Weight It In Or Keep Your Mouth Shutt!

[CaptainJoe]

I was a cameraman for Chad Morgenthaler, who began the final day in 10th place. Only the top six got professional camera people (the big cameras) and they would rotate from the pro's boat and the camera boat to get various shots. The 7th through 10th place finishers get amature camera people (the little cameras) that cannot take good pictures from the camera boat, so they stay in the pro's boat the entire day and the camera boat follows. The PRIMARY reason for a camera boat is to serve as a backup boat for the pros. In the event that something happens to their boat, they are allowed to switch boats and keep fishing. A phone call is made to the tournament director in these cases.

Chad was a class act. He only caught one fish and stated that he had no backup when he ran out of fish. He also stated that he wished he would develop the guts to swing for the fences more. When onlookers would join us, he personally went out of his way to double-back past them and apologized to them for not catching more fish and thanked them for coming out to see him. Great Guy!

[CaptainJoe]

Per the FLW published headline:

"Shin DQ’d … After spending the opening round cranking in the James River, Shinichi Fukae knew he had to find a new area for the finals. The James River, as good as it was the first two days, was getting pounded with both tournament and recreational angling pressure. While in the search for new water on day three, Fukae unfortunately missed a no-powerboats sign and entered a wildlife refuge. It was an inadvertent mistake, and Fukae deeply regrets the incident. “There were two buoys, but there was dirt and green moss on them, and I did not understand what the sign said,” Fukae translated through his wife. “If I had practiced there, I would have known. It was a bad mistake, but 10th is still good.” Evans issued a statement on the matter: “BP pro Shinichi Fukae was disqualified for fishing in an area where power boats were not allowed. There may have been a misunderstanding due to the language barrier, but because of the rule violation, his weights for the final round were zeroed out.”

Joe

[ozarksfishin]

To answer your question Lilley, Denjac is right the wildlife area is in the back of Piney. There are a couple of bouys out in the middle of the cove that say no powerboats.

[Sam]

My partner and I were crappie fishing out of Long Creek about this time of year maybe 6 years ago. One of the big bass tournaments was going on out of State Park - and I couldn't tell you what tournament, I don't follow them. All we knew was that there was an unusual number of big bass boats tearing up and down the Long Creek arm at top speed, then my partner remembered that he'd heard there was a big tournament going on.

We were 'way back in that little sharp cove at the corner, the first one on the left after you launch at Long Creek. We were throwing crappie jigs at the banks and flooded tree trunks, and it happened that we were kind of behind a couple of the tree trunks. A big bass boat with two guys in it came tearing into the mouth of the cove, and they went straight to one of the stick-ups we'd already fished. Both guys looked all around - I don't know why they didn't notice us, then one of them started pulling up a rope that was tied underwater to the stick-up.

He started pulling big bass out of the water and passing them to his partner, who put them in their live well. They loaded about four big bass, then took off out of the cove real fast and were gone. We were curious, so we went over to that tree and I pulled up on the rope that was tied to it. There was a dog cage on the end, empty, and with the door unlatched.

So those guys had stashed some big bass that they'd caught pre-fishing, and saved them for the tournament. My partner and I talked it over and decided it wasn't our business - we didn't even want the dog cage, so we didn't do anything about it. I wished we'd found that cage when we first fished the tree though - I'd have released those bass and maybe left a note in the cage about cheating. I did cut their dog-cage rope and let it drop to the bottom, so they lost their cage anyhow though I doubt they were coming back for it.

And yeah - I know that for everybody like this there are hundreds of tournament fishermen who are honest. Anytime there's money involved in a sport somebody's going to cheat, but because of what we saw that day I know for sure that it happens sometimes. But hey, those guys had a $20,000 boat, patches on their shirts, and wrap-around sunglasses - they must be better fishermen than me.

[brownieman]

LMAO...that's hilarious they didn't see you...just hope to heck they didn't win a dime. That's what the 'Money' aspect turns some into...really too bad but happens all the time, probably more than we know.

