What on earth happened? He was in second place going into day 3 on Kentucky lake and he withdrew himself from the tournament?

He's old school. He didn't want to fish next to lambert. I don't know the back story but I think he just got tired of the Bs. Crazy he put it on the trailer in a big event.

Yeah, just ruined many folks fantasy fishing teams too. I was in 8th overall after yesterday.

Not to mention he just removed himself from the forest wood cup.

I think it's been building for a while. I know he had said he's done with the Costas too because of the Bs. People following him everywhere on the water. It is what it is. Shame cause he's literally one of the best offshore guys ever. He never got caught up in all the mess. He's old school and still has a real job. Interesting to see how it all plays out

Wow... I'm sure there is a bit more to it but this is what has been reported. Lambert started on the hole on day one. Haynes started on the hole day 2. They both raced to the hole this morning and Lambert barely beat him there. Very small spot/cast specific.

Interesting excerpt from the rules: Contestants are expected to compete every day for which they are qualified; failure to do so may result in ineligibility to compete in future FLW tournaments.

Lambert was in the wrong. Haynes had fished that spot for 2 days straight basically and was leading the tournament. I agree with him that this bass fishing stuff is getting really chicken [censored]. Bent pile pattern is stronger then ever.

FLW live says Lambert fished it on day 1 before Haynes.

Lambert didn't fish it on day 2 because Haynes was sitting there.

That�s how I took it as well. Not sure why Haynes got so pissed, other than he didn�t want to share water.. I thought this was the norm on ledge lakes ..

Right wrong or indifferent, FU I QUIT has never got anyone very far in life.

Dude said he had to go to work anyways

He's got a hardwood floor business.

They both have been in the spot. Lambert caught 24 on day 1 and left. Haynes goes to it later and gets 26. Haynes starts day 2 there and Lambert passed it by. Lambert had the faster boat today. Like I said earlier, his mind was already made up pretty much, this was the straw that did it. Lambert fishes for a living, Haynes fishes causes he loves it. I see both ways but things have changed around him in the sport.

I don�t blame him I would have also. If I was either one of them I would have.

Is it fact that lambert caught that 24 off that spot? Haven�t read that yet but that would make it a little better

Still can�t find where it says lambert caught them on day 1 on the same ledge

"It was reported on FLW Live that Lambert, who had an earlier day-1 boat draw than Haynes, had begun the tournament on that ledge, which is in the northern portion of the lake, and Haynes had fished it later in the day after Lambert had moved on. Haynes exploited it for a 26-03 stringer � the heaviest of the event through the first 2 days.
On day 2, with the boat order flip-flopped, Haynes started on the spot and remained there throughout the day while Lambert caught his 19 1/2-pound bag from a shallower area in the southern end.
With the day-3 field reduced to 30 competitors, the duo staged a boat race to the spot upon take-off. Lambert arrived first, just seconds ahead of Haynes, and they began fishing virtually shoulder to shoulder. FLW Live video showed that Haynes became frustrated with the close-quarters situation, eventually telling Lambert that he could have the spot to himself."

That tells me that Lambert caught at least part, if not all, of his Day 1 limit off that ledge. Otherwise, why would he come back to it on Day 2 (he left when he saw Haynes on the spot) and Day3?

On live they said that's where Lambert caught them on the first day.

I can clearly read that he fished it. I cant find where it said he CAUGHT THEM THERE.

The issue seems to be between who started there on day one and who was in the lead after day two and what is proper educate on who should yield to the other. Haynes may have not known that Lambert caught his day one fish on the spot before he arrived. Likely Lambert told him this when they got there on day 3. Haynes got the spot for day two by having a lower number. Lambert did on day 2 what Haynes should have done on day 3 which is move to another spot. Lambert offered to share the water. Haynes declined. Lambert was in contention 2#4oz behind Haynes who is a hammer on that lake. He can't only have one spot where he could catch them. Instead under the circumstances he acted like a baby and went home. They should suspend him for failure to continue.

Haynes can say whatever he wants in terms of being "old school" but unless something new comes up it appears Lambert handled the situation better than Haynes.

Doesn't sound like he did catch em there on day 1 based on his weigh in interview just now.

I agree, Haynes looks quite foolish for going home. He could have found them elsewhere and continued to fish.

To make matters worse, Lambert sacked 30+ today

I'm going to go ahead and state the obvious........FLW must not have a rule on how close you can fish to one another. LOL!! Wonder how that would have played out had there not been cameras on them.

I have fished around friends that were in different boats before but NEVER have we played bumper boats.

Haynes was already making his mind up before this morning. I heard he had already said no more Costas. Hes a different guy fishing for the love of it and still works hard at another job. Ya he could've handled it different and certainly caught some fish elsewhere but that tells me it's not about the fish at this point or even Lambert. He said if he has to race to a spot with a faster boat just to compete, it's not for him anymore. Can't fault him for that.

