OFFICIAL RESULTS SITE FOR -S.A.F.E.R. - SPRING FLING -GAMBLER-KING OF THE GLADES-EVERGLADES BASSMASTERS-NIGHT OWLS-RENEGADES AND ALL OTHER LOCAL OPEN TOURNAMENTS
The 45 year old angler will fish the Bassmaster Classic for the second time as the Weekend Series entrant. “My practice days were not that good” said Coble. “I never could get that big string during pre-fishing and the first three days of the tournament. I was around 8 or 9 lbs per day and feared that I would fall too far back.” Coble credits long time fishing friend David Wright, of Lexington, NC with assistance during tournaments. He said, “David and I formed an alliance about 11 years ago and share information and all of our earnings. David won a Stren event a few weeks back and pushed our shared total to over a million dollars.” Jeff has been asked many times why he doesn’t make an attempt at turning pro and fish the Elite Series. He said “Back when I had the desire, I didn’t have the means. Now that I have the means, I don’t have the desire.” Coble stated “I’m all about the Weekend Series.” After two wins in three Weekend Series Championships, perhaps the Series is “all about him”.
Does any of that sound funny? sharing prize money, sharing information, sounds more like a team event between him and david than it does a pro tournament. I think it stinks, feel bad for the guy who came in 2nd he was probably a real ordinary joe.
..This guide you are hiring for pre-fishing, will he share your
prize monies...??? and you share his guide fees...???....lots of difference...the team approach
stinks IMHO...!!!
"no different than hiring a guide to prefish".... ummm I'll try to understand this...
hiring a guide to prefish weeks before an event vs getting help during the tournament that by your own words caused you to win the event.... ok guess your right, no difference... wow.. guess using shiners would be ok in a tournament, I mean its no different than using them on a guide trip... right?
I agree Matt but is prefishing by using your cell phone to call in help when you can't find em, overated? it is still unbelievable that he would admit to taking a cut from a tourney he never fished in.
I realize this is not the place for me to respond as I am not a "member"...but I have to say something.
No big deal? Are you serious "J" ? You (and some others I'm sure) think it's no big deal ?
As a golf pro, "purse splitting" was found to be practiced long ago and it was dealt with pretty harshly by the PGA. That's not to say it has altogether stopped. Crooks don't see the same boudaries honest people do. They rationalize it and accept it within their own world.
If a competition is set up as an INDIVIDUAL competition, I'm pretty sure the governing body intends it to remain that way. The entrants (I no longer will call them "competitors") who practice information sharing and ultimately purse sharing are no longer pitting themselves against the field. They are teaming up to beat INDIVIDUALS. Helping another competitor to the point of carrying him or her along into the cut line or cash line solely for the purpose of doubling up the cash intake in an INDIVIDUAL event in my eyes is criminal.
Couple that with an angler like Jeff Coble who saw fit to enter the Weekend Series realm 3 years ago as a fully sponsored tournament angler for Lord knows what reason. No, he wasn't the only one of his kind. Jason Quinn had his sights set on some "easier than usual" money as well. It was and is afterall the "Bassmaster Weekend Series". B.A.S.S.'s answer to the "working man's" trail known as the "B.F.L..
The PGA won't allow a Tour player to enter any down the line events with the exception of some Nationwide events. You see, those tours and series are for the "up and coming" pros to cut their teeth on in hopes of making the big show. I guess Mr's Coble and Quinn thought they were doing a service to the Weekend Series. You know, lending a little credence to the new "up and comer's" tour.
Now, Mr. Coble brags that this is the spot for him. He compares the little over 1K in entry fees as opposed to the Open fees or the Elite fees as reason for his desire to fish the Weekend Series. And.......he brags of the 11 year old sharing setup he has with David Wright. How often is a "no information" rule bent there ?
If you've read this far and think I'm all wet, well then, you're lost. The next time you put the boat in the water to fish an individual effort event, look around and pick out the 2 "heavies" that most know to be strong every time they compete. Provided you're not one of those heavies, I'll bet you don't feel so competitive knowing they are working together to keep you as far down the list of cashers as possible. And even more important...where does their mutual aid end? Does it have a "boundary" or is the boundary based on the event they are fishing. You know what I mean by this. Bottom line...it's cheating within the lines.
The list of negatives is endless...but I can't go on forever. Move all this to the public forum and let's see where it goes.
