By Steve Graf
I’ve always enjoyed remembering how things used to be, and I look forward for what the future
holds with regards to tournament bass fishing. Today we’ll step back in time and look at how
tournament fishing was in the early days.
As I’ve noted in past writings, my tournament days go back to the early 1990ns. To say that
times have changed is truly an understatement. Things are different today in several ways and
the first thing that comes to mind, is how anglers had respect for each other on the water.
Anglers were always conscious of not fishing too close to another angler and never wanted to
invade another their territory, especially if he was leading the tournament. THAT’S NOT THE
CASE TODAY!
To use an old phrase, “back in the day,” anglers showed respect for each other by not fishing
areas on the lake that someone found first. Unfortunately, anglers today tend to hold no regard
or respect for another angler’s area.
Many of our younger anglers think that all water is open for anyone to fish any time during the
tournament. But I’m not going to throw shade just on our youth for all the issues taking place
in tournaments. It’s not really their fault, as 95 percent of both high school and college anglers
have never been exposed to the unwritten rules of tournament bass fishing. Etiquette has been
forgotten and is not being taught.
Another issue today that anglers have is the disregard for the “no information” rule. At no time
has this rule had more attention than it has this season. Several touring pros have been
disqualified for violating this rule in 2025. Most tournament trails have a written rule that does
not allow anglers to receive information about a particular body of water within a specific time
frame. Without a doubt, this is the most abused rule on every level!
Back in the day, anglers were held to a higher standard than they are today. Some tournament
organizations are turning a blind eye to some of the infractions and are not holding anglers
accountable. This is why anglers continue to bend the rules and is one reason tournament
entries are down nationwide.
Until organizations decide to preserve the integrity of the sport, and drop the hammer on these
rule breakers, nothing will change. Some anglers will stop at nothing to gather information like
waypoints, best areas to fish, and what baits to throw from guides and other resources.
While there are ways to gather information legally, some anglers ignore the rules and show no
regard for doing things the right way. Once again, back in the day if an angler violated a rule, he
was pulled aside by other anglers and asked to explain himself. The older generation held each
other more accountable.
Oh, how I yearn for the days of old where you did not have to worry about who or how
someone was possibly cheating or bending the rules. Your reputation as an angler was more
important than winning any single event. You would rather sacrifice a win and still have the
respect of your fellow competitors than to cash a check doing something shady.
But the philosophy today is to win at all costs, no matter what the consequences. This is pretty
much true in all sports, especially on the high school and collegiate levels. Today it’s all about
the money being made and if a kid is not happy where they’re at, they transfer to another
school that is willing to pay them even more. They are even paid in advance on potential and
not on their body of work!
I’ll wrap up this gripe session with this — if we as anglers don’t start demanding organizations
enforce ALL the rules, nothing will ever change. We must demand transparency from all
tournament organizations.
‘Til next time, go fishing every chance you get because you never know when it might be your
last.
Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com