Adam Eisele has been disqualified from the 2026 WISCO BASS Crown Championship and banned from all future WISCO BASS sanctioned events after tournament officials found 14 live bass in his boat the night before the championship.
WISCO BASS announced the decision to its anglers after completing an internal investigation into the incident. The organization also told Wired2fish the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is conducting a separate investigation.
The WISCO BASS Crown is the organization’s championship event for the top 50 anglers in Angler of the Year points. In 2026, the Crown was held September 12 and 13 on the Minocqua Chain.The 2026 WISCO BASS Crown was held September 12 and 13 on Wisconsin’s Minocqua Chain and featured the top 50 anglers in WISCO BASS Angler of the Year points.
What Happened?
In 2025, Eisele won the WISCO BASS Crown Championship and was named WISCO Angler of the Year for the fifth consecutive year. He has been tournament fishing for 22 years and had helped start the UW-Whitewater fishing team in the early 2000s.
But now he was caught cheating at a WISCO BASS tourney, calling that history into question. According to the statement WISCO BASS sent to its anglers, the incident began Friday night, before competition started.
WISCO BASS said tournament official Kyle Carpenter received a text message from angler Dave Van Ert reporting a rule violation. Tournament officials then went to the house where Van Ert and Eisele were staying and asked Eisele for permission to search his boat.
According to WISCO BASS, Eisele agreed to the search. Officials found 14 live bass in the boat’s livewell.
The organization said Eisele acknowledged that he did not have a good plan for the fish but admitted that he intended to use them in the tournament.
WISCO BASS said that conduct violated two provisions of its rules.
Rule 3(f) prohibits competitors from putting bass in a livewell or keeping bass during official practice without permission from tournament officials.
The organization also cited Rule 7(b), which requires anglers and their family members to conduct themselves in a professional manner demonstrating integrity, honor and respect toward competitors, tournament staff and the public.
Based on its investigation, WISCO BASS determined that Eisele’s actions warranted disqualification from the Crown and a ban from all WISCO BASS sanctioned events.
Unlike other incidents involving tournament cheaters, this one was nipped in the bud, before any fish could be weighed in. WISCO BASS credited Dave Van Ert with reporting the situation, thanking him in their statement to anglers for acting with integrity and keeping the interests of fellow competitors in mind.
After completing its investigation, WISCO BASS said it decided to ban Eisele from all of its sanctioned events, making him ineligible for all future WISCO BASS-sanctioned tournaments.
WISCO BASS has notified the Wisconsin DNR about the incident, and the agency is conducting its own investigation. Tournament officials told Wired2fish that it will not provide additional comments while the DNR investigation is active.
And The Winner Is…
The 2026 WISCO BASS Crown Championship featured a competitive field of anglers, with Mitch Van Ert taking the championship title with a total weight of 34.44 pounds and a perfect 10-fish limit, earning 150 points. Tyler Cory finished second with 29.24 pounds and 149 points, while Luke Loewe placed third with 28.38 pounds and 148 points. Steve Lopez followed in fourth with 25.21 pounds, and Patrick Koffler rounded out the top five with 12.80 pounds reported from the results provided. Van Ert’s strong two-day performance secured the Crown Championship and highlighted a closely contested battle among the top anglers.
