Sorry Randy, there's no 'Misunderstanding' . . . everyone has their right to an 'OPINION' . . . same as You. There are several key points you're missing, (and are probably biased based on your decades of competitive fishing. #1. - It's a PUBLIC water way. Like it or not. Until BASS /MILF can get a lake closed for competitors only, the anglers will HAVE to deal with all legal public activity that goes on . . .good or bad. #2. - That angler had ZERO obligation to leave, share, or give up that spot. Morally, ethically, or otherwise. He had 100% every right to be there, and stay there. By you saying, Quote, "I wanna bring everyone down to reality" . . . "It's about doing the right thing , it's about showing some empathy" . . . . Right there you are on a high-horse and stating your 'OPINIONS' as facts . . . . and that's only at the begining of the video. #3 - Your '3-types of weekend anglers' analogy the 'courteous, the 'passive aggressive' and the "Dicks who are trying undermine or give the pro's a hard time'. Again, you're painting your OPINIONS with a narrow brush stroke, and trying to paint the 'courteous' anglers in a positive light #4 - Again I'll quote you , "You've got your livelihood on the line, you've got your career on the line" . . . . guess what? . . . that makes ZERO difference on a public waterway. You can throw that argument straight out the window. When you choose a profession where your office is on public water, you HAVE to assume every single mitigating factor. You're starting to tread the 'entitlement line' with that one Randy. Chris's 'career' is of ZERO concern to John Q Public, and NO . . .that person DOES NOT need to take the time to, "reverse the roles" . . . sorry, those are FACTS. Lastly . . . with regards to ''on the water interactions with other tournament anglers. What You choose to do in your situations is ENTIRELY Your choice, and Your choice only . . . there is no obligation, for EITHER PARTY...
After being a mostly a weekend angler on the water for decades along with a fair number of tournaments mixed in, it’s my opinion that a very large number of tournament anglers have a sense of entitlement. If you don’t have a plan B, C or D, that’s on you.
The way I see it , Chris made a mistake by not asking as soon as he rolled in if he could fish that little elbow as he stated in his video was his intentions. The local handled it like a dick and Chris escalated it. In the end , this amount of backlash on such a simple little altercation shows what we have become, a bunch of keyboard warriors. I don't look any differently on either angler, hell back and forth like that happens in parking lots everyday. "SOCIAL MEDIA MADE Y'ALL WAY TOO COMFORTABLE WITH DISRESPECTING PEOPLE AND NOT GETTING PUNCHED IN THE FACE FOR IT." -MIKE TYSON
Randy- I take my Father who is 82 fishing once a month, on a public body of water- I DO NOT CARE ABOUT A TOURNAMENT- it might be the last time I ever fish with him. BTW, I have more had more Tournament Fisherman come in on Dad and I than any other fisherman- Stop defending, Chris’s attitude was wrong- period end of story.
You certainly did open up a hornets nest. There is no excuse for how he acted. PERIOD. Professional angler the first and most important word is Professional. No matter how the local acted he did not act Professional. I hate hate hate hate hate hate tournaments because you anglers think you own the water. I was an active duty soldier for 21 years deployed for many many years and then did ten years contracting traveling again all over serving this great country. When I get my one day to be on the water nothing bothers me more than some Ahole pulling up within casting distance starting to fish without asking first then after 3 casts blows out like there is a fire. Long time friend of my Dad used to keep empty beer bottle in his boat. If you were in bottle range you were to close. Granted he was Marine golden gloves boxing champ and those were different times. The 70s. But believe me I have never forgotten that. If you are on the water be courteous you dont know who you are running up on or how their day is going.
it goes both ways. i fish occasional tournaments but i also fish recreational most of the time. the guys in the tournaments usually show me more respect than the guys out fun fishing. granted we are pretty much all locals on this small lake. the bottom line in fishing as in life, respect is a two way street
Not only that, his choice of employment comes with the knowledge that he is going to be fishing public water. It's the equivalent of a guy working customer service bitching that he has to deal with customers.
Besides, these pros only roll into town once a year (maybe) to fish a lake in a state they don't live in. Sure, they buy a fishing license, but only because they have to. The local anglers pay taxes in their state, which in turn helps to create and maintain the local resources. So, who's office is it now? The entitlement of these guys...
Randy, you should probably leave this alone. The more it gets talked about the worse it gets. A smart man knows when to be quiet.I think you’re pretty smart. It takes someone years to build a good reputation and brand and one dumb minute to ruin it.
Zaldain was wrong. Period. Pretty open and shut regardless of who youre buddies with. We all screw up, it happens but the fact he doesnt straight up just apologize and own it makes it that much worse.
@@mikelembke5121 no, I'm not wrong. I didn't say both sides weren't wrong The other side handled it poorly 100% but the other guy doesn't have a RUclips channel and isn't trying to sell you lures. Everyday while calling himself a pro. And the fact that he just keeps pointing out that they were both wrong instead of just saying. Hey, I messed up is my biggest issue
What gets me is he has never really apologized. No body is perfect but he did it wrong. He needs to man up and get intouch with these guys and do the right thing.
Yep. One mistake like this doesn't define someone. However, not only did he not own it or apologize, he doubled down and talked bad about the dude again on his next podcast episode.
Pros don’t have any more right to the water than anyone else. We all pay the same for a fishing license and it’s public water. Courtesy goes a long way. Acting like a manchild over one sliver of water on an enormous body of water shows a ton about character. No reason to threaten anyone because you didn’t prep enough way points.
What happened yesterday in the BPT Tournament on the James River with Jacob Wheeler cutting Matt Becker off really puts all this in perspective. A Pro Angler damn sure doesn't have respect for a local angler when he has zero respect for his fellow competitors. The problem with Tournament Fishing is Tournament Fishing, the Organization, the Anglers just keep shooting themselves in the foot!
I am the type that if I run into someone on the water and they are in a tournament I give them the area. On the other hand I don't pull up on people. I try to stay as far away from other boats as I can. I thought it was bad back in WV with people pulling up on same spot but it was nothing compared to here in Alabama. Especially when a tournament is going on. They will pull within 50 feet of another boat and just fish right in front of them. I refuse to do that. In no situation is it ok to pull up on same spot a person is fishing. First person to it gets it, period.
Had a year pull right on the other side of a tree me and my buddy was flipping and started flipping the same tree 5 yrds away this guy wad a well know tournament angler in the area. I couldn't believe it.
@@Lexithegreat has same thing happen to me at guntersville except it was a dock. I was on left side fishing towards right and ole dude just pulls up on front of dock. Finally got him to leave, went straight to next dock in line and another boat done same exact thing. 🤦🏻♂️
Randy, Zaldain was wrong, period! No excuse! On top of that he's done a follow up video plus a podcast and has never said he was in the wrong, that magnifies this entire situation. You defending him magnifies the situation. You guys need to get it through your head, you don't own the water and you need to stop getting butt hurt if local anglers don't yield to you guys. The majority of us do not care if you are fishing for money. Think of it as the way we feel,tournament fisherman are a neusance to local anglers.
Yes.....these pros crying constantly is ridiculous. The truth is, there probably wouldn't even be FFS if not for how tournament fishing is driving the industry towards efficiency and innovation. The root cause in all the things people hate about bass fishing is exploding popularity and the rise of tournament bass fishing. Randy has even touched on this exact point to his credit and very intelligently identified this paradox, but at the end of day he makes his living in the industry and has a vested interest in all of this. Tournament fisherman are killing more fish, pressuring and educating more fish and 100% making fishing more difficult for everyday anglers. And then they have the balls to cry about it.
Zaldain did post a vid a couple days ago saying he was wrong. Not defending the dude but fishing for a living is a lot different (i’d imagine) but keep trying to cancel the dude even after sayin he was wrong! Y’all way to angry
The weekend guy was already there. There’s no high road.. Chris rolled up on him like his 💩 didn’t stink and immediately started talking smack to the guy THAT WAS ALREADY THERE!!!
Don’t hurt yourself backpedaling! CZ didn’t handle it correctly in the moment and has not since. Pro anglers (bait and tackle salesmen). Should embrace the other anglers. Pro tournaments are vehicles for selling fishing products. I have never seen a salesman of any other product berating a potential consumer. CZ should be suspended and what he did was clearly threatening the other angler. You guys are a menace to bass fishing! The only reason bass tournaments exist is to sell fishing products. Be nice to your customers! If it’s such a headache get a real job.
A pro angler's time on the water is "definitely not" more important than a recreational fisherman's. Fishing is a love and passion for most of us that do it regardless if its our job or not. Chris was wrong in his approach and how he handled it. Not what I would call being a good ambassador of the sport of bass fishing at all.
