Bass Fishing Pro Angler Indicted: Grand Jury Puts ALL Fishing Tournaments on Notice

[WB Staff]

Advisory: The footage of the crash is shown in this YouTube video.


A tragic crash on Smith Lake during a Major League Fishing event killed three men and injured two more. Pro angler Flint Davis has been indicted on multiple charges — including manslaughter and reckless operation.

But here’s the shocker: the grand jury didn’t stop at an indictment. They issued sweeping safety recommendations for ALL tournaments in Alabama — from national tours down to local jackpot and high school events.

(1) Tournament directors must verify boating licenses and safety certifications.
(2) Events (local jackpots, high school trails, weekend club derbies) should provide safety education.
(3) Organizers have a duty of care to anglers, guides, and even the public on the water.

What does that mean for you? Whether you fish or run a tournament, the legal risks just got real.




The family of Flint Davis provided WALB with a statement from Davis’ attorney Tommy Spina:

“An indictment is simply an accusation returned by a grand jury of Cullman County based on the lowest standard of proof in our system of criminal laws - probable cause,” Spina said. “Being indicted does not equate to guilt. It is only the beginning of the process.”

More here: https://www.walb.com/2025/10/03/profess ... ash-april/

[WB Staff]

Flint Davis has been indicted.
Charges include:
• 3 counts of Reckless Manslaughter
• 2 counts of Assault 1st Degree
• Reckless Operation of a Vessel
• Failure to Follow Boating Rules of the Road
• Boating without Safety Certification

[Brian D.]

This is a good opportunity for BASS, MLF, and other orgs to be proactive and create country-wide guidelines and processes that would be welcomed in all states that have tournaments.

[Whoopbass]

Has everyone seen the footage? Ridiculous

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/shorts/05nv-Utcxr8[/youtube]

[Brian D.]

Sad indeed. I am surprised that high speed crashes dont happen more frequently. Knuckleheads who have the "just send it" attitude are prone to be involved in crashes like what just happened. The CA Delta has lots of blind spots that can take a fun fishing trip to a nightmare in a blink of an eye because of negligence or inattention.

[mark poulson]

Sad indeed. I am surprised that high speed crashes dont happen more frequently. Knuckleheads who have the "just send it" attitude are prone to be involved in crashes like what just happened. The CA Delta has lots of blind spots that can take a fun fishing trip to a nightmare in a blink of an eye because of negligence or inattention.

Amen!

[El Jefe]

Sad for all involved but just like when there is an incident with a gun and all the lefty’s call for gun control….. I’m no fan of further regulation and erosion of our rights.

[mark poulson]

Sad for all involved but just like when there is an incident with a gun and all the lefty’s call for gun control….. I’m no fan of further regulation and erosion of our rights.

How did driving boats dangerously morph in gun rights?
Just like driving a car safely is what you agree to do when you get your drivers license, driving a boat safely should be something we all agree to do when we launch our boats. It's just common sense.

[WRB]

California is very late to requiring boat operators to have proof of boating training with Boater Card. Eastern States have required boater safety training for years and tournaments require the same proof along with insurance etc.
I don’t know of public lakes with unlimited speed, we have 35 mph limit for every lake I fished for decades, just not enforced. Today’s bass boats can run 70+ mph, yet few drivers are skilled handling a boat at that speed.
Hope the pro wins his case!
Tom

[El Jefe]

Sad for all involved but just like when there is an incident with a gun and all the lefty’s call for gun control….. I’m no fan of further regulation and erosion of our rights.

How did driving boats dangerously morph in gun rights?
Just like driving a car safely is what you agree to do when you get your drivers license, driving a boat safely should be something we all agree to do when we launch our boats. It's just common sense.

I don’t know , maybe the part about the grand jury recommending stricter rules and regulations. “Common Sense “ as you would put it, has been the justification for many rules, regulations, etc. and just about NEVER delivers the desired results.

[drew]

We do not know the whole story yet. Flint has not had a chance to speak and will get his day in court. Flint was not driving excessively fast or erratic before the collision. Distracted maybe, medical issue maybe, tragic yes.

Boat accidents that result in a fatality are rare, especially compared to auto’s. The volume of boating on the east coast is much greater than on the west and that is why they are ahead of CA. We will all pay the price for this accident.

