Lake George ... Is this cheating?????

[Manatee Mauler]

Fished a local bass club tourny out of Rodman. We had a "quote unquote" guest who wanted to fish our club tournament out of Rodman. This quote unquote guest had someone ( who was not in the tournament)sit on a fish in Lake George that anouther club memeber staked the previous day. Goes like this.... Our club memeber pulls up to his stake and sees a yellow bullet "fishing" the stake. So, he says OK that happens but he waits 1/2-1 hr and looks around for other beds with the intention of going back to the orig fish should the yellow bullet leave. The yellow bullet goes to leave so our club memeber starts back ( he said he might have been 45 yards away) but watches a red bullet (Mr Jonny Key from Stark ) comes racing in , set down makes three pitches to the fish and catches it. He then has the audicacity to give a thumbs up to the yellow bullet. Of all things our club member did not realize at the time this was happening that Mr Key was in our tournament and told his partner , Man that was shady chit". With out that fish -8 1/2 pnds he would have not won. As it turns out the guy this happened to came in second and would have won because with out that fish he still had 21pnds. It turns out that the yellow bullet was Jonnys regular tournament partner ... Hmm.

[Daddychatham]

I'll say it aint right, but it happens all the time. There are many people aroune the area that will sit on fish for people, and unfortunatly there is nuttin we can do about it. I think its a crock of chit and think its cheating, but who an I to judge anyone????

[Frogchunker]

Pretty crappy if you ask me

[ol man river]

unless it written in the rules , it aint cheatin.......but....hole sittin isnt ethical, sportsmanlike, and is not something i would want done to me if i was in a tnt........ i know it goes on, especially during bedding season.....its just chitty..........

[red sled 2]

One of the tournaments I help put on has that in the rules. Really suks either way.

[ragin_cajun92]

I know it happens but thats a sad way to win..

[mikepags]

any idea what bait the guy threw in just 3 times to catch?

I only wasted a couple of hours on 2 fish saturday that drove me crazy

[meyerskbass]

Not really cheating but not really fair too! Unfortuntly it is not fair but happens all bedding season. That is the only way some people can win!

[Teamm3d]

Hey Matt, I dont know if its cheating, but like the others said it is very unethical and i hope this guy gets burned for it.

[blackcreekbasser]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mikepags &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">any idea what bait the guy threw in just 3 times to catch?

I only wasted a couple of hours on 2 fish saturday that drove me crazy</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thought the same thing! Pretty good even if his ethics are a little questionable!

[storm 22]

what goes around comes around he will get his

[bassknight]

Steve you did the same thing to me.

[blackcreekbasser]

Uh Oh!

[FlippinCrazy]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mikepags &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">any idea what bait the guy threw in just 3 times to catch?

I only wasted a couple of hours on 2 fish saturday that drove me crazy</TD></TR></TABLE>

When they're right, it don't really matter what you throw at em, you just gotta put it in the right spot.

[Meyers]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by FlippinCrazy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

When they're right, it don't really matter what you throw at em, you just gotta put it in the right spot. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I second that Adam...as long as they are locked on that fish is going to see the inside of my livewell!

As far as the protecting of fish...it happens, it is going to happen again. I have never sat on someones fish nor asked anyone to do it for me...we do not all hold ourselves to the same moral and ethical standards. If you do not like what someone does, you should politely discuss what is bother you and even if it does nothing for them it will make you feel better!

Bed fishing is tough in the first place, add in a wind change or a front and what you had yesterday is gone...better yet, someone catches the fish before you do.

If you plan on bed fishing you better have 3-4 times the weight located to be able to compete on any given day.

[Manatee Mauler]

(1) Dock talk and other stuff like that makes for fun conversation before and after the tournament but once the tournament starts your "supposed" to be on your own. Common sense and ethical behavior should be a nobrainer. Basically everyone was fishing against him and HIS buddy. Thats as close to being in two places at one time as you can get.

(2) Found out that he would not let the club member pitch on a sigle one of the bedding fish. He was a guest, the memeber should have been the one doing most of the fishing as he would have gotten points towards the classic or end of the year standings. When he did ask to catch a fish on a bed he was told no, they had to go!!??

(3) Why fish a little club tournament out of the resevoir and have to lock out to the river when there were TWO open boat tournaments out of the river the same day???????

(4) Wont name any other names but talked with someone else on the phone today ( Mon) and they said they had the same problem the same day with ( I can only believe ) the same a yellow bullet sitting on a fish that was around 11 pnds.

After the tournament he was gone before the scales were even put up. Someone made a comment he sure didnt stick around. You think????

Getting beat is part of the game and is what drives you to improve but when going against a stacked deck its a different story. Went into detail so this is put out there in the open as the guy needs to be called out and made aware of what he is doing. He didnt count on the boat watching all this go down being in the same tournament. For him it was a storke of bad luck or mabe it was just time for this chit to catch up with him. Everyone should play buy the same rules and same deck. Sitting on a spot may not break a rule but communicating/collaberating with other boats for your benefit during tournament hours via radio / beep beep is.

[jaxbasser35]

first off everybody carries a cell phone and believe me if i had seen the member hole sitting id report him to the club that he was recieving help from outside personell and take pictures . i always have a digital with me because of seeing and hearing of a few pros that recieve outside help .most cell phones have cameras so when the guy is confronted you can back it up. this topic needs to be addressed before tourneys at club meeting and enforced

[enforcer410]

Bullchit is what it is.

[FloridaBassinNut]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by FlippinCrazy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">When they're right, it don't really matter what you throw at em, you just gotta put it in the right spot. </TD></TR></TABLE>

+1 I'm sure his "partner" waited until the fish flared then called him over to finish her off.

As to the question, I guess it's only cheating if the rules prohibit outside help. I hear a lot about this happening around the trails this time of year. Think I'll have to add that restriction to my rules even though it should be common sense.

[earthworm77]

Jaxbasser......+1

Recieving outside assisitance from anyone during a tournament should be against any clubs rules. I was a tournament director for my club in NY for many years, we would have DQ'd that guy on the spot. This type of thing is the reason I do not enjoy tournament fishing as I once did. People always looking to skirt the rules. I've seen my share of fist fights at the ramp over a 80 dollar pot......not worth it.