Tournament Rules Interpretation

[Daze Off]

Ok, here is a scenario:

During a bass tournament an angler hooks a legal sized bass and during the ensuing battle it gets tangled up in an object (dock, weeds, bullrushes, reeds, etc) and ultimately the line breaks. The bass, however, stays pinned to the object. The angler sees this and nets/grabs the fish.

This fish has been hooked legally and is not foul-hooked and the angler did not leave the boat at any time to get this fish.

Is the fish legal in the tournament? Or, for that matter, is the fish a legal catch at all?

Daze Off

[Mark Christianson]

I don't know that it would be any different than a bass you get to the boat, the line busts, and your partner is able to net the fish before it gets away, or a fish that wraps up horribly in weeds and your line breaks but yet still able to get the fish before it shakes free. I have had both happen, but not in a tourney.....

In all these scenarios, fish are legally hooked with the line breaking prior to boating the fish.

[st.crioxfishin]

I don't know if you saw/remember this, but in the most recent bassmasters classic on lake toho, this happened to one of the anglers. This fish got caught on a bulrush, the anglers line snapped, but the fish was still attached to the bulrush. The angler grabbed the fish from where it was attached and put it in his livewell. Now this happened under BASS rules, but it sounds to me like it would be a legit catch.

[Fluker]

I had a similar experience in a tournament. It was a spring tournament and there were a few spawners still left. I was trying for a 3+ lb spot on a bed. After about 15 minutes, it took my bait and I set the hook. SNAP! My line broke. I thought I'd give it a couple more shots just to see if she'd still bit. 4 or 5 casts later I knew she was spooked for good. As I reeled in my to be last cast, I pulled in some line. As I normally do, I went to roll the line up to put it in my trash and out of the lake. Yank Yank! It was MY line!!! I had broke off way up the line for some reason. I quick double not to my existing line and I reeled in my fish. T director said it was legal.

A little different as I actually did boat it with rod/reel. Crazy experience though! Did I mention it was the big Spot of the day (awards for Big bass in all 3 categories).

Fluker

[Daze Off]

Awesome story! Seems to me that we came to the same conclusions as the folks that responded. Will know for sure the next time. I did not catch that episode from the Classic that highlighted the same issue.

Thanks!

Daze Off

[EBass]

I saw that episode. It was Mike Iconalli however that's spelled. It was a legit catch.

[swampbuck]

That thing happened to me at the KBI on Lake of the Woods a few years ago! My partner Chip leer set the hook on anice smallie his line broke at the reel. I watched the line race through the guides with Chipper chasing after it, He did not quite catch it! We cranked up the Maxxum 101 to high speed and chased the line! Luckily he was using a bright orange(dont ask!) top water and we could see the bait in the bass's mouth. after ten minutes of chasing i looked down and saw the bait "swimming" in the weeds. II managed to hook the trailing 20 feet of line with a crankbait and then hand landed a very fresh 3 1/2 lb smallie. He ended up being our biggest of the day!

Definatly not a text book catch but we still laugh about it!

As long as you hooked the fish and somehow land it I think it is legal.

[TNFL]

My friend broke off what must have been a huge fish (as he claimed it) once. I looked down at the water and saw his braided line floating, so I picked it up and hand reeled in a 10 incher. So now every time he loses a fish that "must have been big", i remind him about that one on Pulaski that broke him off.

[Jig Master]

Here's a question that is a lot more difficult than the initial one posted. This actually happened once: there was a big walleye tourney up on Mille Lacs and a bunch of boats were ganged up on one spot fishing slip bobbers. A guy hooked into a nice one(about 8 pounds) and fights it for like five minutes and then the line breaks at the rod tip. The fish dives down and is seemingly lost for good. 30 minutes later on the other side of the flat a guy sees the bobber floating. He motors over, grabs it, and handlines the fish in. He proceded to keep it and weigh it as part of his tournament limit. The other competitor told the director about it and the big fish's weight was disqualified and subtracted from the angler's bag.

[ikeslayer]

wow talk about controversy. i am dissapointed in that fisherman that he didn't give it to the other fella. Money on the line or not that isn't too sportsman like. ike

[Daze Off]

That's hardly different than the guy from Missouri who got caught in a B.A.S.S. major tourney tying fish to a stump in practice. He not only got bounced from the event but arrested and fined if not jailed for fraud.

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