Classic thoughts after day #1

[Deitz Dittrich]

2 Things hit me pretty hard... #1 on my mind.. here are all these records being broken.. hello.. DUH.. they changed a tournament that used to be mid summer and put it in the spring. If I was a record holder, and just had my record broken, I might be a tad bitter. This classic althought I think its a smart move for Bassmasters.. I think they(the bassmasters) should start a new era of records.. Let those that held records hold them.. and start new! To me it isn't fair.. I would like to think that if you put me( an average angler) on lake Toho this weekend, that I would have a good chance at breaking a Bassmaster classic record.. and that is not right!

#2, and it kills me to even type this! Please... Although I have respect for Ike, I am not a huge fan of his. To disqualify him for unsportsmenslike conduct for tearing up a light post in his boat, just wrong!... He didn't direct it at anyone. .he was mad at himself. In an unfamiliar boat.(not an excuse) he lost 2 bass to death(as they put it Expired) and was angry.. I would be too, not sure if I would have reacted as he did.. but I dont think that anything he did, or at least what I saw that they had coverage of was worthy of a disqualification.

Ok anybody.. beat me up on my thought, I can take it.. what are your feelings on my day one thoughts.

Other than that.. I have fished this lake 4 days of my life.. an awesome fishery... Anycast could have a 10 lb fish on the other end. With that said... the almighty classic #1 saying that I can always remember is.. "you cant win the classic on the first day, but you can loose it".. lots of big name anglers out of the hunt!!!!!!

[Bass_Bully]

Records are made to be broken. Just like McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds shattering the homerun record...you knew it was coming. As far as Ike goes, I agree. Not the best thing to do but it's his boat. If he wants to throw a tantrum, so be it. It just puts a bad image of fisherman to the average person watching so the League probably thought they should do something about it. The thing I don't get is why put it on national television. Most people would not of know about his little "breakdown".

Should make for a big total number to win...70+ lbs?

Just imagine being 20 something and leading the Classic.

[delmuts]

i think the record idea would be good. there can be no comparison of the other turn. to this one. and DQing ike. way over board( i don't really care for him either). now there is some question about him tossing back a dead fish. did he break any want& waste laws?

[Deitz Dittrich]

Del- There is no rule in Bassmasters of returning a dead fish. The only law he would have to deal with would be a Florida law. Is it something I would do.. No.. But he is Ike... he did not break any bassmaster rules... As you saw on TV he even called to confirm if he broke any laws!

And i too agree, that rules are made to be broken.. I would just like to see rules broken with the same standards! This tournament doesn not have the same standards!.. this lake is totally different mid summer as are all of the others.

I do however respect your opinion.. and it is exciting to see records being broken!

[Bass_Bully]

Just imagine if it would have been a clear sunny day. If those guys could have sight fished better those numbers would have been even bigger.

[Lunker]

Remember, the home run record was made before the extended seasons. Rules change, you can't make seperate records. Amazing fish being brought in though. I was surprised with how badly some guys did, not just the Iaconelli's, swindles, and van dams, but the guys who were from the area did really bad. Ike, although he should probably not be DQ'd, showed not only bad sportsmenhip, but even worse ethics throwing away dead fish. To bad there wasn't a warden around. Wanton waste anyone?

[Deitz Dittrich]

I really like the record discussion.. and I'll add this.. These are not tournament records that are being broken... these are not lake Toho records being broken.. if those were the records being broken I would have no problem what so ever!.. none!.. These are "classic" records... It would be like saying next year we are going to use aluminum bats in the major leagues. Next year you can use a bowling ball that it twice the size of last years but all records count. In Golf, next year the hole will be 8" across, but low score records will still count. Nascar-next year the daytona 500 will not be a restrictor race...

again, these are not tournament records, they are classic records, the classic has never been held in Feb... there are far more large bass available around the spawn. Known fact!

More thoughts.. keep it going!.. this is a lot of fun! and again, I respect everybody for thier opinion so far!

Lunk-with you on the wanton waste!.. .however, do we know the fish he put back was dead?.. or just going to die.. in truth there is delayed mortality on quite a few tournament fish as you know with your background. I have a feeling something happend that we did not see...

[ikeslayer]

i would like to throw my two bits in here about ike. he is a unique fella and had a tough day. i read the report on the bassmaster HSOforum and it says they dqed him for breaking a piece of saftey equipment. Not that it would happen but if it did... lets say that some nasty fog rolled in and ike didn't have his light and he gets t-boned by another boat doing 60 man is he going to wish he had that light. So from a saftey perspective they almost have to make an example of him for that reason otherwise i am sure you could take a sledgehammer to your boat and in theory it shouldn't matter.

how did the federation guy do, what is his name, we all have to root for him for sure.