I will use myself as an example. I'm an ER nurse so I might only get one day off a week after working 50 to 65 hours a week. If I decide to go fishing on my one day off and some asshole professional angler rolls up on my spot that I'm fishing, we're going to have a problem...HE will. To insinuate that recreational fisherman should give way to somebody fishing a tournament simply because they have money on the line is stupid. It's not my job to care about the fact that some guy is trying to fish for money. I'm trying to enjoy a couple hours on the lake before I have to go back to work again tomorrow, and I'm not going to let some asshole who's fishing for money run me off of a spot that I was in already.
I get what your saying and I agree but I have always loved professional bass fishing. I worked 12 hour swing shifts for 34 years so I totally understand.If a professional came up to me respectfully and ask me to fish the spot I was already on then I would let them have it. The way Chris went about it would have pissed me off.
@@davidharris4030 if he wouldn't have come in on plane and then just started crowding me, I would have considered it. If he had been nice about it and ASKED, I would have told him "Sure thing bud." However, they way he actually did it, id've been chucking 3/4oz bullet weights at his LiveScope screens.
@@TheAverageFisherman99 I agree because it looked very disrespectful to me. I am going by the video footage I watched. Super unprofessional and I never would have thought Zaldain would have done that. I was kinda hoping we didn’t see the right angle/footage that shows something different. I would have given the spot over to any of the pros provided they did it respectfully and the correct way of approach.
How do you know that guy and his buddy didn't fish those pilings everyday for years? Maybe they disliked tournaments and tournament fishers because they felt they are ruining their fish habitats and didn't care.
Chris fished that area in practice so you are wrong the locals were out of line ,there was plenty of distance but Chris could've handled it differently
Don't think there was as much distance as he was saying like one go pro user said they are alot closer than it looks and when he came barging in looked pretty close
Yup... And it looks like alienating the customers of those sponsors is what Randy and Chris are doing... Disrespecting those guys who pay the bills so they have the privilege of fishing for a living instead of the backbreaking work that a lot of their customers do...
I don't care who is fishing a tournament or who is a pro. It's public water and everyone has the right to fish a spot if they are there first. If they are there second, it should be a slow approach and quiet request to fish next to the person already on the spot. I had tournament pros come up on one side of a point with the trolling motor while I was coming from the other side in my kayak. I stopped, seeing how they were fishing fast and I'm always cautious because I'm in a kayak. The front pro called out to me and asked if i was fishing the point out to about 15' of water. I said, No, I'm just hitting this side right now. I'm much slower than ya'll so you go ahead and I'll back off so you can hit this side of the point as well. He said, Don't worry about moving! I'm moving out to the point and then pulling out and heading out to another point. Later, as he was pulling up his trolling motor, he said There are some good bass at about 12' deep and along the lake side of the point. We didn't catch them, so give it a shot. That is how mature human beings handle the situation.
I went back a looked at the video Chris posted that revealed the whole event. I'm not sure where his mind is but I would not have posted that video as any kind of defense. Chris's behavior is beyond embarrassing. IMO, Randy, you are not doing yourself any favor, or for Chris, defending, in any way, that kind of behavior and attitude. I sure had much better opinion of Chris than I do now after watching what he did and how he acted. This kind of approach and attitude is enough to upset any reasonable person. The sense of entitlement is absolutely insane here in the real world...
@@kravenfoxbodies2479game warden doesn’t own public water lol. Long as it’s a public water and you have a fishing license he can’t do jack let alone claim the water
Chris wasn’t occupying the sane spot hence their boats were sitting in two different positions. So one could argue that Chris was technically not in his spot. The local guy doesn’t own the whole point. Chris is only in the hot seat since he chirped back
@@jasonsmith2439 They can visit you at home if you have been doing something illegal to game, also in NC they carry guns on their side, these are the same Law Enforcement that put those dummies of deer out at the edge of the field or woods looking for dummies to shoot one from the road.
The local here was not in the wrong in any way. What are you talking about pro anglers taking the high road?? Zaldain made himself look like an absolute clown, then doubled down on it. His entire chirp session saying things like "are YOU in a tournament?" "this aint a local derby" etc being a complete d-bag with pretty much everything he said. That guy was fishing that point, plain and simple. Zaldain came in hot, didn't say anything, right in front of the guy on the inside of the point - it's not like he was working the point in the opposite direction either.
This issue is a double edged sword. I was fishing a Wisconsin lake on a weekend with family.in the boat. Anyone who goes back with Ranger knows Forrests good buddy and retired Ranger employee Nub Spooner. Nub's grandson was with me fishing docks and we got cut off by a boat that came from nowhere and cut us off two docks ahead. I knew the pattern and what to throw and we remained cool for a minute until we were boating fish and Nub's grandson starting yelling "You missed one" every time we boated a fish. The dude had no idea if we were even in the tournament, so he got what he deserved as we released fish after fish until he pulled up the troller and left. Had that dude popped in and asked if we were in the tourney we would have been far more accomodating.
They may be good dudes but weekend anglers are worn out by the sheer number of tournaments and boats on the water now. There is so much pressure on the fish it’s ridiculous.
I think the biggest problem is the way he handled it after the incident. He makes 2 videos of trying to make this guy look bad by leaving certain key details out. At one point he makes the comment about the guy "smoking his cigarette" like why does that even matter? I think if he wouldve just made a video apologizing for the way he handled the situation, it would've been much better received. I have been fishing a spot and a guy rolled up on me saying he was 5th or 6th and had a good shot at winning and asked if he could fish the spot. I let him and went on. But he had the courtesy to ask at least and didn't just roll up and say that he was more important because he was in a tourney.
You are exactly right and spot on! That is why defending him is not a good idea! Bottom line CZ was wrong and it blows my mind he doesn’t see this! I would give my spot away to anyone in a big tournament if they act respectful.
I try not to fish a lake where a major tournament is in progress. But if I'm fishing a local tournament and someone pulls up and wants me to leave, I will when I'm through fishing the spot.
This is a problem that's easy to solve with no confrontation. Whether I'm fishing a tournament or just fishing for fun, if I pull up on my hotspot and see someone else there, I leave for another spot I've marked. If it's the only place you have to fish, you didn't do your homework. Them's the breaks.
If anyone wants to, you can go back in Randy's archives and pull up a video with Randy talking about how to handle these situations. In that video Randy says pull up respectfully and ASK if you can fish the spot, just the way Randy even says he did in in his examples given in this video. That's not what happened with Chris, so I'm not surprised the local didn't just up and leave. I wouldn't have left either in that case. I would have left it if he had asked just as I have in other situations. Now, Chris has made another video where he doesn't take responsibility and Randy has made a second video trying to rationalize why Chris wasn't in the wrong because he's a 'good' guy. You're not improving anyone's opinion of tournament fishermen with lame explanations of how it really wasn't Chris' fault.
I’ve always been a big fan of Zaldain. The thing that bothers me most about the whole situation was that he still doesn’t believe he was in the wrong. I respect the fact that he’s your friend, but I could never picture you running up on someone like that, saying the self entitled things he said, then running your boat right up to and in front of someone because you believe you are better and have more rights to the water than them. You say these things happen every tournament, but I’ve fished hundreds and have never acted like this and have never has anyone act like this to me.
CZ has come out on a video stating that he was in the wrong. Sorry I don't remember who's channel it was on. Another guy was in the video so I don't remember if it was the other guys channel or CZ.
My issue with this is that the pro anglers want to say this is my job. Spare me! I love fishing. I love to watch RUclips and I have learned a lot, but please don’t call this a job! It’s like you said Randy. It’s an Elltest sport now. You get to run around on $100,000 boat and a beautiful lake fish all day and if you’re good enough, you can win some money. More power to you that’s great and I’m happy for you but don’t call this a job please! And if you get that pissed at someone for trying to enjoy the lake too because you’re worried about your paycheck maybe you need to go get a real job!
I think the biggest problem that I have noticed from the pro side is that each and every one of them (that I have ever heard on a pod or otherwise) truly believes that every single person that owns a boat or has even been in a boat is a die-hard pro tournament fan. When in reality the amount that actually follow the pro tours is very small, think of it like golf, millions and millions of people golf but only a small % follow the PGA/LIV tours. My father in law has both golfed and fished for 70+ years and can maybe name 4 pro golfers and didn’t even know that there was a “pro tour” for fishing
I can see why there's not a lot of empathy from the weekend, working man's perspective towards dudes that want to play hookey for a living. We'd all like to blow off our 9-5 jobs, and just go fishing, but most of us aren't that finacially irresponsible, or blessed. Public lake fishing is supposed to be a recreation, not an occupation. Most of us weekend warriors are sick of the constant hammering of our favorite fisheries by the multitude of tournaments that are scheduled during our only days off, the weekends.
He was in the wrong!!!!! He ran up on the boat without any regard to them then threatened the dude about his job. While i was a big fan of Zal, not anymore! He doesn't own the water and a tax paying citizen can fish anywhere he dam well pleases!!! Screw tournament fishers! And i use to be one! Now if he would have asked if they didn't mind fishing the point with them that would have been different.
