There are signs in the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge portion of Lake Champlain that display somewhat similar messages, but they're intended to convey different meanings. A misunderstanding of those meanings by BASS officials appears to be the crux of the issue that resulted in 3-day leader Chris

Lane being denied an opportunity to fish his primary water on the final day of the recent Champlain Bassmaster Elite Series.

"In hindsight, knowing what we know now, we would have just put the whole place off-limits," BASS tournament director Trip Weldon said in a phone interview. "Of course, that would have changed the outcome, because I believe nine out of the Top 12 were fishing up there.

"No anglers did anything wrong," Weldon added. "If anybody needs somebody to be mad at, then they should be mad at me."

Lane, a rookie from Florida, had everything going his way over the first 3 days of the tournament. He led by more than a pound and had a hotspot that appeared capable of surrendering an endless string of 4- and 5-pounders.

It all went awry for him after the day 3 weigh-in, though. Weldon, following a consultation with refuge manager Mark Sweeney, ruled that Lane had unwittingly been fishing in an off-limits area.

He wasn't penalized because he'd received approval to fish there from Weldon prior to day 1. But he'd have to go somewhere else on day 4 in his quest to secure a wire-to-wire victory.

He went to Ticonderoga, at the opposite end of the 100-mile long lake, and caught a 10-05 bag that landed him in 6th place in the final standings. Meanwhile, Denny Brauer caught a tournament-best 23-04 from another part of Missisquoi Bay to win by nearly 8 pounds.

Sign Confusion

Sweeney, also contacted by phone, said there are two types of signs posted in the refuge to denote which areas can be accessed, and by whom. One reads, "Area Beyond This Sign Closed," and then, in smaller letters, "All Public Entry Prohibited." The other type reads, "NWR Boundary," followed by "Unauthorized Entry Prohibited."

The "NWR Boundary" signs are there to guide duck hunters staking out prime areas for blinds for the upcoming season, he said. Their sole purpose is to govern dry-land movement, and fishing flooded areas behind them during periods of high water is permitted.

Conversely, the "Area Closed" signs mean just what they imply. He said those are in the water even when Champlain is at a normal level (it was 4 feet above full-pool for the tournament, a phenomenon responsible for much of the confusion), and their purpose is to keep people – and boats – away from the nesting areas of threatened and endangered birds, as well as migratory waterfowl.

The sign posted in front of Lane's area – a place called Big Marsh Slough that sits off of Goose Bay – was of the latter type.

"Those are posted only in places on the refuge that really need protection," Sweeney said. "The area beyond them is closed, and the meaning is as clear as it can be."

Sweeney said he and other refuge personnel discussed the signs with BASS officials prior to the tournament. However, he said he didn't recall speaking directly with Weldon until Saturday night, when the issue with Lane's area arose.

"We told them that any sign that says "Area Beyond This Sign Closed," (the anglers) can't pass those signs," he said. "Apparently, (tournament officials) are trying to find ways to interpret that otherwise. I don't understand it myself, but that seems to be the situation.

"We promote fishing in the NWR system. We hold fishing derbies here for kids, and we've done it for 27 years. We encourage it, but we have a higher priority, and that's protecting the resources for the wildlife.

"We only close the areas we really need to close. We ask for cooperation with that, but we don't seem to be getting it entirely."



BASS tournament director Trip Weldon said that in retrospect, perhaps the entire Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge portion of Lake Champlain should have been declared an off-limits area.

What Anglers were Told

Weldon's recollection of the instructions he gave at the pre-tournament briefing was nearly identical to the account that Lane had given earlier.

"When I addressed the anglers, I told them that Missisquoi Bay was a gray area, and I would try to make it as ungray as possible," he said. "I told them that based on the information we had, unless they saw a sign that said 'No Boats' or 'No Fishing,' it was okay to fish behind it.

"It was our understanding that there were other signs referring to 'Authorized Personnel Only' that pertained only to duck hunters, and (refuge personnel) didn't mind fishermen being in there," Weldon added. "But if (anglers) were asked by a fish and wildlife official to leave, then they should just leave."

He said he couldn't remember exactly when Lane asked him about the sign guarding Big Marsh Slough, but he did recall his response.

"I told him that to my knowledge, that (sign) applies to duck hunters, and you can go back there. Everybody had the same information, and I would have given the same answer to anybody else who had the same question.

"I learned a long time ago in this business that you can't please everyone. But there was research done, and I just hope that everyone respects the process. You try to take the best information you have at the time and move forward. We work very hard to provide the most accurate information possible to the anglers."

