Don't have a dog in this fight but protests usually involve a polygraph to be administered that costs the tournament organization additional funds they don't want to pay. Years back my partner and I were involved in a tournament on Sandlin. Working down a bank another boat came in on plane close enough that had I had a 10' surf rod I could have clobbered the driver as he went by and cut us off. We exchanged words but let it go. At the weigh in we witnessed the team sacking their limit and after pulling 4 fish out and sacking we saw them pull two more fish out and balance beam them before sacking their 5th fish and dropping their SIXTH fish back in the live well. The rules forbid more than 5 fish in possession. We attempted to file the written protest but were belittled by the TD because in his words they would incur the $150 polygraph fee and it would not make a difference in pay to us. We stated that no polygraph was needed, just walk down and look in their live well since they had already weighed in their 5 fish. The TD still argued and we walked away and never fished that circuit again.

Well....legally they can carry 10 fish. 5 per angler. The tourney rules may say weigh in only 5 per boat. Do the rules specifically state that they can be no more than 5 fish total in the live well at one time, between the two anglers? If so...then that would be a relevant protest. But, for any body of water that I know of, it isn't illegal. Sounds like a good reason for a DQ.

Haha. I was at a tourney this weekend where another angler told me he culled a dead bass. I thought in the back of my head about that being wrong, but it wouldn't have changed the money for anyone. And he didn't get any money. So karma. Lol.

You would be surprised at how many just think they know the rules. How many read them from top to bottom ?

Nearly every team tournament only lets you have 5 in the live well with the exception of culling. If you make a cast with 6 on board you are in violation. I've never fished a trail that didn't have these rules

I had 2 that I found that were locked in and catchable both looked 6lbs side by side and were located on the Oklahoma side I took the risk and launched on the Texas side and drove across witch took me about 8min, pulled in and boat was set up on them. He caught one his first cast and the other about his 5th cast. One was 6 and the other 7 1/2. I fill your pain and frustration. I did still cash a check and had my chances. Fished the other one out there Sunday and took 12th.

If you're going to take part in a discussion, you need to educate yourself about the subject. Most all tournaments plainly state you can only possess 5 fish in your livewell.

BEFORE you make another cast, you can have more then 5. For culling reasons.

So they had to have caught that 6th fish on their last cast and come in before culling it. That is possible, only way to prove they didnt would have been a polygraph

Depends on what trail you're fishing. Here is TTT...says nothing about making another cast. It says you must cull immediately.

Bass Champs also doesn't say anything about making a cast.
17. SCORING: Will be determined by the pounds and ounces of each angler's catch during the tournament. Only Largemouth, Spotted, Red Eye or Smallmouth Bass (collectively, �Bass�) are accepted species. The limit will be FIVE Bass per team. Any Contestant who possesses more than the tournament limit at any time will have their catch for that day disqualified. The minimum official length limit for all species for the 2016 Bass Champs Qualifying Team Event will be provided at each event.

The integrity of the tournament must come first. It is the Tournament Director's responsibility to insure that the tournament is and was conducted according to the tournament rules. The circuits from professional to amateur that have the strictest, most objective and unbiased tournament directors are the most respected over the long haul. Over 20+ years of tournament fishing we have had some very good TDs and also some weak TDs in the various circuits. The worst TDs do not enforce their own rules, do not measure fish accurately and are ineffective or biased when conducting polygraphs.

Additionally, the tournament circuits that require a participant to pay a fee/deposit to report a rules violation/protest are not doing the themselves any good or with the participants that want a fair/clean tournament. In some ways these circuits requiring a fee/deposit are really saying that they do not think highly of some of their participants (customers) and are expecting frivolous claims.

I do not think that expecting area team and solo trails to meet the standards established by BASS and FLW for maintaining tournament integrity are unreasonable.

My 2 cent opinion on one of the best old rules was that you could be disqualified for not reporting another angler's rule violation. Many of us old guys grew up with this rule but I do not see it as much now. It was probably difficult to administer. Also, a rule violation is a violation whether or not it impacts who gets a check.

Well spoken Neal. Rules are rules. Whether the protester had 4 fish, no fish, or a sack of fish is irrelevant. Karma, speculation and ignorance to the rules don't have a place at any level of tournament fishing. Maybe if more used the integrity displayed the way a few pro anglers have and self reported or reported infractions THEN karma would work out.

Look at Mike's map. What are you guys griping about? You, nor Alpha knows what happened. Just as the other poster stated, how do you know he didn't have his boat in a rented slip? And before you say that's against the rules; you don't know that. Quit making statements based on assumptions. Some of these same posters on this thread are repeat whiners. The guys that fish TTT are good, get over it.
In a big field, trailering is safer. And this wasn't a shotgun start like Buck Creek.

The red circle is not a public ramp! There is only one public ramp in grandpappy. The red circle you see is a road that runs into the water. I know they used a different ramp because the showed up at the public ramp with an empty trailer at 5 o'clock and you aren't supposed to put your boat in the water until 5:30 which the rules clearl state!

It was reported to the TD and that's all I could do. I didn't want to go in there were they were because it was really tight. I talked to another angler that was right behind me pulling into the spot and he got the TX numbers and the license plate of the boat and truck and reported it. A very well known angler was set up on his first fish when he was the first boat to launch from the public ramp. The well known angler put his boat in a slip and stayed out there all night. Is that right, I don't think so.