Here is a quote from the second article that concerns me.

“They felt the weak link was the fact the fish was foul-hooked, however, our rules state that only a fish that is foul-hooked intentionally is disqualified as a record,”

Now, how on earth would one determine whether or not someones intentions were to foul hook the fish or not? There is absolutely no way to know for sure. To me it's like saying it's ok to snag fish as long as you claim it wasn't intentional. There should be no exceptions to this. Intentions aside, the bass should be legally hooked to be considered a record.