........As for tailpipers, we all know who they are and we all know they suck. Most of them are tailpipers because they can't do it on their own. That's a whole other issue.

I totally agree, that these are 2 separate issues. I hope we keep them separate. I will repeat what I have suggested years ago. Submit gps waypoints prior to take off. If you ‘happen to find” others number 1 spot during tournament hours too bad and too sad.

......“I don't think the founding farthers/tournament directors ever considered drafting rules for this type of team before and that if it is to continue it needs to be addressed possibly with rules that level the playing field for everyone, including the 20 year old that mortgages his house to live his dream.”

LOL, many of the “founding fathers were on the same team.

..........And one other thing. Anyone who thinks these guys are in it soley to satisfy their own competitive juices? Um, no. It's about the money. Always has been, always will be. To think otherwise is naive. The 20 yr old that mortgages his house to live that dream? He's a fool, and deserves what he gets.

Yes, it is about the money. Always has been however it is done to stimulate those competitive juices too. As far as the 20 year old comment, The NPAA and the tournaments themselves need to do a better job of educating the young od the sport. If they die financially the sport suffers too.

........FLW was the start of the organized crime. The posse lead the way. They did it well and took lots of cash that was on the table. Nothing against that crew, you played by the rules.

That is a very negative statement followed by a disclaimer that you have nothing against them and they played by the rules. I for one do not believe that the FLW was the start of the organized crime. What happened was people took it very serious and read the rules as all “pro’s” should do. They asked questions and did things that the rules allowed that others did not think of. They have actually done more for the sport than most because of their “lawyering” of the rules. Many positive changes have occurred because of their questions, interpretations, and delivery. We do morph as a sport and they were a part of many rule interpretations that have been changed, questioned or qualified.

.............Sponsors, hmmmmm...... who won that event, shoot, I dont know, he is part of the posse, do we want to be a part of that, hmmm.... lets sit back and watch...... oh what did I see? There main sponsors are also the main sponsors of the FLW. Where would I fit in if I do not want to play with Walmart?

We all make decisions in business. Play by their rules or look elsewhere. Thankfully AIM allows you to make choices.

 ........also, There’s Jerry blocking guys so him and his get a piece of the kingdom, now it just gets greedier.

Jerry did nothing wrong and I am glad that the tailpipers of the world had someone stand up to them. Many of us could tell horrendous stories of tailpiping especially when 300k to 400k are on the line. I have seen the posse be negatively impacted by the hounds that followed them to the Promised Land. And unfortunately, we are not just talking about a few.  The only thing Jerry did wrong was include this antidote into the conversation. IMHO, it should be separated from the original conversation.

.........So Stacker, you are saying that a governing body, AIM for instance, should determine how teams operate? AIM is going tell jerry, his team can share only X% of their winnings. And how many members can make up a team? And what kind of boats they must all have, and motors, electronics, etc? How about who prefishes when and where?

Yes Shep, the organization can make rules on team participation if they choose. They can make more decisions than you aor I may want, need or desire. No, they can’t tell how to run/do some specific things behind closed doors. But they certainly cam change a the major make-up of team organization if they choose.

I for one would be delighted to be a part of the organized Posse Team or the KP Team. The future will be interesting.

If you respond (we always know Stacker does lol), I’m off for 5 days of fishing, Not ignoring you if you call me out.

Well ........................

Jerry shared a story so i will too. The short answer is that I know there was no rule in 2001. And as a "boater" in 2006 through 2008, I do not recall any specific language to tailpiping. Unfortunately i did not keep the rules from back then.

I can tell you a quick story from a situation that would be an hour conversation.  It was 2001 on Green bay for the RCL (prior to FLW name change) Championship. $400,00 was at stake.

The posse was on very big fish at the Green Island area. The team brought in 26 to 32 pounds of fish to the scales.  There were no more than 7-8 boats in this area on day 1 (4 of the boats being from 1 team).

I was a co-angler for this event and was doing cartwheels because I drew Tom Keenan for day 2. (I believe the day 1 leader). Tommy had left and I stuck around the weigh-in area. Much to my surprise, many (and I mean many) of the "Pro's were talking that they were heading out the promised land of Green Island to follow the leaders. I don't know how (but I speculate a co-angler spilled his guts) but they all knew the program and location. I called Tommy on the phone to report what i was hearing about the "tailpipers".

His first reaction was NO WAY. I then preceded to tell him his whole program. I knew specific location, depth, lures and colors. Just by listening to the crowd.

I prefer not to go into any great detail on the conversation(s) we had and with his team.

I was with Tommy when he talked to Sonny Renolds the next morning. Tommy explained the situation. Sonny's only suggestion was to throw out a buoy. Rules stated that contestants had to stay a certain distance away from a competitor's buoy. Tommy explained that this would not work because he was trolling an area.  Sonny's reply was to throw out 2 buoys.

What I witnessed this day upset my stomach and mental health. I counted 40 boats on the spot. please believe me, I personally counted 40 boats. It was joke! I witnessed people cutting other people off (not a Jerry tactic but through stupidity). I witnessed boat so close together that they were getting their lines tangled together. At one point we watched to "Pro's" fighting what they thought was a big fish until they realized they were tangles with each other going in opposite directions.

What should have been a great day with a great Pro and friend turned into a nightmare. We caught one fish before we gave up and went to the river to try and salvage the day. 

Not the fondness of memories about Tournament fishing.

hmmmmmmm...............

Johnny V, I'm not sure who you are directing these statements to but I don't believe anyone is lumping all anglers together. We all know there are bad apples and more than we would hope for. 

I think you are the one lumping people together (the Gary quote). I'm not sure how well you know most of the people responding to this thread? I know many of them personally for quite a few years now. I assure you that they are NOT whiners AND they HAVE put their money where their mouth is. And they (we) have been doing it for a very long time. Not all at the highest level, but many of us. I think many responding have paid our dues long enough to be entitled to an opinion on the subject.

Yes, I know Gary and I believe i will ask him if he thinks I am a whiner the next time we meet. ROTFLMAO  After being a part of and listening to several conversations (and email) about tournament fishing with Gary and Kieth I believe we agree about most of this content.