The real test of a man is when they stick to principles instead of a friend that goes off the rails- they will drag you down with them! I've seen friends stick with a club cheater instead of sticking with the concept of following the state laws and principles of fair play. The cheater's friends left the club, but it was not a great loss.
Wow you must fish with different tournament anglers than what we see !! A lot of people are wanting all tournaments stopped because of how these guys act and the mortality rates of bass after they are caught
This is a easy problem to address. I live on the Potomac river. When in a Tourny , if I find someone fishing a "hole" I came to fish. Just leave! Go to a secondary place nearby. Most weekend anglers dont have the patience to sit on a spot for more than 1/2 hour, If that! I know the pilings you are talking about on the river. it gets hammered on the weekends. But Anglers will come make one or two pass's and leave. If you ask someone to share they think "I was here 1st" and stay longer then they would of otherwise cause you showed interest. Thats when they become dickheads! I like Chris but he handled it wrong. The heat of the competition got the better of him. Hell Iv'e done it too. Thats how I learned to just leave and come back a little later. Btw, I think its cool that you stand up for your friend even when he was clearly wrong. Shows your a true friend.
I agree with everything you're saying but can't defend something that is blatantly wrong. I get Chris's your friend I respect that, but a true friend would tell him he was wrong. I still like Chris and I still will follow him It's just so frustrating that he's too arrogant to admit that he was completely wrong in this
I went back and did more research 🤦♂️... That angler that was there first was 1000% in the right! He messed up in literally every way! How he approached the spot, the way he immediately responded negatively, to Threatening the guy!... wow. It just shows the level of entitlement and it's disgusting. It's an example for me of why tournament Angling needs to take a MASSIVE step backwards.
I used to deer hunt public land when I was younger. 5 years in the same spot and got a nice buck 4 out of those 5 years. The 6th year I went in and another hunter was almost in the same tree I used all those years. I didn’t approach him and I didn’t get a deer that year as I had no backup plan. I look at it like this. Public land or water is first come first serve. I believe in most cases sportsman will work it out like good sportsman. Especially outdoor sportsman. If a pro approached me I would have almost certainly at least shared the spot with him no questions asked and maybe even learn something from him that day. Life is too short to hate on each other.
Start the tournament on Monday and be done by Thursday that way you don’t run in that situation!! There’s a lot of angers out there that only have one day to fish!! Saturday or Sunday probably only time they have!! Bad take on this guy !!
It's like hunting public lands. You put a ground blind on a waterhole and leave it, first guy back to the tank wins. Yours or not! Your blind does not mean that's your tank and no one else can hunt it.
It seems pro fisherman and fishing guides have become a very entitled group of people, when it comes to fishing publicly provided, and publicly financed lakes. Pros need not be held to a higher standard, just the same one everyone else generally adheres to. The fact that they derive their income from publicly provided and publicly financed waters does not give them any special privilege over any other person who uses the lake. That is just the way it is when you choose to earn your livelihood on publicly owned waterways.
He still hasnt apologized. Also he could have went to his other 5 or so spots and then went back to that one. The angler was already fishing that point. So its was his territory at the time because he was there first. Simple
here's the issue. when the tournament angler gets on the spot first, "the rule" is that first guy to the spot gets it. but when a local gets to the spot first, he only knew about it from following the tourney angler the day before and the rule becomes "whoever has the most money riding on it gets the spot". the long and the short is that the local should always move as far as you're concerned.
That is an unfortunate situation that ended up with people behaving badly. I agree with Randy that communication was a problem. My only concern is when Randy talked about empathy for the tournament pro who has to pay for a mortgage, so do we, feeding our family, so do we, he has to pay for a 200k bass boat, most of us don't have that. It's hard to empathize with that chosen life style. I know that when I get to the lake that time is precious and doesn't happen nearly as often as I would like. Tournament pro's please be mindful that the "weekend anglers" are the ones that shop in the local bait shops year around, attend meetings regarding our lakes, volunteer clean up times on our lakes and support our lake and it's surrounding businesses 365 days a year. You get to fish for $100k in the lakes we weekenders help maintain to keep healthy. You are concerned about one week on the lake and it's on to the next, we locals spend our lives loving our lake. I have nothing against tournament fishing, I just won the bass division on one of my local lakes but tournament pro's have some grace toward the local angler, where you have money and a week invested in a lake we have a lifetime invested in that same lake.
There are some who are assholes and think they own the water but for the most part they are nice guys. I've had great fishing experiences with them. Chris was wrong and should own up to it. He is a nice guy though
You will notice that when Randy speaks about the way and how a tournament angler should approach and speak to some whose already fishing the area he wants to fish, It always should end with the tournament angler taking the spot and the other angler submitting. Notice that ?
Yep, and the first thing that is brought up is how that competitive angler is "trying to make money". Yeah well, so are the rest of us 5-6 days a week, and if they are not good enough to have a back up plan, maybe they should do so as well!
Just admit you are wrong and so was Chris. His video is starting to paint a clear picture of how these "pros" truly feel in regards to others on the water and themselves. I'm only able to get on the water once a month if that. I'll be damn if I concede my free time to someone because they have sponsor stickers on their boat.
Anglers are anglers I see no difference between a local angler Or a professional angler as far as rights on the water. If you want to fish a spot that someone is on you ask if they mind sharing water. If they do you move on come back later. It’s called Respect I personally don’t ever pull up on anyone if someone pulls in on me I usually just leave without saying a word. A pro needs to be professional at all times on and off the water!
Some local anglers may be disabled without you ever knowing, say what Chris said to a disabled person and the Game Warden will arrest You, they have more protection and rights than normal public anglers have on public water, they get free license by the State., there are many laws unknown to some with a hot mouthpiece that need to know.
I wholeheartedly agree with empathizing with others , and randy I agree with you 90 percent of the time . In this case though, zaldain was the one who caused this issue . Regardless of what was said , nothing would've happened if zaldain just kept going to a different point . This isn't an issue about tournament anglers vs weekend anglers this is an issue about how to approach other people . The wrong way to do it is at 70 mph and a half assed hand wave as you put your trolling motor down 90 feet away from them.
He handled it like an entitled bastard. You defending it is gut puking sickening. You should stop differentiating weekend anglers and tournament anglers. His behavior was wrong as is yours for defending it. Your past experiences have jack crap to do with what he did. He got away with it simply because I wasn’t there.
I won't mention any names . But a pro fishermen pulled up on top of me on a reef on Lake Erie . Close enough to.al.osr touch boat . And proceeded to tell me he was the bezt Pro in the USA . And trust it didn't go well for him
I appreciate you for being a stand-up guy ethically. And I emphasize with Both sides of this issue. But I must say that in this one incident the entire unedited video speaks for itself. The local actually said, 'this is my day off from work'. Zaldain responded with a verbal threat, "I'll go to where you work and mess with your job." The tournament rules addresss the issue of good sportsmanship. Zaldain crossed the line and should be suspended. Had it been me as the local, that threat would have sealed the deal and I would then do all I could to disrupt the pro's day. Murray used to be my home lake. There are a ton of local boys down there that will be nice as a church mouse until you push their button. Then it's on jack!!!
Right, difference is, John Q. Public's place of work is a private enterprise - a public body of water is not. If you choose to make a living (or try to) on a public resource, you chose to accept that you're going to have to work around the public.
I once had a really good friend that made some horrible choices that showed his lack of character and integrity. We're not really good friends anymore and I've never tried to defend his actions.
Agree with most all of the comments. It’s not that Chris made the mistake. We all make mistakes. The issue is he posted the initial video to highlight how the local guy was in the wrong AND he never outright apologized. Just say sorry and move on. We all know darn well how the Chris would have reacted if the roles were reversed.
I thought the same about reversing the situation. I would bet Chris would have exploded. You don’t come in between a boat fishing point and the bank! We all know that is a big NO NO!
Randy…first I’ve followed your fishing career and now your podcast. Living in Missouri since the mid 80’s and being a regional tournament angler and have fished decades of local & regional tournaments I learned many years ago to never impede on another angler fishing a bank or point. I believe you’re missing the entire point with the Zaldain incident. This confrontation would have never happened if Chris would have seen this angler fishing this point and just moved on to his second spot that morning. Chris had no idea if this weekend angler had planned to fish the entire point. But instead moved in on the side of the point and began fishing. I totally understand how this weekend angler got upset. Now did either of them handle the situation correctly NO but this doesn’t change the fact that Chris should have never move in on him. Future more your examples from years past doesn’t justify what Chris did. It’s about ethics in our sport and having enough integrity to do the right thing. I’m a fan of Chris Zaldain and watch most of his podcast but in my opinion he was totally wrong in what he did and your justifications aren’t right either. Continued success with your RUclips channel and regional tournament fishing.
