Imagine throwing a fish back and seeing it sink straight to the bottom

cupofjoe04 said:

---

Gunny456 said:

---

Those two dudes will be banned from ever fishing tournaments anywhere.
They deserve it.

---

Those guys (if it was a team) will be in jail. And they deserve it.

---

Maybe they'll get to be a tagteam in the hoosegow, if you know what I mean.

Felony and jail time?

"whatcha' in for"

"Cheatin' at fishin...."

BlueSmoke said:

---

Felony and jail time?

"whatcha' in for"

"Cheatin' at fishin...."

---

Oooh, better not mess with him.

I am amazed at how this has taken off. It was all over the internet this weekend, well outside of outdoor and fishing sites. This morning I heard about it on three different radio stations, and I hope the guys get prosecuted for fraud.

MEH. If you're not cheatin', you're not tryin'.

BlueSmoke said:

---

Felony and jail time?

"whatcha' in for"

"Cheatin' at fishin...."

---

From what I heard, it is a 5th degree felony there. It didn't sound like there would be jail time. However, if convicted, there will be fines, as well as loss of fishing and hunting licenses. Being convicted felons, they will lose their firearms (theoretically) and never be able to legally purchase guns in the future. I may have even heard there would be probation, but Casey for certain.

duffelpud said:

---

MEH. If you're not cheatin', you're not tryin'.

---

Thanks, Jim Rome.

maroon barchetta said:

---

duffelpud said:

---

MEH. If you're not cheatin', you're not tryin'.

---

Thanks, Jim Rome.

---

I think LBJ had a few years on Jimmy.

I guess I'm supposed to get worked up about this, but LOL.
How's this any different than all the roided up guys like Bonds, A-Rod, etc " stealing" money from their teams? Should they go to jail too?

CanyonAg77 said:

---

I'm a little surprised that no one has had a Eureka! moment and figured out that the specific gravity of these fish is way off. Shouldn't they be close to the same weight per volume as water?

Or, at minimum, couldn't a biologist create a chart that says a fish of X length should weigh Y pounds?

---

Those charts do exist. But just like people, fish can be fat or skinny depending on health, time of year, forage availability, etc. A 20" bass could weigh anywhere from 4 to 5 pounds. A lot of tournaments are decided by less than a pound.

NoahAg said:

---

I guess I'm supposed to get worked up about this, but LOL.
How's this any different than all the roided up guys like Bonds, A-Rod, etc " stealing" money from their teams? Should they go to jail too?

---

Troll? All the roided-up guys weren't walking up and tossing the ball over the fence and calling it a home run.

That's also a professional sport (where players are under contract) and it could actually be argued that the rising tide of their publicity lifted all boats when it came time for salary renegotiation and all the other guys benefitted from it in the end. And they definitely didn't steal from their teams--the teams made MORE money because of it. Heck, most of the league was probably on roids as well. Then you have the fact that they still had to go perform.

These guys were blatantly cheating in an event that provided a direct prize for "winning" the tournament, to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. No contracts, and it actually directly took money out of other competitor's pockets. It's more like fixing a horse race or a golf tournament than it is like steroids. It's a pretty clear case of fraud.

But you knew that.

NoahAg said:

---

I guess I'm supposed to get worked up about this, but LOL.
How's this any different than all the roided up guys like Bonds, A-Rod, etc " stealing" money from their teams? Should they go to jail too?

---

Throwing fish back with two pounds of lead weights in them is very inhumane. Those fish will suffer before dying. Perhaps you're okay with having 25% of your weight in lead stuffed down your throat then sent on your way to try to live normally

DatTallArchitect said:

---

NoahAg said:

---

I guess I'm supposed to get worked up about this, but LOL.
How's this any different than all the roided up guys like Bonds, A-Rod, etc " stealing" money from their teams? Should they go to jail too?

---

Throwing fish back with two pounds of lead weights in them is very inhumane. Those fish will suffer before dying. Perhaps you're okay with having 25% of your weight in lead stuffed down your throat then sent on your way to try to live normally

---

Noah didn't care about fish.

From the comments inn the video it sounds like maybe they were suspected of this before? Why weren't fish necropsied in previous tourneys (ex. the 300k one they won previously)

That story and video is bizarre. One of my friends used to compete in fishing tournaments and he told me that cheating was rampant.

Thisguy1 said:

---

Vibrating butt plugs. Seriously.

---

I've been doing it for fun and I could have been making money?????

Definitely fraud in most states. Cheating the terms of a contest to win valuable items. Open to civil suits and possibly criminal prosecution also.

Here's an interview with the tournament director. He explains his thought process while weighing these fish.

