Fish brush piles planted by locals?

[ChazfromVA]

wow seems like this little issue is splitting many of us lol... i still say fish em.. if its in the lake then its open to everyone!

[fishinfiend]

I would fish them

[Chris at Tech]

Granted I'm not a tourney fisherman, but...

1) how do you know those locals planted those piles and they didn't steal/learn the spot from someone else?

2) if you get there and the spot is empty, fish it.  The lake is public so you cannot be trespassing

3) if someone SHOWS you the spot and you're fishing the same event, I say the guy that showed you gets first rights to fish there

4) plant your own spots/piles, but be prepared to have others fish them.  To me, I view it as making a contribution to improve the fishery.  Not to get a leg up on the competition.  Would I be upset if someone beat me to a spot I worked on?  I sure would, but they have the same rights to be there.  After all, we all have those expensive toys on our boats MADE for finding things like brushpiles

[Tanker4lyfe]

if your planting brush piles and winning tourneys constantly on those piles your cheating and you need some integrity part of fishing is the hunt im sorry but i will never plant brush piles so i know where to go and darn near gaurentee my self a win or definate placing..................

ITS CHEATING

[Chris at Tech]

if your planting brush piles and winning tourneys constantly on those piles your cheating and you need some integrity part of fishing is the hunt im sorry but i will never plant brush piles so i know where to go and darn near gaurentee my self a win or definate placing..................

ITS CHEATING

You're making it sound like planting brush guarantees winning tournaments.  Last time I checked, the fish still have to be there AND they need to be willing to bite.

To me, cheating is one of 2 things:

1) doing something expressly prohibited by law or tourney rules

2) doing something the other competitors cannot do

I don't see either of those being violated by planting brush

[Banor]

For those screaming the cheating mantra... your beloved pro's are pretty adept at planting brushpiles. I reference any number of articles anyone of you can find by googling it. Planting brushpiles is common practice.

If planting brushpiles is cheating, so is Biosonix, and for that matter Side Imaging.

I have 2 of the 3 going for me so I'm a cheater.

As for whether fishing someone else's brushpiles is sportsmanlike or not... I think I've weighed in on this whole spot stealing ethics question before. Simply put - if you find my best spot I know like the back of my hand and you whoop my butt on it, then you are the better angler and deserve the win and vice versa. IF that doesnt work for you then I'll just simply say - I dont see your name on the deed to the water. Get back to me when you can produce it.

I've seen and heard stories about tournaments where you could walk from boat to boat to boat 8 to 10 boats deep and never touch water all fishing the same rock pile.  It's just the way life goes.

B

[SLO_ROLL]

I would move them. I would move them out so far they would never find them. Fish are not always on the "wood." STRUCTURE not cover.

[CJ]

if your planting brush piles and winning tourneys constantly on those piles your cheating and you need some integrity part of fishing is the hunt im sorry but i will never plant brush piles so i know where to go and darn near gaurentee my self a win or definate placing..................

ITS CHEATING

LOL! Cheating is when you break a state law or tournament rule. Why is dropping brush not cheating? Because, if its not against the law, it's not against tournament rules. Anybody can do it! Is fighting with a knife cheating....when it's a knife fight?

To me, angler's who drop brush are really dedicated to winning if you think about it. I don't drop brush because I'm too lazy.

And no, I have never and will never follow or mark someone elses spots. My GPS shows me the structure (which is most important) and my side sonar shows me the cover.

And don't get me started about the pros.  :-X

[TN basstracker]

if your planting brush piles and winning tourneys constantly on those piles your cheating and you need some integrity part of fishing is the hunt im sorry but i will never plant brush piles so i know where to go and darn near gaurentee my self a win or definate placing..................

ITS CHEATING

BUT........Would you fish a brushpile that you happened upon during a tournament, not knowing who dropped the brush pile, or would that be cheating?  Just a little food for thought.

[PD]

CHEATING?? I don't hink so. Here's proof that the pros plant brush also.

2006 FLW on Lake Murray

From the FLW Website

Stop No. 2: Lake Murray

Dates: Feb. 8-11, 2006

Finish: 1st

Key Lures: 3/4-ounce All-Terrain Tackle jig; Brian's Bees B-10 crankbait; 1/8-ounce Spot Remover jighead with a Zoom finesse worm

If there was ever a national tournament that Gagliardi felt he could lock down and call his own, it was the Lake Murray FLW event on his home lake in February.

During the tournament, Murray was pulled down to an extreme low level, some 11 feet below normal pool, and Gagliardi used this to his advantage.

A lot of pros on tour know Murray very well, Gagliardi said. But with the lake being so low, I knew it was going to be a completely different place than any of us had ever seen before like fishing a completely new lake. With that in mind, I spent the fall and winter sinking brush and graphing really deep breaks that I knew would be in the 20- to 30-foot range when the tournament started.

Not only did Gagliardi win this tournament, he also won Angler of the Year.

[NCbassproAK]

Fish are not always on the "wood." STRUCTURE not cover.

So what your are implying to wood would be structure?

Either way I see it wood is cover and cover can be any type of structure....this topic is all about opinion if you ask me. You can tell, most of the time when a brush pile is man made, now I said most because sometimes the brush is to deep to tell or the water is to cloudy or stained. Usually when the good ole drought comes through I go out on certain lakes and study the topographical region. Take the information from where I have seen the homemade brush piles usually tied to a cinder-block, and yes when the water fills back up I do fish them, it's just another great spot to catch a nice bass. Then again it may be illegal to produce brush piles, you'd definitely have to check with the local game warden.

[Sam]

Fish all brush piles and other structure.

It is not cheating in any sense of the word.

It is using your sonar and knowledge to your advantage.

