Behind the DQs: Is a Broken System Adding to Bass Fishing’s Integrity Crisis?

With polygraph-based disqualifications rising across B.A.S.S., MLF, and NPFL, some pros say the real danger isn’t just cheating, it’s a system anglers no longer trust.

Disputed polygraphs, opaque rulings, and rising DQs involving Tai Au, K.J. Queen, Scott Martin, and others have anglers questioning the integrity of the tournament system itself. | Photo by Craig Mazurek

In recent reporting, I’ve argued that the future of professional tournament bass fishing depends on integrity of the anglers. I can’t say enough times that the vast majority of anglers are genuinely honest, hard-working, trustworthy guys who put their reputation, personal accountability and integrity above all else. But that very small percent of people willing to trade their integrity for a little false glory or a quick payday make it really tough for the sport to be taken seriously.

Not the Reaction I Expected

I expected the possibility of a debate about how anglers conduct themselves. I hadn’t considered that the most emphatic responses to my articles would come from within the professional ranks and would suggest the bigger integrity problem may actually be behind the scenes of the tournament organizations.

Are the Accepted Practices Fair and Do They Work?

Each organization has their specific ways of doing business, but they do all rely heavily on polygraph testing. | NPFL | B.A.S.S. | MLF

Across the three major tournament organizations, B.A.S.S., Major League Fishing (MLF), and the National Professional Fishing League (NPFL), each handles these situations slightly differently. Some anglers and fans are wondering about not just how the rules are enforced, but how little the public ever learns about those decisions. The disqualification against the angler is made public, but how the organization came to that conclusion almost never is.

Because while there are proven cases where angler’s have been cheating and must be stopped, a growing number of disqualifications appear to hinge entirely on the results of polygraph exams, a tool not generally admissible in court, notoriously unreliable, and increasingly viewed by anglers and fans as a flawed system that is ruining careers.

Not Condemning, Questioning

Let me also make it clear that I understand the organizations are in a tough spot. In the case of the no-info rule at B.A.S.S., the anglers voted overwhelmingly to apply the rule and protected its application enthusiastically. Unfortunately, the reality of enforcing such a rule is proving to be difficult, to nearly impossible—at least to get an accurate and/or satisfying resolution. So, how to ensure no angler has an unfair advantage without potentially ruining an innocent person's livelihood is a tall order, but a question that needs to be answered for the good of the sport.

A Pattern That’s Impossible to Ignore

The 2025 Bassmaster Elite season included the disqualification of three high-profile anglers—Scott Martin, Matt Herren, and K.J. Queen. Two of them ultimately left B.A.S.S. entirely. In each case, the official press releases were sparse, exact rules broken were vague, evidence for final guilty rulings was not presented, and the actual questions asked during the exam were never made public.

If you look back to the 2024 season the list grows. Bassmaster Elite angler JT Thompkins was disqualified from the St Lawrence event following a disputed polygraph. Thompkins denied wrongdoing, asked for transparency, and was given the same answer many anglers have now reported—the exam questions and results would not be released and the decision stands.

JT Thompkins is one of the anglers in this past couple year increase in DQs. | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

As an overwhelming majority of trustworthy individuals, the anglers have always understood, and in fact demanded, that rule enforcement is part of tournament fishing. But the increase in what appears to be polygraph-based final decisions has created a fear among some anglers.

Questionable polygraph results appear to be the end of the conversation. But questionable results can be caused by a long list of variables like stress, sleep deprivation, dehydration, etc., that could affect almost anyone competing on any given day.

And this past week, another case added fuel to the fire.

Tai Au: Is This a Breaking Point?

Tai Au has become the latest high profile angler to be disqualified from a Bassmaster event. | Tai Au -Facebook | B.A.S.S.

At the most recent Bassmaster EQ event on Lake Okeechobee, Arizona pro Tai Au was selected at random for a polygraph on Day 2. He took the exam, was told he failed and was told which question tripped him up. He has explained why he thinks he got a negative response to that question, but it’s not because he broke the rule. He planned to appeal but realized that virtually no appeal has ever been judged in favor of the angler.

Au has created several short videos on his social media platforms where he has been pouring his heart out about everything he knows and feels about the DQ. And he has made all of the details public on several popular podcasts like Luke Duncan’s and Mike Iaconelli’s shows. He has insisted repeatedly that he told the truth and that he has not broken any of the rules. And for whatever popular opinion is worth (honestly, not officially worth any more than a polygraph test), the outpouring from fans and fellow competitors seems to be supportive of Au.

Sadly, he says he has made the decision that he will no longer pursue his decades long dream to become a Bassmaster Elite angler, not because he broke a rule, but because he no longer trusts the system that judged him.

Polygraphs Were Supposed to Protect the Sport, Not Break It

Maybe not technically the best test, but the polygraph's inclusion in tournament bass fishing has come to stand for an agreement of personal accountability. | 143611605 © Lenar Nigmatullin | Dreamstime.com

Yes, tournament organizations need to deter cheating. But polygraph tests don’t seem like a realistic solution. Especially, if the test results are basically used as the final say. 
Polygraph tests are:

• Not admissible in court
• Affected by stress, dehydration, fatigue, anxiety, and a long list of other conditions
• Highly dependent on the examiner’s skill
• Vulnerable to ambiguous or multi-layered questions

But in tournament bass fishing, failing a test (or even finishing with a questionable or inconclusive result) can:

• Cost an angler tens of thousands of dollars in that tournament
• Strip away points, standings, and Classic qualifications
• Damage sponsorships
• Carry career-long reputational consequences

And all of this usually seems to happen without transparency, without public explanation, and without anglers being allowed to see their own test data.

Integrity Has to Be a Two-Way Street

Fans expect integrity from anglers. Tournament organizations expect integrity from anglers. But shouldn’t the tournament organizations be held to that same level of integrity?

And I’m not implying the organizations are acting with any ill intent at all. It just seems that some adjustments would go a long way to improve the sport by creating credibility and an atmosphere of legitimacy.

For example:

• Include the polygraph in some situations, as part of an investigation or as a reason to open an investigation, but never use it as the final say
• Create an independent oversight or a mixed angler/official review panel
• Administer clear, consistent, simple, unambiguous polygraph questions
• Provide access to test data and recordings for the angler involved
• Create a transparent, published appeals process
• Give the public summaries that explain what rule was broken and what evidence proves the angler was guilty

Stopping cheating is essential. But relying on a tool with well known scientific limitations, while denying anglers any real path to defend themselves, creates its own kind of injustice.

And it’s possible that injustice could be a bigger threat to the future of competitive bass fishing than any single angler.

What are the long term solutions for the future of tournament bass fishing? | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

The Real Integrity Test

In order for professional tournament bass fishing to exist, the sport needs anglers who are willing to put everything on the line—their money, time, health, family, and their dreams. It seems like the organizations owe them the best, fairest, most reliable system possible. I’m afraid that basing decisions on a test that has been scientifically proven to be unreliable to the point that it isn’t considered admissible in court, and not including transparency regarding their rulings, falls short of their side of the integrity test.