Series Notice:
The OKBT just had its first event of 2024 on May 18th on Lake Nipissing. A few items have been observed and brought to my attention from this event that need to be brought forward and addressed.
First issue was an angler disqualification from the event. At 5:30am, the angler that was DQ’d was observed actively fishing before the posted lines in time of 6am. This is in direct violation of the start/lines in time rule.
Secondly, there were reports of anglers leaving the launch early prior to the 5am posted time. This action was observed at more than one launch. The anglers were not identified at the time of infraction.
These incidents show blatant disregard for the published rules and the ethics we depend on in events that require self-policing. Both infractions are serious and will be dealt with as such.
To be able to deal with rules violations it is up to you, the anglers, to make note of these type of infractions and police at the time it happens and/or report to the tournament director to be dealt with later.
To all the anglers, read the rules and understand the rules. We have Captains Meetings to go over the event rules and answer all questions so the ‘I didn’t know’ excuse is not an excuse. These are simple rules that must be followed. Launch time is the time you may leave the launch area…not 15 minutes early, not 3 minutes early. Pretty simple. If this continues, we will make changes to the rules that will affect everyone.