Prime Bass Reported – The recent Bassmaster Elite tournament at Winyah Bay just finished, but the controversy continues. Carl Jocumsen was leading after the first day with 19lb 11oz, an impressive weight for a fishery not known for big bags. However, Jocumsen was 110 miles away in the Cooper River which typically has much larger bass.
Good planning on Jocumsen’s part, but one thing he failed to plan for was Boyd Duckett.
Duckett Duel
Jocumsen recently did an interview with Ike Live about this event and what transpired here, starting at the 31 minute mark. According to Jocumsen, he was first to arrive at a specific spot on a flat in the Cooper River on Day 1. Duckett also arrived on the same flat but much farther away, until Jocumsen caught a 7lb bass and made some commotion. At that time, Duckett came closer to Jocumsen and started fishing the same sweet spot. When Day 1 ended, Jocumsen was in the lead and Duckett was in 63rd place. The unwritten rule in tournament fishing is the angler who caught the bigger bag gets the spot……..unless you’re Boyd Duckett.
For Day 2, Duckett had an earlier boat draw than the tournament leader and went straight to the sweet spot where Jocumsen caught two big bass the day before. When Jocumsen arrived, Boyd was Power-Poled down right on that sweet spot, according to Jocumsen’s interview on Ike Live. Legal according to tournament rules…..yes (or maybe not, more to come below). Ethical……no way. “I got a bad taste of what can happen in professional fishing” stated Jocumsen, and he surely did, however it’s not an isolated instance in the big leagues. On Day 2, Boyd caught a decent bag while Jocumsen struggled. Did Boyd hamper the leaders chances of winning the event and $100,000? Perhaps. Continue reading here – http://bassprime.com/2016/04/14/bad-taste-of-what-can-happen-in-professional-fishing/