[Bass_Bully]

Deitz, I like how you made the comparison with the other sports.

Do you think that if the Classsic was held on Toho in June, July etc. that these records would still be broke? In my opinion maybe some of the total weights that came in today may not have been showing up later in the year. But someone would have broke the "Classic" record for big bass of 8lb. 9oz. With that many trophey fish in that lake and the number of pros. fishing it, records would fall anytime of the year...

Just a question though, why did they decide to change the timing and hold the Classic in Feb.?

[Deitz Dittrich]

BB- I look back at all the awesome lakes they have had the classic on before, and many of those lakes have trophy potential!.. heck, they have had the classic on TOHO before.. hard to say what would have happened had they had the classic at their normal time of the year. We will never know, and that too is something we could debate, I agree with you, the big bass record still could have fallen. But before this tournament started, I would have bet my entire years salery that it was going to fall under what they have now! Conditions are just oo good!

Why did they change?.. probably for this very reason! Records are being broken! we are talking about it.. ESPN will talk about it!... sponsors will talk about it.. people who dont care about fishing may talk about it!... nascar-one of the largest sports has thier superbowl at the begining of the season.. why cant bass fishing!?

They almighty dollar speaks...

[ikeslayer]

i was going to add earlier as well that i am pretty sure that the change in the date has everything to do with money and plublicity. ESPN like them or not knows how to do sports and make hype. They will do exactly that for the sport of bass fishing as well. They will play with our emotions and get us emotionally involved with different characters by giving us background and history and looks into their family. This getting the women involved as well. again my two bits. ike

[Deitz Dittrich]

Yep, the only other real disadvantage of mooving the classic date to late feb is they have cut down the number of lakes they can fish. The classic used to be held on a ton of different bodies of water. Now they have limmited themselves to the WAY south.

[Eye-lander]

I agree with the DQ of Ike with regards to the destroying of safety equipment, if in fact it is a BASS rules, which ESPN claims it is in a story on their site this morning. I'm sure his sponsors are a little peeved with the second Classic DQ of Ike in the last 3 years. If I remember right he was DQ'd on Wille, and there also was a speeding issue with him on an area of the Allageney. They are missing out on a lot of air time for they money in the biggest tournament of them all.

As far as moving the Classic to the Febuary spawn....I'm not a big fan of all those big fish being taken off beds where they can no longer protect the nest, but, I see where it is exciting and creating a buzz for BASS. I for one have the itch and wish I was down there. It has to be an amazing rush to be sight fishing for a bass twice the size of any I have ever caught!

[basssmasher*]

i just wanna chime in w/my 2 cents worth on all this.. 1st of all I'm just getting into bass fishing and I love it! I rean ALOT of tips from all of you on here so THANKS for the knowlwdge to keep me learning.!! Ok, as far as Ike goes.. you either love him or love to hate him.. I myself love him, I have read his Bio Fishing On The Edge and encourage anyone who's even remotely interested in him to do so.. I wasn't happy with the DQ either but 1 ,it's a safety issue 1st and he had like 30-40 boats around him when this breakdown happened including kids on board and for him to go off the way he did isn't exactly setting a good example for Bassfishing or B.A.S.S... On the otherhand he HAS brought a TREMENDOUS amount of good publicity for our sport too.. sorry this is so long but just wanted to comment ..once again thank you to Dietz and the rest of you for helping me learn..Someday maybe I will be in the classic but I promise i wont go IKE if my boat fails!! lol

[Lunker]

Well, after watching the day two coverage, I guess we can stop talking about Ike since he placed 51 out of 51 and missed the cut. Fishing definitley looked tougher today, but boy does it make my blood pump seeing all these big bass caught, I want to be on the water now! Too bad about menendez, was a cool story about him coming back after being sick, missed the cut. Supposed to be big swing in the weather tommorrow, should mean some interesting fishing.

[Eye-lander]

Scroggins sure came up huge today, and a good bet to catch the leader.

[Deitz Dittrich]

My thoughts day #2... much less to talk about... No temper tantrums.. tougher day on the water, not as many big fish.. but that is to be expected.. those fish have seen some lures already.. Scroggins made a huge move up the leader board.. as did Swindle... he has no chance of winning but just to make it to day 3 when he was at the bottom is a victory. Hack fell hard today.. not sure if he was going for the win or what..

If I were to put money down.., with the weather turning for the worse, you got to put your chips on the local boy Preston Clark.. .he is used to knowing where the fish go when a cold fron hits.. I know there is a curse on the loacl boy usually.. but that is where my money would be.

