In the wake of the disqualifications of Jim Gildea (the 7th-place finisher on the pro side) and co-angler Pete DeMoya at the recent Champlain Eastern FLW Series, several parties contacted BassFan with questions as to why other anglers weren't DQd under violations of the off-limits rule.
Gildea and DeMoya were DQd because they'd competed in an event there the previous weekend conducted by The Bass Federation and were initially unaware that they were in violation of the rule (which took effect 6 days prior to the first official practice day). Gildea reported the incident to tournament director Chris Hoover as soon as he realized the rule had been broken, which wasn't until after competition had concluded on day 3 and the field had been cut to the Top 5.
The other issue concerned an unspecified number of other anglers – a group that included 2009 Champlain FLW Tour winner Scott Martin – who were reportedly still on the lake after the start of registration at 4 p.m. EST on the day before the tournament began, which is another violation of the off-limits rule.
When contacted by BassFan, Martin admitted that his boat was still in the water at 4 p.m. on registration day and said the rule was one that he wasn't fully familiar with. He said his boat was pulled out at 4:20 and that he spent the vast majority of the 20 minutes in question in the immediate vicinity of the ramp, putting away gear and waiting to load his boat on the trailer.
He said he and several other anglers who'd committed the same mistake discussed the situation with Hoover at the registration meeting, and all were allowed to compete.
"There was no advantage gained, but it was definitely a mistake on my part," he said. "It was something that myself and a handful of other people had overlooked. It was brought to (the attention of) FLW at the meeting, and they made the ruling at that point."
BassFan requested a clarification from FLW Outdoors and was issued this statement today from new Operations Division president Kathy Fennel:
"A few anglers were reportedly on tournament waters after the 4 p.m. deadline on the final practice day of the Lake Champlain event. Every participant in that tournament checked in prior to the close of registration. A similar situation happened with an angler at a previous Series event this year. With that precedent set for 2010, we chose to discuss the timing of off-limits with the reported anglers and handle the situation in the same manner and not disqualify them. Our tournament director addressed the situation and how it was handled at the pre-tournament meeting at Lake Champlain.
Prior to the remaining FLW Series events, every participant will receive an email reiterating the off limits rule. For the integrity of the anglers and the sport, we expect our anglers to adhere to the rules.
Should there be extenuating circumstances, the responsibility falls to each angler to notify the tournament director, who will have sole discretion on the matter."
