FLW Outdoors announced today that pro Jim Gildea, the 7th-place finisher at the recent Champlain Eastern FLW Series, and co-angler Peter DeMoya have been disqualified from the event. The anglers, both Massachusetts residents, violated the off-limits rule by practicing for and fishing a local tournament at Champlain the previous weekend.
“This was the easiest call I have ever made," said Gildea, who will forfeit a $7,896 paycheck. "Once I realized I broke a rule, I knew I needed FLW Outdoors to know about it right away and contacted the tournament director immediately. All parties acted with integrity to rectify this mistake."
Said new FLW Outdoors Operations Division president Kathy Fennel: “We appreciate Jim and Peter for approaching and informing us of this situation once it was realized. We encourage all our anglers to know and understand the rules for each circuit and tournament they participate in and to adhere by those rules to ensure a quality tournament.”
The tournament was the first Series event for Gildea, who does not fish the FLW Tour. He's competed in four American Fishing Series (formerly Stren) events over the past 3 seasons.
DeMoya finished 70th (out of the money) on the co-angler side.
The press release noted that the standings at FLWOutdoors.com will soon be updated to reflect the DQs.
