Fishermen Team Accused of Cheating by Stuffing Fish With Weights

In the world of competitive fishing, an angler and his partner were recently accused of illegally putting weights in their fish once they caught them on Friday during the Lake Erie Walleye Trail Championship event.

The Herald out of Sharon, Pa., reported that the angler, Chase Cominsky from Pennsylvania, and his partner, Jake Runyon from Ohio, are the two involved in the cheating scandal. The duo won the tournament until an official discovered the weights while cutting open the fish.

By adding the weights to the fish, Cominsky and Runyon’s total poundage increased and put them on top of the leaderboard.

When the weights were discovered, the duo was disqualified from the event, which gave another duo the title. The crowd waiting around was furious once the officials announced Cominsky and Runyon cheated.

You can watch the video of the crowd reaction after the tournament officials discovered the weights here.

Before the scandal, Cominsky and Runyon were winning the season standings for the professional fishing team of the year.

The director of the Lake Erie Walleye Trail event Jason Fischer posted about the controversy on the circuit page’s Facebook.

“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,” Fischer said, via The Herald. “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. You all deserve the best.”

This instance wasn’t the first time Cominsky and Runyon were caught in a controversial situation at a fishing event. At last year’s Fall Brawl fishing tournament, the duo was disqualified following their win after one of them failed a polygraph test. These lie detecting tests are often given at fishing tournaments.