Elite Series pro Josh Stracner of Vandiver, Ala., will not be fishing this week’s Folds of Honor Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River. B.A.S.S. officials have ruled him ineligible for the sixth stop of the 2023 Bassmaster Elite Series season because he is unable to secure the required Texas fishing license.
Bassmaster Elite Rule C6. IV, for Sportsmanship states: “In both official practice and competition, competitors are required to have all licenses and permits required on the tournament waters in which they fish.”
After contacting the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department in an attempt to resolve the issue, Stracner notified B.A.S.S. officials in advance of the tournament.
Stracner issued a statement on the situation on his Social Media:
“Well unfortunately I’m headed home and will not be fishing at the Sabine River this week due to not being able to purchase a Texas fishing license,” Stacner said. “It’s a kinda crazy long story but here is the short side of it.
“Last year while on a pre-practice trip to another state, I received a ticket for no fishing license ( which is another crazy story) and by that state’s laws that means automatic license loss for one year in that state (which I did not know would happen). So fast forward to now, I found out this week of a law called ‘compact interstate law‘ that a handful of states participate in. Which means if you lose your license in one state, then you lose it in the other states that are part of the compact. So the only choice I had was to notify BASS officials. I couldn’t have dreamed up a situation like this would happen the way it did, but it happened … lol.
“Apologies to my friends, family and sponsors for this crazy situation, but it is what it is. We are moving on! Good luck to all my buddies this week!”
