in fact shouldn't even be there.

My observation is that this is ALWAYS the case whenever I have any contact with any bass tournament. It is the one or two bad apples that give tounament fishermen a poor reputation, but EVERY group of bass tournament fishermen I have ever come in contact with have a few of these guys.

Why is it that this behavior is NOT common among fishermen competing for walley, crappie, catfish or sauger?

It seems bad manners, rude behavior and outright arrogance are all common characteristics of bass tournaments only. Maybe is has something to do with "Small Fish Syndrome."

[texasbass1]

I have to agree with RW. I don't know why but bass tournaments do attract some rude inconsiderate types. I have always tryed to remember what it was like when I was the one fishing from the bank and be thoughtful of others using the lake. I just wish the skiers would do the same.

[Matt Fly]

No one is perfect.     The trotliner who doesn't mark his trotlines as per state laws.      The jet fleas (jet ski's) and other PWC that buzz behind you to jump your wake.   The wake board boats that blast their music. The crappie fishermen who leaves their ropes hanging under bridges to tie up to again.

The guy who's beer can or soda pop cans that is floating across the water.  The bass fishermen who lets his empty zoom worm ziplock bag float across the water.

It isn't just bass boats who fish in tournaments, their are lots of pleasure fishermen who exhibit this type of behavior also.

With all this being said.     I do think that most of these cases are on PUBLIC WATERS.        These same folks that decided to live on the water and have lake front lots are aware of what goes on a public lake.  

Allowing someone to post one side of this is letting the public be mis-informed.

How many fishermen, tournament or not, get up early and go fish?    Thats just blaming, and pointing the finger at a very small percentage of guys.

Public is exactly what it is.      

Some one who goes to the lengths to plan an outing of peacefull fishing should find out more details before going to a Public lake.

Poor planning on their part doesn't mean that a boat zooming at 60 mph is breaking any ordinance or restrictions.

Getting too close is showing lack of courtsey, but then again most stories are told to sway the side of one opinion or other.

Rudiness happens in stores, parking lots, freeways, sidewalks, and just about everywhere theres public.

Its a small percentage compared to the paved roads we all share.

Public is the key in this topic, and I'm sorry some forget how to behave in public.

Matt.

[Bassinfreak2]

Matt hit it dead on. I have seen rude behavior from all groups on public waters. On the flip side I have come across some really polite people as well. That includes tournament anglers too. Its the people and not the group they belong to that deserve to be blamed.

[Hillbilly_Hooker]

I'll have to side with Matt on this one.

As a tournament bass angler, I don't dispute that this bad behavior exists, but I can say that my fishing partner and I both go out of our way not to disturb other fishermen, whether or not they are fishing in the tournament or even fishing for bass.  We make it a point to go slow around other boats, cut a wide berth around other boats, not fish close to another boat or bank angler, etc.  There are, no doubt, a few bad apples in every bunch, but the majority of tournament anglers that I've observed are all as polite on the water as we are.  I'm sure some bad behavior occurs, but likely as much with non-tournament guys/gals as with tournament guys/gals.

Hillbilly

[5bass]

It seems bad manners, rude behavior and outright arrogance are all common characteristics of bass tournaments only.

OUCH!  :-?

Maybe is has something to do with "Small Fish Syndrome."

Let's keep this civil RW.....no punching below the belt.

[clooney]

It seems bad manners, rude behavior and outright arrogance are all common characteristics of bass tournaments only. Maybe is has something to do with "Small Fish Syndrome."

[dink]

A little off-topic here, but it seems to me that one who is forever trying to legitimize his approach to bass fishing (i.e. big fish hunting) suffers from "tourney ***" otherwise known as "low nubers syndrome" ;D ;D.  Sorry RW, couldn't pass it up.

Seriously though, Matt is right on the money with this.  If anyone chooses to see only the bad side of anything, then that is all they will see.  The letter writer had his mind made up before he even got to the cabin.

[Garnet]

Funny most of the ego driven bad behavior are from the young bucks. It's nice to see new guys but it ussally takes a couple years to understand.

The other area is people that were highly successfully in other areas then drop gobs of money on fishing success these ones usally burn a bunch of gas for a year or 2 and can't get any success and move on.

