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All three of the guys I fished with were veterans of the sport of
professional bass fishing.
O.T. Fears, Walt Reynolds and Dwayne Horton all make their living
fishing and promoting
products for their sponsors. Each of them a gentleman and true sportsman.
During my four days on the water, I had the opportunity to visit
at length with each of these
gentlemen and learn more about the sport I love. I also had the
chance to witness some of the
"superstars" of bass fishing, young and old. What I saw
for the most part was good, but not all
of it.
Bass fishing on the professional level is fast becoming a "big
dollar" sport. The top prize for
winning the boater side of this tournament was $150,000. The top
prize for the non-boater was
$20,000. Not exactly chump change!
As with any sport, when you dangle a large amount of cash for first
place, you attract a great
deal of people. In fact, both the boater and non-boater side of
the remaining FLW tournaments
are full and have long waiting list to get in. Yours truly is on
two waiting list.
Although these tournaments draw the best bass fishermen in the industry,
there are also a
few that get in, that in my opinion, should stay at home. The people
I am talking about are the
folks who throw caution to the wind when operating their boats and
leave their manners at home,
if they have any in the beginning.
All to often, when I am fishing either for fun or in a tournament,
I have others pass by at warp
speed, throwing a wake that causes me to hang on or get wet. During
the peak fishing season,
it is no longer uncommon to be fishing a particular spot and have
a fellow angler move right on
top of the same spot, crowding others out, so to speak. In years
past this type of behavior was
seldom seen or tolerated. Unfortunately, it is becoming all too
common today.
What concerns me the most, is that it seems to be my generation
of bass fishermen that
are more responsible for this type of poor "fishing etiquette"
than the older generation of bass
fishermen. Could it be that we are not being taught the proper ways
of conducting ourselves on
the water, or are we simply not listening?
Please don’t get me wrong, I love bass fishing and love fishing
competitively in tournaments.
I credit bass fishermen and the Bass Angler’s Sportsmen Society
for bringing a great deal of
improvements to the sport of bass fishing. It is the bass fishermen
and their tournaments that
have revolutionized fishing throughout the world.
They promote catch and release; a form of conservation in its truest
sense, and they promote
boater safety. They have invented and introduced many products that
make our sport more fun
and safer for everyone; such as motor cut off switches, aerated
live wells, effective electronics,
rods, reels, lures, etc.
In our quest to be successful fishermen, let us keep in mind a few
important points that will
make everyone’s day on the water more enjoyable and safer.
1. Operate
your boat in a safe, courteous and professional manner at all
times.
When you come upon another boat, slow down.
2. If
someone is fishing a spot that you wanted to fish, wait until
that individual
finishes and leaves, don’t try crowding them
out.
3.
Treat your fellow anglers and boater as you would like to be treated,
with
courtesy and respect.
4. Prepare
you boat and supplies prior to getting on the boat ramp so other
won’t
have to wait an unnecessarily long time.
By following these few tips, I can guarantee you will enjoy your
day on the water more, as
will others. Common courtesy and sportsmanship still count for something.
As a youngster I
remember seeing signs all over our State saying, Drive Friendly,
hopefully we won’t need signs
on our lakes saying, Fish Friendly.
Until next time,
enjoy the Texas outdoors.
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