Been on a lot of other forums.. Nate Wellman Situation...

[Deitz Dittrich]

Not sure what anyone knows.. Hopefully we can speak about it in a respectful way and keep it civil.. What are your thoughts on the situation?

For those not in the know. Bassmaster Elite Series angler Nate Wellman has been fined and placed on a one-year probation due to violation of B.A.S.S. tournament rule 3(vii), which prohibits ‘suggesting to another competitor that he violate these (B.A.S.S.) rules.’

Supposedly, he "joked" about buying a fish from his co-angler.

[flipper]

It seems like whenever there is a lot of money at stake the temptation becomes too great for some.

I am not really fond of tournaments in general as I feel our lakes and the outdoors in general should be appreciated for what they are without people feeling the need to compete at this level.

I have no inside knowledge of this particular incident so I don't know if he was a cheater or just said the wrong thing.

[RK]

Hiya -

Yeah, what a strange deal. He's now banned from FLW events as well apparently, because they honor the suspensions of other tournament organizations.

With two guys out in the boat, it's about impossible to say for sure what exactly happened.

It might have been one of those cases where what he said was said in a manner that implied "I'm joking. Unless you'll do it. Then I'm not joking..."

You can almost sympathize with Wellman for being tempted. He's a rookie trying to make a splash in his first season. He's probably under enormous personal and professional pressure. Very likely, given what it costs to fish a top tier trail these days, he's under enormous financial pressure as well. And he's in a sport where a single fish can make or break your event, and for him probably, a season or career. He's obviously not the first guy to let his ethics be overwhelmed by those kinds of pressure.

For the co-angler, it took some guts to come forward and turn him in. If he's interested enough to be there, he probably had to have known he was putting a bullet in the guy's pro career. That's part of what makes me think there was something to this. If there were much room for doubt I don't think a co would have turned him in.

Bigger picture, I think it points out one of the hard realities of tournament fishing. While I can't of course say for sure financial pressure was part of the picture here, I'd bet a lot that it was. I've said for a long time that the economic model that drives tournaments from an angler's point of view is fundamentally flawed. It's supply and demand to a point - there are innumerable guys wanting the chance to take a kick at the can at the top level - but all the risk is on them and the tournaments make their money either way. There are a lot of guys who've fished on credit cards and home equity loans and lost their shirts. Self-inflicted wounds or not that's a lot of pressure to get a couple more spots up in the standings.

All in all, a pretty sad story.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[Deitz Dittrich]

Very well thought out as always Mr.Kimm..

[Deitz Dittrich]

Just saw that Mr. Wellman released this statement from bassfan.. quote from him..

Quote:

"I regret the statements that I made to my co-angler during the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open on Lake Erie Aug. 25-27, 2011. While I never intended for my statements to be anything more than an expression of my envy for his performance that day, looking back I can understand now why my co-angler would have misinterpreted my statements. My statements were wrong and should never have been made.

"To be perfectly clear: I am not a cheater. I've never cheated in the past and will never do so in the future. I've dedicated my entire adult life to bass fishing – the sport that I love – and no amount of money in the world is worth jeopardizing my career that I've spent my life working for. I'm an accomplished angler and am confident about my future. Simply stated: I have no reason to cheat and would never tarnish my accomplishments nor compromise my future by cheating. I respect myself, my family, my sponsors and my sport way too much to bring it all down by cheating.

"I apologize to everyone for my mistake, including B.A.S.S. and my co-angler, for putting them in such an awkward position. Also a sincere apology to the fans of fishing for it was not my intention to tarnish the integrity of the sport."

[mww24]

I guess to me. I don't really care. you hear all the stories of the big pros coordinate shopping and getting info from local guides and what not. to me that is just as bad. I would love to see a trail where all the guys caravan down the road event to event and have 2 days to prefish and the first day is when they learn the lake they will fish. I bet this would create a much more level playing field. as for the joke. maybe it was maybe it wasn't. Only Nate Wellman will ever know that. Hey at least he wasn't running a dog fighting ring.

[TonkaBass]

I sure hope he didn't cheat. There is nothing worst in any sport than a cheater!

[Igor Drackenwolf]

Anyone who thinks Wellman was "just joking" needs to read this - a letter directly from his co-angler to the HSOforum BassBoatCentral.

Much undue scorn and skepticism has been hurled at Wellman's co-angler, Joe Stois Sr. Read this, and decide for yourself if he was telling the truth, lying, or over-reacting...

Quote:

I was the co-angler that was propositioned by Nate on the final day of the BASS open in Sandusky.

