Mess at Erie

Word has came down that the Northern Open champion Nate Wellman has been penalized for breaking a rule during the Lake Erie tournament. I have nothing to say on the matter as I dont want to be critical of B.A.S.S. or Wellman, I dont know the man and my opinion of him and his decisions are not relevent. What is relevent is the precedent that was set by B.A.S.S. officials in the past regarding rules violations.

The rules are very clear, if you violate a rule, then you are disqualified for either the tournament or the tournament day. Ask Mike Iaconelli. He was disqualified because he threw a temper tantrum after he found out that his fish were dead because a live well was not turned on. Ask Gerald Swindle, also disqualified because he ran on plane too close to another angler during the Bassmaster Classic and the top of the list, ask Kevin Van Dam.  Kevin was disqualified before a tournament because he asked his co-angler, during practice, to run his gas motor while Kevin stood on the front deck looking for spawning bass because his trolling motor batteries had died.

I ask a simple and reasonable question, how can you set a precedent of zero tolerance for rule violations then allow a guy who tried to cheat get off with a small fine and probation. No forfitt, no ban, no blacklist, just a fine that is less then 10% of the winnings from that particular tournament.

All in all, I applaud the co-angler for stepping up and reporting the incident, he deserves credit because it has to be hard to be the one to blow the whistle on an elite series angler. I also applaud B.A.S.S. for actually making a decision on the matter, despite my opinion of the decision, I recognize how tough it must be to decide the fate of an angler. I just dont understand the thought process behind the decision, there is a clear history of zero tolerance even for the most popular of anglers. It doesnt make sense to me, but I reckon it doesnt have to. They make the rules, I just follow them. B.A.S.S. is an awesome organization, I put my trust in them that they have done the right thing.