This rule: 3. PURCHASING OF INFORMATION � Is written very poorly, and not in reality in my opinion. I get the no paying for information, but we are all fishermen and we discuss fishing. Just not sure how you fairly enforce this rule as written. I get the intent, but DQ because of a "watercolor" conversation? Not right!

Brandon "Lewisville Jesus" Dillard watches over them.

High school fishing has butchered it since the get go plain and simple.

Most major trails in Texas have a clear no-info rule that is easy to follow and prohibits the bartering of information or gaining information from anyone who has entered the water during the off-limits period. Also prohibits getting information during the tournament from anyone except other competitors. This rule is simple and covers all the bases, no reason for it to be more complicated.

Do explain. What exactly has High School Fishing butchered? Please let us know what your currently baseless comment is derived from so we can all try to come to your same conclusion.

So what are they supposed to do, look the other way and then get disqualified for not turning in a rules infraction they witnessed when some other team turns them in for practicing without their captain and running on plane with out life jackets?, thats how you fail a poly. Trust me there is more to this story, teams have gotten the pass on a DQ for more that this before.

How many boats are fishing the tires today?

I almost fell out of my chair when I read this.
Someone has hit bottom when LE195 is defending the actions of a HS team....lol

I tournament fish. And I captain my son and his friend. They fish THSBA and they fish SAF world and National Championship each year. We have fished THSBA all 4 years. To throw rocks at the THSBA for enforcing the rules is a bunch of [censored] and cowardly to do it behind a keyboard. My son and his partner are friends with the team that won and was DQed. They have been our rivals since freshman. Friendly rivalry. Those two boys are sticks. They are good kids who made a mistake. They didn�t hide from it they didn�t deny it. They fish these same tires this time of year every year. It is a community hole. I know because we were there and have been there for the past 2 years with them. My boys are sad for them. They know they were a contender for state. And they are friends. But being a tournament fisherman myself I see both sides of it. One thing I will say is Matt and the THSBA work their butts off for these kids and until this year Matt volunteered all his time. Had a full time job and ran tournaments every weekend. THSBA has done nothing but provide an opportunity for these kids to compete and learn from this experience. Yes it sucks these two teams were DQed. I know how hard they worked to get here. And I know for a fact Ben and Briggs are no cheaters. They made a mistake. And they owned up to it. But let�s be honest here. How many have broken a rule in a tournament by mistake or on purpose ? I have I forgot to attach my kill switch cord once. I have watched countless boats make infractions. The first three years I tried telling the captain and kids to inform them they could be DQed for the violation not to mention it�s a safety issue. Some said thank you for the reminder some flat out got ugly. This year I have seen more and more violations. And no we don�t go looking for them they usually happen when we are on fish and we are being crowded. So if other students and captains are not suppose to report these violations who is? Why is it ok for other teams to follow the rules and not others? I promise you the last thing Matt wanted to do was DQ either team. But as a director he has to make tough decisions. Not everyone will agree with these. You can�t make everyone happy. But those of you who are being so critical of either side trying putting on their shoes. These are Highschool kids let�s not forget. These are also the future of our sport and they will be the ones preserving our fisheries. Instead of keyboard bashing take some time and educate the youth instead of hitting them while already down. If you knew how passionate Ben and Briggs and the rest of these Highschool teams are about fishing these tournaments you would be more uplifting instead of picking a side and bashing one or the other. Without the THABA and having a school sponsor I wouldn�t have 4 years of memories on and off the water with my son in Highschool. Most captains are dads who also tournament fish. We are all competitive we all want to win we all want our kids to win. Bottom line is these two teams made a mistake. They were men about it. Even posted on here stating they made a mistake. They didn�t deny it they took the punishment and are learning from this. Matt and THSBA care about these kids. Unfortunately they have to make hard decisions at times. But they post the rules and warn everyone over and over.. I appreciate what they do. I wish they had more help on tournament days and had volunteer spotters. Because I promise you these two teams were not the only two teams to break the rules on Saturday. They are just the two teams who got caught. I had a boat drive by me with a student driving I wasn�t about to leave our spot to go take a picture of their TX numbers. No one wants to be a snitch but no one wants to see other teams break rules and get away with it. Ben and Briggs are winners in my book regardless. And so is the other team. I appreciate young men who admit when they are wrong and learn from it.

I have often thought about volunteering to be a boat captain. I have no kids that fish, but after reading these types of threads there�s no way in hell that I�m going to volunteer my time & money just to be potentially belittled for trying to help someone by making a mistake of some sort.

Take a poll on what people actually think of high school tournaments and the havoc it has had on public lakes. Lots of issues. There are too many of them and it is out of control with the number and the level of discourteous boat captains there are. They should put all teams in and draw for captains to take the cheat at all cost mentality out of the picture. High school tournaments are wrecking Rayburn and should be spread around to other lakes as well.

If you could get the right kids AND parents you'd really enjoy it. If not, you'd hate it. While I think the THSBA could tweak the rules a little the problem isn't the THSBA, it's the parents, kids, and boat captains who don't read the freaking rules, plain and simple. I'm not referring to someone that made a mistake, heck we've all been guilty of that. I'm referring to the large percentage who have never read the rules period.

We had a boat captain that was probably as good of a guy anyone could ever get. Great fisherman, he went all in to do everything he could do for the kids who he had never met before. He took them pre fishing one day and by 11 they were complaining and wanted to go home. Good kids, they just weren't in to it enough. Too many just want to show up tournament day and fish, that's it. But, there are plenty that would do anything to get the opportunity to fish and pre fish from an experienced adult. The boat captain just has to be picky and make sure everyone has the same goals. I know some boat captains that interview the kids and the parents before making a decision. I made the mistake of letting my son pick, didn't discuss the details with the parents until it was too late, big mistake. My son fished solo this year due to no one else being fully committed. I launch early and we pre fish, I expect the partner to do the same if we are doing it. I don't treat them like babies either. I had a kid that got on his phone all the time (against the rules) and quit fishing early numerous times. I told him to get off his phone and fish and he got smart with me. I made it real clear, I was the boat captain, it was my boat, and he'd follow the rules set forth by the THSBA. or he'd be taken to the marina. Of course I was the bad guy, parents got pissed off.

I fully agree on the draw for boat captains but I'm not sure how many boat captains would agree to this. As it currently is, it's so far from fair it's crazy. Going out and winning a tournament when you've never pre fished a single day or never even been on the lake before isn't impressive to me when you have the right boat captain. Especially knowing what went on to get the boat captain.