Jeff Sprague

https://majorleaguefishing.com/bass...-pro-tour-stage-one-penalty-for-sprague/

What a day

Tag Randy Flowers

I’d love to hear the details on how this came to light…. It’s been 5+ months so I’m guessing it wasn’t a case of the angler coming forward and admitting the violation.

well thats vague...

There is a thread on another forum with screenshots of text where he was soliciting the info.

I would like to see this...

http://www.bbcboards.net/showthread.php?t=1190178

Hmmm there is a pattern with this guy.

Looks like Flowers outed him yesterday.

I will say this, I am pretty good buddies with one of the MLF guys and was on a hunt last year with him and a tacklewarehouse pro circuit guy on the same hunt. They take this rule pretty serious. Sure they sit around and talk fishing and maybe some technique but even then they're pretty tight lipped on that too. The tacklewarehouse guy asked about one lake he had coming up this year and before anyone could even take a breath, he instantly just said "don't say anything, sorry I even asked" realizing his mistake. Silence for a minute and it was left at that. This no info rule is no joke among these guys, but I guess if it was my livelihood, I would probably take it pretty serious too.

On a side note, a few years ago, I kind of remember in one of jacob wheelers youtube videos he showed on camera him picking up a lake card from someone else. It was a CMAP card and he talked about how good CMAP was but just seemed odd he was getting it from someone of random and not ordering a fresh card. I always wondered about this when I watched that video. I aint about to go and try and dig it up with all the videos hes posted since then.

They relaxed that rule this year during the event but there for sure is a no info period before the event still.

what do you mean relaxed the rule? So is there a certain time sharing info is ok? Like months before the event? It was awkward when it happened last year on the hunt and in some ways kinda ticked me off, i wanted to know where the honey holes or the points were on the lake too. I am just a fun fisherman and any info I can get from dudes, who are far better than me, is always a plus in my book. Obviously I didn't press the matter any because I would never jeopardize anyone's livelihood.

Anglers used to could not talk about what they were doing to each other during and event, considering almost all of them room together that made it very difficult. They can now talk fishing as long as it is generalized I believe, no specific locations.

Anyone know if the Randy Flowers screenshots of Spragues text messages on obtaining info are legit?

Sprague has a side job and works for a guy from my area who is also a long time tour pro currently on the Pro Circuit. We have a mutual friends who swear he isn’t a bad guy but man he gets himself into some predicaments.

Wasn’t he the one who allegedly snagged a bed fish at fork and hid it from the camera so they couldn’t see the hook outside the mouth? If so, this added with that isn’t a good look for any pro angler.

Really?! Don't know him, never met him but he comes off as an azhat on camera.

Yes

Sounds like he taught a kid or two about baskets.....

So he gets DQ but wheeler and connel just pay fines for getting info. Hum ok.

At least that's what I've been told by a fellow BPT competitor of theirs

Ya I kind of don't agree with this as well. If Wheeler and Connel weren't such big names, wonder if their consequences would of been a little more.

Is he Josh and Joe’s Byron Nelson team Boat captain?

, might matter if anyone actually watched it.

What…I thought only the young generation did these types of things. Ban him for life, take away his license, and let him take up golf…gotta catch this stuff early.

He seems to always be in the drama, and never for a good reason.

It’s funny they have a no info rule. They literally broadcast info all day, every day of their tournaments.

you must be Josh's grandfather, the one that captained him and taught him to be a dishonest cheater

LOL…I’m not sure who Josh is but it sounds like you have the world figured out. Am I wrong that there seems to be a difference in the outrage? Hypocrisy much???

I think one is tangible since it's a local event and the other is on a national level.

Sprague needs to give those HS kids a big thank you for keeping the heat off of him for this time he got caught cheating. Two years in a row he’s been caught. What will it be next year? Think it’s time for him to go.

Made me spit my coffee out!

Jason Lambert is claiming MLF has had the texts since February. Looks like they only DQ’d him cause they went public, or just now making the DQ publicly known. Either way they really didn’t want this getting out.

The organizations try there best to keep this stuff outa site bc they don't want the bad press and sponsors seeing it. I was there when the Tony Christian stuff went down and was disgusted with the way the whole thing shook out. I understand why but don't agree at all. I think if u make examples outa people when they are caught red handed it will cut down on it in the future. My opinion is IF the first time could be seen as a mistake then give a second chance but at the top level twice should be enough to drop someone. The problem is there has been alot of this over the years that got covered up and it's hard to lines at this point. If u pay attention though some guys that used to really catch them sure don't perform like they used to when they changed organizations.

