The 2024 Bassmaster Elite Sequence season wrote its remaining chapter Sunday when Cory Johnston hoisted the massive 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 12 months trophy. It was undoubtedly an ideal weekend for the Canadian duo, however their victories have 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 12 months winner in historical past Saturday. It’s arduous to argue that McKinney didn’t earn his ROY title, and if not for a slip up at Smith Lake, he could have even made a run on the extra prestigious AOY title. However coming into the St. Lawrence River occasion, he was down within the ROY operating 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 ahead dealing with sonar. Whether or not you suppose 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 main points 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 printed a press launch on its web site informing followers that JT Thompkins was disqualified from the ultimate occasion “for failure to go a fact verification examination.” The polygraph was administered in the course of the occasion on Friday, reportedly as a consequence 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 isn’t publicly out there.”
- Rule C3 (xiv) states “throughout competitors days, anglers could 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 could have violated or whether or not there’s any proof to assist his DQ past the outcomes of the reality verification examination, which can have included extra standards than only 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 high of the race, the place he remained till being topped ROY on Saturday. ROY race apart, nevertheless, Thompkins disqualification has raised fairly a number of flags within the professional bass fishing neighborhood. The primary displays a rising mistrust with polygraph checks 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 incorrect,” Thompkins says in his video. Nevertheless, 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 carried out the identical factor that everyone else does. You go on there and watch your fellow rivals, 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, based on Thompkins’ dad. The elder Thompkins printed this assertion in a Fb video that has since been taken down, however a recording continues to be out there 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 would take for Main League Fishing and Bassmaster to conduct their investigations or whether or not the outcomes can be launched to the general public. It doesn’t matter what the end result, nevertheless, it’s a troublesome option to see an unbelievable rookie season come to an finish.
The Rookie Class Rumor Mill Is Buzzing
In case you’ve been following the Bassmaster Elite Sequence this season, in addition to I do exactly how a lot controversy this rookie class has confronted. From wild accusations about shopping for waypoints and blatant dishonest, to extra delicate issues like operating by means of no wake zones, the rookie class has been in sizzling water all 12 months.
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 underneath 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.
