If that's cheating, exactly who is it that's being cheated? If you enjoy fishing and do it legally, more power to you - regardless of the methods you use. A fisherman is a fisherman is a fisherman, regardless of the techniques they use and I like talking to all of them. I could easily get all philosophical about this subject, but who wants to read all that crap?

Having said all that, I must confess that I'm about as hardcore as they come when it comes to bass fishing. I wouldn't be caught dead with live bait in my boat. To my way of thinking, it's just not sporting. The pleasure I get from bass fishing is from tricking them with some cleverly crafted piece of plastic or wood.
If they were to pass a law tomorrow stating that bass could only be caught on live bait, I would have to sell every piece of fishing gear I own. Both boats, 18 rods and reels, all my cold weather gear, lake maps, old magazines, electronics, enough crankbaits to open a tackle shop, more soft plastics than I could use up in 5 years - it would all be meaningless.
Wow! Come to think of it, does anyone know of a twelve step program for this addiction?