Oh, and BTW...the 205K that Coble won will have many more like him looking to the "Working Man's Trail soon I bet.
I see a lot of complaints here about the way Jeff and a friend split tournament money. He has never kept it a secret that he does this. What rule is broken? Why would the Tourney officials not DQ him if he is violating the rules? For many years Jeff has stood up for ANGLERS rights against the unfair rules the profit making companies enforce at the tourneys they run. Do a little searching around the net and I am sure you will be able to find some of the history on this.
Take some time to learn the full story before you jump on someone. This site is a great place to find people who like to bitch about anyone that does than they do.
What rule he broke? black and white only? let me say this.
ANY ANGLER (no matter how much he stands up for your rights) THAT RECEIVES PORTIONS OF PRIZE MONEY FROM A TOURNAMENT THAT HE DID NOT PAY AN ENTRY FEE INTO AND DID NOT COMPETE IN has broken a fundamental sportsmanship rule.
This is why you see teams splitting up and only 1 guy fish an pro event and the other doesn't. They make agreements such as this and in my book it is a pathetic disrespect to the anglers who did pay, travel, practice and take part in an event to have someone sitting at home watching TV get part of the purse from that event.
Here's where the argumentative side of "this website" or any other for that matter gets it's legs.
It's when people like yourselves don't see the forest for the trees. Save me a little time Sawgrass and give me a quick example of the tireless efforts of Jeff Coble. You seem to be a fan of his, so firing one back at me shouldn't take long. I, on the other hand only know what I read and hear about his team's accomplishments and as such my opinion of his team effort in an individual competition will remain unchanged so, on 2nd thought...don't bother to research for me.
The best reason I can come up with for defending purse splitting would be that it's so wide-spread that it is more the norm than the exception. I'm sure that the "boundary" I mentioned earlier is of no consequence to folks like yourselves since you defend the practice and most likely participate in (on a MUCH smaller scale). Never did I say that it was a rule infraction. That is the part you assumed to keep the "bitching" intact.
And yeah, I guess he(Mr. Coble) is better at it than I. Especially since I don't do it at all! There is an absolute difference between having someone give some assistance in an event you both are participating in...and purse splitting in any event not to mention purse splitting in events you BOTH are NOT in. That is where improprieties occur. The Classic he is now qualified for has extremely restrictive "no info" periods. How does his "team" get around that ? Maybe it's not an issue...maybe it is...
Let's keep it going though...I learn more about the "behind the scenes" stuff with every post.
There is nothing wrong with getting information before a tournament, the rules clearly state this.
Now if the information was passed while the tournament is in play then that is cheating and grounds for immediate DQ.
The reason why is that if your friend is fishing on another spot on the lake and finds fish he can't call you, that is just wrong, otherwise a person could just have all his friends fishing on day one to find fish.
For one, I know Jeff Coble personally. I can tell you that his friend/old tournament partner never pre-fished for him in any event whatsoever. The relationship between him and his buddy is strickly a buisness. He personally told me when I asked him "why would you give this guy 50K for not helping you win" he said do you ever have a really good year and your partner struggles? Then the following year you struggle and he kicks butt. I said "Yes", and he said well we figured out a way for the both of us to benefit off of eachother. So they began fishing seperate and have split their winning's right down the middle for a long time now. Jeff has probably earned 75% of their income over the years and is staying true to his partner. My buddy even asked him what if one of you sand bags to just take un-earned money from the other. He laughed and said they are way to competetive to ever do anything like that.
What they are doing is not illegal at all, it can't even be compared to cheating. If you frequent site's like BassFan or BASS you would see they are very open about their sharing and how they do it. Believe me BASS and FLW would have caught on if it was even close to Info sharing or anything of the sort.
I also want to say another way to go to Jeff Coble for his recent win and I hope he reconsider's going pro. He would give the Elite Guys a run for their money.
I've seen tournaments where they expressly state in the rules that no communication between anglers is allowed - either by radio or cell phone. Most tourneys don't address this at all.
I think my only issue would be if the rules said no and someone ignored those rules. Communicating during a tournament happens all the time - I did it myself this weekend.
The only reason I won this weekend was because I had GPS coordinates that no one else in the club had - I got them a year and a half ago. Is it cheating that I didn't find that grass bed myself? I don't think so. Would it have mattered if the person who gave me the coordinates demanded half of my winnings? (Which would never happen, of course). What if I demanded half of the big fish pot that the guy won who I gave the coordinates to?
