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Yikes..Duckett VS Langill


Deitz Dittrich

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**From Bassfan**

Kevin Langill's Bassmaster Elite Series future is in limbo following two incidents Saturday prior to and during day 3 of the event at Alabama's Lake Guntersville. According to eyewitness accounts, the North Carolina angler loudly voiced his displeasure at having his day-2 weight disqualified the previous evening, which wiped out a Top 50 finish, and then spent several hours harassing Boyd Duckett on the water.

The issue wasn't settled until law enforcement officers intervened.

"What he told me was that if he was going to be DQd, then I wasn't going to fish either," said Duckett. "He pretty much took half of my third day away."

Langill's DQ the previous day was on sportsmanship grounds and was rooted in a dispute with Duckett over the right to fish a small grass bed (to read BassFan's report on the DQ, click here). Langill allegedly came off plane in the immediate vicinity of Duckett's boat – an act that Langill denies – and then angrily confronted the former Bassmaster Classic champion as to why he'd filed a protest against Langill after day 1.

Duckett said he didn't make a cast in earnest on day 3 until about 10:30.

"(Langill) circled my boat and ran over my line, and just prohibited me from fishing," he said. "I had to go back to the dock and call (tournament director Trip Weldon), and finally they got the sheriff's department to take him off the water. Once the sheriff had him, then I went fishing."

No Regrets

Langill, who'd been knocked out of the day-3 field by the DQ, admitted he was at the grass bed that both anglers had fished during the first 2 days of the tournament when Duckett arrived on Saturday morning.

"I was just having fun fishing," he said. "It's public water and I'd been DQd. The sheriffs talked to me, and then I left."

He said he doesn't regret his diatribe earlier in the morning at the launch site.

"I felt like I was backed into a corner on this thing, and I came out and said what I needed to say. I wanted to let everybody know what had happened because what I was being DQd for was never made clear to me.

"I wanted everybody to know why Kevin Langill wasn't being allowed to fish and why I was probably never going back to BASS. (Fishing professionally) was a dream of mine since I was a kid and I was having it taken away. They jerked my first (paycheck) of the year away from me because a former Classic champion said he wanted an area all to himself."

Rulings Awaited

Langill now has two separate issues pending with BASS. He's retained an attorney and is appealing the DQ, and the paperwork for that must be filed by Friday (within 7 days of the date of the ruling). It will then be ruled upon by a BASS-established committee consisting of one BASS employee not affiliated with the tournament department and two anglers who did not compete in the Guntersville event.

He also faces possible disciplinary action due to what transpired on Saturday. A BASS communications official could provide only limited insight to questions such as what that action might be, who would be involved with that decision and when the verdict might be forthcoming.

"There will be a group of people who'll look at everything," the official said. "I know it won't be just one person (making the decision) and I don't know the timeframe."

Nowhere to Turn

Langill said he still feels as if he did nothing unsportsmanlike toward Duckett on days 1 or 2, and also thinks that BASS is short-shrifting the opinions of the marshals who rode with him (both supported his accounts). He said that's why he returned to the launch on Saturday.

He said that both marshals accompanied him initially – one departed when it became clear that Weldon would listen to no more testimony, but the other remained until Langill departed the dock in his boat.

"If I'd just walked away from it, then what Boyd Duckett and his marshal said would be what everybody believed and what stood (as fact)," Langill said. "(BASS) should've listened to both sides. I never even got anything in writing – all I was told was that I was being DQd for driving my boat in too close to Boyd Duckett, and that didn't happen.

"I pushed the envelope (by returning on day 3), but I wanted everybody to know that BASS never let me explain my side of the story."

Duckett said Langill has nobody but himself to blame for whatever fate awaits him.

"It's a shame that the guy doesn't understand," Duckett told BassFan. "The long and the short of it is he accused me of ruining his career, but he stood right there on the dock and ruined his own career.

"Every pro fisherman out there has had an event go bad – even guys like (Mike) Iaconelli and KVD (Kevin VanDam) have been DQd. But man, don't throw your career down the tube after you've made a mistake."