You don't know the local hadn't fished it before. Maybe it was his favorite spot, and was curtious the first day by giving you your space because you were there first. What make you think your so good that you can roll in and find something, the first time your there , and that a local couldn't know about something so obvious as a row of pilings? Whoever gets to a spot first has the right to be left alone, and left space to fish it. You think "Locals" are supposed to be concerned about a guy's entry fees, that is driving around the country in an $80K truck, floating a $100 boat, and is fortunate enough to fish for a living? Not to mention all the sponsorships and free gear they are given, which causes the "locals", who have purchase their gear, to pay more. Then you drag a camera crew around behind you and show his spot to the world.
Those interactions that happen every tournament all add up to the reputation you earned . I know Chris and most pro anglers are good people, I understand the dynamics of a bass fisherman and his goals , but the bass angler , the weekend angler, and the pleasure boaters , they all have the same right to be anywhere out on the water, and being we share that water , one person is no more important than the other person , no exceptions, it’s a first come on any spot , if a bass pro comes to a spot already taken he needs to move on to a other spot. And avoid all confrontations. It’s not hey everybody there’s a bass tournament today. Everybody move out of the way and give them full rights. That’s just not how it works. Thats the nature of sharing the lake.
The audacity of these tournament anglers to think they can control who fishes where b/c they make money fishing is hilarious. The tournament angler was way out of line. You make a living fishing? So what, doesn't give you special rights on public water ways. Tournament fishing harms fisheries, if you've every been at a release point 2-3 days after a tournament you'd see the damage done.
Randy, Zaldain pulled in on the local because he WAS a local. If it had been a competitor, he would have not thought about fishing there. No matter the situation, ethnics must take precedence, especially if you are a “pro” who should respect the sport that provides his living. Again, Zaldain’s made a mistake and it’s not defensible.
All of our lakes are turning into community holes from one end to the other with the Potomac being one of the biggest community holes of them all. No one should expect to have anything to themselves any longer. A true professional would have plans a-z already incorporated into the game plan and simply move on if a local is camped on a spot. Circle back later if you have to.
Don't apologize. He was a dick. Anyone that sees this differently... is delusional. No excuses man. Also, was Chris there first? May want to check that fact out. I'm surprised that HE posted it. That was the dumbest decision he made besides cracking out. I like Chris, met him many times. Dealing with other tourney anglers, local anglers, casual weekend traffic, water skiers, jet ski's, wake boarders,.. so on... should be part of the game plan.
If was that angler I would have told Zaldain yes come over to my work I work for the police department see how he would have reacted bet he would have crawfished out of there in a hurry lost a lot of respect for Zaldain he should admit his mistakes and be humbled and move on but his ego won't let that happen I believe he made a bad situation worse. Be praying for his recovery of the fallout.
Yeah, bad deal all the way around. I appreciate you supporting your friend, and I think things escalated really quickly. I've been fishing club level and small curcuits for 30 years. This is nothing unusual at all. Everyone has bad days and we don't always handle it correctly. If you have😊 competed in bass tournaments for a long period of time, this has happened to you more times than you can count, and it's very frustrating. Best thing is to ask if its okay if you fish the water with them. That usually eases tensions between the anglers.
CZ is lucky to have a friend like you Randy, weather he was right or wrong you have his back. I respect that! Same i would do for my friends. Ride with your boy, ask questions later…
As a retired guide in the adirondacks i ALWAYS had plan b & c..competing boats were a almost never.only issues i ever had were guys in the espn tournaments where shaw grigsby won on saranac .ran into him twice.threw him a bag of the hot finnesse worms we always used that time of year.he was sitting on one of my weed beds,no issue had 10 more.little 6" berkley cammo worms with orange and yellow flecks,looked perfectly like young perch.hope it helped .no issues.wife caught a big bass in the river,camera guy filmed her pulling it in .we were moving ,i told the guy he was on the wrong side of the river.we were moving were heading up to the lake.5lb,r wife aimed it at the camera and said" this would have looked good in your live well"...not the nicest thing to say but still funny.plopped that fattie back ...bye bye..guy was fishing the shallow side unaware of how years of current had swept the channel.( that guy was not shaw...memory fails)
Randy story #1 - similar to Chris's situation. The angler who got there first gets the spot. Doesn't matter who's fishing a tournament and who isn't. Randy story #2 - the angler who rolled up on you after you got to that spot was in the wrong. The angler who got there first gets the spot. Doesn't matter who's fishing a tournament and who isn't.
But the reason I'm gonna stay with the weekend angler is because Chris pushed his way in there. He never said a word to that guy but if that would have been another pro sitting there he would have at least asked.
Preach for MONTHS about people not being able to fish and find fish without spotlighting. Learn to fish guys,learn to read water guys,on and on and on. Then 2 different tournaments 2 guys cost me $200,000 because they were on MY 60 yards of one lake. Lmao
Yeah, not even close to Zaldains situation, but good stories.. The point is, Chris just didn't pull up on one fisherman, but 2.. He was 100% wrong..period!! Yesterday u took up for Zaldain & pretty much said he was entitled bc he was fiahing a tournament and this was his livelihood
My take away is (1) avoid fishing on the weekends if at all possible, (2) avoid fishing on the major impoundments where there are too many tournaments and too many anglers, (3) migrate to ffs where you're less dependent on a particular spot and (4) strongly consider avoiding tournament fishing as a career.
if I am a Contractor and build houses, im pretty sure when I get to the job in the morning, there wont be another builder trying to take over the job. I have also been fishing tournaments for 40+ yrs and have nothing but negative encounters with Pros from what I have seen ,they do think they are entitled and have more right to fish a spot than a weekender. Now I have had one encounter with a pro that explained his situation to me and asked if he could hit the spot for an hour and I said absolutely and thanked him for asking first. Very Cool Dude! Mr Mark Menendez , a class act in my book. But for the most part, the encounters have been negative. I will say they were mostly FLW guys and a few BASS dicks. I think Chris was in the wrong about how he went about it, surely he had more than one place to fish? I like Chris and watch his show but I have to call him out on this one. He should have handled it differently, IMO
Chris was 100 percent IN THE WRONG...PERIOD...the non pro guy WAS THERE FIRST....PERIOD END OF DEBATE...the first thing out of Chris mouth was oh it's a tournament...that's not the non pros problem...it's Chris's...My daddy taught me in deer hunting public land...if I guy gets to the spot u were looking to hunt before you do you move elsewhere...it's public...it's FIRST COME FIRST SERVE...
Just like crappie guides who complain about someone fishing their brushpiles that were placed in Public waters. Once they go into the water its open for anyone to fish.
When Rob Terkla of Googan watches that confrontation video he’s gonna cancel Chris imo. Very very bad look and it’s out there for eternity unless Chris purges the video.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Sorry Randy, there's no 'Misunderstanding' . . . everyone has their right to an 'OPINION' . . . same as You.
There are several key points you're missing, (and are probably biased based on your decades of competitive fishing.
#1. - It's a PUBLIC water way. Like it or not.
Until BASS /MILF can get a lake closed for competitors only, the anglers will HAVE to deal with all legal public activity that goes on . . .good or bad.
#2. - That angler had ZERO obligation to leave, share, or give up that spot. Morally, ethically, or otherwise. He had 100% every right to be there, and stay there.
By you saying, Quote, "I wanna bring everyone down to reality" . . . "It's about doing the right thing , it's about showing some empathy" . . . . Right there you are on a high-horse and stating your 'OPINIONS' as facts . . . . and that's only at the begining of the video.
#3 - Your '3-types of weekend anglers' analogy the 'courteous, the 'passive aggressive' and the "Dicks who are trying undermine or give the pro's a hard time'. Again, you're painting your OPINIONS with a narrow brush stroke, and trying to paint the 'courteous' anglers in a positive light
#4 - Again I'll quote you , "You've got your livelihood on the line, you've got your career on the line" . . . . guess what? . . . that makes ZERO difference on a public waterway. You can throw that argument straight out the window. When you choose a profession where your office is on public water, you HAVE to assume every single mitigating factor. You're starting to tread the 'entitlement line' with that one Randy. Chris's 'career' is of ZERO concern to John Q Public, and NO . . .that person DOES NOT need to take the time to, "reverse the roles" . . . sorry, those are FACTS.
Lastly . . . with regards to ''on the water interactions with other tournament anglers.
What You choose to do in your situations is ENTIRELY Your choice, and Your choice only . . . there is no obligation, for EITHER PARTY...
You asked for feedback and it wasn't what you expected people's opinions are their own you didn't like the result but the people have spoken
Your right 100%
Randy always attributes "not understanding" to disagreeing and seeing things in a broader way-no matter the subject.
VERY WELL SAID! EXACTLY! Thanks! Now I don't have to say anything you already told the Truth
Bravo 👏👏👏
After being a mostly a weekend angler on the water for decades along with a fair number of tournaments mixed in, it’s my opinion that a very large number of tournament anglers have a sense of entitlement. If you don’t have a plan B, C or D, that’s on you.