At the end of the day, it's called getting a competitive advantage, and it happens in every sport on the planet. Some stretch the rules, and live on the fringe, and some get caught (NE Patriots, anyone?). With fishing, you still have to catch the fish to win. How many of us have been given info about a hot spot, and just couldn't get a bite to save your life?
My response to the 2 vs. 1 debate is this - If you can't beat them, join them.
The way Justin describes it, the partnership has nothing to do with getting an "edge" in a tournament. Communication during an event is NOT happening here. Just two good friends looking out for each other. People are quick to judge and point the finger. I can't wait till KOTG 3 starts........"that guy is taking steroids, he can't be flipping all the those fish out all day! or they're taking steroids and pulling their boat across the flats!
guess reading the Sunsentinel on Friday before a sat/sunday tournament is Illegal? or how about since you won the money someone saying what you can or can't do with it! If he wants to split the money with a friend who cares he won it it's his he can do whatever he wants to do with it! this is not the only relationship like this out there! Scott and Roland Martin for example! do you think Scott doesn't ask his father for advice? he might not now but i'm sure he did when he started out!
I guess alot of people are taking this the wrong way..
Jeff Coble does NOT recieve any info from his friend on fishing at all. They simply split any winning's they get in everything from a club event to the Classic.
Thats it!!!!!
No info giving, No holding spots, No extra pre-fishing, No special anything.....
They do it because there both good fisherman and they can rely on each other for extra income.
In fact, their very smart..
It would be hard for me to give $102,500 to my friend that didn't earn it. But his friend won a stren recently and that was extra money he wasn't counting on. It works both ways and its great that they can work together.
You guy's should drop it if you don't know the facts...
J, do you read anything completely or do you skim everything ? You've gotten way off track brother!
But let me get this straight one last time.
Everyone here thinks that "competitive edge" has no limit? Anything done for the "win" is fair game? Do I have that straight?
Cause that's what I'm hearing.
BTW TryitonMike, what would make you think having GPS #'s from a year and a half ago has anything to do with this topic...other than for you to remind everyone that you won a recent event down there? It is and was never about information gathering! I've got #'s too that were offered long ago. Read the papers too ! I do. Got the Ledger website in my favorites...again, not the subject.
Some of you want to make that the subject however...knock yourself out! But it wasn't what I commented on.
Back to "if you can't beat em...join em!". Now there's a prophetic statement if I ever heard one. Especially coming from an area where snagging fish under the pads in the summer is a practice frowned upon but I guess done anyway just to keep up with those who are blamed to have done so...do I have that right? Does that kind of let you "off the hook" so to speak? I mean, from the "competitive edge" side of things, you've got to do whatever the enemy is doing right? Especially down here in the glades right?
Here's one that 1/10 of you may understand...but that's more than has gotten it so far...
I've got a putt 10 inches from the cup. I lead the event on cut day by 6 shots. As I wait to finish out (I was standing on another player's line), I notice on the leaderboard my traveling buddy and best friend is a shot off the cut line. We have a purse splitting agreement for the year to help both of us make expenses. The PGA denounces the practice but we do it anyway...on the "Q-T". Hey it's expensive out here and we gotta do what we gotta do! Anyway, I'm away and wouldn't you know...I miss that little tap in! I still have a 5 shot lead but hey! My buddy is in the money round! We're cashing 2 checks this week! Lest we forget, he now moves up the money list and will keep his card next year. Hey, we're smokin now! Next year is all set, he's still my bud and he'll have my back if have a bad year next season. It's all good right??? Wrong!
How about the guy or guys he bumped on the money list for next year? Those guys competed all season and were safe until a guy was in position to move his buddy past them by missing a putt!
When he missed that putt on purpose, he probably brought more players than just his bud into the final 2 days as well. Now they might earn enough to knock out even more hard working joes playing by the rules. The cycle continues. But most of you will never think that far into the ramifications. And they take that fact to the bank.
Lastly, I use the PGA as an example because it closely resembles individual fishing competion(s). The PGA had what they perceived to be a problem and they put a stop to it. While in the back of the boat @ an FLW event years ago with Jerry Stakely formerly of the Stren Series and now with the IFA, he questioned me endlessly about PGA competitions and sponsors and anything that seemed remotely similar. That was their "model" at the time. If they truly don't care about the appearance of splitting purses in events today, I'm shocked.
