According to a B.A.S.S. official, Elite Series angler Dennis Tietje will be credited with a 54th-place finish at the Sabine River, negating the 33rd-place result he posted prior to the outcome of an Appeals Committee hearing regarding the disqualification of a competitor that resulted from a protest Tietje filed during the tournament.
With Tietje being moved back to 54th, his position following day 2, B.A.S.S. will adjust the Angler of the Year standings accordingly from 54th down. According to B.A.S.S., the 33rd position for the Sabine River event becomes vacant.
“The Appeals Committee made its ruling and it’s only right to bring everything back to where it was,” Tietje told BassFan on Wednesday afternoon. “It’s the final decision and we have to accept it.”
Tietje confirmed he will return the $10,000 in earnings to B.A.S.S and added that he’s anxious to put the ordeal behind him and shift his focus to the next tournament at Lake Guntersville, which begins next week.
“A final decision was made so let’s move on,” he said.
Tietje filed a protest of Mike Kernan following the second day of competition at the Sabine River. Tietje alleged that Kernan navigated through non-posted private water to reach the area he fished on day 1 (click here to read BassFan’s reporting on the situation). Kernan was in 12th place following day 2 and Tietje was 54th, one spot out of the money cut. After B.A.S.S. disqualified Kernan’s catch from day 1, Tietje was elevated one position and allowed to fish on day 3 when he advanced to finish 33rd and earn $10,000.
Kernan appealed the ruling and last Thursday, a three-person appeals committee overturned the DQ and restored Kernan to 12th place, which earned him $10,500 and the accompanying points toward the Angler of the Year standings. There were lingering questions about Tietje’s status as his protest – and the benefits derived from it – was essentially nullified as a result of Kernan’s appeal being upheld.
