Allegations of Cheating at San Vicente Lake National Bass West Tournament By Stephen Moore San Diego -- Recent allegations of cheating marred the Dec. 10 National Bass West tournament at San Vicente Lake. The accused anglers, Kyle and Tom Heigel of Vista, compete in the San Diego Region National Bass West (NBW) and the San Diego Region Western Outdoor News (WON) bass fishing circuits. Both were disqualified from the tournament and banned for life from any NBW event. The father and son team refused a polygraph test after video taped evidence was supplied to NBW officials allegedly showing the team snagging fish which is a violation of NBW rules and the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) regulations. Snagging is a method of taking fish by hooking the fish in any part of the body other than the mouth. Most often this occurs accidentally and the fish are immediately released or released in another part of the lake. It is an NBW rule and DFG regulation violation to intentionally snag fish and an NBW rule and ethics violation to present snagged fish to the weigh-in master. According to NBW rules all fish must be caught according to DFG regulations and tournament rules. Each tournament participant agrees to take a polygraph test if the NBW officially protests a team's behavior. The Heigels refused the test and were immediately disqualified from the tournament, banned for life, and the suspected snagged fish were confiscated, froze, and given to DFG officials for further investigation. The pair are also accused of using glue to repair the damage done to the fish and to cover up the evidence of snagging. They deny intentionally snagging the fish. The video evidence allegedly shows another team snagging fish also. A protest was lodged against these anglers as well but they denied intentionally snagging any fish and agreed to take a polygraph examination. The unidentified anglers contend that they were sight fishing and accidentally snagged the fish and released them before the weigh-in. The polygraph test apparently exonerated the pair. Prior to the disqualification the Heigels had been declared the winning team of the tournament with their five-bass limit of 17.22 pounds. They would have won the first-place check for over $3,200 had no protest been lodged against them. Upon their disqualification they were placed in last place. The team of Art Bailey and Chris Stinnett was declared the tournament winner and given the first-place check for $3,254. Tournament officials from both the American Bass Association and WON BASS have indicated that they are considering banning the pair for life from fishing in any of their events as well. Currently the Heigels are in first place in the WON BASS San Diego Region standings with 207 points. They finished first at a WON BASS event at San Vicente Lake on Dec. 3 winning $4,420 with a five-bass limit of 12.84 pounds. No protests were lodged against the Heigels at that tournament.