Brandon Palaniuk had amassed a big lead in the Mississippi River Rumble. The someone filed a written protest stating that Palaniuk had culled while in Minnesota waters. His Day 2 weight was disqualified, he fell out of the top 50, will not collect a paycheck this week and his chances for qualifying to fish the Classic just got real slim.

A B.A.S.S. press release states:

“We discussed the protest with Brandon Palaniuk, and we determined that he did in fact cull from a five-fish limit while he was in Minnesota,” said Chris Bowes, B.A.S.S. senior tournament manager. “We recognize that he did not realize he was in Minnesota waters, and his error was completely inadvertent. In dealing with a river system like the Mississippi and its numerous channels, it’s easy to become confused about the state lines on the water.”

Palaniuk gave this statement: “I had no idea today that I ever broke a rule. I signed off on the rule sheet. One hundred percent in my mind, I believed that south of the I-90 bridge, the main river channel was the state boundary between Minnesota and Wisconsin, until we went south of the takeoff and went into the West Channel. I knew one of my areas was in Minnesota and I could not go back to that when I caught five.

“I made one cull today — just one — in Minnesota, in an area that I believed was in Wisconsin. It was only in Minnesota waters by less than 100 yards. I had 18 1/2 pounds before I made that one cull that just cost me, possibly, $100 grand and a Classic berth,” Palaniuk said.