For those of you who might be friends with Jeff Coble I would ask you...as a past friend of one Skeet Reese...would it be acceptable for Chris Lane and Preston Clark to aid KVD at the final event @ Toho solely to put him on top of the points list over Skeet. Would that be something you feel is the norm? Would it be Skeet's fault for not gathering his own posse to counter the KVD team? Is that how all the competitions should be held? "Crouching Tiger...Hidden Team"?
I think you need to get real, 2 guys in a BASS event could'nt throw an event if they wanted. It's not stroke's it's POUNDS and if skeet came in with more weight it would'nt matter.
OHHHH and just so you know, Jeff's friend does'nt even fish in the same state as him. He wasn't in the Championship event let alone on any of the weekend series regular events. So how can he boost Jeff to Angler of the Year, Win regionals and Win the Championship.
THEY HAVE NOT BEEN IN THE SAME STATE FOR ANY OF THE EVENTS.
So, I GUESS your missing a putt or fixing a weigh-in just took a big sh-t.
DO YOU EVEN FISH, Give me a break...
Do us all a favor and hit the link's this weekend and stay off the water!!!!!
hey justin can you or do you even read.. a quick paruzing of the aba website finds David Wright in 48th place in the same event, hmmm wonder why you didn't see that, guess your comment has gone all to s_it now.
i am blown away by how OPEN all you guys are from down south but bitch and mone if someone doesn't make the basin off limits during a tournament.
ok let me take this down in size here is a quote on the aba site.. read each word real slow, the only mention of practice is for jeff to say HE HAD NOTHING so he GOT ASSISTANCE FROM his friend. not during practice but read the last 2 words.. during tournaments.. read every word this is a quote on the aba site
“My practice days were not that good” said Coble. “I never could get that big string during pre-fishing and the first three days of the tournament. I was around 8 or 9 lbs per day and feared that I would fall too far back.” Coble credits long time fishing friend David Wright, of Lexington, NC with assistance during tournaments.
just for my own clarity as crouching golfer said above, is it ok for a friend to hole sit then and protect his friends fish? when his friend pulls up then pull away. come on they have an agreement together, what is wrong with that? right? i mean he still has to catch them, its all about pounds right? so having KVD point out where his best fishing spots on champlaign is so his buddy can win a bfl, nothing wrong with that, right?
You're bordering on what i term a punk now little man!
David Wright finished 49th fyi. So how well do you research and/or know what you preach? He happened to be in 6th place after day one. Still, it's not that that bothers me. It's lemmings like you dude.
This is the very window I look for with punks like you. You at some point will leave it open, and in I jump!
If I didn't fish doofus, I wouldn't have told you and others the story re.Jerry Stakely. You figured I was bullsh-tting you like you do so well?
Why do you choose to defend something you know nothing about? Let me guess. You were paired with Coble at some event in the past and that is how you know him so well.
Read this little man...Coble's on non-winning fish and to his credit, he knows it. His team-mate bombs on day 2. Maybe he missed a few, maybe he took too long to figure out what he had around him. The point is...he schools Coble on what he knows knowing that if Coble cashes...he cashes.I don't think I need to say more but I'm positive you're still in the weeds on this one.
The rest of the field (hopefully) is relying on their own talent to win this thing. Doesn't happen. Coble and company emerge victorious. Now, at this point I'm guessing D.Wright fishes FLW predominantly and is Ranger connected. Coble, being all about the Weekend Series is Triton connected. Coble receives Ranger incentive monies...Wright receives Triton incentive monies. No big thing right? I knew you would say that. So how long does the money flow from the incentive sponsors once they catch wind that it's going to folks that don't support them in any way? That's far-fetched right? It's only money right! I would be so wrong if it was truly as innocent as you portray it. But it isn't...and I'm not.
No, I don't fish...never have. Worms are yucky! You haven't believed anything else...don't believe this either.
dang it duffer i think you hit on something, follow me on this one as 2 friends talk at hotel.
Jeff: dave what's up bro
Dave: man i'm in 6th place after day 1 bra
Jeff: I know i had a sucky day
Dave: Don't worry you'll catchem tomorrow
Jeff: dave do you realize you are costing US 100,000.00 if you win
Dave: what you mean Jeff?
