Don't have a dog in this fight but fyi you couldn't leave ramp until 530... Know the rules... Its why he was upset. I don't know where the OP went but oh well.

Well....I don't know the rules as I don't fish team trails. But....I think the other boater likely didn't cheat. It sounds like a guy is upset because his only hope and prayer went up in smoke. Haha

It happens to everyone when they are rookie tournament guys. I went through that mess a long time ago. I learned that whatever you think you have figured out, someone else has that same thing AND MORE figured out. I never cry about guys beating me at a game. I guess I wasn't breast fed. Haha. I look at what happened and what I can do next time to beat them.

Hell...for all the poster knows, the other boater could have been handicapped and had to use a different ramp. Without ALL the facts, this post just sounds like whiny cry baby stuff to me.

That's all.

The only thing I agree with what you said is about knowing all the facts. I don't fish for a living. Very few people on this board do. I guess we can't all be pros.... most of us just like to get out there and compete.

I think the issue is, the time you were allowed to leave the ramp and also the distance from any other public ramps to that spot and the OP realizing there is no way a public ramp could have been used and beat him to that spot. He could be wrong, I guess, but I'm assuming he double and triple checked the math.

And he said that he caught four other keepers, but didn't have a fifth fish and apparently the bed fish was catchable. Also, the tournament was won with 15 pounds, so having a fifth fish probably would have mattered in trying to cash a check, especially if it was a big bed fish.

I've launched at that ramp in the back of grandpappy's before when the lake was flooded. Nobody said anything to me then, but I knew I wasn't supposed to use it. I would have protested them too if I had followed the rules to a T. It's not a public ramp. It is mostly used to pull yachts out of the lake.

It took 15#s to get a check. 21 something won it.

Then the angler needed to file a formal protest. NOT come on here after-the-fact and start a thread about someone else. This kinda thread is what makes me laugh a point fingers......whah whah.

Some dudes need to know that complaining on a public forum, when it's way too late to do anything about, makes them look like they are looking for attention and trying to justify why they didn't do well.

That's all.

To finish in the top 3 it took 20+ pounds. Last paying spot was 32nd they had 14.83.

Exactly

Texoma needs a Mega ramp or to add parking at the biggest ramp if they want a blast off with a 220 boat field.

I think it's perfectly fine to bring it up here actually. Sometimes things need to be brought to attention.

Unless the OP can prove that the other boat took off from an illegal ramp per tourney rules he should have let it go and never even brought it here. Brining drama and speculation into tourney results after the fact just isn't a good idea, and absence of proof and relying on probabilities is not actionable by the TD's.

I personally have never seen tournament rules that require that a protester himself/herself be an investigator capable of providing tangible proof in order to submit a protest. The TD's job is to investigate the protested item. That TD typically starts with honest questions. Some participants will readily admit what they did, but were unaware that it was not allowed, for example. In other cases, the TD may believe there is sufficient merit to use polygraph results as part of the determination if the two outcomes may affect payout.

I didn't fish the tournament, but know many that did. I also heard the name of the team that was accused of breaking a rule. I highly doubt the team would break any rule to put themselves in jeopardy of being DQ'd and not being able to fish tournaments again. I also doubt that would risk a bad name for themselves as they win so much on the lake!

Did you see their truck and boat at the "service ramp"?

I know for a fact there is a small ramp farther back in granpappy that I've seen many locals use as a public ramp. I had a guy beat me to a spot during a trailering event because he used that ramp a couple years ago. It didn't bother me because I've seen plenty of trailers parked there. It's actually in better condition than some of the ramps on the Oklahoma side that guys use that are considered "public ramps"

Maybe TD's should have a map of what ramps can be used during trailering events on Texoma since there are so many little "public ramps" off the beaten path.

RED circle is little ramp that many have used
YELLOW circle is service ramp

Don't protest me bro!!

Sounds like another case of the "whaaaaa. Whaaaaaa"!
Guy's plans don't go according to how they wanted it to, so the option is to protest. I think if s person protests and the protest is not valid- they should be the ones to get a DQ!!! Tournament fishing is becoming a bunch of whining and tattle tail bs!