Respect on the water
Common courtesy could have prevented any ripples
By Steve BowmanTo read the original column, click here.
Seems like everyone has thoughts on GPS Pirates. Last week during the Bluegrass Brawl, this column centered on the frustrations of some of the professional anglers who were blatantly seeing anglers in other tournaments run up to them on the vast array of ledges on Kentucky Lake, punch in GPS codes and then spirit away.
It was a crazy deal, one that has produced a lot of opinions ranging from support to outright indignation. Obviously the sensibilities surrounding a subject like this are pretty touchy.
So I think it only fair I attempt to clear up a few of the misconceptions surrounding those words in my column.
To go back over the intent of that piece: It doesn't matter if you are a pro, an amateur tournament angler or a father sitting on the lake with his son for a fun day of fishing, no one should be subjected to having a boat run up to them mostly on plane so a yahoo can punch in a few GPS codes. Despite the unethical intent, that's downright unsafe and certainly indefensible by anyone.
We're past the point in society of respecting others. I had hoped that it wouldn't spill over so blatantly on our waters.
The meat of that column dealt with how if was affecting the pro anglers and the game they were playing. It was my bad it wasn't clearer that type of behavior shouldn't be tolerated by anyone, and I do mean anyone.
Somehow this became about spectators on the water enjoying watching their favorite competitors compete. Don't know how it became about that. But it did.
To be ultra clear, I'm a huge fan of spectator boats. Heck, most of the time I'm in one. They are a measure of the success of these anglers and the sport. They belong on the water and I love nothing more than seeing a throng of spectators — especially those with young kids in the boat — watching these professionals show how good they are.
I think it acceptable to watch a pro to learn how to fish your lake, to see how a guy is doing on your favorite area or to take your son or daughter for an enjoyable day. I can't even make a case against someone marking that spot on a map or a GPS for a future day. It's a different story when that activity takes place so a guy can utilize that knowledge in the middle of the event — and for their personal monetary gain.
I think that is wrong. I would write bad things about that. But I would also stand up, kick, scream and fight for a spectator to be on the water watching the pros.
Spectator boats do have an impact on the game. But so do fans at a basketball game or any other stick-and-ball sport. Some teams refer to their fans as the extra player on the field. But that is a collective extra player everyone has to deal with.
They cross the line, though, when they enter the field of play like some (probably just a few) folks did on Kentucky Lake. In another analogy, it's perfectly OK to sit in the stands behind the goal at a basketball game yelling at a player to miss a shot while waving those little squiggly things in the air, but something altogether different to run to the free throw line and try to block his shot, worse yet if that guy has money on the game.
That's more or less what that column was about.
To make things more clear, these pros don't own any water, anymore than you or I. But we all own the right to be treated with respect.
Some have even intimated that because they've heard about or know about a professional angler receiving help (within the confines of the rules) or that some yahoo pro full of himself has been disrespectful to spectators or pleasure anglers, that this return behavior should be accepted. I'm appalled by that thought.
There are plenty of goobers to go around in the world. Some make a living as professional anglers. And if his (or her actions) are disrespectful to anyone either on the water or off, it shouldn't be any more tolerated than the reverse. Disrespect shouldn't be tolerated by anyone. When it comes to the pros, Bassmaster, and Trip Weldon specifically, has shown repeatedly that bad behavior will not be tolerated. They only need to know about it. That is a controllable variable.
When disrespect occurs, it always creates unintended or misdiagnosed expectations. For instance, one big-time pro acts like a goober, then that means they must all be that way. That's not the case, obviously. When a few guys on the water decide to pirate some GPS coordinates from a pro, then a few more are suspected of doing the same.
That actually happened at Kentucky Lake. It set up some potentially ugly scenes and in at least one of those cases, the professional was wrong. All of it together created a lot of opinions, but at the crux of the whole thing is the indefensible actions of a few that created the situation.
It could have all been offset on every side by showing the simplest signs of respect.
To read the original column which spawned this follow-up, click here.
Click here to JOIN BASS!
