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Elites on Toledo Bend #11608720 05/17/16 09:10 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
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TwoLakes Offline OP
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I read this on Facebook and thought I would post. Big thread going on the topic.


The Bassmaster Elites come to fish “OUR” lake for 7 days. I say 7 days – 3 days practice, 4 days tournament. The last time they were here was in 2014. I point out the last time they were here so that the numbers are more notable. 2014 to 2016 is 730 days. They come to fish “OUR” lake for 7 days out of 730. That leaves us with 723 days to fish out of a possible 730. I know what I am saying here and you may already be thinking that I am wrong, that you have the right to fish it every day if you want, and that is technically true. This is an opinionated write up but please continue to read.

The reason I point out the numbers above is because I witnessed some things this past week that I was personally disappointed with. We will come back to these numbers several times through the discussion below.

I followed the top guys around on the lake this past week. I spent numerous hours on the lake and never took a rod out of my rod boxes the entire time. However, I saw that this wasn’t the case for many other local or visiting anglers. Why can we not let these 108 Elites have the lake for 7 out of 730 days? The question “WHY?” will be asked several times, not solely in regards to actually fishing but in regards to respectfulness in general. I’ll explain;

I will begin with the fact that the instances being told here were personally witnessed or acquired from the Elites themselves via campsite conversations I held with them. None of the instances are made up or something I heard from “the grape vine”.

1. Day tow of the event- I was following KVD, with another 27 boats, around the lake. Yes we did a lot of running and every boat in the pack managed to lose the King of fishing. We found him in Pirates Cove some 20 minutes later and he was absolutely wrecking them. It is no secret where he was in Toro. Now, the majority of the spectator boats were very courteous, with some of the more intelligent ones carrying binoculars so they could see the action up close, from afar. It was shortly after he buried the 10XD treble hook in his palm, with the help of an 8lber hanging off said 10XD, that the first disrespectable encounter, I witnessed, happened. As I said, KVD went right back to cranking. Standing on the front of his rig, throwing straight out in front, some 80 yard cast, the first pontoon boat purposely detoured out of the boat lane and drove around KVD and within 10 to 15 yards from KVD’s trolling motor. 10 -15 yards!!! C’mon man!! WHY? What is even crazier than that, the second pontoon, following the first one, DID THE SAME THING!!! WHY?

2. You read the part where I said the spot he is fishing is no secret right? Well, let’s take a look at the second deal; KVD leaves this spot. Naturally a number of boats idle over it marking weigh points on it. No big deal. This is why the majority of anglers follow these guys. To get new fishing spots – FUTURE fishing spots. What happened here is that these FUTURE spots were not used far enough into the future. Guys were fishing these spots during the 4 days of the tournament and even going as far as posting their 8lb+ fish on social media, as they have a proud moment. WHY?? Is an 8lber something to be proud of? Absolutely it is!! Is it something to be pound of at that time? That’s a question I will leave for you to answer. Should that 8lber have been left for the guy that is the current leader of the Bassmaster Elite Series event that has two more days to fish? In my opinion, yes. Yes it should have. Can we not wait 3 more days? WHY?? Let’s have a little couth.

3. One of the top 12 guys lost a 6XD crankbait. Happens all the time right? How many times does it happen because your line gets caught in the prop of a Yamaha 200 Vmax passing so close to your boat, graphing and marking weigh points, that your line gets hung up their boat motor? Yes this happened. WHY?? A boat passed so close to one of the Elites that he lost his crankbait in the motor of a spectator boat. WHY?? We have a possible 723 other days to go over that spot!!

4. This one gets me the most; When the Elite told me this one and then showed me the evidence on the wrap of his boat and then there was a video of it (yes a video), it was like trying to swallow a cotton ball for me. We had a couple anglers this week fishing so close to this Elite that they were hitting his boat with the lure they were using. To be more specific it was tungsten weights rigged on a Texas style presentation. They literally but small holes in the wrap of his boat. WHY?? Be glad I wasn’t a marshal in that boat!! Now, there is no explanation or reasoning, no excuses that one can come up with that will convince me that the person(s) that done this is nothing but disrespectful, and in need of an adjustment. I have my idea of an adjustment; I will let you come up with yours. This is disgusting and makes my stomach turn flips.

5. The last one that I witnessed while on the water chasing these guys around was in San Miguel. As we all know, Hank Cherry was flipping bushes and was actually in the lead for a time on day 3. While he was flipping this short section of islands a boat pulls up on the same side of the islands approximately 75 yards down, in the direction Hank was fishing. The guy pulls his rod out and starts fishing. WHY?? There is 10 other boats there, no one else is fishing expect for the guy in the wrapped boat with a tournament jersey on and camera man standing in the back of his boat, and you’re going to pull up and start fishing right in front of him and jack a 3lber, and then throw in your ice chest? WHY?? The tournament pro is only fishing for $100,000.00 dollars and birth to the classic. You live on this lake and come out any of the other 723 days until the next event. WHY today??

Guys, trust me when I tell you that I completely understand some of the thought process such as but not limited to; “ Public water”, “I put out those brush piles out some ten years ago”, “ I’ve been fishing that spot for 30 years” , “ He is fishing one of my way points that I don’t want made public on Bassmaster Live”, blah, blah , blah….

None of these are excuses for what I have seen on the water this past week. As a local, I thought we were better than that? I thought we were known for our hospitality? I thought we were known for our respectfulness.