I wish none of this would have happened and to be quite honest I feel bad for Nate.I think he made a terrible mistake once he started thinking about not making the Classic. I don't know Nate, but aside from the offer I enjoyed the beginning of the day with him. I told Nate that I would net my own fish so he could have more time to fish. I knew what was at stake for this young man and I didn't want to do anything to ruin his chances. I also know that when he said " he would give me a thousand dollars for my fish" and that "his dad walks around with one to three thousand dollars cash in his pocket and we could meet up with his dad after the weigh in to take care of it" and the fact that he said" he would drive me out to the middle of ...the lake to transfer the fish to his live well so that no one would see" was not a JOKE! Why would you say a "joke" to a person you have known for about three hours of this magnitude? I know some of you believe what Nate did was harmless and he was truly joking. That is your right and I am just trying to let you know what really happened. I myself would never joke about something this important to a person I barely know.The people that know me have stood up for me as you would expect them to. It is the others that believe what I have said and know I had nothing to gain by telling this that have commented on what I did.There are also people calling me names and saying what is said in the boat stays in the boat...REALLY? What type of people are there out there that would let somebody try to cheat in a sport that we all love? I wonder what those people would be calling me if I had taken the money and then BASS found out? I did what was right in my mind PERIOD.Believe what you want. That is one of the greatest things about the country we live in. Another question that has been brought up is, Why didn't I say something right away? The answer as far as saying something right away, I dropped the ball. Truth be told, I was scared. I didn't know what to do and with 150 or so people out watching us weigh in, I was afraid.Sorry I don't have better answers than this, but that's the truth. So keep hating on me and telling what you would have or have not done. Until you are in a similar situation, do you really know what you would do? As for me. I can wake up every morning and look in the mirror and know I did what was right and I have. By the way if you want to ask me questions or call me a "tool" a "Richard" or a "snitch" you now have my facebook address.

Sincerely,

Joe Stois Sr.

My own personal opinion is that anyone who can read what Joe Stois Sr. wrote and believe that his motivations are anything less than determination to do what's right and good needs to have their head examined.

What possible motivation could this man have for cutting the legs out from under an innocent professional bass fisherman? To believe that his concern was unwarranted and that he overreacted defies all common sense.

Hats off to you, Joe Stois Sr. You are a good and decent man.

[Ufatz]

And you guys wonder why I have the opinion of tournament fishing that I have since fishing for money started.

This is a perfect example.

Whatever.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Uftaz-But what about all the tournament anglers who find this more repulsive than you do? You can not lump all tournament anglers into the same mold because of one bad apple.

If thats the case all drivers of cars are rude jerks..

[BassNut33]

There are bound to be people in every walk of life that act in a manner that is contradictory to what is expected of them. This goes for ball players, politicians, and Joe Shmoe that you work with. It is good to see someone standing up and saying something rather than turning a blind eye to something they know is wrong. It is completely unfair to lump all tournaments and tournament anglers into a group, or make generalizations. For every tournament angler that is like Nate Wellman, there are hundreds more who are good and honest people. I would also venture to guess that the majority of guys fishing tournaments are not fishing for the money, it's for the love of the sport and the competition. Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but probably 95% of guys fishing tournaments are not making any money, they are doing it because they love it.

[Presco]

A friend of mine spent last season on the FLW tour as a co-angler, his first. He told me that its such a strange environment because these guys all live together during the tournaments, act chummy, play cards, etc, but nobody talks fishing. He said he quickly learned that talking about spots, techniques, or anything is a huge no-no as one of his "friends" from the house would turn him in to FLW and get him kicked out. This situation sucks for Wellman because I'm sure he was joking, but based on what I've heard from these events, it makes total sense. Everyone is looking for a competitive edge and this co-angler probably saw this as a chance to empty a seat at the pro level that he could potentially fill someday.

[Superduty]

I wasn't there. Who knows if it was a serious offer or only a joke? I have a hard time believing that the coangler involved has anything to gain by making up his story. Many fisherman from the area in question have stepped up to praise the coangler as a man of integrity. I don't believe a word these national "pros" say. Way too much money at stake to trust anybody. They all claim to find their own fish and only catch them on their sponsors baits! Shame on you if you think that is actually the case.

[RK]

Hiya -

Wow. Quite a letter. If it's accurate, it's pretty darning of Wellman. As far as the co-angler's part in it - in cases like this you have to ask "what does he have to gain?" The answer is next to nothing beyond peace of mind. He had to know he was going to get a lot of heat.

I do think you have to be careful painting with too broad a brush when it comes to tournament anglers. Most are stand up guys who resist what is probably an ever-present temptation to cut ethical corners.

The "no information sharing" rule in the age of smart phones, Google Earth and GPS chips is almost an impossibility.

Back when BASS first started, guys didn't know where they'd be fishing until they showed up. A format like that is almost impossible today. Given all the infrastructure and overhead that goes with putting on a major event, and how important fan participation is to sponsors, etc., I don't think you could do it on a large scale.