Agreed

You have a point, but he could have handled it better. He still finished 12th too with 0 fish today, it's a shame.

Dang someone said he caught 30 today? Outta curiosity did he move spots like he said he was? Or stayed on the same spot...

Lambert caught most of his fish off the starting spot but caught a 9 off a different place.

Sounds like Haynes just got burned out. Today was just icing on the cake. It doesn't excuse his actions but it does explain it. Sometime you get to the point where you just don't give a damn. Must be the case because he sure walked away from a lot today...

What a big baby. Smh

We all know what opinions are like...

You can't have a boat race without two boats. He could have just decided to cruise over there and if Lambert was there went to another spot. Evidently he would have stayed there if he wn the boat race or why race? Or he could have went in another direction. He let it get to him. If he does it for the love of fishing he could have just went fishing. With his knowledge he might have sacked 25+ elsewhere.

At this point he evidently decide it wasn't for him anymore. So he would take his toys and go home.

You have to lay a lot of wood flooring to make $125,000.

Yep

You can't have a race with two Rangers. Lol.

....and since this webisite welcomes opinions .....

I agree with the guy who said he acted childish (like a baby). If someone gets to a spot before you....simply move on. Don't sit there whining like a 4 yr old. Looks to me, that Lambert or whoever, was bigger and Haynes or whoever was acting like a jerk and realized that the bigger dude would kick his butt on the water and at the weigh in.

Haynes don't care about the money if you know the kinda guy he is.

Apparently it was a community hole as well. Can�t get upset at anything when you fish a community hole. I�m curious how he would�ve reacted if a couple locals were out there before him. Would he tell them to move because he is a tournament angler?

Regardless of situation, respect the event you registered for or don�t fish. I hate it when something like that happens to me because I won�t fish in crowds but I suck it up and find something else. Then I b*tch about it after like you�re supposed to. Lol

They will have a beer together Monday night.

He gone

X2

I woulda boatramped him!

Reminds me of Rojas getting beat to "his spot" a few years ago on the Sabine.

I really, really like both these guys. But, come on! Haynes looks bad; he acted poorly. And, don't try to excuse it as "old school." I am as old school as they get. This was fair and square. Lambert had as much right to that spot as Haynes. I regret that Haynes chose this hill to die on. I hope he reconsiders. I'd hate to see this be his ride into the sunset.

Big lake and guys bumper to bumper, I don't blame Haynes or Lambert. i have never fished for 100,000 dollars, I can tell you I have always been uncomfortable fishing around people. i have also felt like bass are doing different things on different parts of lakes that big

yep someone who never fished that creek the whole tournament some how fishes the leaders spot the final day...

So does Haynes walk away from a 100k flooring job cause another contractor is placing s bid or working next door!? That�s just bad business and no competitor or business man would do that. IMO it�s something bigger than he has a regular job and is old school. Old school guys dont give up. That�s for these gen x kids these days. Most of us fish tourney because we love to fish and we are competitive. Seems a little chicken [censored] to me. No way in hell im walking away from 100k if I�m in contention for the win. If he�s the �best� ledge guy then he should have more than 1 spot on Kentucky lake. Oh well I guess. Congrats to lambert for staying focused and not letting his head get in the way!!

That is never upheld. I was in the Open at Red River when Biffle didn't like the fishery so he pulled out just before the rules meeting and went to fish a Costa on his home lake instead. Nothing happened.

Fishing two different baits on a community hole, should have been able to work it out like Men.

Sounds and looks too me like he's ready to retire from fishing.

Randy seems like a good guy. Clearly he is probably more of an old school fisherman, but it is pretty cut and dry he acted like a child on this one. Why in the world, would you get up and leave because of this? Surely he had more spots on this lake if he is the "ledge hand" he is supposed to be. The thing that stands out to me is Lambert drove by on day 2, saw Haynes there and kept on going. Gave the spot to Haynes on day 2. With the boat draw system on days 1 and 2 there will be this whole thing of not fishing holes at the same time on days 1 and 2. I remember the FLW event on Kentucky lake a few years back. You had Mark Rose, JT Kenney, Chad Grigsby and Casey Martin all on a spot and fishing together on a school and they were very close to each-other. They even let another angler, maybe Scott Centerbury come in later and get a limit. It can be done, you just have to sack up and quit being a baby about it and deal.

I think Haynes should be embarrassed, if he couldn't get the spot first he shouldn't have pulled on top of Lambert. I liked it when he decided to leave the spot but to quit? He should have finished the day and then quit if he wanted. Probably the worst thing about tourneys is this chippy stuff that happens every day.

Y'all keep making it about the spot. It's beyond that for Randy at this point. For someone to put it on the trailer that early mentally he was over it all.

