Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Bearing False Witness


"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor"
Exodus 20:16

This Email about the BP was sent to the Baxter Bass Snatchers, by a false accuser and coward (I don't know any Jon Beaupre):

-----Original Message-----From: Jon Beaupre [mailto:fishincops@yahoo.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 7:23 AMTo: Subject: Dave Maas-KNOWN CHEATER

If you have allowed Dave Maas into your club, you better think again!

He has a history of pre-fishing the morning of a tournament, fishing off limit waters during a tournament and knowingly fishing for bass out of season.

Here is proof of his pre-fishing on the day of the tournament (cheating) from his own blog:

______________________________________________________
posted by Basspastor
6:49 PM 0 comments
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Proof Positive that BP is a bass tournament cheater: http://basspunditthq.blogspot.com/2006/03/team-bass-guygal-sylviatwin-july-23rd.html

http://basspunditthq.blogspot.com/2006/03/team-bass-guygal-sylviatwin-july-23rd.htmlDoes this make me a Bass "Perp"?????
_____________________________________________________


Now, he says that "he didn't think it mattered", but he took second place, cashed a check and was subsequently asked to not return to the club.

Here is the quote from his blog: "Technically I think this was against the rules but it's the guy/gal tournament and so I didn't think it mattered. I wasn't pre-fishing. I knew this spot holds bass in the early morning and that I would not visit the spot in the tourney, and probably nobody else would as well."

The Team Bass club rules specifically stated that there was no pre-fishing the day of the tournament and just the fact that it helped him pattern a bite makes it cheating in most books. How did he know that no one else would fish that spot? It is just a bad excuse for his cheating.

Read the link and make your own decision!
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I have already once blogged about this "Cheating" accusation here. I also responded to the "Cowardly Lion" in the comments section of a blog post.

In this email that was sent to members in my new club, there are two outright bald faced lies.

I have never fished "off limit waters during a tournament."

I was not "subsequently asked to not return to the club"

As for the charge of "knowingly fishing for bass out of season," this has been thouroughly vetted on my blogs and it is neither illegal or unethical to catch bass out of season provided that you are legitimatly targeting a species of fish in it's open season. Do I catch bass trying to catch Dogfish and Crappie and Pike in the Spring? Yes, but so does everybody else who legally targets those species. The "Cowardly Lion" obviously cannot let a settled issue rest.

As for the "Cheating" at the Sylvia/Twin Guy/Gal tournament and the so called getting kicked out of the Team Bass Club. I think a further apology on my part is in order.

The Team Bass Club 2005 Guy/Gal Tournament was held July 23rd at Sylvia/Twin Lake in Wright County MN. My family had a cabin on Sylvia/Twin until I was 31 years old and is the lake I know better than any other and have fished more than any other. On the morning in question I arrived at the access early and headed to a shallow flat rocky point that doesn't have any pronounced drop off located on a weed flat. I went to this spot because I knew it held lots of little bass that bite on topwater in the morning before the sun gets up to high. I have fished this spot many mornings with buzzbaits and other topwaters and I can't remember ever catching a fish bigger than 12" off of it. The Guy/Gal tournament got off to a late start at 8AM or maybe it was 9am and by that time the little bass scatter from the exposed rocks and go onto the weed flat. The notion that I was establishing a pattern is ludicrious, there isn't another spot on the lake like it.

My plan for the day and what we did was fish Slop for 95% of the day. I did catch 1 keeper bass off a point but that point doesn't have rocks, isn't part of a weed flat, has a very sudden and distinct drop off, was wind blown, and I have caught many bass over 12" off of this particular point. That is 5 distinct differences between the two "points"

The Guy/Gal tournament does not count for any points in the Team Bass Standings and was a tournament I thought the club did for fun and trophies. I did not know money was on the line until we were at the weigh in and they handed out checks to the winners. Had I known money was on the line and someone would be hyper anal rententive about it, I would not have gone out and fished for fun early. There literally was nothing for me to gain by doing what I did except to enjoy myself and that is what I did. I probably caught a dozen 7-10" bass just like I thought I would. The spot has been consistant that way and I am willing to sacrifice size for topwater when I'm fishing for fun. I used a topwater popper to catch all of these little bass. I did not use a topwater popper at any time during the tournament. Yet another gapping whole in the theory I was "pre-fishing" to pattern fish.

How does my "sticking" little bass the morining of a tournament in any way benefit me for the tournament day?

The place I was fishing that morning was directly between the public access and the place where we headquartered the tournament in an area where the lake narrows down. While I was fishing I waved at several club boats as they passed by. I am sure at least 3 tournament boats saw me, and no protest was filed the day of the tournament. My sister-in-law Erin and I came in 2nd place and won a whole $100 and two trophies. I believe the "entry fee" to fish the tournament was under $20. In Team Bass you pay a flat fee at the beginning of the year and that is divided among all the tournaments.

Apparently the "Cowardly Lion" learned about what I did because they read my blog about it. This person obviously reads my blogs even though they hold a grudge against me. "Know your enemy" I guess. The "Cowardly Lion" has never addressed me directly but annonymously went to the Tournament Director Dale Glader and filed a protest months and months after the fact. I assume it is the same coward who sent the email to my new club. The Team Bass Tournament Director got my side of the story and did not DQ me and ask for the money back. If that would have been the punishment than I would have paid the money back. I was "punished" by not being allowed to fish the first tournament of the next season in WI. The Tournament Director was aware that I had no intention of fishing this tournament and so the actual punishment was less than a slap on the wrist.

As I noted above it is a bald faced lie that I was "subsequently asked to not return to the club." I fished two tournaments in 2006 and was headed to my third at the Horseshoe Chain in early July when I hit a deer and totaled my truck. I no longer had my vehicle to get to the tournaments and so I didn't go to any more tournaments that year. In 2007 I elected not to rejoin the Team Bass Club on my own, I was never asked to leave.

Since the "Cowardly Lion" still frequents my blogs, why don't you show a little courage and admit who you are and renounce the lies you have told about me. I want to hear about this incident where I fished on "off limit waters" during a tournament. I am not gonna hold my breath, but I am gonna say this:

The Guy/Gal tournament is supposed to be a for fun and money just happened to be on the line. My actions were predicated on the fact that I did not take that particular tournament seriously. I think your attitude and actions make you a Grade A Royal Prick, "lighten up Francis."

BTW "C.L." the guys who got the email think what you did is bush league and they have made up their minds and have allowed me to join the club.