fishing pro circuits it aint all glamor with million dollar rigs and homes.....I grew up fishing with/against Dave Lefebre and he was hell bent on becoming a pro......he made it, but dag gone what a tough road and he still lives VERY modestly in a small town in Northwest PA.



I like the rule, as many have mentioned before, most of these guys can barely afford Micky D's after the tourney let alone 3 or 4 boats rigged specifically for each body of water they fish.

I don't see a problem with it, if he has the balls to take a little boat and lose fishing time gambling on one spot then go for it. If he had lost people would call him a fool.

Exactly, and no one would be pondering a rule change.

More power to him.Roland Martin used to do this all the time(won lot of tournaments)

So because you saw TH's house on TV, and you've seen a couple pros testing lures in their pools, all the well known pros and most of the Classic winners are very well off?

Most of the anglers that are very well off, have businesses back home generating income, and many have several different ventures going. And while the top 5-10 have excellent sponsor packages, if they don't stay on top those dwindle rapidly. As to the comment about millionaires and "look how many have over a million in winnings", that's nonsense. A millionaire has a net liquid worth over $1M. If wealth was determined by how much we've made over our careers, the world would be full of millionaires.

I will assure you that for every pro on the Elites doing well, there are 3 who are struggling to stay out there.

I understand the stated rationale for the rule. There's other hidden concerns not being made public. It's pretty easy to see it's easily a crybaby rule.

Like some have mentioned I would have to believe alot of it comes from sponsor and tv reasons.

If a pro wins back up in a creek where the camera boat can't follow there's no footage, if he uses that little aluminum it doesn't look good for the sponsors in some ways.

I could care less if a guy chooses to fish out of a glass rig one tourney and something like an express the next. As long as they are not using jet boats,airboats or mud boats i think it's ok.

As long as it's a "bass boat", bass tracker,express,g3 whatever.

I have lived and fished in some dang swampy places over the years and it's a little harder but there aren't a whole lot of places you can get a 18+' G3 for example you couldn't get in with a 20' skeeter.

The big leagues per say is looking more like Nascar now, i think they are trying to follow that formula for tv viewership and sponsor attraction.

Boats have to be wrapped, they allow 250hp motors now, lots of running footage in clips.

In the old days BASS had a 150hp max allowance regardless of boat lenght. Boats weren't wrapped and all of the footage was primarily just fishing.


It's a changing world and for TV they are trying to make it as Nascar as possible, but this is good in some ways for sponsorship purposes, we are starting to see alot of non fishing related sponsors that spend big advertising and sponsorship dollars.

I think as long as they use a boat that fits the rules it should be cool. Hell it would prolly make the alum boats better and sell better too, even thugh they already outsell the big glass ones.

I think there are alot of Folks that Don't understand what it cost to fish on the Elites..

Most guys say winning one will break them even for the year. That is 100 grand in expenses every year.

agreed

This is a career for pros. It is bussiness. A lot of people lose money and have to give up theirdream if they don't make money. That is a fact of life. If he chooses
to fish out of a smaller boat and won then it was a good decision and if bass. Will allow it then he is smart. If they outlaw it then he can gripe lime the rest of the crowd. Until then he is the winner.

I like the rule. Keeps it fair.

What a Crock!!!

BASS is worried about a "level playing field", "sportsmanship" and a "code of conduct".

Yet they allow anglers to use biological altering sound waves to assist in catching fish.

Since BASS has rewritten their rules for 2012 (for all of their tournament series's) and eliminated all references to "communication" it would appear that the use of Biosonic and Hydrowave in past years WAS a rule infraction. So it has been cleaned up now.

KVD at his best.

How is the Hydrowave "biological altering"?? It just makes the fish think that there is food around, like ringing a dinner bell. It in no way changes the fish or their behaivior biologically.
KVD at his best.

Well maybe they'll "negotiate" for special circumstances like they did with Wellman. When in Rome........

You might want to read their website, altering the fish's environment by sounds that effect the feeding reflex is biological manipulation, and that is real "sportsman" like.

Don't crankbaits with rattles, buzzbaits, Pop R type baits and jig rattles all make sounds that make fish think food is around?

i know when I open my package of hostess powdered donuts... the water starts boiling!! those little fat greenies are suckers for a powdered donut!! just like me

I think BASS made a good ruling... keep the playing field a little more even keeled. SO what if some have the extra resources... some dont.. and it keeps it more in line with the rest of the competition.

I don't think the issue is who has or can buy an aluminum boat to fish a particular tournament. Like one of the pros said, the problem is that some of these guys live in the Northeast or the West. How do they bring two boats to the tournament lake from 500-1,000 miles away?

An Alabama pro fishing Guntersville or Neely Henry can drive home and get his aluminum boat a lot easier than a guy who lives in Michigan or New Jersey.

Again, the rule doesn't say that you can't fish from an aluminum boat. It just says you have to fish from the same boat all year.

It's all about the money. The big sponsors don't want a guy to win a tournament in an aluminum boat! I don't really blame'em. That said I don't have a problem with the rule.

I think the rule change is good. No doubt it has been tossed around all year and the guys at BASS get most of their rule change input from the Elite fishermen. Majority rules.
meP2too I would go easy on yellow flagging KVD for unsportsmanlike conduct. Several guys on here have one and I'm pretty sure we are good sportsmen. I'm sure the fly fishermen on the banks think our trolling motors are a bad thing too.

Yes they do, but the ANGLER has to determine at what speed or cadence of retreive is required to entice the strike. That is the sporting / talent aspect.

A post cold front blue bird day should be fished as such, just as mother nature intended. Too many people are after instant self gratification.