With all due respect Jaret, I think you're missing the point. Randy got there 2nd. He lost. He is the guy that should have said "you got here first Jason, my bad. I lose out. Mind if I fish it with you?"..... or go fish another spot. Lambert was totally within his rights to do what he did and seemed to handle it pretty well and sounded like he would have been fine with Haynes fishing it with him. Haynes did not handle it well and seems to struggle with change. Seems pretty cut and dry to me.

+1

I think the thought was probably he was leading and the rest should yield to that if they knew that was his water. I think there was a time that ettiquite dictated that.

Ahhh, I must have misunderstood. I thought Lambert had taken the lead after day 2. I thought that is what was said on FLW live. My misunderstanding. Then I see why he was frustrated. That's how I always understood it too. If a guy is leading, you don't fish his hole. My bad, I misunderstood.

That's said I think the guy was wrong to pack it in.

agree

Lambert already back at weigh in. He's gonna chill with 28+ in the livewell

It would have been funny if a few locals were sitting on that community hole on the last day.

"Professional Anglers" sitting on community holes......sounds like the bent pole pattern too.

What a joke!

I don�t understand the people calling the man a baby.

Never saw where he complained, whined, or fussed.

He simply left.

Other fishermen would have fished and then complained on the water and cried about why they lost.

He said nothing and made a big statement IMO.

That's a completely different situation, has nothing to do with this rule violation. Biffle didn't break any rule.

That was me. I misunderstood. I mistakenly thought Lambert was in the lead and Haynes was just upset because he had fished it before just as Lambert had and Haynes wanted Lambert to just give it to him. My bad.

For whatever reason he decided he was done for the day and for the tournament. He loaded his boat and headed to the house.

Maybe he is just sick and tired of fishing, maybe he has something else in his life going on that is stressful and he just had all he wanted for the day. It's so easy for us sit here and try and guess why he did what he did and for some to criticize or ridicule him.

He's a grown man and he is entitled to make his own decisions and in the end he probably doesn't care what we think...

Not often but I agree 100% on this one. Speculating on why anyone does anything is wasted time and none of our business and personally I don't really care to know.

I think maybe Haynes made a decision that's been weighing on him for a while, and I don't expect him to come back to the circuit.
Most fishermen like me have a real life, and a
job that is both profitable and doesn't take you away from your family all of the time.
I think Haynes thought," this is my friend next to me and we are fighting over the same bush, not worth it"
I can understand that.
We take these tournaments way too serious.
So you won a box of Cracker Jacks at a tournament, big deal.
One person wins and everyone else is a loser. You can't support your family unless you win a few every year.
So, go back to work and make money so you can fish on the weekends on a regular basis....nothing wrong with that logic.

I like Haynes move. You can agree or disagree but he stood for what he believed in. He didn�t want a part of it. He will be laying wood floors tomorrow working like he always has while the rest watch YouTube and talk about it

Not to sound like a D**kweed but did anybody on this thread pay his entry fee. If not I hope your sock drawer is arranged nice & neat.

It is [censored] that someone races the tournament leader to his spot especially when you didnt fish it the day before. Lambert is way wrong.

Would have to agree with this here

That's the new way of doing things.

1+

Had lambert fished there the previous day?

yep.....

I believe the letter of the law was not broken here but the spirit has been... The leader should be able to fish his water from the prior day. So, I think Lambert should have yielded to Haynes.

Welcome to tournament fishing!

That aint no joke..

they don't, nor should they

It's been that way for many,many years

Sounds like the new way is to rush to judgment without reading or knowing the facts. Says Lambert had fished that spot on day 1. Some of y'all have had some bad experiences fishing tournaments, I have too, but have had far more good experiences.

I think everyone is looking at this way wrong. Both Lambert and Haynes are hammers on Kentucky, obviously. Both are fantastic at fishing offshore and I'm sure both of them have known about that particular spot/school of fish for awhile. Haynes didn't know Lambert fished it on Day 1, as he had already caught what he needed and left. Haynes pulls up and boxes 26 lbs the first day after Lambert fishes it. Day two, boat orders are reversed. Haynes starts there and stays all day, probably knowing what lived there and protecting it for day three. Understandably so, assuming people would give him space as the leader and still not knowing Lambert fished there on Day 1. Unfortunately in this situation, both anglers have a right to fish the spot since Lambert fished it the morning of Day 1 and was in second (so at that point in time its a boat race). 98% of the time, this doesn't happen. It was just an unfortunate situation and I think Haynes was more tired of the situation and the way offshore fishing has evolved in general more than anything. I wouldn't have packed up my rods and went home like he did... but I see his point. I don't think he was aggravated with Lambert as much as the situation and I'm fairly certain it probably happens to that guy constantly. Not many offshore guys like to fish 5 ft away from another person, especially ones that have spent as much time graphing as those two have.