You think this could be one of the reasons many have made the switch back to the elites?

Well Lambert is about to get kicked out of the BPT anyways, that game don't suit his style. I wonder if he fishes the Opens next year along with the Pro Circut?

I know for a fact a few were over some of this stuff. BASS has always been more cut and dry on rules and will dq anyone no matter who u are.

Ya i do appreciate the elites a little more in this regard.

This has been going on in the Elite series way before there was a thing as MLF. No one is leaving MLF over it.

Yeah I'm sure I'm way off! LOL!

yea i cant go there. ive been banned forever for calling Al a tyrant....

When FLW started there was a mass exodus from Bassmaster, history repeats itself.

I cant give Sprague a pass on this.

IMO the text messages show a willful intent to breaknthe rules. He didnt accidentally cross an invisible boundary or have another amgler casually offer unsolicited advice.

This guy was happy to receive anything the locals had to offer, and he knew he was breaking the rules.

So MFL does not consider this cheating, fraud, or theft. Just a rule violation, to the tune of 30K, once he got caught. Also he is looking forward to finishing this season and many successful coming seasons with MFL. I'm thinking maybe the other MFL guys might want to change their strategy.

You were there during all of that? I followed it as it all came out. Pretty wild deal and like our local guy went on way too long.

Yes standing there when they escorted him off the stage and arrested him. To bad they just let him go. His boat was pretty trashed before he got outa Morgan City. It woulda kept going if it wasn't for one angler who really dug into the numbers and called FLW. That was what started the investigation. Crazy how no co angler ever said a word. It was obvious!

You loose your “Good Guy Sainthood Status” when you come clean and apologize……AFTER you get busted!

I agree with sprigsss..................................personally, I will not be supporting Sprague sponsors such as Lew, Strike King, etc any longer. I'm sure that won't matter to them-

Are you guys kidding? I hope so. That seems like a pretty extreme reaction. I'm not throwing all my TVs in the trash because they are from China. Sprague is a bunny rabbit compared to China.

I can't either, somehow we were talking about memphis and my vacation and I all of a sudden turned to a racist.

My ban is quite funny.... it states Reason: "Not even worth stating"

Started a new name the next day, made it known how I felt, had outpouring of messages of support and multiple people asked me to just reach out to Al and tell him it was all a miscommunication, I put one more message up, and got that one banned in less than 24 hours. Forums are for opinion and healthy arguments. NOT on that forum, if you don't agree, they just ban you.

Makes me wonder how much more of this is going on and just haven't been caught. Makes me wonder if that is why there is a select 20 usually always towards the top? Also, you thought it was hard enough to become a professional angler.... it just got harder, better start teaching kids to cheat at a young age if they want to chase their dreams......

Maybe baskets was all part of the game plan, getting caught never is.

I feel sorry for Tharp and Crochet. They'll be on the "cheaters" team.

Are they fishing with Wheeler or Connell.

I’ll never shop at Academy again and I have never bought a googan bait, and never will for sure.

Intentionally breaking a rule to win is cheating. In this case they are winning money. IMO it is a crime and should be treated no differently putting fish in a laundry basket.

Would love to hear his explanation, don’t see how the tour could let him continue to fish with them, or how other anglers are willing to do so.

I watched him throw a tantrum on an old mlf rerun the other day. Kinda turned me sour towards him and I didn’t even know about his cheating history

This is comical to me… y’all ready to boycott sponsors for an angler breaking a rule set by the trail… not a law, a trail rule. Remember this next time you hear about pros struggling to find sponsors from within the industry. Get as mad as you want and hate the angler as much as you want, but how dumb to target the few companies willing to spend their money sponsoring fishermen.

This^^^

For those that don’t understand sarcasm,

Wheeler and Connell were caught seeking lake information too, and they were fined a few bucks. No DQ no adjustments in standings. The new American standard rules that only apply to some.

They are “stars” supposedly, well one is, the other is far from it. I’ll continue to shop at Academy but have never and will never buy a bait from Googan.

To be fair, its been that way with MLF since inception. Theyve always been about the final product, the rest is just behind the scenes of the tv show.

Agree. To do this, MLF needs professional anglers that are willing to give up their integrity.

