By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor


The disqualification of two teams at the recent Angler’s Dream Tournament of Champions at Kentucky Lake has touched off an astonishing turn of events over the past week, culminating with the winning team returning its prize money to the tournament director, who then sought legal advice on how to best resolve the matter, only to return the money to the winners after efforts to negotiate an amicable solution failed.

Three days after the team of Ryan Yoos and Jeff Komarowski won the two-day buddy tournament – and the $10,000 top prize – by virtue of a protest they filed that triggered the day-2 DQ of day-1 leaders Kenny Heckel and Kevin Meunier along with another team, Yoos and Komarowski decided to surrender their prize money. While Komarowski maintains the protests were justified based on the rules for the event, he and Yoos returned the check to tournament director Stan Zatorski with the hope that the rules can be amended and/or clarified so a similar situation does not arise in the future.

The situation prompted Zatorski, tournament director and president of Angler’s Dream for the past 14 years, to confer with an attorney as he tried to navigate this unique set of circumstances while at the same time attempting to preserve the future of his tournament organization.

Negotiations began in the middle of last week, according to Michael Katz, attorney for Zatorski. Mark Dove, part of the other disqualified team who also works as an attorney, intervened on behalf of Heckel and Meunier and sent a proposal to Zatorski that he felt would satisfy all involved parties. Zatorski countered with a proposal of his own, which Dove rejected. A final counter offer was made by Dove that, according to Katz, included a “monetary component that wasn’t previously discussed.”

“I took that to Stan and he declined,” Katz added.

Katz declined to reveal the details of the proposals and said by Sunday, negotiations had broken down, prompting Zatorski to revert back to the ruling made at the tournament.

“The original ruling stands, based on the protest committee’s decision and Stan wasn’t going to deviate from their decision,” Katz said.

Katz said Yoos and Komarowski are once again in possession of the $10,000 winner’s check they voluntarily turned over to Zatorski on Nov. 3.

Katz said Zatorski considers the matter closed.

“Mark Dove has repeatedly threatened litigation,” Katz said Tuesday evening. “He’s entitled to do what he wants to do, but I believe Stan’s position is well taken and the rules are the rules.”

How the DQs Occurred

The Tournament of Champions is the season-ending championship for the Angler’s Dream circuit, which features more than 25 divisions across Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. The two-day tournament launched out of Moors Resort and Marina in Gilbertsville, Ky., on Friday, Oct. 28 with an 82-boat field. Heckel and Meunier were the day-1 leaders with 17.95 pounds, one of just 13 teams to crack the 10-pound mark.

With time winding down on day 2, the team of Dove and John Devries began to run back to check in. They’d been fishing a stretch of water 40 to 80 miles from Moors. On their way back, they overtook Heckel and Meunier and were roughly a quarter-mile ahead when they experienced motor trouble near the mouth of the Blood River. According to Dove, the motor “spun a hub.” Meunier said he and Heckel saw the other boat come off plane and stopped to see if they needed assistance.

“We pulled over and Mark said they’d lost their lower unit,” Meunier said. “I told them we were minimal on time and said ‘if you’re going, get in the boat.’ I never considered that we were breaking a rule. It was never a question. I’ve never been in a tournament where that is a question. To me, you never leave anyone on the water, whether they’re weighing in fish or not. You take them in.”

Heckel and Meunier made room in their boat to transport Dove – and his and Devries’ four fish, including a 6.33-pounder that would’ve won big bass honors for the event – back to the ramp. Devries stayed with the other boat and later returned safely to the dock under reduced power.

“When we saw them pulling over, we were in the process of bagging our fish,” Dove said. “We put our fish on the port side and theirs were on the starboard side (of the livewell).”

According to Dove, the three men arrived at check-in with a minute to spare and less than a gallon of gas left in Meunier’s boat. Meunier pulled his boat into a slip and he said he waited for Dove to retrieve his team’s fish from the starboard livewell and depart the boat before even opening the port livewell lid to bag his and Heckel’s fish.

The weigh-in was already under way and when Dove, a three-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier via the B.A.S.S. Nation, appeared on stage, he commended Meunier and Heckel for their unselfish act and sportsmanship. It was only then that Yoos and Komarowski, who had weighed in during the first flight, realized that Meunier and Heckel had committed a rule violation.



Anglers-dream.com
Photo: Anglers-dream.com

Ryan Yoos (left) and Jeff Komarowski decided to return their tournament winnings from the Angler's Dream Tournament of Champions.

Komarowski said he submitted a written protest to Zatorski, alleging that Meunier and Heckel had violated Tournament of Champions Rule 14, which states, “This is a “fish with your buddy” tournament. Two anglers per boat. Angling or non-angling guest (sic) are not permitted.”

Meunier said he was advised he and Heckel were being protested, but wasn’t told what rule, specifically, he was being accused of breaking.

Zatorski hastily convened a four-person committee purportedly made up of division tournament directors, some of whom were competing in the tournament. According to Meunier, two of the committee members were in contention to finish in the money at the tournament. The committee was told to review the allegations and make a recommendation as to how Zatorski should proceed. The committee voted 3-1, according to Meunier, to disqualify Heckel and Meunier.