Both are good guys and hellacious fisherman. Both handled it about as well as they could have (aside from Randy just putting his boat on the trailer), given the circumstances.

Just my 2 cents.

Haynes DID mention this etiquette that has been honored in the past. He ALSO stated he had a business to run & a family at home he wanted to spend more time with. He ALSO stated he had no ill will towards Lambert.
Seems to me he just made a decision to end it to do what he WANTS to do. I don't think he was being a crybaby. The man has a right to make a decision & he stuck to his belief.
My opinion is similar. The old etiquette of yielding to the tournament "leader" has now went away. Its not a crybaby thing, & if a man decides the money is the priority over long time traditions has become the normal, then maybe it IS time to bow out. He did.
The crybaby accusations came from other people's opinions. about the situation. Everyone KNOW about opinions. Everyone's got one.LOL

This.

Cant believe this thread is still going. They already kissed and made up!

They just should have taken turns casting

If only he had been running a g2 E-tec,darn slow Merc's will get you beat every time.

I'm still trying to grasp this.

Lambert catches 24 off of it the first morning.
Haynes catches 26 off of it in the afternoon.
Haynes gets a better boat number on day 2 and sits on it all day. Lambert never gets a chance to fish it because of this.

So Lambert no longer has any rights to fish the spot because he didn't fish it on day 2 and because he was 2lbs back and this is considered potlicking, hole jumping, bent rod pattern?

I have still yet to read where it states he caught 24
Pounds off of it first morning. I�m not saying it doesn�t exist and I�ve read plenty that he fished it. Just haven�t seen where it says he caught 100 percent of his weight off of it. Also I think the leader should always get the water he fished the day before. So yes I think regardless lambert was in the wrong.

Plus this has nothing to do with the spot. It's the way the tour is headed with fishing in general. Nobody would even know what ledge fishing on k lake would be without Haynes. He just got tired of the grind giving up spots for the sake of trying to win all these years. Think about about how many potlickers have followed, fished with him, or got waypoints to his stuff over the years. I'm shocked he made it this long. What happened this weekend was a long time coming and I'm betting it's not all about fishing. Family and work play a big role in his life.

So from what I understand this is Haynes home lake and he has no other backup spots to fish? Yet somehow Lambert was able to catch a good sack on day 2 despite Haynes guarding the main spot all day. If the two are friends maybe the more mature thing to do would be to suggest to Lambert that he can have the spot all morning and Haynes hit it in the afternoon. Maybe Lambert would have agreed or maybe he would have told Haynes to go to [censored]. The way things reportedly went down makes Haynes look like a hothead. Just a shame things went down that way without even discussing other options, could have served as a teaching moment for others in the same situation.
But hey, it's his money and his reputation.

Maybe got out the boat fenders and tied up to each other's boat.

I don't know much about this situation but the days of a secret ledge disappeared with mapping software. Those spots he cultivated over the years could be picked apart in a few days by good deep water fisherman.

They both fished it day one, to be exact Lambert fished it first. Lambert gave him the spot day 2 since Haynes got there first. Had Haynes afforded him the same courtesy day 3, it wouldn�t have been a problem.

I spent the last 4 days at Rayburn with my HS boys fishing the state tourney. Seems like I missed something earth shattering.........





Oh wait a sec.....no I didnt.

Guess you've never been to Kentucky lake. It's only a few hundred miles of ledges next to more ledges with only a few that produce the winning stuff. There's a reason it's the same guys being successful. Another reason the bent pole pattern is strong there.

Where can a fellow get this mapping software?

I am not going to take sides for either competitor and I really don't know the whole story as most of us, since we don't know who said what off camera and if the two talked after day 2. What I do know these days is some competitors do not respect others and this applies to local and pro tournaments and everything in between. Everyone is about winning and so am I, but not at the expense of a positive reputation. Both competitors fished the are and had a right to fish the area, but if Lambert thought Haynes was going there, he should have had a conversation and let him have it out of respect for the leader. Now, with that said, I do not like the way Haynes handled the situation, nobody like a quitter, but I understand why he did it, I know some will not agree with this and that's OK, but ethics/ sportsmanship/respect in fishing are going away and that is not OK. I'm a competitor and I want to win as bad as everyone else, but there are lines that I do not cross.

A couple years ago in a Championship Tournament on Day 2 my partner and I went to check an area we prefished and fished on Day 1we were in second or third after Day 1; when we pulled up the leaders from Day 1 were fishing it. This was a pretty good sized area of Rip Rap probably a few hundred yards long. Seeing who was fishing it, we figured this was where they sacked up most of their weight and we turned around and left, we went to another area and caught 20lbs. and finished second. After it was over both came up and thanked us for not coming in on them. To this day, they have never come in on me in an area/spot even when they saw us catching big/winning stringers. Mutual respect!!