Everstart Tournament Undecided- Who Won???

http://www.flwoutdoors.com/ezineArticle.cfm?strObjectID=2949A49B-200A-4480-876CD36BE6EE0CAB

Click on the above site.

Well its now 12:17 am Sunday morning and I haven’t received anymore news yet about who won. It must be a really hard thing to figure out and prove either way as nothing has been finalized yet. I’m glad to see that the officials are checking everything out carefully so the situation is cleared up correctly. Hopefully an answer will come about soon as I’m going fishing with my oldest grandaughter Sunday as its her 10th birthday and we need to both get on the water before the weekend is over and before we head to her house for the party. If I find anything more out before we hit the water I’ll post it. If anyone hears anything please feel free to post the news. Thanks, Bill

Still no decision at 7:40 am Sunday. Lets hope they get this figured out today.

As of 7:30 Monday am there is still no decision.

I dont know all the details but good grief…someone protested because the guy wasnt wearing the kill switch?? Like that never happens. I know in the RCL I always tried to attatch mine but heck I probably forgot too once in awhile in all the excitement of the day. Am I alone in this thinking here? I hope not. The guy caught the most fish…give him the trophy already. But again I dont know all the details so I can’t say too much.

I personally agree with Steve. Its not cheating or anything like that. Its 6:00 and still no word yet on who wins.

Steve and Bill,

I don’t believe any tourney angler should be be for picking and choosing what rules are enforced and which are ignored.

Well I sure hope this isn’t a sour grapes thing!
I wonder who protsted?
Was it second or third place?
Sounds like a bounch of crap so far. I hope the winner gets his check.
I do not know the details.But sure sounds like sour grapes.

The strange thing I see is according to the website the co-angler may lose his winnings as well. If it is a kill switch, how can he be held responsible. Seems a little over-kill, I wonder if there is more to it than we know (also seems to be taking awhile to solve)

I don’t know the circumstances either but…. if it’s in the rules that the kill switch has to be connected when running and he did break the rule I don’t know if they have a choice but to disqualify him. Otherwise, what’s the sense of having that rule in the first place.

The co-angler is supposed to remind the angler to connect the kill switch. That is what was said at the BFL meeting.

Is there anyone out there who was at the weigh in who knows exactly what happened? If so we sure would appreciate hearing from you. Thanks, Bill

Birdman,

You are right rules are rules and they should be enforced but this thing is under protest.

That means another competitor blew the whistle most likely…and that I have a BIG problem with. Im dying to know who blew the whistle on the guy.

If you are within site of the tournament officials and they see your lanyard not attatched to your life vest then you deserve it.

But if another competitor who is in the top 10 strolls up to the stage and whines about another competitor (especially the guy who’s leading) not wearing the kill switch while going above idle speed…well that is just an unwritten rule among tournament anglers that you DO NOT break in my opinion. You dont RAT on another competitor for something like that. Now if you saw him culling in a no cull event thats one thing but cmon! Of course this could all be speculation as I still DO NOT know what happened.

I just called a buddy who was in the top 10 in this event.

He said the second place competitor watched the guy who ended up in first while he was locking through in the am and made a mental note that he did not have the lanyard attatched to his vest.

Later on at the weigh-in this second place competitor approached the tournament officials and told them about it. Apparently in the Everstart the kill switched must be attatched whenever the motor is running. The first place finisher said he had it attatched to his leg.

So now the Everstart is doing polygraph Lie Detector tests to try to get to the bottom of it.

Hi Everyone,

I thought I’d make a post and let all of you hear what happened at the
EverStart. I am currently the leading co-angler for the EverStart
tournament. A protest was filed against my boat towards the end of the
tournament for not having the kill switch hooked up when we were waiting to
lock-through at L$D #3. The protester claimed that the pro had the
combustion engine running when he walked to the front to fix his trolling
motor. This was claimed to have occurred with a little more than an hour
left in the tournament.

At that time, and for that matter at any other time during the day, I never
observed my pro partner EVER walking around the boat when the engine was
running. The frustrating part for me is when they ask me if I saw the kill
switch attached, I cannot say for sure. But, I can say that I never saw
him walking around the boat without it attached when the engine was
running. In a bass boat, when the driver sits down, the kill switch is
hidden from view of the person sitting next to the driver. Another thing
that complicates matters is that my partner attaches the kill switch to a
loop on his sandal rather than the actual life vest, so it is not clearly
visible to other boats if he stands up (that is from what I learned after
the protest was filed, a fairly common practice, and legal according to the
rules since they state that it has to be attached to the driver’s body.)