Garnet

[Chug Bug]

I agree with both sides somewhat, but am leaning towards RW's take.  I fish a popular area off of the

tidal Potomac called Mattawoman Creek, usually once a week on my friends boat.  ABA has two tourneys a week out there in the summer, and I would say most if not ALL the participants from this district are very self important a-wholes.  They will run WOT from spot to spot 1/4 mile apart.  They intentionally wake you and always have that fake expression of concentration and importance on their faces.  We are no lame looking newbies either.  We look the part and are in a high dollar boat, so I'm not sure where their "pro angler" attitude stems from.

[Chug Bug]

I must quantify my above post by stating that two wrongs do not make a right. My partner is also an ex-D.C. cop and is now a Federal Agent, so we both suffer from the mental illness known as "contempt of cop". The tourney participants that do not operate their vessels in a sportsmanlike manner, invariably get close-fished by us, followed, etc. My friends boat has a pretty decent CD player in it so that comes in handy as well. It basically turns into a giant ticking contest and volley of threats, until we trump them at the last minute with our credentials. I realize that is not the proper use of police I.D. We have both spoken to the director at the ramp, and both parties are hoping to start over brand new next year. We'll see what happens. But I reserve judgement until then. My stance at this moment is that district 11 or 3 ABA (Ican't remember which) members are pompous *****.

[The Duke]

The author sounds like a cry baby. If a man is not breaking a law... whats next? If the law is broken then get the law enforcement involved. After reading this guy's beef, you'd think you can go to any lake w/ a tourney and give dozens of tickets daily. I don't think this is the case; maybe with pleasure boaters. You want to complain, lets talk about the drunks water skiing, swimming on the sandbar, or on their Waverunner. I'm sorry if my bass boat wakes you up at 6am while you're still in bed, but I'm not breaking the law and if you can afford that house on the lake, you can afford thicker insulation.

I live on a highway, maybe I should put a sign out for the motorists to keep it down too. They're consideration of me should be sufficient, right? The new technology and pressure of getting to work on time is ruining highway driving...

Duke

[Bassinfreak2]

LOL! Duke I live within 500 ft of I65 do you think a big old sign in my front yard will keep the noise level down a bit?? Perhaps trucks would be considerate enough to only drive 40 mph during daylight hrs?   ;D

Great comparison! I fish a lot of different tournaments myself and really do not see all the negative things I am hearing about on this thread. Usually its the tournament guys that are more considerate than the other lake users. I don't know perhaps its different in other parts of the country but around here in Indiana tournament folks are a pretty darn good group of people!

[kbj3579]

I would hope that we are not stereotyping ALL tournament anglers. There's no question there are ***holes out there, I've seen them, fished against them and had run in's with them. But let's be careful in grouping everyone together. I know if you have it set in your mind you don't like tournament fishing or tournament fisherman then you going to look really hard for the negative stuff. But I can tell you that I know of a lot of tournament people that do a lot of good things for the sport of tournament fishing and for the sport of recreational fishing. Examples: Taking handicap kids fishing, working on boat ramps, charity bass tournaments, these are just a few examples. I can't stand arrogance, that's not who I am or what I want to be associated with, and yes there are plenty of these guys and gals out there tournament fishing, but let's be careful we are not all like that. If that guy tournament fishing is an a**hole on the water that same guy is an a**hole off the water. An a**hole is an a**hole, it's not the tournament fishing making him that.

[VekolBass]

I fish on water with tournament fishermen all the time. I'm probably lucky, but except for having them pull up a little closer than I care for occasionally, their presence doesn't bother me at all. Hardly notice their wakes, as compared to the cabin cruisers and water skiers, and when I'm dumb enought to get on the wrong part of the river, 150' commercial barges and things that look like the Queen Mary. I think it is really a matter of expectations. If you fish a body of water big enough to host tournaments, expect to deal with them and get over it. Concentrate on your fishing, and you generally won't notice them, or much of anything else.

[clooney]

Somebody has issues!

[flechero]

Matt Fly has it right.

The pleasure boaters are normally the ones I see causing trouble... except the 6am part.

Since tourneys involve a $$$ payout, there will always be a few bad apples showing up.

The author of the letter should have bought property on a private lake. He made the choice to live on public water, so he gets whatever the lake and it's users give.