Jeff: dave if you win with Ranger everything we win 100,000.00
Dave: yup that's great, 50,000 each. shake and bake
Jeff: uh Dave if I win with triton we win 200,000.00
Dave: ah man I forgot about the incentive bonuses
Jeff: I know you did, now tell me where are your fish at so WE can win this thing and the 200,000.00.
Jeff extends knuckles and says "shake"
Dave extends knuckles and reluctantly says "bake"
You need to bring down good anglers to give your bad fishing reason...
If you would like to call Jeff and tell him to his face he is a cheater I'll get you his phone #. He is a Triton Rep and works for Triton, I have hung out with him several times and would love for you to explain to him your theory.
As far as his buddy fishing the event that is news to me and I was unaware "MY BAD". I do know his buddy in the previous years fished in Georgia/alabama mostly.
I'm just defending someone from obvious jealousness and selfish rants.
Leave this alone, because you just look jealous.....
and leave this guy alone because he has done nothing to you..
alot of guys thought strickland was a great guy too. no one said jeff cheated go back up top and read what was typed, it was with astonishment that he would admit to something like purse splitting and information gathering or one could say purchasing because of the purse splitting.
and yes bass does have specific rules against PURCHASING information during the 30 days prior to and including the event, would you not say splitting a purse with a buddy could be considered PURCHASING his information?
don't forget this makes 2 for 2 for jeff in championships. not van dam, iaconelli, brauer, none of them have ever done that. guess jeff is just that good 2 weekend championships fished, 2 won, wow!
I could care freaking less who won that event. I've never fished any federation event. It's not the man...it's the purse splitting comment. And the blatant admittance of info sharing and PURSE SPLITTING.
If it was you who won the event and said the same things, I'd be writing the same stuff!
So stop whining about the content and take time to read the content. No matter how much you defend him or his practice, he ain't gonna cut you into the deal! He need WINNING information!
I will agree the point was muddled about.
Your PGA analogy made it clearer what you were trying to get across. (To me at least)
Obviously you feel pretty strongly about the subject. Do you think others practice this "revenue sharing" and further handicap the solo "ethical" fisherman?
I have to admit this is the first I've heard of such a tactic, and that may be part of the reason I misinterpreted it.
However, your PGA analogy has two competitors in collusion cheating the system.
Are the two anglers in the original post cheating the system? To me it seems like a simple partnership where both benefit from individual success. I honestly can't see a problem with this.
We may have to agree to disagree.
You have been patient, BassnGolfer, but you are also very condescending.
matt, good post buddy. now about the collusion and breaking of rules.
bass has a very clear rule, no purchasing information 30 days prior to an event which is during off limits.
my ? is if i promise you money or purse splitting for information about where fish are and it takes place during a tournament as he was quoted in an interview, isn't he "purchasing" information during that period? that is a rule.
Look, I am taking this the only way it is. There is no grey area and your point is biased. You are basically calling him a cheater and I personally don't like it. So take it as it is and just say Jeff coble is a cheater, because thats all I can see in your posts.
Jeff has done nothing wrong or illegal, he simply is sharing all money earned in everything he enter's. His partner may have helped him locate fish, which is LEGAL. There is no rule against info sharing between competitors on any tour. Look at Ben matsubu and Takahiro omori up at Kissimme. They had a whole article about Ben telling tak to come over to his spot to make the classic. Tak fished the spot but did not do well and Ben Won. The Info sharing rule only applies to getting info from a non-contestant/guide or local etc.
So if you really still think he is a cheater, I will give you his number and you can man up and call him....
Beside's what is your real name BASSGOLFER, lets be real here buddy!!
richard, I agree, but see it all depends on whose ox is being gored... seems like some people just want to throw out there they have someone in the big time's phone number. heck if i listed all the big time numbers i have (and they are elite anglers not weekend series rookies like jeff) it'd blow your mind.
wait is jeff a weekend series rookie? no he has won 2 championships in a row, i mean he and dave have. hmmm no rookie (s) there.
again please answer b.a.s.s.'s rule about purchasing information 30 days prior to and including the event from ANYONE i believe is how the rule is written.
if i offer you 1/2 the purse on an event that you and i are both fishing, aren't i "purchasing" your information? or am i giving you 1/2 of nothing, see jeff stated, not me, not the duffer, but Jeff himself: "I HAD NOTHING". gets no clearer than that. "SO I CALLED DAVE WRIGHT" again pretty clear there and finally "I CREDIT HIM WITH THIS WIN".
i guess it's just me but seems he is crediting another angler with his victory and if it was just a handshake and a free rod that would be ok, but it netted (IN JEFF'S OWN WORDS) david 100,000.00 which is about 20 times more than the guy who came in 2nd place and at the least, that stinks.
can't believe his own friend called him a cheater, no one else did but that is between you and jeff.
