The race for the Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year just took a wicked twist with the announcement by B.A.S.S. on Thursday evening that Greg Hackney's weight from day 1 of the Cayuga Lake Elite Series has been disqualified.
According to a release circulated by B.A.S.S., it was determined Hackney had fished in an off limits area Thursday. He had caught 17-08 and was in 36th place, good enough to maintain his lead in the AOY race. Following the DQ, he has fallen to 4th in the AOY standings.
BassFan has left a message with Hackney, but it was not immediately returned.
Below is the entirety of the press release sent by B.A.S.S.:
Louisiana angler Greg Hackney came into this week’s Busch Beer Bassmaster Elite at Cayuga Lake with a commanding lead in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year race — and it seemed for a while on Day 1 like he had maintained that lead.
Hackney caught 17 pounds, 8 ounces to land in 36th place, but it was announced after Thursday’s weigh-in that his catch had been disqualified.
“Greg Hackney’s Day 1 catch was disqualified for fishing in an off-limits area,” said B.A.S.S. Tournament Director Trip Weldon. “There are several of these off-limits areas on Cayuga Lake. These areas were marked and confirmed with law enforcement. Then we took several steps to make the anglers aware of the areas, including posting them at the pre-tournament meeting Wednesday night.”
Hackney could not be reached for comment.
On glacier lakes in New York, state law says all man-made marinas and boat basins are private property. There are 11 such areas on Cayuga.
After the disqualification, Hackney fell from first place to fourth in Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, 37 points behind new leader Gerald Swindle. Jacob Powroznik is second, followed by Takahiro Omori.
