Elite no help rule

Interesting for sure... i like it

https://www.bassmaster.com/randall-tharp/leveling-playing-field

That is prob one of the best bass fishing articles I have read. Not just because of the rule, but how he went on to explain the anglers

Good article

good read. I bet I know "who" still wants to get info... same guy who follows other anglers around(Elites/Classic/MLF) and its been well documented that he does.

I don't have a problem at all with the no info rule concerning waypoints, areas, etc. I never thought it was right that those guys could roll up to a lake and already have predetermined spots to fish because of local's advice. The main reason I was of this opinion was the fact that KVD, Swindle, Ike, etc (the cool kids) will always have more access to better information than the rookies.

Here is where I disagree with part of the no information rule. First, I think it's a safety issue. I personally spent time in the boat with an elite this past March on Rayburn showing him around. The main thing was he wanted to know how to run the lake and where the "safe" and "not safe" areas were. Just spending a half day with him allowed him to break down the lake so much faster because he was informed on what areas of the lake had hazards. Secondly, these guys are out there trying to build a fan base. They are trying to gain followers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. This obviously is part of the sponsorship game. Now these guys can't hang out with the locals and make friendships like they could in previous years. Yes, I understand they can still sit by the campfire with the local guys and visit, but it's not the same as before. In previous years, these anglers came to a lake and became a local for a given period of time. Of course, they were searching for information, but it gave them a common ground with every single person at the lake. This established friendships that could potentially lead further. If nothing else, it gained more "likes" on their Facebook page and more "followers" on their Twitter account. Now, it's just not going to be the same.

I get what the veterans of the sport did. With social media and so much networking available, these younger guys are able to get tons of info whereas in the past it took the veterans years to get. You can look at the results of the tournaments, and it's not as lopsided as it was 10-15 years ago as far as veterans stacked at the top. It doesn't take near as long for a rookie to make a name for himself as it previously did. The new guys have access to way more info than the old dudes did!

Good, bad or indifferent, the rule is there. I do feel for the newer guys that have never been on the Sabine. The veterans definitely have an advantage there simply because of the safety factor of running the river. I couldn't imagine never been on there, launching my boat and knowing I needed to explore 100+ miles of water without knowing a single tidbit of information as far as where the sandbars are, where those sunken shipwrecks are, etc.

Change is inevitable. Maybe this will turn out to be a great thing for BASS. We will have to just sit back and see.

One last thing - BASS Live still rocks! I get nothing done at work on Fridays during tournaments!

This isn't a safety issue. Everyone needs to quit turning professional sports into the YMCA.

If you don't know the lake don't run it. If you are a professional learn to run it in the allotted practice time. If you can't do that go home

I definitely like the rule but I'm not sure who they plan to fully enforce it. I'm sure most of the anglers will play by the rules though.

I do better when I find my own fish anyways. When I do get some info, I usually end up spending too much time trying to catch those fish. I'd much rather just go fish the conditions and figure out my own thing

Its became a big popularity contest

I know a little information can be good. I went to a Clark Reehm sonar class. He also show us how to use the graph to break down a cove and get rid of what he called dead water. He broke down a entire cove in about 2 minutes. Theses Elites don't need a bunch of information to catch a lot of fish. Theses guys are going to catch fish with or without any information, they are just that good. I think we look at it from our weakness. I learned a lot from Clark and a few guides on Fork [ I am by no means a great angler] but I can now go to a new lake with the new graphs and fine fish. I can only imagine how quick the experts can look at google maps and Navionics and break down a lake before they even get to the lake. Theses Elites are just so much better then the average guys or Guides for that matter. I think trying to compare what we know to theses Elites is like trying to compare our high school letter mens jacket to a NFL player. I do not think the rule is going to have a great effect either way.

This rule only helps the guys getting info. Guys who get info regularly bend the rules, which is known & never enforced. Guys who play by the rules don't have this advantage. Now it further handicaps law abiding citizen. Unless it's truly enforced.

B.A.S.S. is going to have to start polygraphing if this rule is to have any teeth for those who already bend the rules.

Great point.

They "randomly" polygraphed Luke Clausen. Lol

Kind of what I was talking about, Mr. Biggs. If they're known rule breakers, BASS should be "randomly" ploygraphing them and others.

The issue is it's the guys at the top. Bass doesn't want to poly the guys that represent their brand or their paying sponsors. The bigger the name the more guys want to help you.

Who?

I think they should just get rid of the rule completely. Everyone gather as much info as they can right up until its time to fish. Take all the uncertainty out of it and no one would be able to cheat the system. Just my 2 cents....

