BassFan Staff
Brett Hite and Kevin VanDam were supposed to eat dinner together Thursday night in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Those plans fell through.
On Friday, they squared off in the championship match of the Elite Series Classic Bracket on the upper Niagara River. By Friday afternoon, one had protested the other in another dramatic and odd twist to B.A.S.S.’s first made-for-the-Internet match fishing event.
After the final casts were made, VanDam had caught 11 keepers that weighed 20-03, enough to top the 13-09 that Hite totaled with seven keepers.
However, it was one fish that didn’t count toward VanDam’s total that held up the proceedings.
After the buzzer sounded at 2:30 p.m., Hite filed a protest as a way to receive clarification on a ruling made earlier in the day about a fish VanDam caught outside the tournament boundary.
Hite insists he wasn’t looking to steal a win from VanDam – he merely wanted to understand how the rules were applied after VanDam caught a 1-13 smallmouth with a jerkbait along some rocky shoreline south of the International Railroad Bridge about four hours into their six-hour duel.
After catching several small fish on a jerkbait on the south side of the bridge, VanDam connected with the fish in question. Upon weighing it, Elite Series tournament director Trip Weldon, who served as VanDam’s boat official, advised VanDam to check his location as Weldon suspected that the fish may have been caught in the off-limits area.
“You need to check your coordinates,” Weldon could be heard saying to VanDam on the Bassmaster Live feed as he flipped through printed maps of the area.
After cross-checking VanDam’s GPS location on his boat electronics to the coordinates of the boundary, Weldon ruled the fish was caught out of bounds.
Immediately after, VanDam made a move without making another cast and it was nearly 30 minutes before the live feed from VanDam’s boat resumed.
VanDam caught three more fish that totaled 5-08 before the end of the day to give him a comfortable cushion on Hite, who eventually abandoned the concrete pilings of the north Grand Island Bridge around 1:30.
Hite caught three fish for 5-15 in the final 45 minutes, including a day-best 3-03 smallie, and had another one on in the closing moments, but it didn’t count as it was landed after time expired.
Hite was notified of the rules violation by his boat official (Opens tournament director Chris Bowes) and was given the opportunity to fish under protest, which he did.
“It was all about knowing exactly what happened and how it was ruled and why,” Hite said. “It has nothing to do with me losing. I wasn’t protesting him because I lost.”
When both anglers returned to shore, Weldon met with them and other tournament officials before dismissing the protest.
“I made a ruling at that time that the 1-13 was caught in an off-limits area and that the fish did not count. Kevin agreed and moved and fished the rest of the day,” Weldon said in a release about the tournament issued by B.A.S.S.
In explaining his ruling Weldon said, “Bassmaster Elite Series Rules state in section C1: The following rules shall apply to all Bassmaster Elite and Bassmaster Classic events except that (i) rules for special tournaments may differ from those contained herein. Rule C1 goes on to state under the penalties for rules violations: (b) Loss of one or more fish caught in potential violation of rules or regulations. All bass under question must be marked and verified by your marshal/camera operator. If not verified, the entire catch may be disqualified.”
With his victory confirmed, VanDam collected his second straight win – B.A.S.S. is considering the Classic Bracket an Elite Series event – and third of the season. He also clinched a berth in the 2017 Bassmaster Classic.
“There were a lot of interesting aspects to the week for sure,” he said. “I’ve fished in a lot of different types of tournaments in my career. From the Megabucks to Elite 50s to Major League Fishing, they’re all different, and you have to have a strategy for every different format. I thought I had a good strategy even though I almost messed it up yesterday. Sometimes, it’s best to not overthink things and just fish.”
Afterward, Hite said he had no issue with Weldon’s ruling. He just wanted an explanation on how the rules were applied.
“We need to keep the rules to the highest standards,” Hite said. “I don’t care who it is. If there’s a rule violation and I know about it, you’re supposed to protest it and let the officials figure it out. I just wanted the rules to be followed to the highest standard possible.”
Here’s a scorecard of each angler’s fish catches from Friday’s final:
Kevin VanDam
1: 1-03 – 10:22 am
2: 2-04 – 10:29
3: 2-11 – 10:44
4: 0-15 – 10:53
5: 2-06 – 11:04
6: 2-07 – 11:53
7: 1-12 – 11:58
8: 1-01 – 12:10 p.m.
9: 1-12 – 1:11
10: 2-03 – 1:16
11: 1-09 – 1:27
Brett Hite
1: 1-15 – 10:16 a.m.
2: 1-15 – 10:51
3: 1-11 –11:01
4: 2-1 – 12:03 p.m.
