Rick,

Fly fishig IS allowed, but they do regulate rod length. B.A.S.S. caps it at 7 1/2 feet. This was due to the 'flippers' like Dee Thomas who came out of California with 10 foot (and longer) flipping sticks and were taking everyones money.

The story is kind of interesting. 'Flipping' uses heavy line at short distances. No 'casting' so reels were just there to 'store line' (sound famuiliar?). Bass were typically struck and swung into the boat with little fight. Lures were either a heavy jig with pork trailer or big, bulky soft plastic baits with heavy bullet weights. Incredibly effective on BIG bass in heavy cover.

Ray Scott figured out pretty quickly that these guys would soon dominate most tournaments in the heavy cover lakes of the southeast where B.A.S.S. was spawned and still ruled the industry. Tackle manufacturers are ones that 'sponsor' the cost of the whole thing. Tournaments where the rod and reel were relatively unimportant, where fancy $5 to $10 hard plastic baits weren't a factor, where 'new' inovations in lines were trivial wouldn't generate much revenue.

They got together with the flipping pros and basically pared down the rod length to 'keep the playing field level'. 7 !/2 feet was the 'compromise' that they reached. Still effective for shallow water, but harder and not as good in water deeper than five feet or so. Gave the chuck and wind crowd a chance to compete.

By the way, ALL B.A.S.S. affiliated clubs generate their 'own' tournament rules. Many do NOT specify a rod length. If you are interested, ask your local club for a copy of the tournament rules they use. None of clubs I've belonged to over the years specified that you couldn't use rod of any length.

Good Luck!

Buddy