“A True Pro”

I saw this quote by IKE and thought it was worth posting. He’s talking about having boat troubles the first 2 days of the Classic.

“That can’t happen at the Bassmaster Classic. I said (onstage) something that we’ve all been saying behind closed doors for years. Eventually, for this sport to be a true pro sport, we have to fish out of our own rigs every tournament day, including the Bassmaster Classic. It’s like asking Tiger Woods to use someone else’s clubs, or Jeff Gordon to drive someone else’s car. This is a pro sport, and we should use our own equipment.”

I remember him saying that on stage this year. At first I thought it was not a real appreciative to the sponsors. Triton, Mercury, and Toyota throws a lot of money out there at the Classic. Of course it is to their gain in the long run
But, I can also see where Ike is coming from in wanting to use their own equipment. But, my question is, why do Pro’s not want to use Sponsor boats for the tourney? Seriously, I don’t quite understand it
One other thing I thought was pretty good was all the Pro’s were allowed to wear the shirts of their respective boat sponsor, even though they were using the Tritons.

Seriously……they don’t use their own boat? Are they provided by sponsors? I just always assumed they used their own.

Each Angler at the Classic is put into identical Triton boats.

last year Ike messed up the livewells b/c he wasn’t familiar with their system….Sounds like this year he just had mechanical problems….

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why do Pro’s not want to use Sponsor boats for the tourney

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I would rather use my own boat. Things are setup the way you want and you are familiar with everything on your own boat. Put me in a different boat and I dont’ know where anything is or have a overall feel for the boat…etc. Even the feel of a motorguide -vs- Minnkota would probably bother me…

I am not that familiar with Bass Tourneys. Do they use their own rods and reels ? or all the same ? I don’t know. Seems odd, they would all have to use the same rig.

big g

Do the pro’s use the sponsor boats for the practice days, or just during the actual tourney?

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Things are setup the way you want and you are familiar with everything on your own boat. Put me in a different boat and you dont’ know where anything is or have a overall feel for the boat…etc

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Yeah, that does makes sense. I was thinking if they used the boats at practice, it would give them a chance to get a feel for the boat. But, using your own boat would give you the “comfort” factor though.
Now, do you feel using a sponsor boat is a big factor in their performance at the Classic?

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Now, do you feel using a sponsor boat is a big factor in their performance at the Classic?

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If it breaks down…yes…lol

If it breaks down, they have boats ready for substitution. Not sure how that would work out if the anglers used their own boats.

There are pluses and minuses to that situation. I believe the way it’s handled now is best. It’s not like they are thrown into the boat without any instruction.

What about electronics? Are they allowed to hang whatever units they want? This would be the biggest issue for me.

I’d think the boats are set up to be exactly the same. Electronics included.

Not that I fish BASS but this is something I am pretty familiar with. No, you don’t get to change electronics, etc. The boats all have the same electronics and it takes some time getting use to. At the FLW Championship this year I still got to run a Ranger/Evinrude but the kicker was a tiller steer, not remote throttle/steer that I was used to. In addition they had on Lowrance Electronics verusus the Humminbird I run. You do get to transfer your data but you may be running electronics you are not familiar with. So, there is definetly a disadvantage to the system but we all know what we are getting into when we sign up for the events.

They do have a camera boat and a follow boat with you at all times, so if you break down, there is another boat there for you.

In my opinion Ike stated it well. I was a golf professional for years. (Take it easy on me boys.) I worked my a$$ off to become comfortable with the equipment I chose for the season. If I had shown up at the first tee with somthing new, it would have been trouble. IMO comfort plays a huge key in mental preperation. I can see that guys may loose focus besause they are worried about how well they know there equipment.

At the same time Scott makes a great point. They all know what they’ve signed up for when the enter the event. If there not prepared thats there own fault. One would think they would learn they equipment before tournament day.

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One would think they would learn they equipment before tournament day.

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That is a very good point chriss. We all know the boats this year have Lowrance Electronics on, we have time to get familiar with them.

One other thing that gets overlooked is gas mileage. I know how hard and far I can run my boat on a tank of gas, but when you are running someone else’s that becomes and issue. Most lakes we fish do not have gas on the water.

Maybe Champman can tell us what the thinks – having fished the classic last year. Would you have rather been in your Champion?

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Would you have rather been in your Champion?

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Slop, I don’t know anyone that “would rather” fish in a strange boat. Obviously everyone would rather fish in their own boat, but we know the rules when we sign up for the event….that is how it works.

Until anglers quit signing up for events, it won’t change because sponsor money is what drives these events.

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One would think they would learn they equipment before tournament day.