[MN Shutterbug]

Personally, I don't feel a bit sorry for Ike. From what I heard, it wasn't just kicking a piece of equipment, it was also cussing. I don't think cussing during any spectator sport, by a player, should be tolerated. It probably isn't in other sports. This is definitely not a good example to set for our future fishermen. Ike himself admitted to cussing. I have no idea what the exact words were but we do know there were plenty of fans within earshot. I think Ike should learn to grow up and quit being such a showoff. Maybe this will mellow him a little. Just my 2c worth.

[FI Guide]

I just read that Clark is going to spend most of his time in Lake Hatchineha fishing some different patterns which are supposed to produce when the winds are out of the north as the case tomorrow. He likes his chances but only 5 fish have come out of Hatchineha this week. It should be fun to watch tomorrow.

[fishmarket]

I am not a big fan of Ike, but, does every angler have a cameraman on him the whole time he is on the water???? I have a hard time believing he is the only guy that swore during the tournament. He bent up the pole that had the flag on it when he found out he had dead/dying fish in his livewell. His anger got the best of him and he should be called out on it.... One example, golf is the ultimate gentlemans game and the biggest names do on occasion, swear and throw clubs on camera and in front of kids,etc(no penalty)..But I dont think the penalty matches the crime here. A monetary fine or probation and move on. For the penalty they gave him you'd think he tried to ram his boat into KVD, try to hit Swindle in the head with a 1 oz jig, or had a fist fight with Hackney over a spot on the lake!! Now those would be worthy of a DQ. His entire catch shouldnt have been zeroed out, IMHO. I would put my money on Terry Scroggins.

[Mark Christianson]

I dont even want to chime in on this, but Ike is a fool.

He broke a piece of equipment on his boat that was a piece of "safety equipment" per the guidelines. Period.

If they want to change the rules to eliminate the stern light as a piece of equipment thats considered a key piece in safety, then next year is a different year.

He broke a rule that seems pretty clear.

If something were to happen to him, due to someone not seeing his boat and hitting him because he didnt have a stern light, you would sure hear about that on the news too.

The guy is a dipstick.

A GREAT bass fisherman, but a dipstick.

I am glad he got DQ'd for that outbreak.

Ike is the TO(Terrell Owens) of bass fishing in my eyes.

He is just such an outsider in the sport, and gets too much attention for stuff he shouldn't get attention for.

Just my opinion.

[Bushwacker]

Quote:

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I agree with the DQ of Ike with regards to the destroying of safety equipment, if in fact it is a BASS rules, which ESPN claims it is in a story on their site this morning. I'm sure his sponsors are a little peeved with the second Classic DQ of Ike in the last 3 years. If I remember right he was DQ'd on Wille, and there also was a speeding issue with him on an area of the Allageney. They are missing out on a lot of air time for they money in the biggest tournament of them all.

---

This is something I was thinking about today. I would be willing to bet that Ike had more air time today and through the rest of the tournament because of his DQ, than he would have if he would have won the tournament. I watched all of the coverage today and at least 20% of the morning BassCenter and Live coverage was involving Ike. I think the sponsors know exactly what they are getting when they sign him up. Ranger, for one, has to be grinning ear to ear. He is a Ranger guy who couldn't figure out how to operate the Triton's livewell. Personally, I think Ike is one of the top 5 anglers on the tour. He is versatile and is in the mix of almost every tournament, but his actions are not becoming of the sport. The tournament director read a list of code of sportsmanship for BASS and he broke 5 or 6 I believe. That deserves a DQ. You just can act like that at any job in the world, whether in sports or in any workplace.

As far as the early Classic goes, I would really like to see BASS rotate dates and locations. Say FL in Feb, Ky in March, maybe even MN in early June. That would produce big catches all along and keep the whole country involved in the CLASSIC.

[Eye-lander]

Good post Bushwacker. You have a very good argument. Is there any such thing as bad press? He is still getting air time even though it may be for a contriversal DQ. It may be that Ranger likes the fact that he was able to maybe put a question into that it may be a manufacture defect on a Triton boat. Especially since Triton has taken a big chunch of market share from Ranger. By God is this business gettting corperate.

How much would you guys like to see a July Classic on Minnetonka or a September Classic on Vermillion?

On a side note, I was in my living room today flipping a jig and organizing my tackle box because I am so jealous of these guys being able to actually fish in Febuary, I didn't have much chance of catching anything this morning off my carpet, but it got me in the mood.

[Eye-lander]

Hey Ray, did you end up getting over to the Classic when you were down there?

[Wayne Ek]

eye-lander, any hits flipping?