Everyone Loses In 'Wave Rage'

Friday, January 23, 2004
by Ray Scott

Everyone lost in the New Orleans "wave rage" incident.

No, I'm not impressed by the Plaquemines Parish DA who had videotaped evidence in hand. The gun-toting bayou resident may be a hero to his neighbors, but my many friends in New Orleans and South Louisiana are appalled and apologetic.

The lone shooter simply does not represent the friendly residents of Louisiana, where hunting and fishing are a way of life. That part of the world remains one of my all-time favorite destinations and I certainly would not let the actions of one individual prevent BASS from returning to New Orleans.

Before I get caught up in the high and hot emotions I am picking up on BassFan, let me express another fear other than being on the wrong end of a gun barrel.

The shooting incident was frightening for sure. But it represents much more to me. I worry about tournament and wave rage everywhere. The general boating and fishing public is getting hair-trigger nerves.

Think about it. Crowded boat ramps. Jammed parking lots. A vast increase in tournament numbers. And a decrease in the number of bites for the weekend fisherman looking for a few quiet hours of relaxation.

Rules Important from the Start

The Classic incident represents a real and present danger for tournament fishermen, a danger that I saw in the earliest days of tournaments. That danger was one of the reasons I insisted and enforced tight rules. Make that rigid rules. Because one slip-up in those early years, and there might not be professional tournament fishing today.

Believe me, there were some moans, groans and complaints every tournament after we went over the rules and the local "prohibitions." And at every tournament I reminded competitors, "Don't forget, we're guests."

For many years BASS had the only tournament trail in town with just a handful of tournaments a year. Now everyone has jumped on the bandwagon. Not just full- blown national trails, but hundreds of local tournaments as well.

BASS spent over 30 years creating the good-guy bass angler image – but it could have been otherwise. In my book, few sports attract such quality individuals as bass fishing. But it also took rules, regulations, lots of discipline and plain old good manners.

Every time we as bass fishermen, and especially tournament fishermen, misbehave in any way, anytime we don't go more than halfway to be courteous and mindful of local residents, we are inviting crackdown. On horsepower. On speed limits. On number of tournaments. On number of entries. On creel limits. We are inviting special tournament license fees.

On the best day we are intimidating, and it takes only one rotten apple. Look at the guy with the shotgun. He single-handedly planted an undeserved big black eye on New Orleans and the surrounding area.

Thank the good Lord for Gary Klein, who literally grew up on the BASS Tournament Trail. He is a pro and a gentleman. Another angler who was less calm, cool and poised could have blackened our eye. He handled it right.

Landowners and Anglers

Make no mistake, not everyone likes us. And when it's homeowners and johnboats and family boaters against tournament competitors in 20-foot lean, mean bass fishing machines racing across the water or invading quiet sloughs, don't hold your breath as to who will win.

Canals especially can be problematic. Many are dredged to create waterfront property for homeowners, and those homeowners can be hostile to say the least. It brings to mind an incident at Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee.

It was the mid 1970s and the late Billy Westmorland, the famed Tennessee smallmouth expert, was exhibiting his skill with largemouths. Billy had hauled off the previous year's title with 49 pounds, 2 ounces, and he was leading the this January tournament after the first day, when he came to the weigh-in trailer in a quandary.

His said: "Ray, I can win this tournament if I'm allowed to fish up in the canals. But those folks up there are kind of unfriendly." Billy was a big man, and said that the property owners had not directly threatened him, "But one feller is walking around with a .22 rifle acting like he's lookin' to shoot snakes around his dock."

He hesitated. Now, Billy presented an imposing sight in the bow of a bass boat – a solid 230-pounder not subject to back down from a challenge.

"There's one little bitty old lady that may be trouble," Big Bill said. "She's trying to intimidate me." How so? I asked. "Yesterday she hauled her garden hose down to the dock and threatened to spray me good." What happened I asked. Westmorland grinned: "I put on my rain gear."

My point? Anti-tournament sentiment is not something new. Be aware, tournament anglers are in the minority, and as a group we need to be especially mindful of public relations.

But "wave rage" or "tournament rage" is absolutely no excuse to endanger a bass boater with a firearm.

Sadly everyone was a loser in this incident – especially the good people of south Louisiana, and the fishermen who won't go back.