Notable

> Duckett went on to catch a 20-06 bag on day 3 and ended up in 30th place.

> Langill said Duckett might've gotten upset with him initially on day 1 because the former was having an easy time catching quality fish on a suspending lipless crankbait he designed called the Hover Trap.

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I saw this too... I'm not sure what to think about it in terms of who is to blame initially, or whether they are both at fault; mainly because the info given is inconsistent from both parties. However, for langill to go out on saturday, after being dq'd, to harass duckett is uncalled for. I'd say duckett summed it up pretty good when he said "man, don't throw your career down the tube after you've made a mistake"

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typical he said, she said situation. Langill blew it by being unprofesional in his way of handling the situation. I agree with Bob, Duckett sums it up pretty well by saying "The long and the short of it is he accused me of ruining his career, but he stood right there on the dock and ruined his own career."

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I understand Langill's frusteration, but wow, he handled it wrong for sure. Basically just confirmed on day 3 that he is a loose cannon. Letting your emotions get the best of you will almost always cost you.

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More from BassFan

Grant Goldbeck (right, holding fish) was one of the anglers who was in closest proximity to Kevin Langill and Boyd Duckett when tensions arose between those two on days 1 and 2 of last week's Guntersville Bassmaster Elite Series in Alabama. The way he saw it, Duckett was fully justified in filing a protest against Langill on sportsmanship grounds after day 1, and the manner in which Langill approached Duckett when Langill arrived in the area on day 2 was definitely aggressive.

That initial confrontation on day 2 was the biggest factor in Langill's weight for that day being disqualified, which cost him a spot in the Top 50 and wiped out a paycheck worth at least $9,506. Further harassment of Duckett on day 3 caused BASS to suspend Langill for the remainder of the 2009 season.

"Kevin came off plane about 10 feet from Boyd's boat, totally waked him and just started yelling," Goldbeck said. "He was basically calling Boyd a wimp for going to (tournament director Trip Weldon at the conclusion of day 1). It was one of those deals like, 'What's your problem?'

"Then within 5 minutes, he was bumping Boyd's boat with his trolling motor. He sat between Boyd and the fish and started catching fish himself." (Editor's note: Langill told BassFan on Friday night than any contact between his boat and Duckett's was caused by the wind blowing Duckett's rig into his, and his day-2 marshal backed up that statement).

Goldbeck, who was interviewed by tournament officials prior to the launch on day 2 and again after the weigh-in, said that he and Duckett had been working back and forth across a shell bed and a small, grassy area on day 1, waiting for the bite to turn on. When it did, Duckett was on the sweet spot and began boating one fish after another, so Goldbeck backed off to another spot in the immediate vicinity.

"When Kevin came in at about 11:00, he sat down right next to Boyd's boat and eventually pushed him out. He just kept working his way in until Boyd couldn't make a cast anymore – he couldn't cast to the fish he was catching.

"Boyd had 26 pounds that first day, and if Kevin hadn't encroached, who knows what he would've had – probably 30 pounds. He would've been a contender (for the victory) if he'd been able to sit there and whack on that place."

Goldbeck, a former amateur boxer, said he was surprised that the matter didn't escalate to fisticuffs after what occurred the following day.

"I can't believe there was nothing physical. I know if it'd happened to me, we'd have gone to the bank, no doubt about it. Probably 70% of the guys on tour would've jumped on (Langill's) boat.

"I have to give credit to Boyd for the way he handled it, but maybe stuff like this wouldn't happen if guys actually took it to the bank for once. There's nothing wrong with a good fight where both guys shake hands afterward."

Goldbeck said he had a friendly relationship with both Langill and Duckett prior to the event, but was not particularly tight with either.

"I have a lot of respect for what Boyd's accomplished and we've been out to dinner a couple of times after missed cuts as part of a big group, but that was about it. I'd never actually sat down and had a conversation with Kevin, but he seemed like a friendly, relaxed guy who was quiet and kept to himself.

"I think what probably happened is he's a good guy who made a bad decision and handled it the wrong way. He realized there was a school of fish there and somehow in his mind, that was all he cared about. Right or wrong, he was going to whack some fish there."

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