Justin, you have some dark desire to continually use Jeff Coble and "cheater" in the same sentence. I see it...Others see it...Direct Jeff here and even he will want to question your choice of words.
He wouldn't work you in on the deal would he? Remember what I said about "winning information". I think that may be what's keeping out of the loop.
My name is right here in this forum Justin. I'm a little too big to hide behind some words, figuratively as well as literally. Look around...I'm right around the corner...Boo!
Why don't you have Jeff come on the site and tell us all about how his arrangement works with Mr. Wright. There's a joke there somewhere but I'm not gonna stoop that low. It won't convince me, but it might some others and you might get some points toward joining the team. I'm positive he's a truly nice guy. But sadly, that too was never the issue. And as a Triton rep (as you say), I am blown away that Mr. Bentz has no issues with the "other camp" getting his incentive monies solely based on a prize sharing agreement. BTW, I too am a Triton owner, not that it matters.
Justin, I "most stringently" feel (an ironic quote from "A Few Good Men)that his 11 year old agreement is not in the best interest of this or any other sport. It too closely borders unsavory tactics that while he may not be guilty of; I'll never be convinced of otherwise that boundaries are not crossed when the money's on the line.
Hey, I hope you get a handle on that cheater and Coble thing....it might strain the relationship.
Justin I for one am offended that you typed that, I think Jeff is a good guy, just needs to keep his mouth shut on his private arrangements, but for you to say he is a cheater, you have gone too far.
I may not have read your entire thread and may not be responding accurately to your post,,,,sound familiar?
...hence the necessity to predicate the story with..."we've had an arrangement for the past 11 years". I'm sure this long standing relationship justifies his "info sharing".
Again, probably an o.k. guy and he is much smarter than you think. He is aware of the above rule I'm sure.
I am surprised he's convinced the powers that be this "arrangement" doesn't infringe on that particular rule.
Hey Justin is a good Guy, but he will defend anything Triton quite hard. This whole sharing thing sounds good, but I can see it where you could take advantage of a situation. That does not mean the guy is a cheater. It just leaves yourself open for people to question you
You can say what you want, And like I said YOU basically are calling him a cheater. So I said you should just say he is Cheating and get it over with. Stop all this B.S conspiracy theories. You two can bask in your jealous rants and call Jeff a cheater to make yourselfs feel better. I know Jeff IS NOT Cheating in any way, and thats that.
In fact this post has been destroyed beyond all recognition and a guy is being slandered by idiot's.
you guys need to quit calling him a cheater... but answer the question..
did he violate rule... and then admit to it.. oh my bad, 2 out of 3.. ok thats totally different, let see Roland has, no he hasn't, KVD has, no he hasn't... bla bla bla..
iii.) Competitor may not buy or barter a fishing location from any other competitor for use during any competition day.
If you are sharing information DURING the tournament you are breaking the rules. If you are aware of the fact that you are breaking the rules, then that's cheating!
To violate rules deliberately, as in a game: was accused of cheating at cards.
Justin, "these post should be deleted" you mad because you can't quarterback so you gonna take your football and go home, or you mad cause you can't have your guy quarterback (even worse).
come on j the only person being defensive here is you, the only person being ugly is you, the rest of us are discussing perhaps an honest mistake but should an angler receive 200,000.00 after making such an honest mistake, if that is what it was?
again i point you to rule iii. and ask your OH pinion.
There was NO honest mistake made at all. Info CAN be shared between competitors, not by cell phone on the water but by voice, before take off and after weigh in. There is no rule in giving any info you found yourself, if anything your just giving away your fish. Plus the angler still has to catch the fish. He is not buying info nor is he getting ILLEGAL info ITS CALLED NETWORKING. Ish and Ike, Luke Clausen and Anthony Gagliardi, Skeet and G-man the list goes on and on. If skeet wanted to share his winning's with G man he could, and it would not be against the rules. You guys are taking a simple rule of no info from guides/locals and turning it upside down.
