With the advances in electronics and other tools (mapping, etc) there is no longer any such thing as a secret hole. If you find a hole and catch fish on it I can almost guarantee you that someone else has already been there and will be back.

Never, ever bet a tournament on one hole. The wind may be blowing the wrong way, someone else may be on it, or they may just stop biting. Always have a backup and a backup for the backup, etc. You get the idea.

I don't believe there is anyone here on this forum that would not go to a hole simply because they had seen someone else catch fish there. Everyone would make a mental note and check it out at a later date when the opportunity arose. Is there anything wrong with that? I don't think so. Remeber that everyone has to learn how to fish a spot. Just because you catch fish there, don't mean that everyone can.

Good fishermen do not win tournaments by having the best hole. They win by knowing how to pattern fish and make the adjustments necessary to stay on top of them and to change when the fish do. It's all about the pattern - not the spot.

If I'm fishing a tournament and I know old so and so fishes in a certain spot, and he is fishing the same tournament I probably wouldn't go there. If he's not fishing, I might. It just depends on whether or not the spot fits the pattern I have worked out before every tournament. On top of that I would not fish a spot in a tournament without practicing it first. Does that now make it mine?

This really sounds like small potatoes to me. Just remember that if you are fishing a tournament you have to plan for every contingency, which includes your starting spot being covered up.

Daniel,

How do you expect any of us to catch any fish than if we can't fish "your spots" ?

One need look no further than the Bassmaster Elite Series for that very thing BMCD. On a lake that fishes small, those guys will end up on top of one another in two or three key areas. The Classic on the Delta this year was a prime example. Given a couple days of practice, most good anglers will identify the same areas/schools of fish. They'll all stay away from it until tournament day thinking they found something no one else had. Then come tournament day, 8 boats end up on the same deal.