UPDATE: According to sources close to the situation the team was not disqualified for throwing an umbrella rig. There is and was no evidence of that. They were disqualified for failing one question on the polygraph according to the person administering the test, and there are some discrepancies between the parties on how the polygraph was handled.
It was ruled they failed the question on the polygraph pertaining to Rule C7 and were subsequently DQed from the event. However no one reported them throwing any sort of violating rig or lure in practice or the tournament, and there were boats as close as 10 feet of them during the entire tournament. They were reported to be fishing straight down vertically on the bottom slow. So the speculation about an umbrella rig has been verified to be false.
Here is the official release from B.A.S.S.
The second-place team in this week’s Bassmaster Team Championship on DeGray Lake, Arkansas, has been disqualified, Jon Stewart, tournament director for the event, announced today. Stewart said the team of Brandon Gladish and Aaric Correll of Indiana was disqualified for violating Rule C7, which covers tackle and equipment. The rule states, “Any umbrella-type rigging, harness, or other device designed to hold more than one lure at a time — with or without hooks — is not allowed. Such rigging, harness, or device cannot be added to a single lure as described above. Traditional twin arm spinnerbaits or buzzbaits are allowed. Trailer hooks and plastic trailers must be on the main hook of the bait; only spinner blades can be affixed to the arms. The head on the main stem may be hinged. On these spinnerbaits or buzzbaits, no more than two wires, with a maximum length of 6 inches, may extend off the main arm or body of the lure. The ‘head and hook’ portion of the lure must trail behind the blade or blades. B.A.S.S. officials have the sole authority to determine whether a lure is considered a single lure as defined above.” The team of Brandon Gray and Todd Massey of North Carolina moved into second place, and the fourth-place team of Jon Griffith and John Stewart Jr. of Arizona moved to third. Members of the Top 3 teams — including champions Flannagan Fife and Royce Davis of Arkansas — are competing individually today and Saturday on DeGray. The top angler after Saturday’s weigh-in will earn the right to compete in the 2015 GEICO Bassmaster Classic.
