Rick Morris told BassFan today that he located a witness to the events that resulted in his day-1 DQ at the Smith Mt. Bassmaster Elite Series, and that the witness will corroborate his version of the events. He noted the witness is an elderly gentleman who's "fished his whole life."
Morris said: "As you know, the night of the so-called violation, (BASS tournament director) Trip Weldon called me after interviewing my partner Brandon Pedigo. Trip asked me what my version was, and I told him in detail how the fish was snagged on a rope, that I pulled (the rope) tight so the fish was 3 to 4 feet off bottom – almost within reach by leaning over the edge of the boat.
"According to a rules meeting at Amistad, which was a long discussion with a lot of variables, and a lot of inexact answers, I assumed that I was in the right by going into the water while holding onto the boat. I thought I was totally legal, and so did my partner, because we discussed it before I went in."
About the witness, Morris said: "We had a local guy watching us from another boat. I slid down the side, grabbed the fish, put it in the boat, jumped back in the boat, and never lost contact with the boat. (Pegido) yelled to the spectator, 'Rick had his hand on the boat the whole time,' and then we high-fived. Then I said (to Pedigo), 'You've got my back on this,' because he was a 22-year-old kid. If he was 40 or 50, I'd have said (to Pedigo), 'You're my witness, right?'"
Morris plans to file his appeal with the information brought forth from the witness, who he said has agreed to testify to the events in question.
As noted in previous stories, Morris will base his appeal on the fact that he wasn't DQd the night of day 1. He reiterated that Weldon, that night, informed him that "the issue here is did your hand ever leave the boat?" He was then DQd the following night based on the fact that he actually did enter the water, and the hand on the boat was inconsequential.
Morris added: "Right now, I'm just trying to make it clear that Trip didn't disqualify me because my hand was on the boat until otherwise proven, but because he changed the rule the next day. I have a high regard for BASS standards, and have stood behind BASS for 15 straight years of tournament fishing. I've fished approximately 150 BASS tournaments, and I'm looking for a quick resolution to this problem."
Morris said that he did call BASS with information about the witness, and awaits a return call.