I think BASS is trying to recapture some of its original philosophy with this season's "Mystery Location," but it's pretty hard to keep an event that big under wraps. I bet it'll be leaked long before the event happens.

I don't know how it works on the bass side of things, but in the top level walleye tournament world, "team fishing" is an open secret. Guys form a 'team' and share information, then split the $ at the end of an event. So if your team has four guys, and on day 2 of a three day event, one guy has a shot at a top finish, the other three will give him their spots, etc., stay off their prime water, and do what they can to help the guy finish high. It's in their interests, since they get a bigger slice of the pie if he finishes higher. I've heard more than one walleye pro basically say if you don't have a team, you're screwed.

I know there are some anglers - Rick Clunn being a vocal example - who are pushing tournaments to do more to curb the spot shopping and information sharing. But I think to some degree it's trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube, as much as I might agree with the sentiment. You can argue the converse too - that research, technology, etc., are part of the landscape of modern fishing, and an angler's use of those tools *should* play into how tournaments are won and lost. I think that's a valid case. It kind of comes down to one's idea of what tournaments really are or should be - and that's too deep a conversation for me when I've only had one cup of coffee...

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[BassNut33]

I think it is more beleivable to think he was not joking. The co-angler really has nothing to gain. He didn't cash a bigger check, or get sponsorship deals. He wasn't even competing against Wellman, someboy did the right thing he deserves a pat on the back.

[flipper]

Personally I find the version given by Joe Stois Sr. to be much more believable. Kudos to him for coming forward and facing the heat.

[NTW]

http://fishstrong.com/a-profile-of-integrity-in-fishing/

Hopefully it is ok to post this link. It is in-line with the conversation.

[BassNut33]

http://fishstrong.com/a-profile-of-integrity-in-fishing/

Hopefully it is ok to post this link. It is in-line with the conversation.

Great article, that is the way it should be!

[Stick500]

Tournaments never made any sense to me. Fishing and hunting should never be competitive sports.

In fact I would be really upset if the "big tournament" came into my favorite areas and wiped out most of the action for the rest of the year.

Of course there aren't many carp tourneys in this country.....

[BassNut33]

I don't think it is close to accurate to say that a big tournament would wipe out all the action. The fish are all released and they do feed again after being released. I also think that fishing competitively appeals to the competitive nature that I have. I love to fish and compete, it only seems natural to me. I guess in my mind it is no different than the guy who plays in a softball league.

[TruthWalleyes]

I don't think it is close to accurate to say that a big tournament would wipe out all the action. The fish are all released and they do feed again after being released. I also think that fishing competitively appeals to the competitive nature that I have. I love to fish and compete, it only seems natural to me. I guess in my mind it is no different than the guy who plays in a softball league.

Cept we get to drink beer in our leagues!

Quite the interesting story. I first thought that it seems like a silly comment gone wrong. Now after reading the last article the guy who turned him in seemed to be put in a very tough spot and acted accordingly. To me it sounds as if he handled it the best he could, and might have been given more c'ap if he had said something at the weighin. I'm a competitive guy, but i don't enjoy competiition while i'm in my happy place...i.e. Fishing!

[grab the net]

Joe could have put the issue to bed after the first comment, although he should not have been put in that position. I just find it hard to believe that Wellman would make a serious offer when in the position he was. How could one think it would remain a secret if he did purchase the fish. Two people can't keep a secret, add his father meeting with them later to make a payoff. Impossible. I am sure Stois believes he heard what he heard just as much as Wellman being sincere in his explanation of it being a mis-understood poorly timed "joke". No winners here.

[cjac]

Crazy deal indeed. Supports the old adage that money is the root of all evil.

At face value, Wellman's press release uses the word "statements" (plural) 4 times in the 1st paragraph. A single comment can be dismissed as "off the cuff", but the pluralization matches to the co-angler Stois' statement of pressing the issue. That's as Freudian as I'll get in this.....

BTW: I really like this qoute from TruthWalleyes: "I'm a competitive guy, but i don't enjoy competiition while i'm in my happy place...i.e. Fishing!"

That's great, well said, Sir!

[CASTnBLAST]

A bit off subject but then so are the posts that prompt me to write this. I enjoy the heck out of fun fishing AND tournament fishing. I believe tournament fishing is a driving force in the development of new and improved cutting edge tackle to be used by ALL levels of anglers.

I rarely harvest any fish but I don't go trolling around the forums putting down those that do...sick of that B.S.

[TonkaBass]

Hats off to Joe, I would be pretty upset if someone tried putting me in a situation like that. There always has to be those bad eggs out there that make everybody look bad. I HATE cheaters! (and I think he probably did what Joe said he did)