In light of a Feedback submission from former B.A.S.S. tournament director Harold Sharp on Tuesday, BassFan contacted B.A.S.S. in an attempt to get further clarification on the disqualification of runaway leader Brandon Palaniuk at last week's Mississippi River Bassmaster Elite Series. Palaniuk's day-2 bag was nullified due to a violation of Minnesota's archaic prohibition against culling.
Sharp sought an explanation as to how the organization arrived at the decision to DQ Palaniuk for that infraction when other violations (such as bringing six fish or a short fish to the weigh-in) would've resulted in only 1-or 2-pound deductions, even though they're also violations of state laws.
B.A.S.S.' response appears below in italics:
Brandon Palaniuk’s Day 2 catch was disqualified for violation of Rule 6 (iii): “All competitors are bound by the prevailing statutes and regulations of the various states within which they fish. Competitors are responsible for research of fishing and boating regulations.”
Rule 6 also states, “Any infraction of these fundamental sporting principles may be deemed cause for disqualification.”
According to Chris Bowes, the B.A.S.S. tournament manager who was in charge of enforcing the rules, “In the state of Minnesota, including the boundary waters with Wisconsin, there is a strict no-cull policy that was communicated to Elite Series participants prior to the event and was emphasized at the tournament briefing on Wednesday, June 19. We felt a disqualification of the day’s weight was appropriate given these circumstances. It was by far the most discussed rule at the pre-tournament briefing. Some anglers avoided even fishing Minnesota waters in order to keep from having to deal with culling concerns, and some released keeper fish in hopes they would catch another bass later. Taking the confirmed violation of this no-culling law lightly would have been unfair to those anglers who observed the rule.”
It should also be noted that earlier this year, when a competitor in the Southern Open No. 2 on Douglas Lake was found to have caught a fish on a five-hook umbrella rig in violation of Tennessee law, his day’s catch was similarly disqualified. An Elite Series angler also had his catch disqualified in a Florida tournament a few years ago for violating a law governing no-wake manatee zones — again, after stern warnings from tournament officials. There is precedent for the penalty imposed in this situation.
It remains to be seen whether this incident will have an impact on the scheduling of future high-level events at the venue by B.A.S.S. and other organizations, or whether Minnesota waters will simply be placed off-limits at such tournaments.
