Spring 2022
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Everyone wants to win, but we don’t want to do at the cost of respect for one another.
CO’S TAKING PROS WATER
This comes up in Pro/Ams. An Am shouldn’t go out with a pro and the next thing you know that Am is fishing a pro’s water the next day with a top-10 angler. That’s not cool, either.
When an Am is with a pro, the information on location or what was being fish is not the Am’s info to share or to use.
ITS NOT JUST ON THE WATER
We all need to have common courtesy on the dock too. If you’re not ready to put in the water, pull off to the side. Don’t get in the way and block the launch ramp for boats that are ready.
Don’t park your rig in the way and go talk to your buddy, while others are trying to launch.
And don’t cut the line. We’re all want to get home or get in the water. We all have our own agenda, and our situation is important to us. No one’s is more important than someone else’s; so, don’t cut the line. Just take your turn as it comes.
I don’t recall this happening so much before I started traveling and I would hate to see this type of behavior as the new norm.
I remember watching Bassmaster and seeing Jay Yelas having a spot to himself. He didn’t have to practice on it, nobody went to fish on it. It was just respect. I would love to see that kind of respect out here in the West.
I was very surprised at the differences that I’ve seen out here with hole-jumping and launching, and I just want to give a reminder to everyone that we’re all here to do the same thing. If we don’t consider each other, have common courtesy, think of etiquette and ethics, we hurt the other angler as well ourselves and the sport in general.
With this in mind, let’s all get out there catch some fish, have some fun, win some money, and first and foremost have respect for one another. •
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