re: Drama from Hobie BOS Lake Fork

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are you sure he's running a 14 and not a 12

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Throughout the Hobie Bass Open Series (B.O.S.), we have showcased the talented anglers in kayak fishing. Publicizing the skills and expertise of B.O.S. competitors has allowed us to capture moments and perspectives that have never been showcased within this community. These experiences have created opportunities for us to continually improve our processes, rules and procedures to benefit the sport and the anglers’ experience in this series.

The Hawg Trough measuring device has been considered the industry standard measurement tool in catch, photo, release tournaments. It has been the most popular measuring device used in many competitive kayak series from the birth of the sport. As such, we have instructed anglers to use this board and given direction on how to position the board on an angle to fit inside their kayaks.

We are changing the measuring device of the B.O.S. events, effective February 27, 2020, and will only be allowing the metal version of the Ketch Board in competition for the remainder of the 2020 season and until further notice. The currently sanctioned plastic measuring device and any plastic measuring devices will no longer be allowed in Hobie B.O.S events.

It is always ideal to set rules at the beginning of a tournament series but as the sport continues to evolve so will our rules. Most importantly, Hobie is committed to delivering a best-in-class tournament to our competitors. While we accept that this change will cause added expense and potentially impact our attendance in the short term, we are focused on identifying a long term solution. All anglers registered for future events will be notified of this update and offered a full refund if they are unable to have an aluminum Ketch board present at our tournaments.

Final Decision

With regards to our Lake Fork event: All boards were checked prior to the event. All competitors were made aware by the Tournament Director at the captain’s meeting that they could place one end of the board down in the kayak and the other up on the edge of the kayak. Within our rules, anglers can hold the fish, as well as apply pressure to hold the fish in place. Our judges are only able to evaluate the size of the fish based on the picture that is submitted by the angler through the TourneyX app. Based on all information provided, every angler in this event earned their score within our rules.

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