Etiquette or NOT?

[RoadToad]

OK here is an analogy.. YES you have the right to catch a Home Run Ball at Reds Stadium, but it is considered bad manners to do so if the fielder has a chance to catch it..

LMAO. Sorry, Jim, ya shoulda quit while you were ahead. This analogy's worse than the first one. It's not just "bad manners," it'll get you arrested!

WHEN YOU Play for real you expect the fun players to yield as YOU would.
Jim Dicken

Translation (correct me if I'm wrong): When you fish in a tournament, you expect non-tournament fisherman to yield to you. I do respect you, for what you've done for the local fishermen, but we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.

[MrSplitshot]

I think this incident boils down to one word: INTENT

What was the intent of the "Good Ole Boys?"

If the intent of the Good Ole Boys was to run blocker, interfere with the tournament, and see if they could one-up some of the tourney anglers by fishing a spot they knew the tourney boys would be coming to, keeping fish in front of them for the heck of it so that they couldn't catch them, etc....then yeah....screw'em. It's absolutely their right to do it, but they're being assholes.

But intent is a tough nut to crack, because everyone's stories seem to differ.

Etiquette is another argument entirely. I'm a heck of a nice guy if I do say so myself...and if somebody came up to me on the water and asked nicely if they could squeeze in with me on a spot, slide around me and hit a bank before I do, then absolutely...come on in. I don't care whether it's a Ranger, a two-man boat, or a jon boat full of Boy Scouts. Now if you come flying in, crowd me up, and act like you own the place, Mr. Nice turns into Mr. Not-So-Nice real fast and I'll initiate a reality check one way or the other.

If I move from a spot that I had first, or give up a bank, or give up a cove, I'll do it because I WANT TO. Not because somebody thinks I HAVE TO because they are entitled to a public spot more than I am. I bought my license, my gear, my boat, my truck, gassed up both, got up early, and drove here just like you did. You're not entitled to jack squat. Be nice to me, I'll be nice right back.

Intent boys, intent...what was the intent? Judge them by that.

(sidebar: I don't like the Good Ole Boy label. I happen to like Good Ole Boys. I don't really like the "Tourney Guy" label either...there's a lot of those guys that I like too. Everyone on the water with a rod and reel is an angler and it really ought to end at that. Some fish from the bank, some fish from big shiny fiberglass boats, some fish from jon boats, two-man boats, float tubes, canoes, they wade, they fish artifical bait, they fish live bait, whatever...they're all fishing public waters and every single one of us ought to respect that. PRO race car drivers compete on a private track...PRO baseball players compete on a private field...PRO fishermen compete right out in the middle of public waters with the public. It would be akin to holding the Daytona 500 on I-75 and watching Tony Stewart pass a minivan in the right lane at 193mph...that would probably cause a little conflict and questions about etiquette. Unless you come up with a way to close down a waterway to the public for a tournament, similar to the way they close down a golf course to the public when the PROS are there competing, there will always be conflicts and differences of opinions on etiquette between the PROS and the NOT-PROS.)