I hadn't been over to bassfan.com in awhile. They have an interesting couple of interviews -- one with Jim Bitter & another with George Cochrane, about a dispute that erupted in a BASSMaster event @ the Harris Chain of Lakes. Apparently, there was some coverage of the dispute on ESPN (I wouldn't know, I have only seen about *one tournament* on BASSMasters since ESPN took over -- too damn early for me to be watchin' TV on a Saturday morning!).

Anyway, it's an interesting look at what happens when other fishermen start encroaching on "someone's else's water" -- even the top pro's, apparently, have their moments of heated 'debate' on the water. I guess with more & more money on the line for these hi-profile tournies, it's bound to become an issue every now & then.

In any case, maybe this can generate a discussion on our board about the 'rules' of encroachment in our tournies. I thought BnT's rules stated something about this, but I'm not seeing it now (was it ever there, or am I imagining it?). Apparently, we're leaving it as a basic 'gentlemen's agreement,' to be dealt with on the water as it happens, with some supposed 'understanding' of what constitutes "encroachment"?

Does SCBBBC have a more definitive rule on this issue? I seem to recall a comment from one of the guys at one of the Sonoma tournies, where I had apparently (unwittingly) gotten a little too close for comfort.

I don't know -- can we have a quiet discussion without flaming up the gas here? How 'bout we give it a try?

Whether or not we get a thread going on this, I recommend listening to those two Bassfan.com interviews to see how the story changes from one guy's perspective to the other's.