Sounds like typical "selective" politics... it's not what you know, it's who you bl$W. It's very interesting that the same rule only applies when the ruling few decide to enforce them. Im sure ol Sprague doesnt give two shats what anyone here thinks as he's depositing those checks. Just from stats I have looked at, he's making quite a bit of bank! More than most doctors I know in the ER Realm. The tantrum comment is moot, as I know everyone has a "moment". It's a lot less for me as I age, but I will still stomp the h$ll out of that trolling motor pedal when it messes up! Not making any excuses for the guy, but at least keep the enforcement level with everyone. Those kind of actions dilute the integrity of the business as a whole. I still enjoy watching any of the pro tours that are online, as I mirror to my TV when I'm bored on the couch. That hasn't been very often the last couple years due to the political flu inundating the ER with swabs every time a person coughs.

Luke Dunkin dropped some good stuff on his podcast. The other MLF guys are pissed off the only reason MLF did anything was because Randy Flowers blew him up on facebook. MLF would of swept it under the rug if the texts did not get out as they had the texts since February.

I don't really understand the way many of you seem to just dismiss this as something less than blatant cheating. This was a complete disregard for the rules. The no info rules certainly have some grey areas. Sometimes you get into situations just being around other anglers that you are going to have info floated that you didn't ask for. I think every angler understands that. This however was a blatant disregard for the rule entirely. The proof is all in writing. MLF should have acted on this the second they had knowledge of it. The fact that they did not makes me question the integrity of the organization. In my eyes this is no different than someone putting fish in a basket before a tournament. Both are an attempt to steal money from other competitors in the tournament. I really don't see how you can look at it any other way. The fact that it took this long to enforce the rule leads me to believe that it was only pressure from the other anglers that forced them to act. MLF clearly wanted to just sweep this under the rug and never talk about it again. I commend the anglers that had some backbone and took this public.

If this is the first thing they have done, that makes you question their integrity, then you don’t pay attention to the tournament world very much.

He is and always will be labelled a CHEATER. A mistake is one thing but both of his are obvious and blatant. He should be fined $100k on top of the $30k given back and suspended for a year or dropped from the BPT.

Exactly my opinion.

I would like to know the circumstances for Wheeler and Connells fine. Did they overhear info and not ask someone to stop providing info, or did they too actually solicit info from someone? IMO there is a pretty big difference. Sounds like Sprague was given a map with specific areas to target and presentations to try.

I too do not understand how intentionally breaking a rule to win money is legal, but putting fish in a basket is not legal? Putting fish in a basket alone isn't illegal. People keep fish in baskets all the time for days at a time until they get a mess to clean. Nothing illegal about that. It only becomes illegal when you enter those fish into a tournament and those fish were caught outside tournament hours.

What Sprague did was violate a rule he pledged to uphold with honor and integrity. The fish he weighed in were not previously caught by him or anyone else. He still had to catch them, no guarantee this would happen with or without the best of information. No law broken. His accountability for this rule infraction is dictated by the powers to be at MLF. Sometimes the MLF reminds me of Saturday Night Wrestling. I still say it is why some good anglers have left.

He’s a cheater, plain and simple.

Its not against the law to put fish in a basket either...........

Its not against the law to put fish in a basket either...........

It is not against the law as you said to put fish in a basket. It is breaking the law if you bring the fish from the basket, that were caught before the tournament, to weigh-in. No defense here from me. Cheating plain and simple as stated above, just not illegal. This is how MLF rolls.

Yes, it is (in Texas)... as it relates to tournaments - Texas 66.023:

It’s 100% against the law to represent that fish as caught in the tournament. Which was their intent.

Exactly, but The act itself doesn’t have to be illegal. They broke a tournament rule by weighing in a fish caught outside tournament hours. Same argument can be made in both cases. No laws were broken right up to the point they defraud the tournament. I fail to see the difference. The crime is defrauding the tournament by breaking the rules, not putting fish in a basket or soliciting info.

Some rules are unintentionally broken, misinterpreted, etc. intentionally breaking any rule to get an edge is cheating, plain and simple.

If a law was broken by defrauding the tournament, why no charges and only a DQ? Is MLF above the law? Intentionally breaking any rule to get an edge is cheating, plain and simple as you say, but not criminal?

Good Question.

Ya'll seem to think MLF has the ability to criminally charge someone, lol. Everyone here keeps citing Texas' criminal code. This occurred in Louisiana. I don't know Lousiana law, but it would entirely be up to a Lousiana DA/law enforcement entity.

