Assholes got greedy stuffing too much weights in the fish, got caught red handed!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ne...ed-lead-weights.html

Caught hook, line and sinker! Moment LEAD WEIGHTS are found in professional fishing duo's catch and they are stripped of tournament title and $5,000 prize - as furious crowd berates them

By JAMES GORDON FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 21:22 EDT, 1 October 2022 | UPDATED: 23:37 EDT, 1 October 2022

Two fishermen were caught cheating in a fishing tournament to make their catches seem heavier by stuffing them with weights.

Chase Cominsky from Pennsylvania and Jake Runyon from Ohio were taking part in the Lake Erie Walleye Trail Championship in Cleveland's Gordon Park in Ohio on Friday when they were caught red-handed.

Cominsky and Runyon's catch weighed almost 33lbs (15kg) - almost double their closest competitor.

Tournament director Jason Fischer then decided to gut the fish, at which point the duo's cheating was exposed.

Inside each of the fish were several lead balls, deliberately designed to add pounds to the pair's catch and thus secure the title and accompanying $5,000 prize money.

'We got weights in fish!' Fischer announced to the gathered crowd who quickly turned angry.

Questions are now being raised about other tournaments the pair have won in the past. They have already claimed several first-place prizes and earned a considerable sum of money in various LEWT events including the 2021 championship.

The duo scored the top catch in last year's Lake Erie Fall Brawl and attempted to claim the $100,000 prize but were disqualified.

Suspicions were first aroused in the final moments of the tournament when the anglers' catch had to be weighed in which their five heaviest fish of the day were to be placed on the scales.

There was outrage from onlookers who demanded answers, with some threatening to call the police.

The duo allegedly stuffed the objects down the throats of the fish in order to bulk up their weight and improve their standing in the tournament.

Alongside the lead weights were also slices of other fish fillets pieced of which had been stuffed into the body of the catch, once again to increase their weight.

The dramatic discovery was filmed and posted to social media. Runyon is asked on video if has anything to say for himself but remains silent throughout.

The pair have now been called out as 'cheaters' on the Lake Erie Walleye Trail Championship official Facebook event page and will be banned from all future tournaments.

'Disgusted guys and gals, I'm sorry for letting you down for so long and I'm glad I caught cheating taking place in YOUR LEWT at the same time.

'I can't think enough to post results, but congrats Tsczyko and French and TOY Hendricks and Ulmer. Same goes to the yak and open winners. I hope you know now that when I say "you built this LEWT and I will defend its integrity at all costs", I mean it.'

At the time, the director of the tournament did not explain why other than to say one of the men failed a polygraph test.

Runyon protested saying how the fish had been caught by following the rules and that they were innocent. He even secured legal counsel in an attempt to sue for their 'winnings' according to the Toledo Blade.

At another event, the Rossford Walleye Roundup in Ohio, several competitors shared their suspicions that the pair's fish 'looked old' and may have been stashed away prior to the start of the event.

Following the event, the pair decided not to donate their catch to a local food bank as most of the other fisherman proceeded to do.

The organizers of these previous tournaments may now be weighing up the options of taking legal action against the pair for alleged fraud and deceptive practices.


Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFnByQCDjz0

This message has been edited. Last edited by: parabellum,

For once, a cheater didn't win.

It should be felony fraud.

Agreed. Can’t see why the DA wouldn’t prosecute.

Cheaters getting caught in tournaments has been going on since the early 70's.

One fella and his buddy went out the day before caught six fish and kept four of them in a chicken wire pen over night.

Yes they won the tourney, a while three hundred dollars.

But a witness took four other club members to the cage.

After returning the winnings and trophy's, they were banned for a year.
Get this,


There were only 19 members in the bass club and only ten showed up to that tourney.

Morons

Wow. That was an incredible scene. There used to be a time when cheaters like that were dealt with in a most prejudicial manner rather than just have insults and swears thrown at them.

I would expect there must be some law for defrauding the tournament that they will be prosecuted for.

Why? I don’t understand. It’s fishing. How low is one’s self worth and identity to be compelled to cheat in a fishing tournament?

It like cheating at checkers playing against the neighbor’s five year old kid.

Tar and feathers would have gotten their attention.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Why? I don’t understand. It’s fishing. How low is one’s self worth and identity to be compelled to cheat in a fishing tournament?

Money is involved. They likely have been getting away with it for a while, until now.

Picture of konata88
posted October 02, 2022 02:56 PM Hide Post
Why? I don’t understand. It’s fishing. How low is one’s self worth and identity to be compelled to cheat in a fishing tournament

If it's a sanctioned event,
Points are added up over the whole season.

With enough points you may qualify for a regional or state tourney.
( Nice money)

On the off chance you go to a national event.
( Not likely at all )

Very very big money and sponsorship money.

Where there's money to be won, there's some cheatin to be done!

If there's profit to be made, there will be cheaters. It is sad to see this in a sport that heretofore was just a bunch of guys (and I guess I should say gals), having fun doing the thing they love.

I see. It’s not just the $5000 prize.

Still, I don’t get it. I could never cheat doing something I love doing.

I’m guessing these guys don’t really love fishing. They are just in it for the money.

Corrupting what you love doesn’t seem like love.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I see. It’s not just the $5000 prize.

Still, I don’t get it. I could never cheat doing something I love doing.

I’m guessing these guys don’t really love fishing. They are just in it for the money.

Corrupting what you love doesn’t seem like love.

They won $300k last year + a $150k boat, there’s plenty of money at stake.

I get it. But I wouldn’t consider them fishermen or fishing enthusiasts. Just greedy hustlers.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I see. It’s not just the $5000 prize.

Still, I don’t get it. I could never cheat doing something I love doing.

I’m guessing these guys don’t really love fishing. They are just in it for the money.

Corrupting what you love doesn’t seem like love.

What is there to get? They are fishermen, and they cheat. There have always been con artists, crooks and cheaters around.

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:
Agreed. Can’t see why the DA wouldn’t prosecute.

Did they violate any actual laws ?

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:
Agreed. Can’t see why the DA wouldn’t prosecute.

Did they violate any actual laws ?

Yes, Fraud

What a bunch of scumbags

I saw something on Reddit that these guys may have won over $500,000 in prizes and money in previous years, so you know they were probably doing it all along.

Now there are high schools with Bass Fishing teams and tourneys that compete against each other.

I don't know about their prize money

There are rules in most sanctioned tourneys that you can't have bigger motors on your boat than the registration allows.

So people were buying metal boat tags from others to put 175 motors on their 150 boats.

And

They would peel the 175 decals off of their motors and put 200 decals on their motors.