The way I see it , Chris made a mistake by not asking as soon as he rolled in if he could fish that little elbow as he stated in his video was his intentions. The local handled it like a dick and Chris escalated it. In the end , this amount of backlash on such a simple little altercation shows what we have become, a bunch of keyboard warriors. I don't look any differently on either angler, hell back and forth like that happens in parking lots everyday.
"SOCIAL MEDIA MADE Y'ALL WAY TOO COMFORTABLE WITH DISRESPECTING PEOPLE AND NOT GETTING PUNCHED IN THE FACE
FOR IT." -MIKE TYSON
Many local anglers are just fed up with "come here" tournament fisherman that act like the fishery is reserved for them alone.
Randy- I take my Father who is 82 fishing once a month, on a public body of water- I DO NOT CARE ABOUT A TOURNAMENT- it might be the last time I ever fish with him. BTW, I have more had more Tournament Fisherman come in on Dad and I than any other fisherman- Stop defending, Chris’s attitude was wrong- period end of story.
Well said. Same with MY father who is 86.
You certainly did open up a hornets nest. There is no excuse for how he acted. PERIOD. Professional angler the first and most important word is Professional. No matter how the local acted he did not act Professional. I hate hate hate hate hate hate tournaments because you anglers think you own the water. I was an active duty soldier for 21 years deployed for many many years and then did ten years contracting traveling again all over serving this great country. When I get my one day to be on the water nothing bothers me more than some Ahole pulling up within casting distance starting to fish without asking first then after 3 casts blows out like there is a fire. Long time friend of my Dad used to keep empty beer bottle in his boat. If you were in bottle range you were to close. Granted he was Marine golden gloves boxing champ and those were different times. The 70s. But believe me I have never forgotten that. If you are on the water be courteous you dont know who you are running up on or how their day is going.
Thank you for your service sir! Thank you for your father's service as well! And yes we have a big nest of hornets here.
it goes both ways. i fish occasional tournaments but i also fish recreational most of the time. the guys in the tournaments usually show me more respect than the guys out fun fishing. granted we are pretty much all locals on this small lake. the bottom line in fishing as in life, respect is a two way street
Your choice of employment doesn’t doesn’t have any effect on my feeling on how you provide for your family. That’s a YOU decision
Perfectly said
Exactly !!!
Yup!
Not only that, his choice of employment comes with the knowledge that he is going to be fishing public water. It's the equivalent of a guy working customer service bitching that he has to deal with customers.
Besides, these pros only roll into town once a year (maybe) to fish a lake in a state they don't live in. Sure, they buy a fishing license, but only because they have to. The local anglers pay taxes in their state, which in turn helps to create and maintain the local resources. So, who's office is it now? The entitlement of these guys...
Randy, you should probably leave this alone. The more it gets talked about the worse it gets. A smart man knows when to be quiet.I think you’re pretty smart. It takes someone years to build a good reputation and brand and one dumb minute to ruin it.
Zaldain was wrong. Period. Pretty open and shut regardless of who youre buddies with. We all screw up, it happens but the fact he doesnt straight up just apologize and own it makes it that much worse.
No you are wrong,both sides handled it wrong
@@mikelembke5121 no, I'm not wrong. I didn't say both sides weren't wrong The other side handled it poorly 100% but the other guy doesn't have a RUclips channel and isn't trying to sell you lures. Everyday while calling himself a pro. And the fact that he just keeps pointing out that they were both wrong instead of just saying. Hey, I messed up is my biggest issue
@@paulb7943 . . . Yeah . . . when you're wearing / sporting all the logo$ . . . probably best to suck up your pride from time to time.
What gets me is he has never really apologized. No body is perfect but he did it wrong. He needs to man up and get intouch with these guys and do the right thing.
Exactly
Yep. One mistake like this doesn't define someone. However, not only did he not own it or apologize, he doubled down and talked bad about the dude again on his next podcast episode.
You are exactly right. I have had to eat my words and apologize many times
Pros don’t have any more right to the water than anyone else. We all pay the same for a fishing license and it’s public water. Courtesy goes a long way. Acting like a manchild over one sliver of water on an enormous body of water shows a ton about character. No reason to threaten anyone because you didn’t prep enough way points.
Yeah, that "Where do you work" comment was very reichstag of him.
Chris did the totaly wrong thing and should have left! your defending him is not helping! Quit digging the hole deeper and move on!!
What happened yesterday in the BPT Tournament on the James River with Jacob Wheeler cutting Matt Becker off really puts all this in perspective. A Pro Angler damn sure doesn't have respect for a local angler when he has zero respect for his fellow competitors. The problem with Tournament Fishing is Tournament Fishing, the Organization, the Anglers just keep shooting themselves in the foot!
I am the type that if I run into someone on the water and they are in a tournament I give them the area. On the other hand I don't pull up on people. I try to stay as far away from other boats as I can. I thought it was bad back in WV with people pulling up on same spot but it was nothing compared to here in Alabama. Especially when a tournament is going on. They will pull within 50 feet of another boat and just fish right in front of them. I refuse to do that. In no situation is it ok to pull up on same spot a person is fishing. First person to it gets it, period.
I will say if another boat pulls up and is respectful and explains the situation and asks nicely I will always give it up.
Hell they will pull right in on you at Guntersville.
@@billshepard6664 yes sir you are correct. I live on warrior river and it's just as bad.
Had a year pull right on the other side of a tree me and my buddy was flipping and started flipping the same tree 5 yrds away this guy wad a well know tournament angler in the area. I couldn't believe it.
@@Lexithegreat has same thing happen to me at guntersville except it was a dock. I was on left side fishing towards right and ole dude just pulls up on front of dock. Finally got him to leave, went straight to next dock in line and another boat done same exact thing. 🤦🏻♂️
I hope this is your last video on this subject. You’re digging a very deep hole.
Yes ABSOLUTELY
Randy, Zaldain was wrong, period! No excuse! On top of that he's done a follow up video plus a podcast and has never said he was in the wrong, that magnifies this entire situation. You defending him magnifies the situation. You guys need to get it through your head, you don't own the water and you need to stop getting butt hurt if local anglers don't yield to you guys. The majority of us do not care if you are fishing for money. Think of it as the way we feel,tournament fisherman are a neusance to local anglers.
100%
Yes.....these pros crying constantly is ridiculous. The truth is, there probably wouldn't even be FFS if not for how tournament fishing is driving the industry towards efficiency and innovation. The root cause in all the things people hate about bass fishing is exploding popularity and the rise of tournament bass fishing. Randy has even touched on this exact point to his credit and very intelligently identified this paradox, but at the end of day he makes his living in the industry and has a vested interest in all of this. Tournament fisherman are killing more fish, pressuring and educating more fish and 100% making fishing more difficult for everyday anglers. And then they have the balls to cry about it.
Cant argue with that.i remember older vids of pro guys asking ,hey guys i,m fishing for a check can i get a break.nowdays ...who knows.
Plan b and c should always be in place for pros no matter the circumstances.
Zaldain did post a vid a couple days ago saying he was wrong. Not defending the dude but fishing for a living is a lot different (i’d imagine) but keep trying to cancel the dude even after sayin he was wrong! Y’all way to angry
The weekend guy was already there. There’s no high road.. Chris rolled up on him like his 💩 didn’t stink and immediately started talking smack to the guy THAT WAS ALREADY THERE!!!
Don’t hurt yourself backpedaling! CZ didn’t handle it correctly in the moment and has not since. Pro anglers (bait and tackle salesmen). Should embrace the other anglers. Pro tournaments are vehicles for selling fishing products. I have never seen a salesman of any other product berating a potential consumer. CZ should be suspended and what he did was clearly threatening the other angler. You guys are a menace to bass fishing! The only reason bass tournaments exist is to sell fishing products. Be nice to your customers! If it’s such a headache get a real job.
Bingo !
A pro angler's time on the water is "definitely not" more important than a recreational fisherman's. Fishing is a love and passion for most of us that do it regardless if its our job or not. Chris was wrong in his approach and how he handled it. Not what I would call being a good ambassador of the sport of bass fishing at all.
I will use myself as an example. I'm an ER nurse so I might only get one day off a week after working 50 to 65 hours a week.
If I decide to go fishing on my one day off and some asshole professional angler rolls up on my spot that I'm fishing, we're going to have a problem...HE will.
To insinuate that recreational fisherman should give way to somebody fishing a tournament simply because they have money on the line is stupid. It's not my job to care about the fact that some guy is trying to fish for money.
I'm trying to enjoy a couple hours on the lake before I have to go back to work again tomorrow, and I'm not going to let some asshole who's fishing for money run me off of a spot that I was in already.
NAILED IT!!!