I understand that there are mixed feelings about Toledo Bend, OUR Lake, being ranked as the #1 lake in the nation, but that is another entire subject in itself. Let’s not be known for the most disrespectful lake in the nation.

I know guys that make their living guiding and fishing Toledo Bend and they were able to put their rods in the box for 7 days. Why can’t the rest of us do it??

Last edited by TwoLakes; 05/17/16 09:10 PM.
Moritz Chevrolet - 9101 Camp Bowie W Blvd, Fort Worth, TX - Monte Coon (817) 696-2003
Re: Elites on Toledo Bend [Re: TwoLakes] #11608736 05/17/16 09:18 PM
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TXwelder Offline
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nice rant! point on point! its sad that people do this!


Stay Positive
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Re: Elites on Toledo Bend [Re: TwoLakes] #11608777 05/17/16 09:31 PM
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Thanks for posting.




Re: Elites on Toledo Bend [Re: TwoLakes] #11608784 05/17/16 09:38 PM
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ZX225(Radio) Offline
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Nicely Said Sir!!!

Re: Elites on Toledo Bend [Re: TwoLakes] #11608790 05/17/16 09:40 PM
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Bass&More Offline
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Wow. Just WOW! peep

Re: Elites on Toledo Bend [Re: TwoLakes] #11608799 05/17/16 09:45 PM
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James P. Offline
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Nice read! My girl friend and I had a debate about this yesterday, I'm there with you, yes it's public waters but fill we should let these guys fish there spots. Kick back and learn something from them, if you do that I'm sure it will help make you a better fisher person.

Re: Elites on Toledo Bend [Re: TwoLakes] #11608801 05/17/16 09:46 PM
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Is that behavior surprising? No. Disappointing? yes. It just speaks to the morals of society. Look at the lack of respeck shown on this board.

After watching bassmaster live i have a newfound respect for KVD. The boat traffic he has to deal with is stupid..

Re: Elites on Toledo Bend [Re: TwoLakes] #11608803 05/17/16 09:47 PM
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I saw some appalling stuff on Facebook last week

Re: Elites on Toledo Bend [Re: TwoLakes] #11608809 05/17/16 09:50 PM
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It's hard to believe that people actually did these things... WOW coach


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Re: Elites on Toledo Bend [Re: Chris_K] #11608835 05/17/16 10:01 PM
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Chris B Online Content
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Originally Posted By: Chris_K
Is that behavior surprising? No. Disappointing? yes. It just speaks to the morals of society. Look at the lack of respeck shown on this board.

After watching bassmaster live i have a newfound respect for KVD. The boat traffic he has to deal with is stupid..

I'm sure he will have a bunch of idiots chasing him around on Ray Bob this weekend.


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Re: Elites on Toledo Bend [Re: Chris B] #11608838 05/17/16 10:05 PM
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Originally Posted By: Chris B
Originally Posted By: Chris_K
Is that behavior surprising? No. Disappointing? yes. It just speaks to the morals of society. Look at the lack of respeck shown on this board.

After watching bassmaster live i have a newfound respect for KVD. The boat traffic he has to deal with is stupid..

I'm sure he will have a bunch of idiots chasing him around on Ray Bob this weekend.


I'll have a beer in my hand, not a rod

Re: Elites on Toledo Bend [Re: TwoLakes] #11608857 05/17/16 10:13 PM
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txsuperman Offline
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BAM...nailed it. Guys were posting on FB how they fished right behind KVD on the same spot and were jacking fish. DIpppshitts

Re: Elites on Toledo Bend [Re: TwoLakes] #11608879 05/17/16 10:24 PM
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I marshaled a couple of days and got to witness some of this myself. I was with combs, and he was fishing an offshore point. Guy and his 10-12 year old son in the boat with him, and they come flying by us well within casting distance (they were not in a boat lane). The driver looks over his shoulder, turns the boat around, and idles right past us again, and marks the spot on his graph. He then drives away in the same direction he originally came from. Makes me wonder if he was out there for the sole purpose of marking as many pro's spots as he could, because seeing Combs sitting on that spot changed his mind about where he was going.

Was with Horton, and he had a couple of boats follow him out of a creek on day one. He stopped to graph a main lake point that he caught some fish on in practice. A skeeter that had been trailing him pulled up further in on the same point, graphed it, and then started fishing the spot. Granted, it was a community hole type of place.... but still, it was day one of a $100k tournament for these guys.

People are dumb and just don't give a sh*t anymore.

Re: Elites on Toledo Bend [Re: TwoLakes] #11608935 05/17/16 10:44 PM
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Sad, but this happens to me on several occasions and even when Im not fishing a tournament. I had the same thing happen with a pontoon boat on Toledo Bend last year just fun fishing with my son, who was 7, in the middle of the week. I don't let it bother me. I usually keep fishing or if the bite is slow I will go somewhere else. Lots of fish and water to let some idiot ruin my day. Those Elite guys know that is a factor when they choose where to fish during a tournament. Unfortunately, they have to deal with it just like the rest of us.
I was looking online yesterday to book a house on VRBO for our trip to Toledo in June. I came across one listing which had a picture of 15-20 bass ranging from what looked like 3-8 lbs on a wire line at a filet table. That's the kind of mentality down there. Of course I did not book that listing.


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Re: Elites on Toledo Bend [Re: TwoLakes] #11608939 05/17/16 10:45 PM
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Blame it on the Cajuns...

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