Duckett

I've said this for years. 100% agree because it's going to happen anyway.

I thought I was the only one who thought this. I think it's difficult to interpret and next to impossible to enforce. As soon as the schedule came out you had some Elites on Facebook asking what people thought about the schedule. Is that within the no venue or imformation rule? One would think so but someone might not. I am sure those in the series get more clarification on how BASS intends to handle the rule. Still a polygraph is based on what you think. You could be asked a question and have a unrational concern in your mind and fail a polygraph when you have done nothing wrong. Also everyone has seen people pass them and be guilty as sin because they don't know the truth.....Robbie Rose?

It's the Information Age. Let them get all they want. There is such thing as bad info where a guy would have been better off without it. In the Randal Tharp article he states that he feels that info isn't a factor in winning many Elite series tournament. Why be so concerned about it then? Some of them totally avoid it. They feel it takes them out of their game. They end up fishing someone else's memories on a technique that isn't their strength.

They should keep the off limits and once the schedule is announced they can't be on the lake at anytime with anyone outside their immediate family meaning wife, kids, girlfriend. No Edwin out with Terry Butcher. No getting waypoints either.

80% of them voted for it. It will be interesting to see how well it works.

Duckett works but was going to say Ike...

IMHO with this new rule in place we will all see the numbers of fish decline during the events. Fewer limits will be caught!

I was Boyd Duckett's judge on day one of the TBTF this year (just after the new rule was announced). I asked him why he thought the young college rookies were doing so well the last couple years. He said "its the new electronics and other electronic information, these young guys have grown up learning to use them and the older guys have not." "Although these electronics are available to us older guys we still have yet to rely on them as they do to find fish as they have." "Finding fish is 80% of the game, someone will always find them and win"! His response made me ask what he thought of the new No-Info rule. He said, "we will see more tourneys won by the new kids on the block than we are already, they're better with their electronics and will find fish us older guys can't."

Case in point---Dardanelle. Electronics played "ZERO" part in the win due to the heavy current and muddy main lake. Most all fish were caught in less than 10 feet of water in parts of that lake I did not know existed (Most less than 3-4 feet). I'm from Arkansas, I've fished Dardanelle for nearly 30 years. The new guys (and others) could not rely on electronics to find fish. So, it opened it up for those that find fish the ole fashioned way.

Having spent time on the water with 6 Elite Pros this year, none of which showed me anything I didn't already know. I have been fishing competitively for 26 years now and yes I have learned a lot during those years. From day one, I too thought the pros were above us average guys, hell they are at the top of the sport they have to be right! Take a look at the BASS opens, BLFs, etc. A local will beat the pants off the pros and for the simple reason he is a local and knows the lake better than the rest. Why was Keith Combs the favorite on Rayburn and Conroe this year just to bomb not only at the classic but the TBTF as well. He lives in Huntington TX, 10 minutes from the TBTF launch ramp and he guides on Rayburn as well. I spoke with him at the start of day 2 and 3, he was complaining that several guys had found his brush piles and refused to let him have them. Again finding fish is 80% of the game right!

I used to live in Clarksville, TN. and fished Barkley, and KY. lakes regularly. I entered an open benefit one day on Ky lake and was surprised to see Mark Menendez at the weigh-in with a near 30 lb bag. and lost out to another local guy who had over 30 lbs. Mark is not only a pro but he lives on Ky. lake!!

Another case-in-point--1994 Classic winner Bryan Kerchal, he was no pro, he was just the lucky guy who found the fish and beat the pants off the pros.

Look at this years classic winner Jordan Lee, third year as a pro and wins the classic! Is he better than the rest---He is good sure he is without a doubt but better than the rest?? He was just the lucky guy that found the fish!

There is another elite pro that has been with them for about 8 years now. He won 3 opens which got him to where he is now but has yet to finish better than 30th in the AOY standings and has never won an Elite event. Why is he still there?

I am not talking about a guy that goes bass fishing once or twice a month or only fishes in small club tourneys without practicing a lake. There are the "Working Men" out there that put their time on the water with years of experience and know-how that can beat the pros on his home water or on another lake where he put in his time and has located fish. It's my opinion that the pros are simply the guys who made the decision to fish full-time. They won a tourney on their way up which got them an invite to the elite series. These guys were the lucky winners that sponsors put money on. Are there non-pros out there that can beat these guys??? I think there are many of you out there that will agree----You bet there are!!

Spot on.