[soggyfeet]

definitions

sportsman-person enjoying sport for the fun and love of it

pro sportsman-person enjoying sport for money forgetting about the fun and love

[Tom Spence]

Sam I know you didn't want to be involved but I wish you would have got a hull number and called a Conservation Agent that day. I have patches on my shirt, a $40,000 bass boat and wear wrap around sunglasses, so I must be a real ahole in your eyes but....I know theres not a tourney director or fellow tourney angler out there who will tolerate cheating and though it would have made all tourney anglers look bad for a while (kind of like this topic has) it would have been good to get two cheaters what they disserved.

Tell you what guys, I'm gonna throw this out there for thought and open up a new can of worms. Sunday when I fished the Heartland I had to pick my way through the gauntlet that was snaggers in Flat Creek. As I slowed down and went through them I wondered to myself, how many of these guys are drunk? Now, having grown up a recreational fisherman and knowing recreational fishermen (I know not all recreational fishermen drink) I am sure that more than a few of those boats had more than soda in the coolers, and I'm sure one or two of those guys were driving boats under the influence. I know there wasn't a beer in any tourney boat on Sunday. I have friends that fish recreationally who ask to go with me. They say, "I'll bring the beer." When I tell them booze ain't allowed on my rig they can't believe it. I'll say this too. Talk about those fast bass boats barreling down the lake all you want. Year after year its proven that tourney anglers (and fishermen in general before somebody has a cow) are the better and safer drivers out there and its the recreational folks-NOT FISHERMEN- that are smashing it up. Now before you start citing crashes you know about involving bass boats- I know it happens. But the majority of boat crashes don't involve bass boats. Why? Fishermen are on the water more and get more wheel time than the dude in board shorts and wrap around sunglasses (Hey! Other people wear them too!) pulling the knee board with the booze flowing and music blaring. Don't confuse speed with recklesness.

Oh Soggyfeet. I love tourney fishing and have fun doing it. If I loved it for the money I would have stopped long ago. I have a full-time job I don't love that provides money.

[Whack'emGood]

  brownieman said:

LMAO...that's hilarious they didn't see you...just hope to heck they didn't win a dime. That's what the 'Money' aspect turns some into...really too bad but happens all the time, probably more than we know.

brownieman also stated: "I've never fished a tournament and have no intention of ever doing so..." and "I mainly river fish so they don't bother me in the least..." and "I watch a little fishing on tv but can't stand to watch the tourney stuff or lmb fishing period..." and "Big fancy boats, trucks, equipment racing from hole to hole at breakneck speed, whatever...sorry just don't turn me on."

Then how do you know cheating happens all the time? Are you just guessing that it does because you don't like tournament fishing?

I'm just saying... you sure are making alot of judgements about something you don't know or care anything about. I'm like t1365, I fish tourneys also-- so I guess that makes me an ahole and a cheater and everything else bad that you can imagine.

The vast majority of the tournament fishermen that I have met (granted they are mostly locals from right here in the Ozarks) are really nice folks (both guys and gals), and I don't feel that cheating goes on hardly ever. Don't get me wrong, it happens-- rarely. But it doesn't happen enough to make me worry about it-- if I thought cheating went on in the tourneys that I fish, I wouldn't fish in them.

I'm like t1365 also in that I love tourney fishing and have fun doing it. If I loved it for the money I would have stopped long ago.

Whack'em

[Sam]

  t1365 said:

I have patches on my shirt, a $40,000 bass boat and wear wrap around sunglasses, so I must be a real ahole in your eyes

t1365 - If that's the impression I gave with my post, then it didn't come out like I intended. That's not at all what I think of tournament fishermen. I've loved to fish all my life, and that puts me on the same side with everybody else who feels the same way and acts decent out on the water. I only think people are aholes when they ACT like aholes - I run into that pretty seldom while fishing, and less from tournament fishermen than from others on the lakes. I apologize.

Let's gripe about the jet skiers (lake lice) next.

[Gradyh]

In the words of Rodney King...."Can't we all just get along?"

Seriously, every group has a few Aholes, bank fisherman, snaggers, tournamant guys and perch jerkers. We all for most part share a love of figuring out a bite and catching fish. We all need ban together to keep Aholes, lead bans, and oter stupid laws from affecting our sport.