Most lakes do not have speed limits or in-forced limits. If bass boats were cars they would be more like Camry’s or Accords, definitely not the fastest boats on the water. Anyone can buy a 200mph boat today. I have seen DCB boats at the delta and Havasu etc cruising way over 100mph.

Knee jerk responses and legislation are never good.

[WRB]

200 mph boats are rare race boats, yes with enough money anyone can buy one….but few have the skills to drive one!
bass boat running at 70 mph are WOT at the maximum speed the boat can run. Most cars on the road can go over 100 mph but not safely.
If you take your eyes off the water at 70 mph in a bass boats bad things happen fast.
I drove blown fuel flat bottom drag boat and know how fast loss of control happens. To gain max speed in a boat the hull needs to running of the minimum contact with the water, a ragged edge too much bow lift and the kites blowing over, to little bow lift and boat hooks the water and flips end over or end catches a wake a hard hard turn tossing the driver out if the boat.
I truly hope the pro wins this case. High speed boat accidents happen and speed should be limited for tournament anglers.
Tom

[drew]

200mph boats are not rare race boats, they're expensive, but available to anyone. The average Dave Custom Boats (DCB) run 150-175mph with Merc inboards. Do a youtube search.

A bass boat running at 70mph is not extreme and in this case 67mph is not considered excessive.

Again, boating accidents are very rare and we do not know why this one occurred. A knee jerk reaction is not going to solve anything.

[jiggin4bass]

Mr Davis doesn't look happy in that mug shot and its probably not going to get much better for him it's a good bet his fishing career is over the price you play when you don't pay attention on the water hopefully he will have time reflect on what he did while he'll be setting in prison.

[WRB]

200mph boats are not rare race boats, they're expensive, but available to anyone. The average Dave Custom Boats (DCB) run 150-175mph with Merc inboards. Do a youtube search.

A bass boat running at 70mph is not extreme and in this case 67mph is not considered excessive.

Again, boating accidents are very rare and we do not know why this one occurred. A knee jerk reaction is not going to solve anything.

Looked up DCB and they are a tunnel/cat hull that can reach 140-150 mph. There is also a video of a DCB with 2 1,000+ hp engines trying to go 200 mph blowing over. Several law suits against DCB also listed. You don’t think DCB are race boats, interesting.
I have owned and driven bass boats that run70+ mph, not safe for the average unskilled bass boat driver.
Drag boat I drove reach 150mph of a few seconds, not running any distance, big difference traveling on various water condition and distances bass boats travel.
I agree to disagree as this is off topic.
Tom
PS, the Miller brothers were killed on the Delta center punch by another boat. Gary Dobyns received serious injury driving his bass boat on the Delta and Gary is highly skilled driver.

[Whoopbass]

People die every day by distracted drivers that should be paying attention and people rarely get charged. I'm sure he had to be glancing and looking around at that speed but just flat out missed seeing that boat. His problem is that its on video and it just looks horrible. He will be doing time and will lose everything.
He won't be getting over it anytime soon.

[WRB]

People die every day by distracted drivers that should be paying attention and people rarely get charged. I'm sure he had to be glancing and looking around at that speed but just flat out missed seeing that boat. His problem is that its on video and it just looks horrible. He will be doing time and will lose everything.
He won't be getting over it anytime soon.

True!
Tom

[jiggin4bass]

By the looks of the photo he olny 5'6" most likely the three cheater boxes on the dash of his boat were to tall and he was unable to see over them and the result destroyed 2 boats and 3 lives. I think MLF should have to pay up also they drop the ball not notify the anglers they had to have boat certificates in order to operate a boat in Alabama waters. 82 anglers didn't have that certificate to operate on that lake during that tournament.

[Whoopbass]

A certificate or boaters license doesn't mean sheet. Time and common sense is all it takes to operate a boat. This guy got comfortable and now he's going to pay the price.
FLW, BASS, and the others need to come up with a device that keeps these boats at 60 mph max.

[WRB]

Today’s boats all have GPS that records everything and the OB computer records the rpm’s the engine ran, not to:difficult to determine speed during the tournament hours. What will be difficult is setting a speed limit.
Tom