Lake Erie Walleye Cheaters Get Caught in Lake Erie Walleye Trail - Bigwater Fishing Podcast #49 - YouTube

Gunny456 said:

---

Go to church with a warden in our county. We were talking about it. He said it depends on the wildlife code in Ohio, but he said in Texas, if they caught the fish legal and were legal fish as far as minimum length and within creel limits etc. TPWD would have no laws broken in Texas wildlife code. He said it would fall under state and federal jurisdiction... probably some type of fraud and commerce laws according to his thoughts.

---

Gunny, I seem to recall reading in some other posts that you have some experience with buying/fixing/selling old jeeps and such. My dad has on old WIlly that he's fixed up and he's thinking it may be time to sell it. Do you have any recommendations or resources on pricing and selling? Don't want to high jack this thread with jeep talk. My email is gfw3@mac.com

Whatever else you do, put it on the Auto and/or Classifieds Board here

CanyonAg77 said:

---

I'm a little surprised that no one has had a Eureka! moment and figured out that the specific gravity of these fish is way off. Shouldn't they be close to the same weight per volume as water?

Or, at minimum, couldn't a biologist create a chart that says a fish of X length should weigh Y pounds?

---

Girth and length can be used to estimate a fish's weight. As previously stated, there can be variances in the species.

Look up JB on the auto board. Great resource for old jeeps

BattleGrackle said:

---

Thisguy1 said:

---

Vibrating butt plugs. Seriously.

---

I've been doing it for fun and I could have been making money?????

---

Por que no los dos?

That is a blatant false statement. Sounds like your friend could never win a tournament.

Yes sir I'll email you this evening. Glad to do what I can to help. Sure looks like a mighty nice Jeep.

No he's right. Cheating and bad sportsmanship that verges on cheating is absolutely rampant. Fishing tournaments and the attitudes they created has ruined a lot of fishing.

Came across this story today talking about another way a guy was cheating for those asking about other methods.

Damn it's been a while since I followed a thread this juicy. Those guys got GREEDY. They needed 16lbs to win and submitted 34lbs. They would have won without the weights

The one thing I enjoy on the OB is that there is lots of folks on here that have a reputation they have earned by proving and exemplifying that they definitely know what they are talking about on many varied subjects.
This Walleye tournament in question is a small regional trail in Ohio. This incident has made national news and spread throughout social media etc.
You say cheating in fishing tournaments is rampant. My question is if it indeed is why has not other rampant incidents been spotlighted like this one. If it is truly rampant seems it would make news every week end.
On any given week end in Texas from early spring to fall it is estimated that there is approximately 25-30 bass tournaments of some kind being held in Texas. TTT, TTZ, Bass Elite Series, Bass Federation, Texas High School Bass, College Circuits, MLF, Texas Oilmans, Bass Champs, and multiple local bass clubs and regional tournament trails.
Also in Texas on any given week end can be a redfish or trout tournaments, offshore and billfish tournaments and various crappie tournaments and trails.... that push the above number even higher.
If cheating is rampant as you say in all those venues please give us links or proof of these multiple violations... there has to be hundreds a year just in Texas alone at that rate that there must be proof of such.
I, by my work over the last 37 years, must attend literally over 50 tournaments per year in both freshwater and saltwater environments. Our company spends tremendous money and effort in sponsoring said tournaments and I am required to attend, blast offs, weigh ins, and awards presentations at each one.
As I said in another post after 37 plus years of attending hundreds of tournaments for my job along with fishing some in my leisure time, I will not use all 10 fingers on my hands of how many of those tournaments had incidents of cheating.
My world evolves within inland saltwater tournaments, (20%) bass tournaments, (75%)and on a rarity a crappie tournament. Within that world I can state knowingly that cheating is very very rare.
I can't speak for catfish, or bow fishing or walleye or striper tournaments.
The success of our largemouth bass fisheries in this state and others has been as a direct result in the popularity and growth over 3 decades of bass tournaments and tournament trails and venues. The same can be said for the redfish fisheries and the success of the old GCCA and now CCA.
The amount of money raised by these venues has been instrumental in the research and construction of countless hatcheries and put forth to many projects that have enhanced freshwater and saltwater game fish populations and protecting of the fisheries.
The industry and tournaments have put a lot back into the sport as far as it relates to the improving of the fisheries that have made profound difference to insure future generations of being able to enjoy the sport.

There are a few people in this board who are experts on every subject.

Jesus, a dissertation for a post...

Give us a tldr like a decent person lol

I know there are some damn smart folks on the OB. Lots of great knowledge to learn from.
Makes me know how dumb I am sometimes!

PM sent sir.