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That is a very good point chriss. We all know the boats this year have Lowrance Electronics on, we have time to get familiar with them.

One other thing that gets overlooked is gas mileage. I know how hard and far I can run my boat on a tank of gas, but when you are running someone else’s that becomes and issue. Most lakes we fish do not have gas on the water.

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Scott, that was by no means a shot at anyone. So I hope it wasn’t taken that way.

I didn;t even think about gas. Great point. Fortunatly for me, anything gets better mailage than my carbed 225.

Just curious for all you guys that fish tournaments (big tournaments)…if it’s okay to standardize the boat and electronics, why not also standardize the rods, reels and lures? Really ‘even the field’ and make it about talent…not just technique

(yes, I know why they don’t do it this way)…Just seems to me that if you really want to figure out ‘who’s best’ you should remove as many variables as possible.

Disclaimer: the above is offered ‘tongue in cheek’ and should be read with a modicum of sarcasm…as if it really weren’t just about the money…

I am also looking at it from another angle. If I were to make the Classic, and they told me we were all going to be fishing in a 16′ tin can with a 25 horse tiller (with a livewell of course ), I would be happy. Just the fact that I made it there is a HUGE accompolishment. Which brand of boat got me there or the brand I would have to fish the Classic in would have no bearing. I won’t even start with the electronics issue, I can get mine turned on and change pages, but after that I am lost, so it wouldn’t be any different

I think they should run their own boats too, but when $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$44 is the deciding factor, you know what happens.

The worst part would be having to use the MotorGuide!

Why do they limit them to two tackle boxes of lures? I can see the issue with the boats but tackle limits? That seems like they are going a little to far.

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Maybe Champman can tell us what the thinks – having fished the classic last year. Would you have rather been in your Champion?

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it didn’t matter to me either way, and we all had to play by the same rules- 10 rods, two tackle bags. it comes down to who is best mentally prepared, and being able to adapt to any situation the quickest. the boat doesn’t catch the fish, well, maybe i’ve said that before

Jim, were the tackle bags supplied? If not, I could see some guys coming with awfully big “bags”. I mean, Frost’s weighs 75 pounds, and isn’t even that big!

bags were supplied- no frosty bags aloud

How many mooseknuckles could you fit in one of those bags? You know the old saying “You can never have too many mooseknuckles”.

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the boat doesn’t catch the fish, well, maybe i’ve said that before

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I heard you say this before… you were serious about that? Crud… And to think I invested in the (best) Ranger!

“Frosty bags”… they typically weigh more than the guy!

Not a tournament guy but the so-called additional equipment, like the Tiger Woods analogy, adds and not distracts from these tournaments. If someone changed my electronics, type of livewell, trolling motor, etc., I would be lost for awhile.

I just can’t imagine being in a major tournament and fishing from a boat, without electronics and everything else you may have never used before.

Allow me first to say to Chriss, I’ve had to golf with you for a day and you my friend may have been a golf professional but you are NO golf PRO!!!! LOL Just giving you a bad time! Chriss can hit that stupid white ball a mile and actually know where it is going! Best golfer I’ve ever golfed with!

As far as the classic goes I think the issue I would have is the electronics. One brand vs another, then the foot pedal of the trolling motor. I have a recessed petal, (I know they do in the Triton BUT) if you gave me a boat without one I’d go crazy! How about running with or without a hot foot. How about how you organize your office. What if for the biggest meeting of your life I made you switch offices then said, go get em!

I like IKE, there I said it, I agree with him! I think he was willing to say what others have felt for years! I’ll never get to the classic but if I did, I’d be lost in a new boat!

Guys, i talked last night with on of the Merc mechanics that was down there servicing the boat. What wasn’t reported that Ike’s problem were caused by him over reving his motor before take off….once problem started he idled in by the mechanics and 7 min later he was off. Also, i know your thinking 7 mins. In the time he was going back out he saw fish about 100 yds from launch and fihsed there for a limit. This was day 2. He also had self-inflict trolling motore problems by slamming stuff around….

Which I guess would bring me to this conclusion about which boats to use. Would Ike beat the heck out his boat like this, compared to the boats everyone else has to. This was discussed at one of the dinners. They said Ike would, but most of the rest take better care of the BASS boats then theirs….But Sponsorship money does talk….Me, I would like to fish out of a supplied boat. To me I can concentrating more on fishing. There boats are gassed, cleaned, and checked over the night before, after and during the tourney…..I would guess Jimmy Johnson would have seen something like that…

Just shows again that only part of the story gets shown on ESPN…..hey but what do I know…I have to watch reruns on TV