Chris Phillips

I have received numerous PM's and phone calls regarding what actually happened this past weekend at the Bud Light Tournament. Basically the winners of the inshore division are being accused of placing bleach bottles around Fred Levin's dock (a popular spot for inshore tournament anglers) to prevent other anglers from catching fish there.

It's true that these guys are friends of mine, as are a number of teams who fished the tournament. Some of the rumors I've heard are ridiculous, there is nothing for me to gain out of ?helping a team out?. My own family fishes the tournament and they pay the same entry and follow the same rules as everyone else!<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in">The incident could have very well happened, but I don't have any and no one else thus far has provided any factual proof. I will say that if they did it, then it was a lowlife move. We hired a professional polygraph service and he passed the test. <P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in">Rumors are a big part of fishing tournaments, following nearly every tournament whether it's a local rodeo or televised event there are rumors. There have been rumors that three of the top five teams did something that could be looked at for disqualification.<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in">The bleach bottle trick is very popular in big tournaments in South FL and has been a joke amongst a large group of anglers around here for several years now. I heard that several different teams we're going to bleach bottle spots the night before the tournament, but I just took them all as jokes as we all have for a while now!<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in">We try to make the rules as simple as possible, so everyone can have a fun weekend and not stay stressed about the rules. I fished FLW Redfish Tournaments for years and the rules are so precise you literally have to to watch every step you take. <P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in">The rumors have made everyone take a closer look at the rules and now many people notice things that could be taken as ?cheating?. The most recent argument is that people are breaking a federal law by fishing off limits areas and not being disqualified. <P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in">It's sad that this is what its came to and everyone can't go out and catch the best three fish and bring them to the scales. We will not stand for cheating in the tournament, so next year the rules will be much more precise.<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in">I'm pretty much done with this thread and this topic, because I don't think there is anything that can come out of the discussion...

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Captain Chris Phillips
www.hotspotstackle.com
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69Viking

I think Chris sums it up pretty well, it if happened it's a lowlife move but time to get over it. What I don't get is the Levin dock the only dock in Pcola or Gulf Breeze to fish? I can assure you in the Destin area we don't fight over one dock. As far as bleaching an area, that has to be the most childish fishing move I have ever heard of. WOW! :banghead

AV8TR

I may be the only one in the dark here, but what does bleaching an area mean?

Nat-Light

Throwing out some bottles of bleach with holes in them on a fishing spot to drive away the fish.

curtpcol

Bleach bottles now I have heard it all ,fishing where you are not supposed to be . The rules are going to have to change .There's a lot of money on the table now for inshore fishing tournaments and the competition is getting greater and greater . So what if the rules are to the penny just gives everybody and equal chance in winning. There will be people that bend the rules but if you are caught then by all means you should be disqualified.

JoeZ

I'd like to thank everyone involved in this clusterf*&amp;k for making life as a tournament director that much more difficult.

Now costs will go up because when I print a 24-page advertising book, I'll have to add 13 pages of rules. Trust me, you'll need time, and a comfy chair to get through them all and a small FEMA loan to help pay for the costs.

Wharf Rat

Probably just won't fish it, so cost won't be a problem. I like how you turned it around and put the guilt on everyone that is voicing their concern over this...that's neato. Seriously though, the true victims in this situation are the poor clorox bottles that had holes punched into them.

countryjwh

first off, people are mad but it is time to get over it. there was a lie detector test done and i assume that the director did do everything they had to do to get the best answer they could. if it were kids, they can't keep a secret and they will tell when they think everyone has forgot about it. it may be days or even months, but when there is hard evidence something can be done. until then, get over it.

tide99

They DID NOT pass a polygraph pertaining to bleaching the dock, like implied above. They passeda polygraph about breaking rules during tournament hours, which they did not. That does not make bleaching a dock after a captains meeting ok. Also, only one tournament director had even heard of these rumors before the polygraph. Seems shady that Chris is the director that knew and did not tell the others.

The "kids" should be given another polygraph and asked the right questions. If not and no action is taken about this unsportsmanlike sabotage behavior myself and my family will never fish it again. Even if they cannot take the boat and money away at this point they can ban them from the BudLight forever, that right is in the current rule book!

When you ask the right people the right questions you get the answers you are looking for.

JoeZ

Oh no, not twisting on those voicing concerns, just the ones "involved" Hall. The rest of you are good to go. I'm only upping the cost on people I think might cheat. I might even administer a lie detector before the captains' meeting.

Officer: Are you a douche bag and might you cheat?

Angler A: No.

LIAR! DQ.

But, yes, let's start a save the Clorox fund. I've got a catchy slogan.



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"Bleach is for socks, not for docks!"