I typically try to stay on the topic at hand. That's generally the way a forum works. I didn't realize that I had to bring up every questionable move MLF has ever made in order to qualify my comment. You want me to make a list or something? You know.....to prove I'm paying attention?

This has nothing to do with criminal liability. Nascar doesn't prosecute a driver for a rules violation neither does the PGA or any other sport. It should be self governed and punishment comes from the ruling organization running the event. When there are certain circumstances and a proven intent that falls under fraud laws then some states will prosecute the crime. A rules violation that doesn't concern trapping or transporting fish with the intent to win money would never hold up.

Sprague stole $30,0000 from his competitors. That’s pretty dang criminal.

Yes he definitely stole from the 79 other competitors and the fantasy folks that might have picked the actual winners. So there’s that money that might have been won by someone. Everyone says they hate a thief then we have guy’s on here defending him tooth and nail. Guess their agenda is to get this to fade away because they will be losing something.

Here you go! Winner.

LOL! It's a fact! If u would have read my other comment u would have seen I said he is and always will be labeled a cheater and should be banned. So genius u should use some common sense before u start making smarta** comments! But hey I'm sure u have way more experience in the situation than I do. Ha Ha.

*If MLF knew and did nothing - shame on them. That's [censored].

Yes it is! They had the messages since Feb when the tourny took place

Excuse me sir, I'm no genius, but maybe you should take your own advice and read MY comments before you assume I have no common sense and make smart-[censored] remarks. If you did, you would see that I totally agree with you on your post. My post was not sarcastic and I don't see where you got that? Wow. Take a breath buddy.

Sorry took "winner" as being sarcastic. My bad.

HDVS, no problem, we good.

Hes just the only one that got caught Id bet a large percentage of his competitors have done it plenty. Shouldn't even have the rule... its a joke.

Well, can you blame them? At this point its worth it because theres no telling how much money people win and the fine isnt that much and if your one of the bigger names it will most likely be swept away. I think the rule is ok but the enforcement has to be level and strict. Incidents like this will only lead to more guys thinking they have to do it to compete or that its worth the risk. Especially the guys that are on the fence about it being right or not

There is a reality here. You can be mad at Jeff, I personally know him and he is a great guy, but MLF is going to make up the rules as they go along, just like their requalifying procedures to protect guys past their prime. Wheeler got caught and not one word , not one suspension etc. was dealt. I do know about the DC incident but he is Wheeler's roommate so it should surprise no one. You can say this happens at BASS but you cannot give me a recent example. You know why ? BASS would publicize it, and MLF does not. MLF had to publicize this because it got out. MLF is in the business or reality television and keeping sponsors happy. Toro, Lews, Strike King, NGK Sparkplugs etc would not be happy if he was kicked out for the rest of the season etc. Same thing if they did this to Wheeler years ago. This will happen on your favorite high school football team this season across our state. The star player that gets a 68 will be rounded up to passing to play Friday night. The non athlete will get a 68 with no round up.

Trying to justify breaking rules bc someone else did is BS! A persons integrity and reputation should mean more to that person than that. We should hold each other in this sport higher bc alot of this is self governed like golf. The info rule is clear and he knowingly broke it and without a doubt it's not the first time much less the snagging incident. So great guy or not he should find a new career bc a cheater is a cheater and being the one that got caught isn't an excuse! It's a cop out.

His livescope was broke so he was just trying to even the odds.

Watched most of this last night. Zach Birge did not pull any punches. Here's the link if you are interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbCV5H2P97A

+1

In addition, he sheds light on how few people know the regulations, including those that enforce them.
Also touches on some of the behind the back underhandedness.
Sounds like there are a lot of rules with some of them being questionable along with an infrastructure that can improve the culture of infraction reporting, communication, and resolution.

Listened to the Luke Dunkin podcast

Sounds like shady business by MLF. Wouldn’t be shocked to see several of those guys leave and go back to BASS.

This is a very emotional topic along with those kids and the laundry basket.

After following this topic:

MLF is to blame for not enforcing the rules until the issue apparently went public.
Who knows what else has gone on that we don't know about or behind closed door discussions.
JS knowingly cheated and that is wrong but again, see above.
If we don't know what has really gone on behind closed doors, doesn't this fall on MLF?

If you want to punish JF, shouldn't we be punishing MLF for not handling correctly?
If you want to go the sponsor boycott route, MLF is the real issue.

