Tournament anglers pour time and effort into their events, so it’s truly deflating to run afoul of the rules. This video from Chase Odeen shows how to handle adversity with grace, as he owns up to breaking a rule at the WKBF event at Loon Lake, Washington. Odeen is disqualified from the kayak bass fishing tournament, but he stays true to himself and bounces back for a fun day of guilt-free fishing.
What To Do When You Get Disqualified
The tour event starts with shouts of excitement as Odeen sets off for his first spot in a borrowed Jackson Big Rig. He has already devoted three days to pre-fishing the unfamiliar lake, sleeping rough while he figures out the bite and picks prime spots to fish. Things start to go sideways when another angler beats him to his first spot on the distant north shore. Odeen stops short and makes his first cast, getting a nice bass on the line right away. Great news, right?
“I realized all at once that I didn’t check the time before I cast,” Odeen narrates. “I’m a pretty big stickler on rules, but I took out my phone to…take the picture of the bass, and…it says 4:41. Lines in were at 4:45 and I had a bass on the line in the water.”
“It was hard. It was a hard choice to make, but at the end really it wasn’t.”
Odeen is frank about his thought process following the mistake. “I wish I could tell you I immediately did the right thing, in 30 seconds I let the bass go and I called the tournament director. I didn’t,” he admits. But Odeen quickly realizes that his day will be ruined by the knowledge that he has cheated, so he calls the tournament director and fesses up. Reluctantly, the director hands down his sentence: “You know, I appreciate the fact that you turned yourself in, but…I have to DQ you from the tournament.”
You Can’t Fish With a Dirty Conscience
The disqualification lands like a ton of bricks, but Odeen bounces back and ultimately decides to fish just like he has not been disqualified. A helpful friend acts as unofficial judge so Odeen can see how he stacks up against the field. “And I ended up having a really good day on the water,” he concludes. As Odeen says in the video’s description, “The lessons learned are invaluable, and cannot be replaced with any victories or hardware.”
Visit the Chase Odeen Fishing YouTube channel for highlights and tips from his many successful finishes in kayak bass fishing tournaments.
I’m the Director of the governing body for the tournament series Chase was fishing. DQing someone for a mistake is tough and it weighed on our Tournament Director, and on me that day. But our hands were tied. We tried to use it as a learning moment for all our anglers. We are all proud of Chase for making the right decision.
I think there should be a rule that you MUST get off the water, as well. This whole thing started because someone was in the spot he planned to fish. Why should he be allowed to take spots and catch fish that could truly MATTER to another angler? The rules should remove the “player” from the “field.”