I agree with people that say that we can’t make exceptions for rules
violations, even if it would DQ me as a co-angler. It is the co-anglers’
responsibility to assure that safety is observed at all times. The ultimate
purpose of rules of boat operation is to assure the safety of the
contestants, not to DQ contestants. I have participated in numerous
tournaments where if I or someone else sees someone that doesn’t have a
life vest on when they should, I will immediately say something. That way,
people won’t get hurt if someone made a mistake. Whether you protest that
angler later is up to you. This situation would be cut-and-dry if the
person filing the protest would have come right up to us and pointed it
out. Then they could see for sure if the motor was running, kill switch
attached, and if it were our fault. At that point we could hook-up the kill
switch for the rest of the day. Instead, that person would rather file a
protest (which I know is not true) just to move up a place in the
standings, subsequently jeopardizing the safety of both the pro and
co-angler for the rest of the tournament. I believe that all contestants
should look out for the well-being of each other at tournaments.

I was told we may have to take a polygraph test this week. I have not
heard when it will happen, or if the person filing the protest would have
to as well. I just hope the right decision is made soon.

Paul Strege
[email protected]

I wish they would look at the intent of these particular rules. These rules in particular are enforced for the saftey of the boaters. In a situation such as this, the motor was not “Under Power” which is what the rule should state. That means the driver would be in the drivers seat, and in control of the boat. If the motor is idling, and NOT under power, the risk of danger to the pilot or co-piolt would be minimal. Keep in mind, a lot of these boats can go in excess of 70 MPH. That is the main reason a kill switch is there in the first place! I would hate to see this be used as a crutch for someone hoping to gain a place in the standings.
Tuck

What a chicken [censored]!!!!!!!!!!!

Like I said SOUR GRAPES!!!!!!!!!

I have fished many tourneys. I have never heard of anything like this before.

Second place is second place! I would never ever even think about doing this to someone just to move up in a tournament.

Well second place how do you even look in the mirror.

I would have to agree with you there Rob.
this is a bunch of bull [censored] let the 1st place team have there hard earned money!!!
this hole thing has been bothering me all weekend how could someone do that to advance in a tourney I don’t care how much money is involved you don’t cheat people out of there money.
what a bunch of crap.

It is amazing what some people will do to try and get a few extra bucks.

I was at the weigh-in and have intimate knowledge of the events and the protest. I have known the tournament winner since he fished his first tournament in 1990 and met his Co-Angler winner (a very nice and very frustrated guy) that afternoon. I also met FLW’s VP, Charlie Evans and Tournament Director, Jerry Stakely and spent some time discussing this sad situation with them. Everyone who believes that this is B.S., Sour Grapes or Chicken-S**t on the part of “Mr. Second Place” is absolutely correct. Unfortunately, once the protest was officially filed the tournament officials had to consider it legitimate and treat it seriously. I do not know the FLW By-Laws or the tournament director’s guidelines (mostly because they would not tell me) but I believe that they could and should have made a decision on the spot. There was absolutely no evidence or collaborating witnesses to the supposed infraction (from either side) and it was clearly demonstrated that when the kill-switch was attached to the winning angler’s shoe it could not be seen by other competitors when he stood up from behind the console. Evidence that this was a “historical practice” of the winner was presented by myself and could have been collaborated by his first day partner, who happened to notice it and comment on it. No attempt was made to contact him. “Mr. Second Place”, on the other hand, has been known to make nuisance protests and “self-promoting” protests by the FLW officials on hand (as well as many of the other contestants). This along with the lack of evidence and lack of collaborating witnesses should, in my opinion, have brought about an immediate dismissal of the protest. But, this is not my job, and decisions were made by those whose job it was. I only hope that all of this will be cleared-up very soon and justice will prevail. This is the winner’s (and co-angler’s) “first big win” and it could not have happened to a nicer guy or a more competent and competitive angler. Keep your eye on this guy. You will be seeing his name again.

As for “Mr. Second Place” he certainly did not help his already poor reputation with his fellow competitors and I, for one, would like to know how he could sleep at night after what he did. I was personally appalled by his behavior and his manor and never, in a million years expected, to see that kind of amateurish and childish behavior from a supposed professional. If this is the way he conducts himself and if these are the methods that he uses to make money or to make a name for himself, then, I believe, there should be no place for him in professional angling. I believe that serious consideration should be given by all tournament organizations to which he belongs to not accept his future tournament applications. In my opinion, the sport of professional bass angling does not need the kind of bad press and ill-feelings, which are brought on by his unforgivable behavior.

Thanks for listening to my rant and please forgive me, if I stepped on anyone’s toes.

De-Lure

Assuming all the above info is factual, which I have no reason not to believe you guys. Then this guy is a rat if I’ve ever seen one. Like others have said, if you see something that could be dangerous to other anglers, say something to them right away. I would hate for someone to get hurt from something I could have prevented.

Do you bass guys have to carry a radio at all times during tournaments?? If so, why didn’t this guy radio in the complaint right away. What a weasel!!!

I the FLW can come to a solution asap!!

John

John,

My gut says this info is pretty bullet proof. Ive spoken with two of the top 10 finalists by phone one of which is directly involved in the situation (he was the co-anlger in the boat being protested and is a very loyal FTR visitor)posted what happened right here (smallmouthguide). The guy that protested has a history of doing this. Also…according to others this same guy broke federal regulations by running the rollers at the dam the previous day!

