Stump bumper Posted September 11, 2015 Posted September 11, 2015 Sorry to turn this around, I agree with everything the AGFC is doing, but to start out there is no "young" members of the FLW coming from Arkansas is what motivated them to start looking at bass habitat just stuck a cord with me. I have fished many local tournaments along with Champ, but there is not one person on this forum that probably has not been almost run over by those FLW guys when they come to town selling the latest and greatest and for everyone to look at the TV for role models I just have a personal beef with.... Sorry to get this off track and it was a good article, just wished they would have used a different attention getting statement at the beginning of the article. Their pay checks come from the locals like all the great folks on this forum not the guys that fly through here one week every year. I wish the AGFC would look at fishing and hunting more with the 12 year old with a zebco 202 in hand and rusty single shot rifle and how to make his life better and less about how they will look on TV. I know why I love the outdoors and hope to pass that to my grandchildren and I don't plan on teaching them from the couch. Mamoo, RyanG and tho1mas 3
Champ188 Posted September 11, 2015 Posted September 11, 2015 In fairness to the AGFC, this article was written by and published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. I worked with Bryan Hendricks there for quite a few years. It was Bryan who chose to approach the subject from the standpoint of how many BASS/FLW pros the state has produced in recent years. The thing is, I don't know what the AGFC can do about helping educate and improve the life of the 12-year-old with a Zebco or a single-shot rifle. I think that falls upon the parents/grandparents, and therein lies the root of the problem. Just my opinion. Stump bumper and mojorig 2
Stump bumper Posted September 11, 2015 Posted September 11, 2015 I agree Champ maybe that comment was a little off base but it seems so hard for young people to get outdoors without grandparents owning land then everyone running the woods in 4 wheelers that cost more than pick ups used to running you over if you choose to walk down a trail. The Children days are great and the trout programs are great for kids, like I said it just struck a cord and sorry if I insulted anyone. I love the local tournaments and most the people who fish them but I will not be disappointed if these young men and women that work hard and enjoy the outdoors don't end up on TV. I also would not be hart broke if the FLW took Beaver off it's tour, it might hurt the tourist trade and I don't want anyone to suffer but I would not be hart broke if they did not come back anywhere in Arkansas. Though they are better than WAKE BOATS!!! Also I did not mean that the article was not good, the writer did a great job, it was one line that got me going and I am over it now. I am also glad that the money we give in our license and sportsman taxes are going back to a sport I like so much. Even though a good day of whites biting is just as good to me as catching 5 or 6 5lb bass. I just enjoy fishing and hope the next generation does too.
Champ188 Posted September 11, 2015 Posted September 11, 2015 Stump, I did not take your post as insulting at all and I doubt anyone else did either. Was just pointing out that it was Bryan and not the AGFC who chose to introduce it in the way he did. Actually, it seemed like a "reach" to me to link what the AGFC plans to do with professional tournament fishing. Frankly, it wouldn't bother me to see FLW take their "show" elsewhere either. I don't care for what passes as "fish care" during the weigh-in process and there's just too much rudeness and entitlement from many of the competitors. I was one of the biggest fans of pro tournament fishing who ever walked back in my 20s and 30s but I've seen too much change. Both major circuits now are far more about a dog and pony show than about fishing. I do enjoy when a guy like Steve Kennedy -Da-- who by choice buys his own boat and whose only sponsors (again, by choice) are one lure company and one rod company --- wins because he doesn't play the silly games like Iaconelli and the other camera hogs. Besides, with General Mills pulling out of FLW and a bunch of their top anglers (Powroznik and David Walker to name two) jumping over to BASS, there's plenty of conjecture going around that Walmart may be about to pull the plug (again) on FLW. Not saying it's so, but there's a lot of talk about it. So it may not be long until they are gone from Beaver.
RyanG Posted September 11, 2015 Posted September 11, 2015 Ryan, you are right. I shouldn't have generalized or made a blanket indictment of all young fishermen. Rudeness and lack of sportsmanship happen across all age groups, and so does good behavior. But I think we can all agree that no matter the offenders' age, there's a lot more of the entitled, self-serving bullcrap going on out there than there used to be. For the record, I am far from anti-tournament. I've successfully fished derbies from club level up to BASS Opens for 35 years. I'm just very disappointed that a growing number of tournament anglers are engaging in behavior like cutting off other fishermen on the lake, plowing through no-wake zones and pretty much acting like idiots to the chagrin of everyone else on the lake, including their fellow derby participants. Unfortunately, the organization that should be championing good behavior (BASS) instead is glorifying the bad by rewarding their Elite anglers with TV time for arguing with each other, cutting each other off, etc. It's no wonder anglers at lower levels think it's OK to do the same. I absolutely agree with you, I see all of these things all the time as well. I just wanted to steer clear of any kinds of disputes, I like seeing the constructive conversation this board can turn out! Champ188 1
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