Sprague’s 6-5 Lake Fork Largemouth Deemed a Legal Catch by Tournament Director
LAKE FORK, Texas. – MLF pro Jeff Sprague had a stout showing on Lake Fork in his three competition rounds in the General Tire Stage Three Presented by TrueTimber, racking up 141 pounds, 15 ounces on 39 fish to advance to Wednesday’s Championship Round on Lake Athens.
One of Sprague’s catches – a 6-5 largemouth caught early in the first period of the Texas pro’s first Qualifying Round (March 13) – has been the subject of scrutiny on social media and regional chat boards, calling into question the legality of the catch.
In video seen on the MLF NOW! live stream and later posted on MLF social media channels, Sprague can be seen landing and weighing the fish, which he had inadvertently hooked in the side after the fish initially bit his bait.
Under Bass Pro Tour rules – Section 9 “Tackle and Equipment”, Rule E – it’s clearly stated that “All bass caught while ‘visually fishing’ must be hooked inside the mouth and immediately shown to your MLF official for verification.”
Sprague Was Deemed NOT to be Looking at the Fish
Following a thorough investigation of the catch by MLF Tournament Director Aaron Beshears, the catch was deemed legal under MLF’s rules, which allow anglers to count fish that are inadvertently hooked outside the mouth when the angler is not sight fishing. The crux of the catch: whether Sprague was actively sight-fishing for the fish he hooked.
According to Beshears, Sprague was not.
“After reviewing the footage of Jeff’s catch, it was very apparent that Jeff had been visually fishing a bedding fish, but then retrieved his bait and stated, ‘She isn’t going to bite’,” Beshears said. “He immediately deployed another cast in the vicinity of the initial cast where he had been sight fishing. Sprague immediately hooked a fish while verbalizing that the hooked fish was not the original bedding fish. He also verbalized that the fish was ‘hooked in the side.’ Sprague landed the fish and removed the hook just prior to presenting the fish to the weight scale. The official called the weight and the fish was released.”
Video Verification of the Catch
Beshears met with Sprague after lines out that day, and scrutinized the video with Sprague describing what was happening in each frame. Sprague strongly denied that he was sight fishing for the fish he hooked, and requested a truth verification examination by the league’s competition rules compliance officer.
“We looked at the video frame by frame while Jeff provided detailed explanation,” Beshears said. “After this process was done and repeated a second time for confirmation, it’s clear the Sprague made a cast past the bed, and at least a couple feet to the left of the original bedding fish.”
Beshears also conferred with Sprague’s MLF official that day – veteran official John Greife – about the catch. According to Beshears, Greife replied ‘Absolutely not!’ when asked if Sprague was sight-fishing when he landed the fish.
“John further stated that Sprague had indeed been fishing a bedding bass, but got discouraged the sight fish wouldn’t bite and immediately deployed a cast to a nearby area, but was not sight fishing,” Beshears said. “John states that Sprague’s line veered sideways, indicating a fish had bite his lure. Sprague set the hook and landed the fish.
“John further states he heard Sprague state that the fish was hooked in the side, but could not visually confirm this because of his location on the boat, and the position of the MLF camera operator. John concluded his statement saying he wasn’t concerned, because he knew the fish was not caught illegally.”
After interviewing both Sprague and his official, Beshears met with MLF ‘s Competition Rules Compliance Officer Mark Tecino and viewed the video frame by frame with Tecino.
“After a detailed discussion, we determined this fish was caught legally, therefore this matter is cleared,” Beshears said.