5: 1-11 – 1:46
6: 1-1 – 1:51
7: 3-3 – 2:26
Unlike the quarterfinals and semifinals when anglers were credited with their best five fish each day, every legal bass counted in the finals, much like the format used in Major League Fishing.
Cloud cover and wind that blew with the already strong river current dominated the early portion of the day as both anglers struggled to get anything going in the first couple hours.
Finally, Hite broke the ice with a 1-15 keeper at 10:16 a.m. VanDam followed at 10:22 with his first bass. When the sun broke through around noon, the fishing seemed to improve as well.
VanDam employed his trademark run-and-gun strategy most of the day while Hite remained camped on the concrete pilings of the north Grand Island Bridge until late in the day.
The Elite Series schedule resumes at the Potomac River Aug. 11-14.
Format Changed How VanDam Fished
When VanDam drifted past the rail bridge and caught the fish that resulted in the penalty, he didn’t think he was outside the boundary. After conferring with Weldon and referencing his GPS coordinates, he and Weldon agreed the fish was caught out of bounds and wouldn’t count.
He said it didn’t impact how he fished the rest of the day and he was satisfied with how Weldon explained his final ruling once both anglers were back on shore.
He said if B.A.S.S. is to continue with this same format in the future, the role and duties of boat officials should be better explained.
“I would think if you compare it to other sports leagues, when you go out of bounds, the official blows the whistle they give an explanation of what happened,” he said. “I’m sure that will be a discussion for the future.”
As for his success on the water, he had to alter his strategy today due to the format change for the finals.
“I knew I had to cover as much water as I could,” he said.
He started on a stretch that he’d hoped to save, but wound up fishing during his semifinal win against Koby Kreiger. He figured he’d catch a few there today to build some momentum.
As it happened, he didn’t boat a keeper until 10:22 a.m., nearly two hours into the day.
“I can’t believe how slow it was,” he said. “I promise you I know I was fishing around where fish were today. Honestly, I thought my first stop I was going to smoke ‘em.
“It just goes to show how smallies move. We had a lot of wind today and it changed the speed of the current and how the fish move with it. That had to be what happened.”
He relied heavily on three standard smallmouth tactics – two styles of jerkbait, a tube and a dropshot.
Details of VanDam’s winning pattern/strategy will be published at a later date.
Hite Wishes He’d Have Moved Earlier
Hite had been catching better quality fish than all the other competitors, but only two of his keepers today weighed more than 2 pounds and only one of those was caught by the bridge that had carried him to the finals.
He believes the overcast skies and stiff winds gave the fish a case of lockjaw.
“It was the cloud cover and wind (blowing with the) current,” he said. “I saw some fish down there for sure. I think I had the best spot in the river and they didn’t fire today.”
With about an hour to go, he made a move to an area by an old shipwreck and caught three keepers before the buzzer, all on a Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits Shad Shape Worm rigged on a dropshot. He’d caught a 2 1/2-pounder there on his only cast in practice and never went back until today.
"If I would’ve moved two hours ahead of time, I might’ve caught Kevin,” Hite said. “I should’ve moved earlier.”
As for his reasoning behind filing a protest, he did it so he could better understand which rules applied and how they were interpreted.
“The only way to get an explanation out of those things is to file a protest,” Hite said.
Hite said Weldon explained that this scenario was different from the one that resulted in Greg Hackney’s disqualification at the Cayuga Lake Elite Series was because VanDam’s infraction was dealt with immediately and the fish was released and didn’t count whereas Hackney’s rule violation wasn’t realized until after he’d weighed in and the only remedy was to wipe out his total for the day.
Hite said he would’ve preferred to not know about VanDam’s penalty until after the round was over. Then, he said, he would’ve requested an explanation and determined whether or not to pursue a protest.
“You don’t have the ability to figure out exactly what happened on the water,” he said. “I came back and wanted to make sure everything was kosher. Trip texted Chris to let him know that I could protest. I just wanted to know what the heck was going on. I have no problem with it. I wanted to know what the rules state and how they’re applied.”
> Dropshot gear: 7’1” medium-action Daiwa Steez spinning rod, Daiwa Exist 2500 spinning reel, 12-pound Sunline TX1 braided line (main), 7-pound Sunline Super FC Sniper fluorocarbon line (leader), size 1 unnamed dropshot hook, Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits Shad Shaped Worm (Light green-pumpkin/large green and purple flake with pearl belly), 1/4-oz. Reins Tungsten dropshot weight.
> He typically rigged his bait 18 inches above his weight to draw the fish up off the bottom.
