At the recent Major League Fishing Tournament at Minnesota's famed Smallmouth mill, Mille Lacs Lake, professional angler Ott DeFoe used lightweight spinning gear to jump his bait under a dock. After a bass was hooked, it would become tangled in a dock post or adjacent pontoon shore station. Anyway, he couldn't get the fish to the boat, so he left the boat and went to the fish. Literally.
Under tournament rules, DeFoe was able to jump ship without being disqualified, and if he landed the fish it would count towards his daily weight total. However, DeFoe would be given a time penalty, similar to a hockey game in the box. For his boat exit violation, DeFoe was not required to fish for 4 minutes.
I won't play the role of spoiler; You have to watch the 3 minute Facebook video to see if DeFoe manages to hunt down his bass. After watching the video, be sure to read my tournament summary below. (Viewing tip: Be sure to click "Click to go full screen" to see all the action.)
FYI: Unsurprisingly, hundreds of comments are popping up about DeFoe's actions to get his bass back. Some people support his decision, but the vast majority say DeFoe is pushy, disrespectful to the dock owner, etc. I'm a big fan of DeFoe, he's obviously a nice guy, and his line attempt changes from dock or station to shore nothing about my opinion of him. This will not damage the dock or coast station. And if I were the owner I would rather try to free your bait than intentionally break it and leave it dangling underwater. If you disagree, we must agree to disagree.
Tournament Summary : DeFoe did not win the event. That honor goes to Dustin Connell who caught 20 bass for 82lbs, 9oz in the championship round on September 15th (10 anglers qualified for the last day). Connell edged out runner-up David Walker, who landed 23 kills for a combined weight of 82 pounds, 5 ounces. Total weight (not total fish) determines victory, so Connell won with just 4 ounces.
A bass must weigh at least 2 pounds to be eligible, so Walker had to catch another eligible fish to catch Connell, but he failed to bite in the final minutes of the event. Walker took home $45,000 for second place.
The Major League Fishing format has anglers catching as many largemouth bass as possible in 7.5 hours each day (three 2.5 hour periods with two 15 minute lines outside of scheduled breaks). Basses are released immediately after being weighed by a purser. Each tournament lasts a few days. The difference between Connell's first and second wins was that his fish were larger on average. Connell's fifth largest smallmouth bass during the championship round weighed 27 pounds, 12 ounces.
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