What's your connection to this guy? You clearly must have one, because you left sanity and reason in the rear view mirror long ago.

I fear this is exactly how the next election will go, no common sense in America anymore and it’s always someone else’s fault.

no connection whatsoever.....and my sanity and reason tells me the most important thing about a bass tournament is who caught the largest weight without cheating..... penalizing someone with the loss of winning a lifetime event,plus $100,000. is totally out of reason for something he may not be at fault over....

Were you born from 1930-1953?

He didn't have a fishing license. He was 100% at fault. It's amazing how many of y'all just think it's ok to ignore rules

Good grief man. There is no “may or may not be at fault”. The guy was FISHING without a FISHING LICENSE…it’s not somebody else’s fault.

my sanity and reason tells me the most important thing about a bass tournament is who LEGALLY caught the largest weight without cheating

if you are one of those who feels “the punishment fits the crime “,I would like to see your reaction to getting a speeding ticket for 2 mph over speed limit…..

Electric chair

I’m going to try a new approach with all my bills this year. Even though I know the money never leaves my bank account, I’m going to tell everyone that I “thought I paid them”. I bet the IRS will be especially sympathetic to me.

“Oh Mr. Policeman, I thought I had car insurance. What???? You mean I have to actually pay them and have a piece of paper for proof?”


“Mr. Mexico Gamewarden, I thought I had purchased a Mexican fishing license! What??? You mean I should have a receipt or proof, GTF out of here”!


“Sorry Mr. Tournament Director, I thought I paid you and since I think that, I get to keep the winnings”!


“No Mr. Repoman, I thought I paid you”. Proof of payment you say? Ummmm, I thought though, isn’t that enough?”





If I get a ticket for going 2mph over the speed limit and knowing was going 2mph, then it’s MY FAULT. If my Speedo says that I wasn’t speeding and he claims I was, then I’ll see him in court. If I’m running bigger tires and know that my speedo is off, then it’s MY responsibility to know that.

""Good grief man. There is no “may or may not be at fault”. The guy was FISHING without a FISHING LICENSE…it’s not somebody else’s fault.

my sanity and reason tells me the most important thing about a bass tournament is who LEGALLY caught the largest weight without cheating""

there is a big difference between cheating and inadvertently breaking rule...your comments show exactly what you and those who agree with you cannot seem to comphrehend and that is while disqualifying the winner for cheating that helped him win the tournament is justifiable....disqualifying the winner for a questionable breaking of a rule that he may or may not have committed and had no effect on the outcome of the tournament is not cheating and is not justifiable...the winner passed the polygraph which is further proof that he thought he had legally purchased a license and there is a very real possibility he did purchase a license and the system malfunctioned..

as mentioned earlier,the best solution for this would have been for them to get the top 10 or top 20 together,explain the situation and ask them to vote whether to disqualify the winner or allow him to re-submit his license application....you can bet the vast majority of fishermen would voted to allow him to re-purchase a license and this would not have caused any hard feelings toward the tornament organizers.......

incidentally,I told earlier about a similar situation that happened several years ago on eufaula and top ten voted to not penalize the two guys who were late due to a mix-up in weigh-in locations....guess who were only two guys that voted to disqualify them....the two guys who would have won....and...we never did see those two again....

Robby Rose passed a lot of polygraphs as well.........

Don't think anyone said he was "cheating", they said he broke a rule that got him DQ'd. There was no "questionable" about it.

You're full of ridiculous nonsense

Threads like this show everyone's morals and ethics

First, let me say wow!

The official rules are clear: All pros must have a valid fishing license for the waters they fish. Failure to provide proof of a valid fishing license within a reasonable amount of time when requested by the tournament director will result in disqualification for that day and any preceding days in which the license was required for the tournament.

These are official rules, not suggestions for consideration.

I don't know Barron, but feel really bad for him. That's one heck of a lesson to learn and it will stick with him for the rest of his life.

I'd like to help everyone make sense of a simple mistake and its consequences, but that's someone else's job.

Seems to me, one of the most important things needed to fish a tournament, particularly and professional one with $100,000 to the winner, is a valid fishing license for the place you’re fishing. Seems non-negotiable. I feel bad for the guy, if he really made a mistake, but a valid fishing license prior to the event is on the list of rods, reels, lures, gas in boat, life vest, entry fee when you show up to fish a tournament.

It sucks, it was a mistake (I hope), but there are several steps before legal fishing time that should’ve clicked in the guy’s head that he didn’t have a license. Never got a confirmation page when he submitted, never got email confirmation and never got the actual license. Everyone has made dumb mistakes before. This was one of the costlier ones I’ve ever seen, though.

And no chance should the tournament not disqualify him, as hard as it would be to tell him and after the embarrassment of handing him the trophy. Tournaments need to have integrity, and something as basic as disqualifying an angler for not having a fishing license is a simple call in order to be a legitimate tournament circuit.