“I asked why and the only answer I got was, ‘You broke the rules,’” Meunier said. “I was so frustrated and disgusted at that point, I just left.”

When reached by phone last week, Zatorski declined to explain the protest review process or how the committee was selected. The tournament rules include the following language under Rule 23 (Rulings): “The Tournament Director and his designated appointees shall reserve the right for rules interpretations and rulings thereof.”

On Nov. 6, Zatorski posted the following explanation to his personal Facebook page. The same posting also appeared on the Angler’s Dream Facebook page:

In the midst of ruling on Meunier and Heckel’s status, it was also determined that Dove and Devries had violated Rule 21 regarding breakdowns, which reads: “In the case of a break down a team can get towed back to the ramp. Prior to the tow the team in the broke down boat must contact the tournament director 219-512-6581. Both members of the team in the broke down boat must remain in their boats and cease fishing for the remainder of the day. A team can not (sic) change boats during the day and must return in the same boat that they had checked in that morning. In case of a dire emergency call 911 first. TowBoatUS Phone Number 270-362-8364.”

Dove acknowledged not attempting to contact Zatorski in the moments after his boat experienced mechanical problems. Dove said any time spent trying to contact Zatorski would have made both teams late. Dove later acknowledged he and Devries committed a rules violation by not attempting to contact Zatorski.

“We don’t dispute our DQ in any way,” Dove said.

As a result of the ruling, Meunier and Heckel’s day-2 catch of 15.43, which would’ve been enough to give them the win, was wiped out. Yoos and Komarowski caught 14.81 on day 2 and were declared champions with a two-day total of 27.34 pounds.

The Aftermath

In the days following the tournament, Dove, who is from North Vernon, Ind., voiced his displeasure with how the rulings had impacted Meunier and Heckel. He was vocal about how the matter was handled in several Facebook posts and at one point posited if he should provide legal services to Meunier and Heckel in an effort to overturn the ruling.

“It was just two guys helping each other out,” Dove said. “The story to me is, look at what these guys did. They were Shin Fukae to our Clark Wendlandt.”

Dove was referencing the show of sportsmanship displayed by Fukae at the 2015 Potomac River FLW Tour, where he swapped boats with Wendlandt on day 3, a move that allowed Wendlandt to stay in contention and eventually capture the win.

Komarowski insists he and Yoos were not looking for a quick payday by protesting a team that gained no real competitive advantage by stopping to help other competitors in need. Komarowski said he and Yoos felt uneasy about getting the win under the circumstances and therefore didn’t cash the check and returned it to Zatorski to sort out.

“I still think we came in 2nd,” Komarowski said. “I don’t want to win on a technicality. Was it right what they did? Yes. I would never leave someone out there stranded. At best, we got 2nd place.

“We still feel filing a protest was our right because a rule was broken,” Komarowski added. “We feel by giving the money back to Stan, as the TD, he is responsible for determining the appropriate distribution under the circumstances of his rules that resulted in the uproar of protests due to the outcome of the initial protest ruling. We feel this is necessary in order to uphold the integrity of the sport and all those involved.

"We also agree the rules need to be reviewed. The rule broken is a bad rule, but again it was broken, and it was our right to protest. We are hoping this situation will result in the rule being changed.”

Komarowski said the aftermath of this ordeal has soured him on tournament fishing.

“This was the worst experience I’ve ever had in my life,” he said in a phone interview. “I never thought this would happen. I’m tired of having our names dragged through the mud. We’re not those kinds of guys. We didn’t break any rules.

“I am still going to fun-fish. As far as tournaments, I don’t know. This has kind of ruined it for me.”

Komorowski said he and Yoos were only following the rules when they decided to protest the Dove/Devries and Meunier/Heckel teams.

“When Mark went on stage and mentioned he’d gotten a ride in, some guys heard that and said we should protest,” he said. “They had time to switch their fish over, but not to call the tournament director or TowBoatUS? They spun a hub. To me, that’s not a dire emergency. Yeah, it’s good sportsmanship to pick them up, but to put their fish in your boat, no. This isn’t B.A.S.S. or FLW. If they’d have just brought Dove back, we wouldn’t have protested. Them bringing him and his fish was the issue.

“I commend them for bringing them in, but they brought them in in a time frame so they could weigh their fish. We didn’t do this maliciously to win. There were still teams that did good on day 1 that hadn’t weighed in.”

As for Meunier, who works as a pipefitter and lives in Lamar, Ind., this was his first year competing in the Patoka Division of the Angler’s Dream circuit. He, too, has a bad taste in his mouth about how this ruling was handled.

“The money is not important anymore,” Meunier said. “They took a sport I cherish and things I did in a sportsmanship way and took it away from me. I’d take the $10,000 if they’d give it to me. Other than that, they can keep their money.”

As it stands now, Meunier and Heckel, who also won the Triton Owners Tournament at Kentucky Lake earlier this year, caught enough weight on day 1 to finish 12th, which netted them $600. Dove and Devries also gave them the $1,150 they won for catching the big bass on day 1.