The Harris Chain fished super-small at last week's Bassmaster Tour event. With boats crammed into spawning areas – not to mention six figures and two Classic berths on the line – competitor confrontations were inevitable. There was the David Dudley thing (and he wasn't the only one doing it), and there were other things.
A couple of other things involved Jim Bitter, who finished 2nd in the tournament. Bitter felt that others were encroaching on his water and that that cost him the win. But naturally the other anglers didn't see it that way.
The other angler on day 1, according to Bitter, was his long-time friend Bernie Schultz. Here's a bird's eye view of how that played out.
Bitter made a long run on a fog-shortened day 1 to Yale canal. He figured few people would make a run on a short day, but the canal was already crowded when he got there. He went down near the end, on one side. Right across the way, George Cochran, Guy Eaker and O.T. Fears were doing a round-robin on one area.
Schultz pulled in next, some way up from where Bitter was fishing. From what the two said to BassFan, right away there seemed to be some tension. Why? Several reasons.
> The two are friends, but neither expected to see the other there.
> Last year Schultz fished the same spot (and says he told Bitter about it after that event – Bitter denies it), finished 17th and if not for an 8-pounder lost at the boat would have made the Top 12 cut.
> The Harris Chain is Bitter's home water, but he finished 70th there in 2004 and fished different water than he did this year (though so did a lot of people).
In any case, last week the friends and fellow Florida pros fished around each other in that canal. From there, you can guess what happened. Bitter claims Schultz came in on him. Schultz disagrees and feels that he gave Bitter plenty of room. At some point, after a bit of tension, Schultz decided to go down and fish Bitter's used water. But Bitter thought Schultz was out of line and ran down to him. Schultz though the same of Bitter.
The upshot appears to be that Bitter started a heated argument with Schultz that was so loud in the boat-loaded canal that it made its way back to BASS tournament director Trip Weldon. After day 1, Weldon apparently delivered a strong message to them both that was something like, "Any more of that and you're both watching the rest of the tournament from the bank."
The next day, Bitter, who was leading after day 1, went back to the same spot. So did Schultz. But the two stayed away from each other as much as they could. Schultz ended up in 21st, and Bitter made the Top 12 cut in 1st.
That day, day 2, Bitter also complained about Ray Sedgwick fishing around him (Sedgwick finished 72nd). But Sedgwick, who said he didn't go to the canal on day 1 because of the fog delay, said he made a point of giving everyone who was doing well ample space.
The next day, day 3, Bitter felt Cochran was hole-jumping. He said he tried to protest Cochran on day 3, but Cochran said he had no issues with Bitter.
Friends No More?
The bottom line is that Bitter finished 2nd – and Eaker finished 4th and Cochran finished 7th, so the Yale canal had some fish.
About what he felt was hole-jumping, Bitter said: "I can tell you it cost me the tournament, without a doubt in my mind. And I'm not shutting up about it. They can call me a whiner, whatever they want to call me, but the people at BASS are not doing their duty to keep it halfway civilized (on the water), and it won't get any better with 50 more anglers (referring to 2006's bigger fields).
"Last year (BASS) did away with the anchor rule, and right now (some pros) think they can fish up to your boat – fish right up to you, around you, wherever they want. How can we have a decent sport like that?
"I went out of my way to get away from all that. I went to the worst lake on the chain. But no matter how far you run, you can't get away from it. They have to do something."
Bernie Schultz feels that Bitter was mentally unprepared for the crowded conditions.
Like what? "Let everyone buy a rangefinder and say you can't fish within 50 yards of someone in any direction."
Asked if he and Schultz were still friends, Bitter said: "We're not friends anymore. I don't need friends like that."
Schultz, who was upset by the incident, said: "It never should have happened. Everyone knew there would be traffic (in spawning areas), everyone knew it would be tight, and we were all dealing with it except for one loose cannon that went off on everybody. Because he lives there doesn't give him any territorial right to (any) stretch of water in that system.
He added: "I don't have a problem with competition. But when you're in an area with other competitors, you need to act in a sportsmanlike manner and (Bitter) didn't do that."
Notable
> Sedgwick noted that generally, "it's a whole different group of guys now than it was. They don't mind coming in on someone because it's competition. I usually don't go into the same creek or pocket if I see someone fishing it, but things have changed and I don't think you can change it back. If you can't turn around and go back and forth in one area, you can't protect it. It's a shame it's gotten that way, but it has."
> The irony about comments like "some pros think they can fish right up to your boat now" and "a whole different group of guys now" is that everyone mentioned in this article has been a tour angler for a long time.
