[bassman31112]

Hi all, I would like your view points on the following problem...our club has an individual (Ted, guest who I'm talking about) who is has a reputation of following tournament participants to their fishing spots. This has happened for many years now and drives me crazy. Even on Lake Erie with so much water he just about uses your boat as a bouy marker. One year he new one of our guys was on good smallies but his boat was faster than the guy he wanted to follow so he drove up the lake a few miles then stopped to wait for him. During our club classic this past fall I had 16+lbs the first day and was in second place (he had only 4lbs) so he followed me to my spot. He moved in and out of my area most the morning. Finally I told him lets cut the area in half which worked for about 15 minutes, then he moved right in on me again. I mean 10 feet away. Fortuntately for me it all worked out as I had 23lbs the second day and won with 39+lbs. But if he would have caught some of the fish I needed to win I would have really been pissed. I guess I just need to vent. Am I making to much out of this? Thanks, Randy

 

[JOHN G]

Randy, welcome to our board..... I let this stay on here despite the fact that similar threads have proven disastrous in the past....

I must ask this question: can't this issue be brought up in your Club meetings?????

from what I understand....the better Bass Clubs have regular meetings with good attendance and these type of issues concerning their members are brought up and hashed out immediately before they get ugly.....

 

[Jimmy]

Here we go again!

 

[TheOleRobbie]

the club should have an encroachment rule. an amount of feet or yards to maintain distance.

if it does -- shame on the follower.
if it doesn't he is correct by the rules. (all moral opinion aside of course.)

the rules are designed to take away certain rights of judgement that we know some snapperheads will make bad decisions about on the water.

there will be opinions on this, but opinions only count until your rules committee creates a rule. then opinion takes a backseat. the rule committee comes in and enforces.

pretty much it.

---robbie

 

[Guest]

Not to stir the pot....

... but why is the board opposed to not so controversial threads? It appears to me that as the season winds down and the posts become fewer, a broader debate on such issues is a decent way to generate winter discussions. generates more posts too.

 

[JPBass]

I had 16+lbs the first day and was in second place (he had only 4lbs) so he followed me to my spot.

How come he didn't follow the guy in 1st place?? LOL

I gotta agree with JOHN G. If this guy is bugging ya hash it out with him, not on a public forum.

As for etiquette in general yes, I'd consider it a bit tacky to follow someone around without being invited......Within 10 feet? Very tacky.

As for myself I always invite people to follow me.......They never do........Should I be insulted?? LOL

 

[TheOleRobbie]

it has always been a policy of john g and of mike d that a civil argument is a good one, but nasty tones generate animosity. although we all agree a good argument can help move towards a good end... the powers that be don't like the nasty that flows in between.

that said... it always seems that the same topics come up every year.. the same people get offended... the same people get slammed.. the same, the same, the same ending.

it's just a policy that has held for a long time. john and mike maintain as a like it or not.

you can always ask guys to participate in a discussion off board. or invite them to chat it out by phone or in person at one of our gatherings. john has never tried to muzzle us in person yet.

just a rule that has to be followed i guess.

i am sure john and mike will explain in more detail.

robbie

 

[earthworm77]

Randy, as a tournament director myself, this is a concern of mine although in my two year tenure, we've never had it become an issue during any of our tournaments. Contact your TD and ask about the encroachment rule. On a big body like Erie, there is no excuse for what this guy does. If talking to him doesn't work, wait until the weigh in of the next tournament where he encroaches and bring it up to the TD as a problematic incident that happened. Maybe embarrassing the guy is necessary to get him to stop. My club fishes waters less than 200 acres and we do not have this problem. Good question and I feel it totally deserves to be on the forum provided it stays friendly.

 

[joe p]

I guess I just need to vent

I think this is a club matter and should be handled internally. Pretty much, the solution is obvious and I feel this thread is basically just that......venting.

Joe

 

[Bink]

I would like to hear what the other guy has to say about fishing your water ie maybe he found it too or his thinking it was a good spot was only proven by your catch so he thought to give it a try. I would mention it to him and if that don't work try the T director.

 

[5bass]

agree with the mitchster

Let him vent on the board because this is a situation that takes place in every club and on most tourneys. There are guys who fish other peoples areas because they cant figure things out for themselfs so the easiest thing for them to do is fish another good fisherman spots. but 9 out of 10x they will not do well because they lack confidence and fishing ability and if they had either one of these qualities they would be on there own fish and there own spot. Dont get me wrong there is not to many secret spots on most tournament bodies of water in C.T. N.J. and lower N.Y. so you deal with crowds and focuse on the fish. 5bass

 

[JOHN G]

Mike and Mitch: in the past we have had altercations on this particular topic that have gone beyone controversial and just downright nasty.....

I am not against debating moot issues, but I have the experience here to know when a thread is going south, meaning, not in a positive manner.....you will just have to trust my judgements on this one.....

for example, this thread is still on here, right?

 

[Lpbassman]

Most of you know that I am very willing to share info about where I fish but I would have to say that if during a tourney, an individual had the lack of courtesy to follow or encrouch on me in this manner I would be a bit anoyed about it.
Bassman31112--your solution is really very simple.
SHOOT HIM! LOL

 

[bassman31112]

John G., I apoligize if this topic was received by some as nasty, attacking, and/or against the rules. That was not my intention. Please remove it from the board. Thanks, Randy

 

[JOHN G]

Randy: there is no need to remove it! All I was saying was that in the past similar threads have degenerated into some low blowing insulting type of things that we have avoided here at NyBASS......as such, I just watch it with caution.....that apparently has NOT happened and so the thread remains.....

when is your next club meeting? Let us know a follow up on this, and how it is received when discussed with your club.....

 

[TheOleRobbie]

my 2nd response was an answer to anothers question.

you can ask anything you want. if it is out of line it will get spanked by john or mike.

your question is valid.

kind of a good sit down for your T director and rules committee though.

robbie

 

[Cityboy]

I think this is a perfectly valid question, and we, as adults should be able to address it without incident, or insult.

1st Bass has a 25yd buffer written into the tournament regulations. We often fish very close to each other in passing, or one boat will "trail" another through an area...but we have never had any hostility (at least not in the past 5 years) about proximity to one another, because in general everyone is considerate of each other's space.

Very often one of us will tell another to "follow me" to a spot. Once on the spot a comfortable distance can still be maintained.

This should be all about the fishing...if someone in your club can't remember that, then the club, as a whole, has to intercede.

If it is a recurring problem, it should be addressed at your club meetings, and the "buffer" should be inforced under penalty of disqualification. If the "offender" still doesn't get it, the membership should be able to vote him out. Most clubs have some kind of "behavior detrimental to the club" clause in their by-laws.

My final thought...when the competition becomes more important than the pure satisfaction of angling, then the competitor needs to remove himself from competing at a club level. There are venues custom made for people who only want to compete, and don't care about the friendship and comraderie of a club.


Noam