Richardson Explains His Day-2 Beaver DQ

Photo: FLW Outdoors/Rob Newell Veteran Joel Richardson says he's 'inclined to agree with (FLW Outdoors) that the right decision was made, no matter how bad it hurts.'

Not so. In a late ruling, FLW Outdoors decided to DQ 7th-place Joel Richardson's day-2 weight (8-13), which dropped Richardson to 102nd. Cochran thus improved one spot and made the cut in 10th.

Richardson, a 12-year Tour veteran from North Carolina, said he was DQd for fishing in a no-boats area.

FLW Rule 12 prohibits such practice by stating: "Contestants may fish anywhere on tournament waters available to the public and accessible by boat, except areas designated as "off limits" or "no fishing" by local, state or federal officials or within 50 yards of a competitor's boat that was first anchored."

Last month at the Norman FLW Tour, Greg Pugh was investigated for fishing inside the tournament-designated off-limits area. Pugh was not DQd, based on the fact that he was looking for bed-fish and never made a cast in the off-limits area.

Initially, Richardson felt he might not be DQd either. He contacted FLW Outdoors officials the morning of day 2 to report that he was in violation of the rules. However, he was told to continue fishing, and was allowed to weigh his day's catch before the decision was made.

Below is an explanation from Joel Richardson about what his violation was, and how the DQ came about. Before he spoke of the DQ though, he wanted to issue this statement: "I want to commend the staff of FLW Outdoors. I want to name (FLW Outdoors president and CEO) Charlie Evans, (executive VP/COO) Kathy Fennel, and (tournament director Bill Taylor). I think they're great people and they want to do what's right for the business of fishing."

The Third Buoy

According to Richardson, several factors conspired to create a situation under which he could inadvertently break the rules.

One was the flood-level waters at Beaver, which he said moved several of the buoys on the lake. The other was the day-2 fog delay. When the field eventually launched after a 2-hour hold, visibility was adequate, but still restricted.

"I went to my first fishing location, which was approximately 2 miles away from the blast-off area," he said. "Due to flooding on Beaver Lake, and the floodgates being opened, some of the buoys on the lake kind of moved a little bit – the no-wake buoys and such.

"The location I was planning on fishing had a boat on it. So I stopped about 250 yards short of the area to fish another little spot where I'd caught fish in the past. I was waiting for the other boat to leave the point that I wanted to fish."

He began to fish a small cove, which had a no-boats section marked by two buoys.

That's where the problem started. There were two buoys marking the area, but there as another buoy "way off the other two buoys that was definitely out of place. If you looked at the situation, you would have thought this buoy didn't belong with the others. You might have wrote it off as being a channel or shoal marker."

He also said that when he pulled in, he never saw the third buoy, due to the fog. But fellow competitor Cody Bird approached him and informed him of the third buoy, and that he was inside the no-boat area.

Bird knew the situation well, Richardson said, because he'd called Taylor prior to the tournament to inquire about it, and was told not to fish there.

Late Decision

Richardson said that once he'd talked to Bird, he immediately called Taylor. "He (Taylor) asked me if I'd caught any fish, and I said no. Then he told me to go fishing elsewhere."

So why did problems develop later, after the weigh-in? According to Richardson, Bird "didn't think it was the right thing after the weigh-in was over with, and to keep from having hard feelings and things, they decided to DQ my catch.

"It's been hard on me – driving home," Richardson added. "But you know what? For the sake of the sport and FLW, I'm going to have to be inclined to agree with them that the right decision was made, no matter how bad it hurts. I'm good friends with all those folks. I've known them for 20 years, and I wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize anybody's reputation. I appreciate their integrity on the whole matter."

Richardson confirmed that he was given a polygraph, and he said he answered truthfully that he caught no fish in the no-boat area.

About why it took the league so long to render a decision, he said: "The decision was made very late, and they thought about it very long and hard. They didn't want to do it – they didn't want any hard feelings or problems or anything like that. I can't say enough for the folks down here for the FLW Tour. They really tried to do the best thing. They thought on it for hours and hours trying to make the right decision and trying not to hurt anybody.

"I give them 100% credit for making the call. This is the sport I make my living in. I want it clean, and I want to be clean in it. This sport wouldn't be worth a darn without good rules and people that enforce them the right way."

Some Analysis

The late ruling, coupled with Richardson's statement that FLW "didn't want to do it – they didn't want any hard feelings or problems or anything like that," at least raises the question of the whether the recent "Norman Incident" involving Greg Pugh brought additional pressure upon officials to make the ruling.

The Norman Incident has been a hot topic on the Tour, and FLW Outdoors officials addressed the matter in the pre-tournament meeting for Beaver.

Also, the fact that Bird had called officials about the area prior to the event appears to be significant. Richardson described it as "very important" in the final ruling.