The Alton Jones and Dean Rojas incident ?

[bassinman#1]

There are two sides to every story and just my opinion, if anybody seen the BASS Elite on the Sabine River today you will see Dean R. Downgrade Alton big time and even said "He had no integrity" just wish we could have heard Alton's response.

[gr@ssmonkey]

the reason u didn't hear from alton is because he knows he did wrong,he's a veteran and he knows to back off the LEADER on the last day,alton had nothing to gain from changing his area on the last day 6 lbs behind,......naughty alton.....gods not gonna like that..........

[thedude]

1. I can't stand Alton Jones. I don't really care what his story is. He's probably got a bible verse that makes him feel good about whatever decision he made.

2. Rojas should deal with it. Obviously wasn't the only guy on that water. Adapt or fail.

[dartag]

Dean needs to watch the end of the NASCAR race.  Tony Stewart could teach him how to handle things like that.   

[gr@ssmonkey]

Dean needs to watch the end of the NASCAR race.  Tony Stewart could teach him how to handle things like that.   

lmao

[bassinman#1]

Alton Jones's first day Marshall has confirmed that Alton was fishing that spot on day one. And already knew about the fish in there, he was in the top twelve going into the last day and was fishing the spot that he found earlier. Like I said, there are two sides to every story. The show today only showed one side of the story.

[Team houston]

Me personally, even if I practiced there and fished some of the tourny days there. If I can't catch the leader (Alton was too far back on that tough fishery) Then I do not fish the leaders water on the last day. All of those guys get very few chances to win at that level. So when someones in the lead I back off. What goes around comes around. Just how I feel and how a lot of the old guard think.

[t-bone]

Alton posted on facebook that he thought the television coverage was awful and was disappointed that both sides weren't televised. I didn't have time to read his explanation on facebook.

[djkimmel]

I'd rather see fishing but ethics are important for all of us. I think it is most fair to show both sides of a story.

Both reasons why I prefer not to have people spending time on here airing their grievances with companies and other people. But my Mom told me at 10 that life is not fair. I also learned that sometimes, past behavior can cause life to be less 'fair' for some people.

Let's hope there's more fishing and more sportsmanship in the future all around.

[Genie]

... and open water!

[djkimmel]

... and year-round bass fishing for everyone (other kinds of fishing too)!

[1javelin]

Alton also stated the "spot" Rojas was talking about was a 1 mile stretch of shoreline.  From my view, if I was there the first 3 days and was able to fish the final day, you're not moving me off that spot whether you're ahead by 1 pound or 15.  Too many times the leader comes up short at the end, and I want to be in position to win it if he falters.  I DO NOT take other fishermen's water though, only if it was mine as well.

1jav

[LennyB]

If they were both fishing that area, whether Roja's new Alton had been in there or not, Alton and every other competitor should have fished as hard as they could to win, otherwise they should have just handed the trophy to the day one or day two leaders on those days. My point is, the tournament is not over until it is over. A guy could have a bad start and a great finish or vise-versa.

[djkimmel]

I agree that I'm not one for giving up a spot (generally anything bigger than only 1 boat can fit there) because of some possibly made-up-as-we-go-along, unwritten rules. Even in my tournament fishing history there were times when someone tried to 'apply' rules to me I was not aware of and was pretty sure would not go my way either if the shoe was on the other foot.

I had someone who had just met me that day 'ban' me from 10 miles of a body of water once and I went back because I had already been there and you sure can't tell someone they can't fish a large area anymore (unless they let you get away with it). Still some people who think I'm a loser over that one. Not a big issue for me because they never asked my side of the 'story' before making up their mind either - some of the versions of the 'story' they believed are pretty ridiculous too). Just how it goes in competition sometimes.

I do like general ethics and good sportsmanship, especially when it is evenly and fairly applied, while still being as competitive as possible. I have passed by certain spots because someone beat me there. I have had people run in on me because they knew I was catching them there. Don't like that. Especially don't like it from people who would scream bloody murder if you did the same thing back to them. I have stuck it out on spots anyway and I have also said the heck with it and left. Depends on the circumstances.

A few times I ran and fished 'my' spot I was on previously and took some good heat over it from someone else. I did it when I felt all parties had the same claim to it, and usually when it was an area, not a tiny 1-boat spot, and took the heat because I felt it was being applied by someone who would not reciprocate anyway but was just trying to have their cake and eat it too. It would be nice if everyone did unto others as they would have done to themselves, was honest about how they applied it for others 100% of the time, and if this was defined about the same way for everyone.

I was only addressing why B.A.S.S. may or may not present things the way they do. I don't like that side of competitive fishing but it does get a bunch of people talking. I guess sometimes they go with it. And often, they don't based on things you hear. I usually like it better when they don't. Just my personal preference.

I do wonder if someone only has something like this happen once or rarely, if they are less likely to make it public? I wonder if someone is a repeat offender they are more likely to air it out? Or do they just once in a while do it because it is a slow news day or something? It would be interesting to find out who actually makes these calls and why, wouldn't it?

[Mojo]

Alton also stated the "spot" Rojas was talking about was a 1 mile stretch of shoreline.  From my view, if I was there the first 3 days and was able to fish the final day, you're not moving me off that spot whether you're ahead by 1 pound or 15.  Too many times the leader comes up short at the end, and I want to be in position to win it if he falters.  I DO NOT take other fishermen's water though, only if it was mine as well.

1jav

That sounds about right.    Unless he pulled within a 100 ft and started trolling right in front of him, you said it right.

[djkimmel]

I don't like the anglers who run about 1 cast in front of your boat and start fishing ahead of you in the same direction. I also don't like someone who fishes down a bank at me and their cast lands between my last cast and my boat.

I don't mind anglers as much who run behind me a cast or two and head the other way very often.

It would again depend upon how small a spot I was fishing and in a multi-day tournament, whether or not I have been the only one there, doing good and someone 'new' shows up.

[MaizeNBlue]

Just another "my spot" argument. No one owns the water, no one owns a spot! Guys complain all the time about dock owners, complaints about fishing around their docks, cause they do not own the water...how is this different? Alton had fished day 1 there...both in the top 12 ...and Rojas was shocked to see him there? Sounds childish to me. Alton didn't pull up on him, or invade his space, or just show up out of the blue, or anything unsportsman like. May not have been the most courteous of things to do, but it is a competition.

[fiker]

I"ve been watching major league fishing.  There are several instances there where the anglers have cut each other off fishing a line of docks.  A few things were said, but nobody actually ticked off.

Nobody owns the water.   A few years ago I fished a tx with Joshimoto.  He told me that nobody owns the water.  In local tournaments on inland lakes, the number of quality spots are limited.  Just because a guy has fished tx's. there for years doesn't mean it's his spot and you've gotta bow to seniority.

I don't fish tournaments anymore.  But I"ve seen where guys in a tx figured that I should give up a  spot I'm already fishing on the lake when they showed up because they were in competition and that was "their spot".. 
I've also had guys tournament and not, cut right across my bow less than a cast length away and move into a spot I was headed for.  I'm not bashing tx guys.  I'm just saying that there is rudeness and unsportsmanlike behavior all over.  There just seems to be this sense of entitlement in our society sometimes on and off the water.
But on a better note, there are a lot more guys out there who are good sports than not.  They're out there just to have fun, and getting into an argument for them just detracts from it.
Personally if I meet another boat coming at me along a shoreline, I'll swing out into the lake around him and come back.