Lots of guys know where the sunken brushpiles of others are located and they fish them all the time.  

[ChazfromVA]

good point sam... sinking brushpiles is in no way cheating... you are doing notinh wrong by it... so go ahead.. drop all the brush piles you want and fish away!

[Matt Fly]

First off, its an assumption that the guys winning the tournaments sank them and didn't find them on their own as well.

The only problem I have is the guy or team that fish the whole season and rarely limits or comes close to cashing.    Those are the guys who will steal spots.

    Find your own areas with your own skill.    

To me, its like coping your neighbors paper on a test in class.    You cheated to get the answer.   hence it wasn't your own efforts that gained you an advantage.

     Planting brush for me evened the playing field.    I fish against guys whos Dads grew up on those lakes and now their sons,  guys/partners have 40-50 years of time on the water.

  These guys have or know about 1000's of piles or attractors.    

Either join them or keep contributing to the fishing funds of others.  

         

[Tanker4lyfe]

thats exactly my point what makes that pro so good or anyone for that matter if your planting brush to know exactly where the fish will be taking into consideration water temp and transitional period's then you have no true skill in fishing except for dropping brush graphing it and fishing it i mean come on what happened to laying out the map watching the weather knowing the season and understanding what the bass might be doing taking in to consideration of thermoclines, lateral, lines, forage habits etc etc. at any given time. thats how you know your a skilled basser not how well you can lay brush. THIS IS JUST CRAZY

[Tanker4lyfe]

GETTING TO THE SPOT FIRST MEARLY FALLS ON YOUR BOAT LAUNCH DRAW NUMBER NOT CAUSE SOMEONE SAYS ITS THERE'S YOU GET THERE FIRST YOU FISH IT.

[CODbasser]

I would move them. I would move them out so far they would never find them. Fish are not always on the "wood." STRUCTURE not cover.

wood is cover.... structure is structural changes in the floor or bottom of the lake...for example...points,drop offs, ledges, creek/river channels, blow outs,flats ect. ect...cover is any kinda of cover that may be on the structure...a bass can use wood as cover...so its well...cover..brush, docks, grass,stumps,boats,boat houses....

[tyrius.]

thats exactly my point what makes that pro so good or anyone for that matter if your planting brush to know exactly where the fish will be taking into consideration water temp and transitional period's then you have no true skill in fishing except for dropping brush graphing it and fishing it i mean come on what happened to laying out the map watching the weather knowing the season and understanding what the bass might be doing taking in to consideration of thermoclines, lateral, lines, forage habits etc etc. at any given time. thats how you know your a skilled basser not how well you can lay brush. THIS IS JUST CRAZY

Just because you drop some brush randomly throughout the lake doesn't mean that fish will use that brush pile.  If it isn't in a good place then chances are that you wasted your time in placing it there.

[DINK WHISPERER]

I would personally fish them if i were you. They are free game once in a public lake.

[Matt Fly]

Common sense knows that once a pile is sank its public.     First come first serve.    

  But when all you did is watch others to gain spots, just how is that fishing in a competitive event.  

    Your merits weren't actually gained from your own skills.    You copied someone elses work to gain an edge.     Call it what it is.    

BASS has off limits to their lakes.     FLW years past, NEVER had any offlimits, thus making it easy for their pros to sink brush months in advance.      

          As noted, you could plant 10 piles,    they might produce, they might not.     Half the battle is knowing good areas to drop them, and if you haven't been able to graph others piles and find them holding fish, chances are the only way you'll find your own fish is to watch others anyway.    

    So, if thats how you prefish, by allowing others to show you their spots, chances are, I'm not worried about you or your team on any water.

   

[senko_77]

Yo, mattfly, I don't know if the end of your last post was pointed at me from what I said earlier, but if it was, then know that I was being sarcastic.  I can catch fish of other things than brushpiles and I don't have others pointing me to spots.

[Catt]

What would be the difference if you marked my brush pile (I don't have any) or you marked my structure spots?

[Matt Fly]

Ryan,

     Never had any doubts about your abilites to locate your own fish.  

       Also, If I owned my own company and was to sponsor a up and coming young gun, I had you in mind.    So if I was rich, you wouldn't even need a resume, you'd have the gig.

   I guess you know where you stand in my book.

Hookem

   

       

[drmnbig]

Common sense knows that once a pile is sank its public. First come first serve.

But when all you did is watch others to gain spots, just how is that fishing in a competitive event.

Your merits weren't actually gained from your own skills. You copied someone elses work to gain an edge. Call it what it is.

BASS has off limits to their lakes. FLW years past, NEVER had any offlimits, thus making it easy for their pros to sink brush months in advance.      

      As noted, you could plant 10 piles, they might produce, they might not. Half the battle is knowing good areas to drop them, and if you haven't been able to graph others piles and find them holding fish, chances are the only way you'll find your own fish is to watch others anyway.

So, if thats how you prefish, by allowing others to show you their spots, chances are, I'm not worried about you or your team on any water.

I take it that this is aimed more towards me.  

I stated in the beginning that I was curious about where his fish were coming from and saw him on several occasions fishing the same spots so I checked them out and found the brush.  I also stated that I have not fished them during tournaments.  As a matter of fact I fish very few tournaments and I have no doubt that most guys on here could whip me.  I only fish for the fun and the thrill of the competition.  

[Matt Fly]

Its not aimed at anyone  specific.  

If the only way a person can locate fish is by watching others, I'm not too worried about them ever.    

  But, its not ethical to copy in school, so why would it be now?

Its one thing to earn a good grade due to doing your homework, but when you didn't take the time to study, and someone else did, call it what you want, its not ehical in my book, nor does it make you a tournament fishermen.      EVER