Well who is this guy?
what is his name?
were is he from?

The investigation is over and its now official! The wining Pro-Angler is Dave Lefebre of Erie, PA (see article in this month’s Bassmaster mag, page 54) and the winning Co-Angler is Paul Strege of Woodbury, MN. Congratulations to both of them. As for “Mr. Second Place”….well….he is in second place, just where he belongs. You can find all of the “official” info at http://www.flwoutdoors.com, click on at the Everstart logo. The final results were not up yet as of this writing, but the decision was made around 4:00 PM this afternoon and it should been there sometime this evening.

Thanks again for your interest,

De-Lure

from what I have heard the the guy apparently did not have his kiil switch tether attached to his life jacket, he had it attached to his sandle. Now supposedly he was seen in the loch with his motor running but in nuetral, without his tether hooked up. To me this seems to be a frivalous attempt by the protester to get himself a bunch of money. Why didn’t they dis-qualify the the 8 boats that blew the loch off and drove thru the roller gates. If I’m not mistaken, 3 of those boats made the top 20 cut. If the Ever Start officials take the winner out, then they had better take out those guys and the one gal who ran the dam.

This whole deal has me absolutely miffed. I can’t believe the tourney officials would hold-up the official results for days based on such a frivilous and rediculous complaint over a “safety issue” , that was unsubstantiated and was completely inaccurate, when the guy that filed the complaint blew through the rollers the day prior and that infraction didn’t warrant a disqualification. If safety is such a concern in these tourneys, why weren’t the boats guilty of THAT infraction IMMEDIATELY DQ’ed and the list of guilty boaters turned over to the authorities?! How could those boats possibly have been allowed to continue in the tourney when the law clearly states no boat may come within 100 ft. of the dam this time of year and the DANGERS to boaters are clearly outlined as well? Oh I get it, the inherent risk of moving about in one’s boat with the main motor running but not in gear, with kill switch attached mind you, greatly exceeds the possible risks of running wide open through a roller dam during a period of very high water…. with clearly legible and highly visible signs stating the illegality of such an action posted on site.

I think “Mr. Second Place” is an outright scouldrel but the tourney officials supervising this deal dropped the ball on this one.

This whole deal would have been avoided if the tournament officials had done their job on day two and ousted a bunch of the idiots that honestly did endanger themselves and their co-anglers…. Mr. Second Place wouldn’t have even been on the water to file his rediculous “sour grapes” protest.

Anyone? Anyone? How did these guys get away with this? I saw jetskiers blow under the rollers last season during the high water, chased down by the sherriff, arrested and hauled off in handcuffs for such a violation with the PWC in tow behind the patrol boat. Its that serious!

It is not completely clear exactly what happened at the Lock. There are lots of stories! From what I gather, there were bass boats from the tournament stacking up at the lock and there was a barge in the lock. I am told that one of the anglers called the Lock-Master on a cell phone and she gave them permission “run the rollers”. I find that hard to believe, but that is what is being said. The sad part is, that boats that showed up a little later and did not get “permission” (or know that permission had been given), waited to lock through, didn’t make their weigh-in times and were D.Q.ed for that day. The deal with why no one was D.Q.ed for running the rollers is, apparently no official protest was filed (there is a time limit on these) and so the officials were not sure exactly what had happened. No one knows exactly who all did it and who did not and whether “permission” was actually given.

But you are quite correct about this tournament and it officials. It was a nightmare from start to finish and there were definitely bad decisions being made on several occasions. This is not “normal” with the FLW organization, or the Everstart Series and I know for a fact that Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday the offices at FLW were busy working out details of these “problems” and making plans to see that they do not occur in the future. I am not defending them. I am just saying that mistakes were made and now, hopefully, they are straightened out. If the series comes back to Mississippi, and there is no reason to believe that it won’t, lets all hope they can conduct the kind of event that we are used to seeing from these folks.

De-Lure

Wow, sounds like the script for a soap opera. I also think its pretty low for a person to report another for the sole purpose of advancing in the standings, especially when you broke the rules yourself the day before. When I used to fish tournaments I can’t remember ever checking out my competitors to make sure they were abiding by the rules. That being said it does concern me that the kill switch was connected to his sandal. WHY? It seems to me that in the event of an accident it would be very easy for him to lose his sandal and therefore the kill switch wouldn’t shut the motor off if he was thrown from the boat. I wish tournament officials would take the safety issue a little more seriously. Running the rollers even though their wasn’t a protest seems to me to require an immediate DQ. And they really should require kill switches to be attached to a person where they will work if a person is thrown. Their have been two terrible accidents on the river lately and safety during a tournament should never be compromised.

James can you explain to my how someone “runs” the rollers?? I hope it isn’t what I’m envisioning….. I’ve done some crazy stuff, but that sounds flat out stupid!!!

As of 1:00 pm Friday I still have no word the the decision and there is still ”undecided” posted on the FLW site.