BFL Anglers DQ'd from Lake Murray Regional After Protest

Major League Fishing announced today that two Bass Fishing League anglers have been retroactively disqualified from the BFL Regional tournament held Oct. 10-11 at Lake Murray. In a release posted to its website, MLF said boaters Aspen Martin of White, Ga., and Matt O’Connell of Brooks, Ga., were DQ'd following a protest alleging they violated BFL Rule No. 10, which states, in part, that contestants may not use mobile communication devices to communicate with anyone about locating or catching fish on tournament waters during tournament hours. 

Both anglers were asked to take a polygraph, at MLF’s expense, as prescribed by tournament rules. Additionally, MLF offered to cover travel and lodging expenses related to the polygraph. According to the release, Martin cooperated with the investigation and took the polygraph as requested. The results, however, indicated deception (untruthful) responses to the relevant questions asked during the exam, resulting in disqualification. As a result, boater William Bates of Alpharetta, Ga., moves up to second place in the regional and will advance to the 2026 BFL All-American. 

O’Connell declined to take the polygraph as requested and withdrew from the 2025 Toyota Series Championship after being informed that refusal to take the exam would result in disqualification from the Lake Murray Regional and ineligibility to participate in the upcoming championship. As a result of the disqualification, boater Chad Sims of Lancaster, S.C., moves up to third place in the regional and will advance to the 2026 All-American. 

O’Connell is suspended from future MLF competition and may reapply in 2027. Bates and Sims will receive second and third place payouts, respectively, and payouts for the remaining boater positions at the Lake Murray Regional will be adjusted accordingly.

---