The 2024 Bassmaster Elite Sequence season wrote its ultimate chapter Sunday when Cory Johnston hoisted the large blue trophy over his head on the St. Lawrence River in New York. Simply 24-hours prior, his brother, Chris Johnston, hoisted the coveted Angler of the Yr trophy. It was undoubtedly an ideal weekend for the Canadian duo, however their victories had been overshadowed by controversy surrounding different rivals among the many Elite Sequence rookie class.
Elite Sequence rookie Trey McKinney grew to become the youngest Rookie of the Yr winner in historical past Saturday. It’s onerous to argue that McKinney didn’t earn his ROY title, and if not for a slip up at Smith Lake, he might have even made a run on the extra prestigious AOY title. However coming into the St. Lawrence River occasion, he was down in the ROY running behind one other younger up-and-coming angler, JT Thompkins.
Each McKinney and Thompkins had unbelievable first seasons on tour, however have confronted fairly a little bit of backlash from some followers for his or her huge utilization of forward facing sonar. Whether or not you assume they’re dynamic anglers or not, the 2 younger stars set one heck of a stage for the ultimate ROY battle. That’s, till Thompkins was disqualified from the ultimate occasion that Friday, Aug. 16. The small print across the DQ are sparse, and the rumor mill is buzzing with wild accusations. Right here’s what we all know, and what we don’t.
JT Thompkins Disqualification
On Aug. 16 Bassmaster published a press release on its website informing followers that JT Thompkins was disqualified from the ultimate occasion “for failure to go a fact verification examination.” The polygraph was administered throughout the occasion on Friday, reportedly as a result of a protest from one other competitor pertaining to Rule C3 ii a and Rule C3 (xiv):
- Rule C3 ii a states anglers “can’t collect waypoints or particular fishing places i.e. creek, river, space of the lake, and many others. from any supply that’s not publicly obtainable.”
- Rule C3 (xiv) states “throughout competitors days, anglers might not log onto web sites or take part in social media with the intent of gaining a aggressive benefit.”
Bassmaster didn’t present any particulars surrounding any particular guidelines Thompkins might have violated or whether or not there’s any proof to assist his DQ past the outcomes of the truth verification examination, which can have included more criteria than just a polygraph. However the results of the disqualification was that Thompkins would obtain zero factors towards AOY or ROY standings. This left Trey McKinney again on prime of the race, the place he remained till being topped ROY on Saturday. ROY race apart, nonetheless, Thompkins disqualification has raised fairly a couple of flags within the professional bass fishing group. The primary displays a rising mistrust with polygraph tests and their validity. That’s the hill that Thompkins is dying on in his assertion after his disqualification:
“As we all know, these polygraphs aren’t one hundred pc correct, and I’m totally assured that I didn’t do something flawed,” Thompkins says in his video. Nonetheless, in the identical video he additionally admits to watching movies on-line, which is prohibited by Rule C3 (XIV). “With the social media factor, I’ve finished the identical factor that everyone else does. You go on there and watch your fellow rivals, you recognize their fish catches, and I used to be additionally on FOX on day one, and I watched a few of my fish catches.”
Main League Fishing has opened an investigation into the validity of allegations {that a} Main League Fishing Bass Professional Tour cameraman offered Thompkins waypoints, in keeping with Thompkins’ dad. The elder Thompkins printed this assertion in a Fb video that has since been taken down, however a recording remains to be obtainable on YouTube.
At press time, officers at Bassmaster haven’t responded to a number of requests for remark from Out of doors Life. Thompkins has additionally not responded to a request for remark. It’s additionally unclear how lengthy it is going to take for Main League Fishing and Bassmaster to conduct their investigations or whether or not the outcomes shall be launched to the general public. It doesn’t matter what the end result, nonetheless, it’s a troublesome technique to see an unbelievable rookie season come to an finish.
The Rookie Class Rumor Mill Is Buzzing
Should you’ve been following the Bassmaster Elite Sequence this season, you recognize in addition to I do exactly how a lot controversy this rookie class has confronted. From wild accusations about buying waypoints and blatant cheating, to extra refined issues like operating by no wake zones, the rookie class has been in sizzling water all yr.
Even when all of those rumors turn into false, their existence is problematic and it’s regarding to see a lot of the rookie class below such scrutiny. These younger anglers are the way forward for the game, and taking a hard-line love-’em-or-hate-’em stance (significantly primarily based on rumors) isn’t good for bass fishing in the long term. As a fan of the game, I hope the reality finds its manner ahead.