It's in Black and White

Sweeney said that BASS officials were directed to the refuge's website during their pre-tournament discussions. Under a heading titled "Recreation and Education Opportunities," there's a section on fishing with a descriptive brochure and map.

In the brochure, a picture of an "Area Closed" sign is accompanied by the following text: "From April – November closed areas are marked to provide undisturbed nesting and resting areas for endangered osprey, threatened black terns and other migratory birds. Observe these closed area signs while on the refuge."

Sweeney said that should have made the meaning of the signs crystal-clear. "And I was also told that they were going to put the map into every tournament fisherman's hands. All of that should have given them pretty good information."

On the map, Big Marsh Slough is marked by a series of dark lines. In the legend, such locales are denoted as "Area Closed."

What About the Future?

Sweeney was asked what steps might be taken in the future to avoid having anglers (mistakenly or intentionally) trespass on protected areas of the refuge. Champlain hosts dozens of tournaments at various levels each year, but he said an incident of this magnitude had never arisen before.

"I expect we'll get together with (tournament) officials and hash everything out, and we'll try to look at ways to avoid this. As far as I'm concerned, we won't be posting more areas just to be punitive.

"We will probably have increased law enforcement patrolling out there though. That will hopefully help everybody abide by the rules."

Anglers Sound Off

BassFan polled the other anglers who finished among the Top 12 for their opinions on the Big Marsh Slough issue and BASS' eventual ruling for day 4. Here's a sampling of their responses. (Note: the survey was conducted prior to the interviews with Weldon and Sweeney).

> Brent Chapman (2nd place) – "I think BASS learned a valuable lesson that the research on those areas needs to be done ahead of time, but I also think the wildlife people were at fault too. There was too much of a gray area where places weren't marked for all the different situations.

"It's kind of bad for everybody involved, and hopefully everybody learned something. When you get into situations where there's high water, circumstances are going to come out."

> Kevin VanDam (9th) – "I really don't know the ins and outs well enough to comment. All I can say is the whole thing was pretty unclear and the tournament officials weren't clear on the information they gave out."

ESPN Outdoors
Photo: ESPN Outdoors

Paul Hirosky said that having Chris Lane take a polygraph exam would have gone a long way toward resolving the situation in his mind.

> Paul Hirosky (12th) – "I think there should have been a polygraph test to find out if (Lane) knew it was an off-limits area. Was it an innocent mistake, or did he try to get away with something? He was the only pro in there, and these guys find everything. There's not a stone that goes unturned, but he was the only guy in that area.

"I don't want to sound like I'm slamming Chris, because he seems to be a really nice guy, but it seems like these are questions that could have easily been answered with a polygraph. We're all out there pushing as hard as we can all the time, and sometimes it's easy to get caught up in things."

> Mark Tyler (4th) – "I think the way it went down was fair. Trip made the mistake beforehand by not doing the proper research. I don't think Chris broke any rules – he just followed what Trip said you could do.

"You take what you can get in this sport, and sometimes things happen. I don't think anybody intentionally did anything wrong, and a DQ would have been kind of unfair.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we came back next year and that whole bay was off limits."

> Denny Brauer (1st) – "When you win a tournament, it kind of puts you in a bad position to comment on things like that. I have opinions, believe me, but I'll have to take the high road and keep them to myself."

> Tommy Biffle (5th) – "I'm not saying anything. Trip made the ruling, and that's that."

> Mike Wurm (7th) – "I have no comment. It was Trip's job to decide what to do, and I'm sure he's a fair man."

> Terry Butcher (3rd) – "Nothing against Chris Lane, but he got to fish water that nobody else did. I saw the signs, and I knew to stay away from them. Everybody else seemed to know not to go behind those signs.

"Now if he got the okay from Trip, that's a different story. I probably would have done the same thing. In fact, I know I would have.

"I saw a sign on the bank of a creek that said 'No Unauthorized Entry,' but it wasn't specific whether it meant the creek or the bank. I started to call Trip to ask, but then I just turned around. When we had the briefing, I saw that it was a shaded area on the map and I couldn't go in it."

> Paul Elias (10th) – "In my opinion, it was a fair ruling. I don't think anybody intentionally did anything wrong, and Chris just abided by what Trip said at the briefing.

"I also think Trip was right (when he rendered the area off limits) after the warden said guys shouldn't be in there."

> Todd Fairlcoth (8th) – "I can't really comment because I don't know the details. I heard Chris and Trip discussing it, but I don't know enough about it. I just think it's an unfortunate thing for Chris."

> Zell Rowland (11th) – "I don't know that much about all of it, but I think there were more guys fishing in there than him. Several guys made that comment because there was no ruling about where he was fishing (prior to day 4)."