Falls to fourth in AOY standings after fishing off-limits area
It looked for a while that Gonzales’ Greg Hackney had maintained his Angler of the Year lead after the Day 1 weigh-in on Cayuga Lake, with a solid 17-pound, 8-ounce bag good for 36th place.
But that all changed when the catch was disqualified by B.A.S.S. tournament director Trip Weldon.
“Greg Hackney’s Day 1 catch was disqualified for fishing in an off-limits area,” Weldon said. “ There are several of these off-limits areas on Cayuga Lake. These areas were marked and confirmed with law enforcement.
“Then we took several steps to make the anglers aware of the areas, including posting them at the pre-tournament meeting Wednesday night.”
Photos from the day indicated Hackney spent 20 minutes in a 100-yard stretch in the back of a marina that was off-limits, catching one fish there. On glacier lakes in New York, state law says all man-made marinas and boat basins are private property, and there are 11 such areas on Cayuga.
After the disqualification, Hackney fell from first place to fourth in Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, 37 points behind new leader Gerald Swinde. Jacob Powroznik is second, followed by Takahiro Omori.
Japan’s Morizo Shimizu leads after Day 1, with a 23-pound-plus bag. Mike Iaconelli is in second, with Jacob Powroznik in third. For a complete look at the leaderboard, click here.