I get what your saying and I agree but I have always loved professional bass fishing. I worked 12 hour swing shifts for 34 years so I totally understand.If a professional came up to me respectfully and ask me to fish the spot I was already on then I would let them have it. The way Chris went about it would have pissed me off.
@@davidharris4030 if he wouldn't have come in on plane and then just started crowding me, I would have considered it. If he had been nice about it and ASKED, I would have told him "Sure thing bud."
However, they way he actually did it, id've been chucking 3/4oz bullet weights at his LiveScope screens.
@@TheAverageFisherman99 I agree because it looked very disrespectful to me. I am going by the video footage I watched. Super unprofessional and I never would have thought Zaldain would have done that. I was kinda hoping we didn’t see the right angle/footage that shows something different. I would have given the spot over to any of the pros provided they did it respectfully and the correct way of approach.
How do you know that guy and his buddy didn't fish those pilings everyday for years? Maybe they disliked tournaments and tournament fishers because they felt they are ruining their fish habitats and didn't care.
That's the way I feel about it too
😂 these takes
Chris fished that area in practice so you are wrong the locals were out of line ,there was plenty of distance but Chris could've handled it differently
Don't think there was as much distance as he was saying like one go pro user said they are alot closer than it looks and when he came barging in looked pretty close
@@Lexithegreat the video showed plenty of room
So…. Now pros make a living on tournament earnings? Thought it was views, sponsors and image that keeps the bills paid??? I’m confused?
Yup... And it looks like alienating the customers of those sponsors is what Randy and Chris are doing... Disrespecting those guys who pay the bills so they have the privilege of fishing for a living instead of the backbreaking work that a lot of their customers do...
You hit it right on the head with this one. Great insight.
I don't care who is fishing a tournament or who is a pro. It's public water and everyone has the right to fish a spot if they are there first. If they are there second, it should be a slow approach and quiet request to fish next to the person already on the spot.
I had tournament pros come up on one side of a point with the trolling motor while I was coming from the other side in my kayak. I stopped, seeing how they were fishing fast and I'm always cautious because I'm in a kayak.
The front pro called out to me and asked if i was fishing the point out to about 15' of water. I said, No, I'm just hitting this side right now. I'm much slower than ya'll so you go ahead and I'll back off so you can hit this side of the point as well. He said, Don't worry about moving! I'm moving out to the point and then pulling out and heading out to another point.
Later, as he was pulling up his trolling motor, he said There are some good bass at about 12' deep and along the lake side of the point. We didn't catch them, so give it a shot.
That is how mature human beings handle the situation.
I went back a looked at the video Chris posted that revealed the whole event. I'm not sure where his mind is but I would not have posted that video as any kind of defense. Chris's behavior is beyond embarrassing. IMO, Randy, you are not doing yourself any favor, or for Chris, defending, in any way, that kind of behavior and attitude. I sure had much better opinion of Chris than I do now after watching what he did and how he acted. This kind of approach and attitude is enough to upset any reasonable person. The sense of entitlement is absolutely insane here in the real world...
I don't think Randy saw the follow-up video 😬
Chris was wrong close and shut. Public body of water is first come first serve period
The only person that owns every spot on a public body of water is the Game Waden.
@@kravenfoxbodies2479game warden doesn’t own public water lol. Long as it’s a public water and you have a fishing license he can’t do jack let alone claim the water
Chris wasn’t occupying the sane spot hence their boats were sitting in two different positions. So one could argue that Chris was technically not in his spot. The local guy doesn’t own the whole point. Chris is only in the hot seat since he chirped back
@@jasonsmith2439 They can visit you at home if you have been doing something illegal to game, also in NC they carry guns on their side, these are the same Law Enforcement that put those dummies of deer out at the edge of the field or woods looking for dummies to shoot one from the road.
The local here was not in the wrong in any way. What are you talking about pro anglers taking the high road?? Zaldain made himself look like an absolute clown, then doubled down on it. His entire chirp session saying things like "are YOU in a tournament?" "this aint a local derby" etc being a complete d-bag with pretty much everything he said. That guy was fishing that point, plain and simple. Zaldain came in hot, didn't say anything, right in front of the guy on the inside of the point - it's not like he was working the point in the opposite direction either.
This issue is a double edged sword. I was fishing a Wisconsin lake on a weekend with family.in the boat. Anyone who goes back with Ranger knows Forrests good buddy and retired Ranger employee Nub Spooner. Nub's grandson was with me fishing docks and we got cut off by a boat that came from nowhere and cut us off two docks ahead. I knew the pattern and what to throw and we remained cool for a minute until we were boating fish and Nub's grandson starting yelling "You missed one" every time we boated a fish. The dude had no idea if we were even in the tournament, so he got what he deserved as we released fish after fish until he pulled up the troller and left. Had that dude popped in and asked if we were in the tourney we would have been far more accomodating.
They may be good dudes but weekend anglers are worn out by the sheer number of tournaments and boats on the water now. There is so much pressure on the fish it’s ridiculous.
he is a pro angler right. he should be able to catch them anywhere. NO MATTER WHAT YOU DONT ROLE UP ON SOMEONE WHO IS ALREADY FISHING A SPOT
I think the biggest problem is the way he handled it after the incident. He makes 2 videos of trying to make this guy look bad by leaving certain key details out. At one point he makes the comment about the guy "smoking his cigarette" like why does that even matter? I think if he wouldve just made a video apologizing for the way he handled the situation, it would've been much better received. I have been fishing a spot and a guy rolled up on me saying he was 5th or 6th and had a good shot at winning and asked if he could fish the spot. I let him and went on. But he had the courtesy to ask at least and didn't just roll up and say that he was more important because he was in a tourney.
You are exactly right and spot on! That is why defending him is not a good idea! Bottom line CZ was wrong and it blows my mind he doesn’t see this! I would give my spot away to anyone in a big tournament if they act respectful.
I try not to fish a lake where a major tournament is in progress. But if I'm fishing a local tournament and someone pulls up and wants me to leave, I will when I'm through fishing the spot.
This is a problem that's easy to solve with no confrontation. Whether I'm fishing a tournament or just fishing for fun, if I pull up on my hotspot and see someone else there, I leave for another spot I've marked. If it's the only place you have to fish, you didn't do your homework. Them's the breaks.
If anyone wants to, you can go back in Randy's archives and pull up a video with Randy talking about how to handle these situations. In that video Randy says pull up respectfully and ASK if you can fish the spot, just the way Randy even says he did in in his examples given in this video. That's not what happened with Chris, so I'm not surprised the local didn't just up and leave. I wouldn't have left either in that case. I would have left it if he had asked just as I have in other situations. Now, Chris has made another video where he doesn't take responsibility and Randy has made a second video trying to rationalize why Chris wasn't in the wrong because he's a 'good' guy. You're not improving anyone's opinion of tournament fishermen with lame explanations of how it really wasn't Chris' fault.
I’ve always been a big fan of Zaldain. The thing that bothers me most about the whole situation was that he still doesn’t believe he was in the wrong. I respect the fact that he’s your friend, but I could never picture you running up on someone like that, saying the self entitled things he said, then running your boat right up to and in front of someone because you believe you are better and have more rights to the water than them. You say these things happen every tournament, but I’ve fished hundreds and have never acted like this and have never has anyone act like this to me.
CZ has come out on a video stating that he was in the wrong. Sorry I don't remember who's channel it was on. Another guy was in the video so I don't remember if it was the other guys channel or CZ.
Quoting a Bible story, good for you! Chris was still wrong.
He sure was!
Randy likes to say “Fight the good fight” (regarding FFS) without knowing the origin of the quote (Paul).
A tournament fisherman asking or expecting someone else to fish differently is the very definition of entitlement.
My issue with this is that the pro anglers want to say this is my job. Spare me! I love fishing. I love to watch RUclips and I have learned a lot, but please don’t call this a job! It’s like you said Randy. It’s an Elltest sport now. You get to run around on $100,000 boat and a beautiful lake fish all day and if you’re good enough, you can win some money. More power to you that’s great and I’m happy for you but don’t call this a job please! And if you get that pissed at someone for trying to enjoy the lake too because you’re worried about your paycheck maybe you need to go get a real job!
I think the biggest problem that I have noticed from the pro side is that each and every one of them (that I have ever heard on a pod or otherwise) truly believes that every single person that owns a boat or has even been in a boat is a die-hard pro tournament fan. When in reality the amount that actually follow the pro tours is very small, think of it like golf, millions and millions of people golf but only a small % follow the PGA/LIV tours. My father in law has both golfed and fished for 70+ years and can maybe name 4 pro golfers and didn’t even know that there was a “pro tour” for fishing
I can see why there's not a lot of empathy from the weekend, working man's perspective towards dudes that want to play hookey for a living. We'd all like to blow off our 9-5 jobs, and just go fishing, but most of us aren't that finacially irresponsible, or blessed. Public lake fishing is supposed to be a recreation, not an occupation. Most of us weekend warriors are sick of the constant hammering of our favorite fisheries by the multitude of tournaments that are scheduled during our only days off, the weekends.