For example, I have disagreed with the NFL and the kneeling and woke nonsense so I quit watching. Haven't seen a game in years. My choice and I live with it and it is not my job to convince anyone to watch or not watch. What used to make America the greatest country in the world was people here could have different opinions, discuss them, and not get so emotional.

Regardless of what you think about JS, MLF handled the situation with the punishment they felt was right and regardless of how we feel personally, they alone should experience the consequences of that decision.

When someone cheats, everyone loses... the cheater, his sponsors, his fans, the entire industry.

When you get caught you blame 79 competitors in a meeting and not apologize for anything.

No. You blame MLF for not handling it to your expectations. Everyone agrees that JS cheated. Everyone is arguing over his punishment or lack thereof....

Address the punishment with the authority that is dishing out the punishment. No one said there was or wasn't a meeting. We don't know but we can only speculate there had to be some type of communication IF MLF knew about the issue but did not take action until it was public. Maybe the meeting was with JS and MLF management. Who knows?

No one is blaming the remaining anglers for anything.

The issue is did he get what was deserved. He cheated, he got caught, and he received punishment. Whether that punishment is adequate to everyone reading this thread is up to their own opinion.

The penalty does not match the seriousness of the rule violation. Every serious tournament angler - past or present - knows this.

You all now have good data points on what kind of tournament angler Jeff is and on the integrity of the tournament organization.

Only if the punishment dictates that. I dont know what he made in winnings but the loss of the punishment could be small compared to the reward of cheating. Seems it may open up MLF to a lawsuit as well if they dont handle each incident with the same actions.

I wouldn't expect any lawsuits. That would be like "biting the hand that feeds you"

Obviously this is not a good thing I do not support Jeff. On this post who has not got info on a lake for a tournament. Rules are rules and he should be punished. So next time YOU get info foe a tournament remember that! other wise you are a hypocrite.

Yes, if you cheat and you call Jeff a cheater, then you are a hypocrite. Are you implying most tournaments have a no info rules? If so, are you saying most willfully break it? I really doubt thats the case, or at least i hope not.

Well my local bass club doesn’t have that rule


Sounds like if yours does, you’ve been willfully cheating.

funny to see the two that have been in question, and roommates, have absolutely run away with todays championship round. Makes me question a lot of things watching todays tournament.

If Connell and Wheeler are cheating I would say the rest of those guy’s better join em.

If he wasn't damaged goods before he is now for sure, I wonder if he tried to enter a BASS event if they would event let him fish?

Isn't it about time for this thread to go away!!!...................just saying......

Jeff....is that you ?

I honestly think Jeff Sprague isn't the bigger story here.

Did anyone watch the Dunkin/Birge interview?


So Sprague is caught breaking rules red handed. MLF does nothing until months later when the evidence becomes public. He received a DQ. No fine, no suspension for intentionally breaking a rule for financial gain, i.e. cheating IMO.

Birge informs the tournament director that he will miss a portion of a tournament. This decision only effects him personally, and gives a slight edge to all other competitors as they have 1 less fisherman to compete against.

Birge is informed he will be fined up to $25,000, AND receive a suspension.


So if you cheat, no fine, no suspension.

Want to miss a tournament or a portion of a tournament, Fine + Suspension.


I don't know why anyone wants to fish for this league.

couple issues here. Sprague is a cheater and got away with it for along time and MLF is a POS organization which anyone with half a brain knows anyhow . They say he stole 30K........hell they probably didn't even have the money to pay him that yet anyhow after what they did last year.

Not hardly.................

Your take?

Bass fishing at all levels from bass clubs to the elites has turned into a lot of drama. I think this is why you see turnouts so low this year (as well as the economy) and I think next year you will see a record low number of turnouts for tournaments. It wasnt like this 10 years ago.

Sorry Rh...I was responding to Tiltman.

Some of you are missing the point here. JS is the problem on here. MLF, BASS, BASS CHAMPS, TTT, TTO, OUTAW, SEALY, or whatever comes to our back yard or state we will fish because it's something to fish.
JS has 2 strikes Snagging, Info. To me the sight fishing is a drug to nearly all of us in Texas, we all seen the LF Live it was very obvious, to me that was 10 times worse than the info gate.
JS is from Texas and represents what we all are so proud of that lone star is beside his name which none of us are proud of. JS is representing our, state, towns, lakes us even. THATS WHY EVERYONE CAN'T GET OVER THIS and I don't blame them.

The BPT anglers should catch Ol’ Snaggin’ going into his hotel room and beat him with a pillow case full of bars of soap. Bet he won’t cheat again.