ledhead36
08-29-2008, 08:32 PM
Fishing contest lands in court
Plaintiffs claim winners violated life-jacket rule.
BY JEFF PARROTT
Tribune Staff Writer
A judge could end up as the arbiter of truth in this fish story.
A two-man team that finished second in a bass fishing tournament two years ago in Mishawaka has filed suit in St. Joseph Circuit Court, claiming the winners should have been disqualified for violating tournament rules by failing to wear life jackets when they hooked the winning fish.
Plaintiffs Tom Yost of Fort Wayne and Luke Foli of Granger say witnesses on the shore spotted the violation at the second annual Miller Good Call Bass Tournament on the St. Joseph River in August 2006. The suit claims Yost and Foli lodged a protest in a timely manner, before tournament official David Clark had finished weighing the entries, but defendants Clark and tournament director Mickey Thomas refused to enforce the life jacket rule.
The suit claims that event winners Jeff Burkett of Elkhart and John Federnok of Osceola, whose haul of five bass weighing 10.35 pounds altogether beat out the catches of more than 90 two-man teams from three states, were wrongfully awarded the tournament's grand prize: a new 2006 Chevy pickup truck and a $40,000 bass boat.
When contacted by The Tribune, Burkett, an insurance agent, said the lawsuit was "ridiculous" and called Yost and Foli "crybabies."
In catching the winning fish, Burkett recalled that his partner, Federnok, accidentally snagged his line on a fallen tree trunk near the riverbank while the boat's engine was off. Tournament rules require the competitors to wear life jackets whenever the engine is in gear, Burkett said.
Burkett turned on the trolling motor, a much more quiet device than the engine, and tried to move closer to the tree trunk so that he could capture the fish with a net. But the troller's propeller became entangled in the tree's roots, he said.
So Burkett, acting quickly as the fish struggled to free itself of the hook, threw a life jacket to Federnok up at the front of the boat, grabbed one for himself, turned on the engine and put it into gear, he said.
Both he and Federnok tried to drape the life jackets over their knees and elbows, then managed to pull the fish from the water, Burkett said.
"We were only going to move the boat 12 inches at most to net the fish," Burkett said. "The rules just say you have to be wearing a life jacket; they don't say you have to be wearing it conventionally. It was on our body but it was not wrapped around our shoulders."
All the commotion caught the attention of the other competitors who were standing on shore about 150 yards away, Burkett recalled.
"It could have been misconstrued that we weren't wearing life jackets, but that's not true," Burkett said.
Federnok did not return a call seeking comment.
Burkett said he and Federnok agreed that Federnok would receive the truck. Having incurred more than $12,000 in medical bills after injuring his hand during a home improvement project and having no health insurance, Federnok sold the truck to a local car dealer for about that amount and used the proceeds to pay off the medical bills, Burkett said.
Burkett, who already owned a bass boat, said he sold the prize bass boat to a man in Battle Creek, Mich.
The plaintiffs' Fort Wayne attorney, C. Erik Chickedantz, did not return a call seeking comment. The Tribune could find no phone listings for Foli or Yost.
Thomas and Clark said they had not yet been served with a copy of the lawsuit. Thomas, of Elkhart, declined comment.
Clark said he was surprised by the lawsuit.
"I think it's extremely bad," Clark said. "Everybody is going to get a negative attitude about fishing tournaments because of this. It's pretty competitive. Usually most guys are just out to have a good time, but this one had a big payout at the end."
Plaintiffs claim winners violated life-jacket rule.
BY JEFF PARROTT
Tribune Staff Writer
A judge could end up as the arbiter of truth in this fish story.
A two-man team that finished second in a bass fishing tournament two years ago in Mishawaka has filed suit in St. Joseph Circuit Court, claiming the winners should have been disqualified for violating tournament rules by failing to wear life jackets when they hooked the winning fish.
Plaintiffs Tom Yost of Fort Wayne and Luke Foli of Granger say witnesses on the shore spotted the violation at the second annual Miller Good Call Bass Tournament on the St. Joseph River in August 2006. The suit claims Yost and Foli lodged a protest in a timely manner, before tournament official David Clark had finished weighing the entries, but defendants Clark and tournament director Mickey Thomas refused to enforce the life jacket rule.
The suit claims that event winners Jeff Burkett of Elkhart and John Federnok of Osceola, whose haul of five bass weighing 10.35 pounds altogether beat out the catches of more than 90 two-man teams from three states, were wrongfully awarded the tournament's grand prize: a new 2006 Chevy pickup truck and a $40,000 bass boat.
When contacted by The Tribune, Burkett, an insurance agent, said the lawsuit was "ridiculous" and called Yost and Foli "crybabies."
In catching the winning fish, Burkett recalled that his partner, Federnok, accidentally snagged his line on a fallen tree trunk near the riverbank while the boat's engine was off. Tournament rules require the competitors to wear life jackets whenever the engine is in gear, Burkett said.
Burkett turned on the trolling motor, a much more quiet device than the engine, and tried to move closer to the tree trunk so that he could capture the fish with a net. But the troller's propeller became entangled in the tree's roots, he said.
So Burkett, acting quickly as the fish struggled to free itself of the hook, threw a life jacket to Federnok up at the front of the boat, grabbed one for himself, turned on the engine and put it into gear, he said.
Both he and Federnok tried to drape the life jackets over their knees and elbows, then managed to pull the fish from the water, Burkett said.
"We were only going to move the boat 12 inches at most to net the fish," Burkett said. "The rules just say you have to be wearing a life jacket; they don't say you have to be wearing it conventionally. It was on our body but it was not wrapped around our shoulders."
All the commotion caught the attention of the other competitors who were standing on shore about 150 yards away, Burkett recalled.
"It could have been misconstrued that we weren't wearing life jackets, but that's not true," Burkett said.
Federnok did not return a call seeking comment.
Burkett said he and Federnok agreed that Federnok would receive the truck. Having incurred more than $12,000 in medical bills after injuring his hand during a home improvement project and having no health insurance, Federnok sold the truck to a local car dealer for about that amount and used the proceeds to pay off the medical bills, Burkett said.
Burkett, who already owned a bass boat, said he sold the prize bass boat to a man in Battle Creek, Mich.
The plaintiffs' Fort Wayne attorney, C. Erik Chickedantz, did not return a call seeking comment. The Tribune could find no phone listings for Foli or Yost.
Thomas and Clark said they had not yet been served with a copy of the lawsuit. Thomas, of Elkhart, declined comment.
Clark said he was surprised by the lawsuit.
"I think it's extremely bad," Clark said. "Everybody is going to get a negative attitude about fishing tournaments because of this. It's pretty competitive. Usually most guys are just out to have a good time, but this one had a big payout at the end."