He was in the wrong!!!!! He ran up on the boat without any regard to them then threatened the dude about his job. While i was a big fan of Zal, not anymore! He doesn't own the water and a tax paying citizen can fish anywhere he dam well pleases!!! Screw tournament fishers! And i use to be one! Now if he would have asked if they didn't mind fishing the point with them that would have been different.
Sorry Randy you are dead wrong on this one. I think you're trying to help out a buddy
The real test of a man is when they stick to principles instead of a friend that goes off the rails- they will drag you down with them! I've seen friends stick with a club cheater instead of sticking with the concept of following the state laws and principles of fair play. The cheater's friends left the club, but it was not a great loss.
Tourneys drop 200 boats on a lake for a week and you mad a local went fishing
Wow you must fish with different tournament anglers than what we see !! A lot of people are wanting all tournaments stopped because of how these guys act and the mortality rates of bass after they are caught
This is a easy problem to address. I live on the Potomac river. When in a Tourny , if I find someone fishing a "hole" I came to fish. Just leave! Go to a secondary place nearby. Most weekend anglers dont have the patience to sit on a spot for more than 1/2 hour, If that! I know the pilings you are talking about on the river. it gets hammered on the weekends. But Anglers will come make one or two pass's and leave. If you ask someone to share they think "I was here 1st" and stay longer then they would of otherwise cause you showed interest. Thats when they become dickheads! I like Chris but he handled it wrong. The heat of the competition got the better of him. Hell Iv'e done it too. Thats how I learned to just leave and come back a little later. Btw, I think its cool that you stand up for your friend even when he was clearly wrong. Shows your a true friend.
I agree with everything you're saying but can't defend something that is blatantly wrong. I get Chris's your friend I respect that, but a true friend would tell him he was wrong. I still like Chris and I still will follow him It's just so frustrating that he's too arrogant to admit that he was completely wrong in this
I went back and did more research 🤦♂️... That angler that was there first was 1000% in the right! He messed up in literally every way! How he approached the spot, the way he immediately responded negatively, to Threatening the guy!... wow. It just shows the level of entitlement and it's disgusting. It's an example for me of why tournament Angling needs to take a MASSIVE step backwards.
I used to deer hunt public land when I was younger. 5 years in the same spot and got a nice buck 4 out of those 5 years. The 6th year I went in and another hunter was almost in the same tree I used all those years. I didn’t approach him and I didn’t get a deer that year as I had no backup plan. I look at it like this. Public land or water is first come first serve. I believe in most cases sportsman will work it out like good sportsman. Especially outdoor sportsman. If a pro approached me I would have almost certainly at least shared the spot with him no questions asked and maybe even learn something from him that day. Life is too short to hate on each other.
Imagine if all the cars on the roads had to move over just because the professional truck drivers are trying to make a living
Start the tournament on Monday and be done by Thursday that way you don’t run in that situation!! There’s a lot of angers out there that only have one day to fish!! Saturday or Sunday probably only time they have!! Bad take on this guy !!
It's like hunting public lands. You put a ground blind on a waterhole and leave it, first guy back to the tank wins. Yours or not! Your blind does not mean that's your tank and no one else can hunt it.
It seems pro fisherman and fishing guides have become a very entitled group of people, when it comes to fishing publicly provided, and publicly financed lakes. Pros need not be held to a higher standard, just the same one everyone else generally adheres to. The fact that they derive their income from publicly provided and publicly financed waters does not give them any special privilege over any other person who uses the lake. That is just the way it is when you choose to earn your livelihood on publicly owned waterways.
I've seen pros argue with each other because one rolled up on a spot the other one fished yesterday
Simple rule for ALL tournament organizations. If someone is on your spot move on. Don’t ask them to leave. Don’t hint. Nothing. Just move on.
He still hasnt apologized. Also he could have went to his other 5 or so spots and then went back to that one. The angler was already fishing that point. So its was his territory at the time because he was there first. Simple
I can understand why chis got an attitude,, cause there was no where else to fish. 50,000 acres 650 MILES of shoreline. Thats terrible. Lol
here's the issue. when the tournament angler gets on the spot first, "the rule" is that first guy to the spot gets it. but when a local gets to the spot first, he only knew about it from following the tourney angler the day before and the rule becomes "whoever has the most money riding on it gets the spot". the long and the short is that the local should always move as far as you're concerned.
That is an unfortunate situation that ended up with people behaving badly. I agree with Randy that communication was a problem. My only concern is when Randy talked about empathy for the tournament pro who has to pay for a mortgage, so do we, feeding our family, so do we, he has to pay for a 200k bass boat, most of us don't have that. It's hard to empathize with that chosen life style. I know that when I get to the lake that time is precious and doesn't happen nearly as often as I would like. Tournament pro's please be mindful that the "weekend anglers" are the ones that shop in the local bait shops year around, attend meetings regarding our lakes, volunteer clean up times on our lakes and support our lake and it's surrounding businesses 365 days a year. You get to fish for $100k in the lakes we weekenders help maintain to keep healthy. You are concerned about one week on the lake and it's on to the next, we locals spend our lives loving our lake. I have nothing against tournament fishing, I just won the bass division on one of my local lakes but tournament pro's have some grace toward the local angler, where you have money and a week invested in a lake we have a lifetime invested in that same lake.
One person's tournament fishing is not more important than somebody else's sport fishing.
There are some who are assholes and think they own the water but for the most part they are nice guys. I've had great fishing experiences with them. Chris was wrong and should own up to it. He is a nice guy though
So what you are saying is that weekends anglers need to get out of the way of pros? That is how is coming off to me.
Your situations have nothing to do with Zaldain
You will notice that when Randy speaks about the way and how a tournament angler should approach and speak to some whose already fishing the area he wants to fish, It always should end with the tournament angler taking the spot and the other angler submitting. Notice that ?
Yep, and the first thing that is brought up is how that competitive angler is "trying to make money". Yeah well, so are the rest of us 5-6 days a week, and if they are not good enough to have a back up plan, maybe they should do so as well!
Just admit you are wrong and so was Chris. His video is starting to paint a clear picture of how these "pros" truly feel in regards to others on the water and themselves.
I'm only able to get on the water once a month if that. I'll be damn if I concede my free time to someone because they have sponsor stickers on their boat.
Anglers are anglers I see no difference between a local angler Or a professional angler as far as rights on the water. If you want to fish a spot that someone is on you ask if they mind sharing water. If they do you move on come back later. It’s called Respect I personally don’t ever pull up on anyone if someone pulls in on me I usually just leave without saying a word. A pro needs to be professional at all times on and off the water!
Some local anglers may be disabled without you ever knowing, say what Chris said to a disabled person and the Game Warden will arrest You, they have more protection and rights than normal public anglers have on public water, they get free license by the State., there are many laws unknown to some with a hot mouthpiece that need to know.
I wholeheartedly agree with empathizing with others , and randy I agree with you 90 percent of the time . In this case though, zaldain was the one who caused this issue . Regardless of what was said , nothing would've happened if zaldain just kept going to a different point . This isn't an issue about tournament anglers vs weekend anglers this is an issue about how to approach other people . The wrong way to do it is at 70 mph and a half assed hand wave as you put your trolling motor down 90 feet away from them.
He handled it like an entitled bastard. You defending it is gut puking sickening. You should stop differentiating weekend anglers and tournament anglers. His behavior was wrong as is yours for defending it. Your past experiences have jack crap to do with what he did. He got away with it simply because I wasn’t there.
I won't mention any names . But a pro fishermen pulled up on top of me on a reef on Lake Erie . Close enough to.al.osr touch boat . And proceeded to tell me he was the bezt Pro in the USA . And trust it didn't go well for him
I appreciate you for being a stand-up guy ethically. And I emphasize with Both sides of this issue. But I must say that in this one incident the entire unedited video speaks for itself. The local actually said, 'this is my day off from work'. Zaldain responded with a verbal threat, "I'll go to where you work and mess with your job." The tournament rules addresss the issue of good sportsmanship. Zaldain crossed the line and should be suspended.
Had it been me as the local, that threat would have sealed the deal and I would then do all I could to disrupt the pro's day. Murray used to be my home lake. There are a ton of local boys down there that will be nice as a church mouse until you push their button. Then it's on jack!!!
Right, difference is, John Q. Public's place of work is a private enterprise - a public body of water is not. If you choose to make a living (or try to) on a public resource, you chose to accept that you're going to have to work around the public.
I once had a really good friend that made some horrible choices that showed his lack of character and integrity. We're not really good friends anymore and I've never tried to defend his actions.
On public water, THE PUBLIC is part of the lake conditions!
YES!!!!!
