Bassmaster Elite Series pro Keith Poche will not be fishing the upcoming Bassmaster Elite Series event at South Carolina's Lake Murray April 20-23. B.A.S.S. officials have ruled him ineligible for the third stop of the 2023 Elite Series season because he violated the 28-day off-limits rule that all competitors must follow.
Poche is competing in this week's MLF Bass Pro Tour event, placing him in violation of the off-limits period for the Elite Series tournament at Murray. He's advanced out of the Qualifying Round and will fish in Thursday's Knockout Round.
Bassmaster Elite Rule C3. I, for Practice and Competition states: “Off-limits for Elite events begins on the Monday closest to 28 days prior to the first practice day.”
According to B.A.S.S. officials, “Keith Poche violated the 28-day off-limits rule which has deemed him ineligible to compete in the Lake Murray Elite event."
Poche, the winner of the previous BPT event at Cherokee Lake, knew going into the season that he had a scheduling conflict between the two tournaments. He told B.A.S.S. tournament officials about the conflict early in the year, knowing that he would need to take a DQ for the Elite on Lake Murray.