Just so you know if Jeff win's the Classic this year his partner gets half, and guess what his partner is not fishing. Its something they have done for years and BASS and FLW know their rules better than you guys and they think its fine.
So I will stop at that, because they would have put a stop to it years ago if it was truly ILLEGAL.
Now worry about your own fishing and leave other people alone....
J, I think you have a mental issue. Address the rule iii. please where an angler is NOT ALLOWED you moran to get any help from another angler in the same tournament. He braggs about getting help because he was ON NOTHING before talking to Dave.
Look at the Toho Elite's again MORON.... What did Ben Matsubu do for Tak, he put him on his fish on day two to help him get into the Classic. It was all over the TV and it was legal.......soliciting info from another angler during the event OFF the water is legal..... No one broke any rules
which brings me to another subject if as you said coble wins 75% of the time more than Dave then why have this arrangement? why does he need it? looks more and more like hush money, huh?
I mean one minute Dave is in 6th place after day 1 and jeff is "out of it", next thing you know Jeff (who has all the Triton incentives and dave doesn't) is the winner and Dave almost drops out of top 50, hmmm
Mor on this subject. In your example of the 2 competitors helping each other NO MONEY CHANGED HANDS. Jeff's information was PURCHASED by his agreement with his life partner. I mean partner to split his winnings.
Justin....I'm going to assume you fish some events from time to time.
And in that assumption, I'm going to further assume that you realize some rules may vary in their wording from tour to tour.
The Bassmaster Elite Series (which I regard as the highest level of all tours) is comprised of a field of anglers having to come up with +/- 2.5 times the average annual salary in entry fees alone. Whether it's paid by sponsors or the individual, it still is the requirement. I might expect some degree of latitude given to these anglers given their investment. Not carte blanche, but some lattitude. You see, they don't want anglers doing the "one and out" kind of thing. They want viewers and fans to recognize the week to week competitors. The sponsors want the same thing. You see Skeet...you think Champion and Berkeley. You see KVD...you think Strike King and Nitro. You get the idea I'm sure.
Without having their particular tour rules at my disposal, I (unlike you) am not going to assume the rules for info gathering mirror each other. The Weekend Series is not a professional tour. It was never set up that way. It's gonna get that way at some point though. Possibly because of all this (open windows).
The PGA Tour governs their competitions with their own set of (local) rules in addition to the USGA rules. Your thinking would have a local club's Pro-Am allowing the same drop procedures (for example) because you saw it on T.V. last week when in fact it will be determined based on the USGA and the host club's local rules. Just know that both are golf tournaments but with different fields and as such different rules.
Bottom line Justin, you're never going to get the gist of this because you're stuck in the wrong gear.
Man, you can lobby around this all you want. No rules were broken and no protests have ever been filed for his doing's. I will say hi to Jeff for you, and If you would like to here about his arrangment from the horse's mouth I will be glad to give him your number. But who are you? You know who I am? And you sound like a guy that like's to read Bassmaster Magazine and profess like your the man... I do fish the Open's and Weekend series along with everything else I can fish. So man up and show your colors because all I can see is a computer/Magazine junkie that like's to stir the pot.......
lets see we all know who justin is now.... he's justin, so bassngolfer is bass, now that we are all properly introduced i see the problem
"i do fish the opens and weekend series" uh oh bassngolfer looks like we know now where ole justin is coming from with his tigh relations with jeff, he is probably one of his 2nd or 3rd string informants and promised that if he plays Wright, one day he may take Dave's place.
1995-2001 Jeff Coble fishes BFL/FLW wins over 441,061.00 fishing 40 events or so.
2000 + 2001 Wins back to back ALL AMERICANS.
Drops off the face of fishing in the pro ranks.
2005 Reappears and wins BASS weekend series first ever Championship and goes to classic
2007 wins BASS weekend series 3rd ever Championship.
Guess it's time for another hiatus after this years Classic, look for him again in 2010???
With so many guys not able to keep a team partner for more than 1 or 2 years, wonder how he and ole Gary have stayed together for 11 . someone must have some good stuff on someone.
If you are sharing information DURING the tournament you are breaking the rules. If you are aware of the fact that you are breaking the rules, then that's cheating!
To violate rules deliberately, as in a game: was accused of cheating at cards.
wow.. guess using shiners would be ok in a tournament, I mean its no different than using them on a guide trip... right?