Agree with most all of the comments. It’s not that Chris made the mistake. We all make mistakes. The issue is he posted the initial video to highlight how the local guy was in the wrong AND he never outright apologized. Just say sorry and move on. We all know darn well how the Chris would have reacted if the roles were reversed.
I thought the same about reversing the situation. I would bet Chris would have exploded. You don’t come in between a boat fishing point and the bank! We all know that is a big NO NO!
Treat others the way you'd like to be treated. Hopefully both guys learned from there mistakes.
The locals started yelling first!!!
CZ not only rolls up on other boats but also ripped off the Magdraft…😂😂
Randy…first I’ve followed your fishing career and now your podcast. Living in Missouri since the mid 80’s and being a regional tournament angler and have fished decades of local & regional tournaments I learned many years ago to never impede on another angler fishing a bank or point. I believe you’re missing the entire point with the Zaldain incident. This confrontation would have never happened if Chris would have seen this angler fishing this point and just moved on to his second spot that morning. Chris had no idea if this weekend angler had planned to fish the entire point. But instead moved in on the side of the point and began fishing. I totally understand how this weekend angler got upset. Now did either of them handle the situation correctly NO but this doesn’t change the fact that Chris should have never move in on him. Future more your examples from years past doesn’t justify what Chris did. It’s about ethics in our sport and having enough integrity to do the right thing. I’m a fan of Chris Zaldain and watch most of his podcast but in my opinion he was totally wrong in what he did and your justifications aren’t right either. Continued success with your RUclips channel and regional tournament fishing.
You don't know the local hadn't fished it before. Maybe it was his favorite spot, and was curtious the first day by giving you your space because you were there first. What make you think your so good that you can roll in and find something, the first time your there , and that a local couldn't know about something so obvious as a row of pilings? Whoever gets to a spot first has the right to be left alone, and left space to fish it. You think "Locals" are supposed to be concerned about a guy's entry fees, that is driving around the country in an $80K truck, floating a $100 boat, and is fortunate enough to fish for a living? Not to mention all the sponsorships and free gear they are given, which causes the "locals", who have purchase their gear, to pay more. Then you drag a camera crew around behind you and show his spot to the world.
Those interactions that happen every tournament all add up to the reputation you earned . I know Chris and most pro anglers are good people, I understand the dynamics of a bass fisherman and his goals , but the bass angler , the weekend angler, and the pleasure boaters , they all have the same right to be anywhere out on the water, and being we share that water , one person is no more important than the other person , no exceptions, it’s a first come on any spot , if a bass pro comes to a spot already taken he needs to move on to a other spot. And avoid all confrontations. It’s not hey everybody there’s a bass tournament today. Everybody move out of the way and give them full rights. That’s just not how it works. Thats the nature of sharing the lake.
The audacity of these tournament anglers to think they can control who fishes where b/c they make money fishing is hilarious. The tournament angler was way out of line. You make a living fishing? So what, doesn't give you special rights on public water ways. Tournament fishing harms fisheries, if you've every been at a release point 2-3 days after a tournament you'd see the damage done.
You don't get it it's how it went about it.
Randy, Zaldain pulled in on the local because he WAS a local. If it had been a competitor, he would have not thought about fishing there. No matter the situation, ethnics must take precedence, especially if you are a “pro” who should respect the sport that provides his living. Again, Zaldain’s made a mistake and it’s not defensible.
All of our lakes are turning into community holes from one end to the other with the Potomac being one of the biggest community holes of them all. No one should expect to have anything to themselves any longer. A true professional would have plans a-z already incorporated into the game plan and simply move on if a local is camped on a spot. Circle back later if you have to.
Don't apologize. He was a dick. Anyone that sees this differently... is delusional. No excuses man. Also, was Chris there first? May want to check that fact out. I'm surprised that HE posted it. That was the dumbest decision he made besides cracking out. I like Chris, met him many times. Dealing with other tourney anglers, local anglers, casual weekend traffic, water skiers, jet ski's, wake boarders,.. so on... should be part of the game plan.
If was that angler I would have told Zaldain yes come over to my work I work for the police department see how he would have reacted bet he would have crawfished out of there in a hurry lost a lot of respect for Zaldain he should admit his mistakes and be humbled and move on but his ego won't let that happen I believe he made a bad situation worse. Be praying for his recovery of the fallout.
Yeah, bad deal all the way around. I appreciate you supporting your friend, and I think things escalated really quickly. I've been fishing club level and small curcuits for 30 years. This is nothing unusual at all. Everyone has bad days and we don't always handle it correctly. If you have😊 competed in bass tournaments for a long period of time, this has happened to you more times than you can count, and it's very frustrating. Best thing is to ask if its okay if you fish the water with them. That usually eases tensions between the anglers.
CZ is lucky to have a friend like you Randy, weather he was right or wrong you have his back. I respect that! Same i would do for my friends. Ride with your boy, ask questions later…
I appreciate that
Randy wanted to open a hornets nest... clicks man clicks... oh ya and more drama
As a retired guide in the adirondacks i ALWAYS had plan b & c..competing boats were a almost never.only issues i ever had were guys in the espn tournaments where shaw grigsby won on saranac .ran into him twice.threw him a bag of the hot finnesse worms we always used that time of year.he was sitting on one of my weed beds,no issue had 10 more.little 6" berkley cammo worms with orange and yellow flecks,looked perfectly like young perch.hope it helped .no issues.wife caught a big bass in the river,camera guy filmed her pulling it in .we were moving ,i told the guy he was on the wrong side of the river.we were moving were heading up to the lake.5lb,r wife aimed it at the camera and said" this would have looked good in your live well"...not the nicest thing to say but still funny.plopped that fattie back ...bye bye..guy was fishing the shallow side unaware of how years of current had swept the channel.( that guy was not shaw...memory fails)
Now ,after talking to the wife the pro in the wrong spot was peter thilveros.
Randy story #1 - similar to Chris's situation. The angler who got there first gets the spot. Doesn't matter who's fishing a tournament and who isn't.
Randy story #2 - the angler who rolled up on you after you got to that spot was in the wrong. The angler who got there first gets the spot. Doesn't matter who's fishing a tournament and who isn't.
Some weekend anglers are jerks some pros are too
How would CZ handle it if the situation was reversed. I guarantee CZ would be pissed.
💯
But the reason I'm gonna stay with the weekend angler is because Chris pushed his way in there. He never said a word to that guy but if that would have been another pro sitting there he would have at least asked.
Preach for MONTHS about people not being able to fish and find fish without spotlighting. Learn to fish guys,learn to read water guys,on and on and on. Then 2 different tournaments 2 guys cost me $200,000 because they were on MY 60 yards of one lake. Lmao
Self awareness issues
Yeah, not even close to Zaldains situation, but good stories.. The point is, Chris just didn't pull up on one fisherman, but 2.. He was 100% wrong..period!! Yesterday u took up for Zaldain & pretty much said he was entitled bc he was fiahing a tournament and this was his livelihood
My take away is (1) avoid fishing on the weekends if at all possible, (2) avoid fishing on the major impoundments where there are too many tournaments and too many anglers, (3) migrate to ffs where you're less dependent on a particular spot and (4) strongly consider avoiding tournament fishing as a career.
Sounds like the people have spoken....
Once more....
Bottom line is whoever gets there first
if I am a Contractor and build houses, im pretty sure when I get to the job in the morning, there wont be another builder trying to take over the job. I have also been fishing tournaments for 40+ yrs and have nothing but negative encounters with Pros from what I have seen ,they do think they are entitled and have more right to fish a spot than a weekender. Now I have had one encounter with a pro that explained his situation to me and asked if he could hit the spot for an hour and I said absolutely and thanked him for asking first. Very Cool Dude! Mr Mark Menendez , a class act in my book. But for the most part, the encounters have been negative. I will say they were mostly FLW guys and a few BASS dicks. I think Chris was in the wrong about how he went about it, surely he had more than one place to fish? I like Chris and watch his show but I have to call him out on this one. He should have handled it differently, IMO
Chris was 100 percent IN THE WRONG...PERIOD...the non pro guy WAS THERE FIRST....PERIOD END OF DEBATE...the first thing out of Chris mouth was oh it's a tournament...that's not the non pros problem...it's Chris's...My daddy taught me in deer hunting public land...if I guy gets to the spot u were looking to hunt before you do you move elsewhere...it's public...it's FIRST COME FIRST SERVE...
Just like crappie guides who complain about someone fishing their brushpiles that were placed in Public waters. Once they go into the water its open for anyone to fish.
Zaldain opened the nest. We peered inside and made observations. A good thing to make a scriptural reference. Thanks.
When Rob Terkla of Googan watches that confrontation video he’s gonna cancel Chris imo. Very very bad look and it’s out there for eternity unless Chris purges the video.
Nothing against the Pros I fished Tournaments for years.Only reason I quit is because some thought they were Gods gift to Bass fishing.