They intentionally wake you

If I knew it was intentional, I would return the favor... with the trim low and decelerating in a hard turn. (also be sure the livewells are full) It will get the point across. Otherwise, check their rules about proximity, maybe they buzzed you too close and you can get them DQ'd... if it cost them money, they will learn fast. Or take down the boat numbers and call the game warden or lake patrol. (if they have to stop fishing in the middle of a tourney to speak with a LEO, they will remember it next time)

if you can afford that house on the lake, you can afford thicker insulation.

;D

A friend wanting to fish with his family arrived at Conesus Lake's boat ramp on a tournament day to find it crowded with literally dozens of boats, postponing his launch for hours.

I like how exagerrated that is... HOURS??? I'm willing to bet all the tourney guys were well out of the way by 6 or 6:30.

Here is the problem- they are complaining that a PUBLIC lake is being used by others... another reason these cry babies need to live on private water.

[Guest avid]

There is no doubt that rude, inconsiderate and even dangerous people will be encountered on the big public waters.  This is not restricted to tournament fisherman.

But that being said.  Even thugh I have been crowded  by recreational fisherman, It is only tournament anglers that have actually asked me move out of spot I was already in, because they were in a touranament.   I never move from a spot untill I feel like it.  Some of the tourny guys, will be like "c'mon man, this is for money" or something else annoying but generally ok.  While others can be menacing in their demand that you are fising "their" water, and costing them money.

It can get ugly out there.

[BASSINAL]

 I can certainly understand your points, but the lakes and landings are public and tournament anglers have the same right to use them as you do. (like it or not)  I have a very popular web site in the Florida Panhandle area and a couple of years ago there was a state wide tournament at Lake Toho that I attended and had posted the results on my site after the tournament.  A few days later I recieved an e-mail from a gentleman from that area about how rude all the anglers in the tournament were and wished we would stay in the panhandle.  He had a boat run by him too close as you did and took him forever to get his boat in the water that morning.  After a few e-mails back and forth and letting him know that most of the anglers in that tournament were from his own town and reminding him that the landing and lake were public property and that his Chamber of Commerce paid the tournament officials to bring the tournament to his town, backed off and did say that is was just a couple of anglers that in his opion made all of us look bad.  There is always a couple of bad apples in the bunch.  And seriously, if you want a nice relaxing vacation on the water, do your homework, and don't pick a saturday morning on a lake that hold tournaments.

[gatrboy53]

the problem starts way before people get on the water.there is no respect for people anymore.yes,individuals still have some but overall there is none.to single out tx. fishermen is wrong.yes,tx. fishermen can and some are rude and disrespectful,but so are rec. fishermen,and the pleasure people.to me the pleasure people,i.e. skiers,boaters,jetskiers are way more disrespectful than tx. bass fishermen.Now,i do see alot of tx. suedo fishermen w/ thier $50,000.00 rigs and theyre decked out in the latest pro garb running all over the place and couldnt catch a fish unless it jumped in thier boat.they are there to be seen and heard and mostly from ignorance...rude and disrespectful,but ,i see the same people on the golf course,football games or everywhere you want to go....its thier world and you just live in it.if you dont want to be bothered by the likes go to montana for vacation.

[PutPut]

I must quantify my above post by stating that two wrongs do not make a right. My partner is also an ex-D.C. cop and is now a Federal Agent, so we both suffer from the mental illness known as "contempt of cop". The tourney participants that do not operate their vessels in a sportsmanlike manner, invariably get close-fished by us, followed, etc. My friends boat has a pretty decent CD player in it so that comes in handy as well. It basically turns into a giant ticking contest and volley of threats, until we trump them at the last minute with our credentials. I realize that is not the proper use of police I.D. We have both spoken to the director at the ramp, and both parties are hoping to start over brand new next year. We'll see what happens. But I reserve judgement until then. My stance at this moment is that district 11 or 3 ABA (Ican't remember which) members are pompous *****.

I have seen a lot of pompous***** involved with the ABA , Might be part of the Qualifications , what do you think? Every one has a freedom to enjoy a day on the lake without the rudeness of others.

[Top]

I was fishing a tournament on Sturgeon Bay a few weeks ago.. this guy pulls up that isn't in the tournament and starts fishing not 50 feet away.. and starts pulling smallie after smallie out.. I WAS ticked...

not because he was so close... but because he was a better angler than me and HE was catching them and I was just getting cold from the wind ;D

AL