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Matt Herren Announces Exit from Bassmaster Elite Series After Disqualification

Veteran angler Matt Herren announces his exit from Bassmaster Elite Series following a rule violation controversy and will now compete in NPFL.

Kurt Mazurek

Pro angler Matt Herren has stated that he is leaving the Bassmaster Elite Series following a rule violation controversy. Find out why he was disqualified and where he plans to fish next.
Pro angler Matt Herren has stated that he is leaving the Bassmaster Elite Series following a rule violation controversy. Find out why he was disqualified and where he plans to fish next. / B.A.S.S.

Matt Herren Announces His Exit from Bassmaster Elite Series

Professional bass tournament angler, Matt Herren, has publicly stated in a video on his Facebook account that he will no longer be fishing with the Bassmaster Elite Series. Herren is a longtime, well respected competitor, who has fished 179 tournaments with B.A.S.S. since the Invitationals in 1994. He joined the Elite Series in 2009 and earned a second place finish at Smith Mountain Lake during his rookie season. Since then he has fished in 10 Bassmaster Classics. But as of today, he says that’s over.

Why Was Matt Herren Disqualified?

On February 24th, Bassmaster released a short press release on their website.

B.A.S.S. officials announced today that Matt Herren has been disqualified and fined after it was determined he had violated “Rule C3. 3 PRACTICE AND COMPETITION (ii) a. and j.” concerning the receipt of information to gain a competitive advantage from a non-competitor.

Officials said they were made aware of the rule violation on Feb. 23, 2025 based on statements made during a polygraph credibility assessment. Herren’s 40th place finish at the 2025 FXR Pro Fish Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River in Palatka, Florida has been vacated, moving Mike Iaconelli into a 50th place finish.

Matt Herren competing in the 2023 Bassmaster Elite event on Lay Lake in Texas.
Matt Herren competing in the 2023 Bassmaster Elite event on Lay Lake in Texas. / B.A.S.S. | Dalton Tumblin

Josh Herren Explains What Happened

It appears that Matt Herren’s son, Josh Herren, provided some details and his side of the story in a Bass Boats Central forum board post, also on February 24th (the exact quote has been edited for clarity).

“He got DQ’d because we were talking on Tuesday about how he was spending all his time practicing down south. That’s where he spent his practice and all of the tournament.”

“I wasn’t thinking and made a comment that hopefully this event doesn’t get won up north in Deep Creek like a tournament that my buddy had fished the previous weekend. It was just as a general comment, talking fishing. My dad never went there to look and continued to practice right back down south at Astor the next day.”

Josh Herren continued, “I have fished Opens and understand off-limits periods, but he and I talk fishing daily and I just wasn’t thinking when I said it.”

After the tournament Herren was randomly selected for a polygraph test which is standard procedure.

“The polygraph examiner asked him if he had received any information and he told them what I had said accidentally, but he never went in that direction (70 miles the exact opposite is where he went in practice and the tournament).”

“But B.A.S.S. flagged that as soliciting for information and they DQ’d him. The rule states ‘soliciting while trying to gain a competitive advantage,’ so I don’t understand how mistakenly being told something and then not pursuing the information or using it for any gains can fall into a disqualification.”

What’s Next for Matt Herren?

With just one tournament complete in the 2025 Bassmaster Elite Tour season, Herren says he's done. In his Facebook video, the veteran professional bass tournament angler, Matt Herren thanked his fans and sponsors for their support and explained, “ I’ve made a decision that’s been coming for a while. I really haven’t been happy where I’m fishing. Going forward I will be exclusively fishing the NPFL. I will no longer compete on the Bassmaster Elite Series.”

He ended the video with, “I’m not through fishing. This old guy’s still gonna do it. I still love it. But it’s time for me to move on to a new chapter in my life.”

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Kurt Mazurek
KURT MAZUREK

Kurt Mazurek writes about all things fishing and the fishing lifestyle for Sports Illustrated. He has had a successful career in the fishing industry, developing marketing and creative content for many of the sport’s most recognizable brands. He is an enthusiastic bass tournament competitor, YouTuber, photographer, and is the author of the novel "Personal Best: fishing and life”

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