Etiquette On Fishing During A Tournament

[Bill Jr.]

Let me start off by saying that I'm not a tournament fisherman but love to fish. I'm sure this question has come up but I don't remember seeing anything ont he topic. My question is if I'm down at a lake and a large tournament is going on (FLW, BASS Elite, ect.), is it bad etiquette if I just C&R fish just for the fun of it?

[fishinwrench]

What, in the release area ?

[Bill Jr.]

LOL! No, I'm just sayin that in the large national tournaments where there are "fan boats" following the tourney guys, is there anything wrong with just recreational fishing in the same area? I know they are big lakes and they don't go "private" during these tournaments but just seems like us non tournament fishermen need to get off the lake for the weekend. I may be way off base and actually haven't been in this situation before, but I love going down to Bull Shoals in April/May and was there the week before the Elite series was there this year. They are coming back in 2013 and depending on my schedule, I may come down the weekend of the tournament and just wanted to know if this would be any sort of issue. I'd love to see how I would do on the same day as the pros

[Skeeter ZX190]

My opinion is that it is a public lake. I might be more concious of keeping my distance, and definitely not cutting somebody off, but just because they are the "big boys" doesn't mean they own the lake.

[fishinwrench]

My opinion is that it is a public lake. I might be more concious of keeping my distance, and definitely not cutting somebody off, but just because they are the "big boys" doesn't mean they own the lake.

I don't believe you need to be any more conscious for the sake of tournament anglers than you do anyone else that is out fishing. Angler pressure is part of the game, just like the weather.

The ethics you display should apply to everyone you encounter IMO.

[Feathers and Fins]

Bill, I have found tournament anglers are far more inconsiderate of the recreational fisherman durring tournaments than anything else and the money involved makes them more aggresive and pushy. NOT ALL of Them but a large number. I have even had them come fish points where I was duck hunting decoys out and shooting going on. I lost all respect for those guys years ago. They DO NOT own the lake and if im on fish I will not move if i see one of them coming. I see it all the way down to the local club level and with a tournament dam near every weekend anymore it seems you might as well give up fishing if you want to try and be polite and stay out of their ways.

Its Public Lake and everyone has the right to be there even the dreaded Wake Boats and Jet Ski's. So enjoy the lake and fish when you are one them give people ALL PEOPLE respect and distance and if you get on fish and want to share it with others go for it I love getting others on fish, but tournaments IMO bring out some of the worse in people and if you want to not fish thats fine but dont be more concerned about them than you would any other angler.

[Dutch]

I don't believe you need to be any more conscious for the sake of tournament anglers than you do anyone else that is out fishing. Angler pressure is part of the game, just like the weather.

The ethics you display should apply to everyone you encounter IMO.

X2

[Champ188]

Bill Jr., go fishing just like you normally would. The fact that you took time to ask this question shows that you are a considerate person ... maybe overly so in this age of overt rudeness on land and sea alike.

Feathers and Fins, your indictment of tournament anglers is completely unfair. I am both a recreational angler and a tournament fisherman and I can assure you, I have been the victim of more than my share of blatant rudeness at the hands of recreational anglers just as often or more than by tournament fishermen. It's an epidemic that knows no boundaries. Some are ignorant of the rules, some are too ignorant to learn the rules and some just flat don't frackin' care .... if you are on their spot, they'll try to push you off. Stupidity and disregard for others are equal opportunity afflictions in today's society.

[Guest csfishinfool]

Look at what FLW does. Yeah they make money off of fishing. But they promote outdoor activity, at every single major tournament they have a free weigh in anyone can attend. A kids center set up so kids can enjoy casting compititions. These pros due a huge amount of work to keep younger generations fishing. Right now the FLW Everstart championship is under way, they have had a fishing expo set up for three days for the public to attend.

I am an avid tournament fisherman. In Sept. Lake of the Ozarks had the BFL super tournament. I was in second going into the last day, I pull up to my first spot and in twenty minutes I had three fish over four pounds in the livewell. A mother and a daughter came down when they seen me catching these huge fish, and asked if I could show them the two I caught off her dock. This is in tournament hours mind you. I proceeded to get both fish out of the live just to see the little girls face light up and her mouth drop. Before i knew it there was about six kids on the dock looking at my fish. I told them the fish were biting and they needed to go get there fishing gear. Every one of them ran up to the house and grabbed a rod. Don't lump tournament fisherman into a catagory of being inconsiderate. There are bad seeds everywhere !!!!

There are a huge number of examples of this same kindness. Whether it be a pro who wins a tournament, and gives his pack of soft plastics he won it on to a child. Or David Dudley after weigh-in giving a group of kids a cast net lesson, just because he seen them struggling with it out on the dock.

Bill, go fish just like you would any other day. Its fun to see where you would stack up against the best in the world.

[Feathers and Fins]

Bill Jr., go fishing just like you normally would. The fact that you took time to ask this question shows that you are a considerate person ... maybe overly so in this age of overt rudeness on land and sea alike.

Feathers and Fins, your indictment of tournament anglers is completely unfair. I am both a recreational angler and a tournament fisherman and I can assure you, I have been the victim of more than my share of blatant rudeness at the hands of recreational anglers just as often or more than by tournament fishermen. It's an epidemic that knows no boundaries. Some are ignorant of the rules, some are too ignorant to learn the rules and some just flat don't frackin' care .... if you are on their spot, they'll try to push you off. Stupidity and disregard for others are equal opportunity afflictions in today's society.

Champ please tell me how it is an unfair indictment. Your own words would point to it being a pretty fair assesment

Some are ignorant of the rules, some are too ignorant to learn the rules and some just flat don't frackin' care

as there are no "rules" except the legal ones for recreational anglers I would assume those words you wrote were of tournament anglers. I was one as well for many years and know first hand how rude and disrespectful they can be I have seen it in tournaments and as a recreational fishermen.

Please note: I SAID "NOT ALL" but when money and compitition is involved it brings out the worse in people. You know it is true and it is a very fair assessment of the behavior. It also starts at the top in the Tourney director and works its way down. You have a director who doesnt enforce the rules and anglers wont go by them and that especially includes treatment to other anglers.