At a local fishing tourney a friend and myself entered. One guy we found out later cheated. The best part is me and my friend caught heavier fish without cheating. The cheater cried that we cheated, he said there are only 8 pounders in these waters, I caught a 10 and my friend caught a 12 pounder. The cheater caught an almost 8 pounder. The prize was really not much. A fishing rod, medium tackle box half full, a gas card for $50 and a gift card for a local restaurant for about the same. So maybe $400-$500 in prizes and money. We found out a few weeks later the guy admitted to another friend he added weights or even sand to his fish and thats how he always wins. He got beat up pretty bad, spent time in the hospital. He deserved what ever he got.
Hey Brother ! I started fishing tournaments in the 1970's and into the 80's . All in Florida . Cheating was widespread and common practice . I saw it first hand . After writing letters and complaining to officials . I was black listed . Ain't that just about right . Believe me , it hasn't stopped or even slowed down . Thanks for bringing up this subject . Kickbacks and payoffs , it never stops . Cheaters never win , they just get rich !
Donald J T for instance? Yanks elect cheats, blatant ones, and then violently defend them. A different topic to what they select as the best to lead their great nation, they should be able to find a couple that might still be dickheads but relatively honest. From afar they get it right occasionally, but the decades apart make evolution suspect. As allies they are better than the alternatives, but that's not a high bar.
Sounds on brand for Florida. That's why my dad never joined a tournament, he just took my brother and I for leisure and taught us how. About cheaters getting rich though.... It always comes back to bite them. Yeah sure maybe they'll never get caught, but what a miserable empty feeling it must be to be where you are not by your own merit but by duping others. And if they are people with APD, like sociopaths, then why would you be jealous of them anyway? All sociopaths feel is anger, rage, and giddiness about hurting and fooling others. That doesn't sound very good to me. They can keep their money, I'd rather have joy and fulfilment.
I was spearfishing a small bridge here in the Tampa Bay Area about 8 years back and found an unmarked crab trap tied to a pylon with a fresh rope. I was curious so I lifted the trap and noticed there was a bunch of big fish packed inside. So I cut the rope and when I got the trap to shore I found there was 5 keeper sized gag grouper, 4 big mangrove snapper, and 2 sheepshead. Keep in mind this was a small bridge inshore in about 3 feet of water outside of the channel of the bridge. I definitely believe this was either setup by a contest cheater or just someone stashing out of season fish. This trap was to small to have all those fish swim in and while there is grouper in that area I believe there’s no way that many could or would get in this trap by themselves. Just thought I’d share an interesting find.
@@ODA-OPerator I was born and raised in Bradenton. Moved to Orlando from 2015-2019 which is when I did a bunch of bass fishing and learned a bunch of spots. Here in town I don’t have many bass spots as I mostly fish saltwater. I do know some small lakes and ponds in the Lakewood ranch area that hold big bass especially during spring.
I remember vaguely hearing something about this story through another channel and about this guy fishing because it helped him regain muscle memory and rebuilding the strength and the nerves and helping with nerve pain.. the only thing I'm going to comment back is that I can relate to that because I have fished my entire life, and I'm 35, but I've never fished as much as I fish now and over the past two and a half years because when I was 28, 7 years ago, I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and I had a tumor growing between my lung and my heart. They went in and removed it. So basically I had heart surgery or the equivalent of. But the tumor came back three times. And it did not ever respond to chemotherapy or radiation or freeze cell treatment and a lot of other medications and treatments that they tried beforehand. So I had a lot of back to back to back thoracic surgeries, very very big ones at that!! and I have permanent nerve damage in the center of my chest with a bunch of zippers for scars and fishing has helped me rebuild my nerve strength and my muscle strength..even though I have a hole in my chest where they had to cut the top portion of my rib cage out.. still have major issues at a younger age and WILL for the rest of my life .. but that's part of life, the only point I was trying to make is that fishing helped me more than any back and forth to the hospital rehabilitation ever did! But I can proudly say I'm two and a half almost 3 years clean blood work and clean images.. as far as this guy goes cheating he's just another loser like the rest of them! But I'd never wish anybody to catch on fire.. 🤣😜. Everybody stay safe out there, watch out for the idiots, and catch'em ALL!!🎣💪🏼✌️🎣💪🏼
Fishing is probably the easiest sport to cheat in, so many ways to cheat and almost no ways to get caught, tons of money and little over site. I would bet much more cheating goes on than we know. Considering how random fishing is and how many good anglers are in each tourney, to consistently win now a days would be almost impossible.
Which makes zero sense when all you need is a metal detector and a knife that's that he'll a metal detector and a hand to feel the fish is pretty much all it takes and to have each team have person to ride with any other team picked at random daily that ends all the cheat pretty much .
@@dmac7403 most cheating isn’t done by stuffing lead into a fish…especially in bass tournaments where the fish must be alive on the scale. Even then it is possible for a fish to have swallowed something metal so a metal detector wouldn’t necessarily prove anything without actually cutting the fish open…which would kill it. Stuffing fish is pretty basic and old school and I think that is why the walleye cheating scandal blew up like it did. An official in every boat would help a lot but those people are usually volunteers and it’s hard to find that many, especially when the weather is bad and some of these tournaments have 100+ boats. And if they are paid, that’s a lot of money to send that many people out for 8-10 hours per day. Some tournaments are more than one day long. I know some tournaments get as many volunteers as possible and pick boats at random to put them in. And even if every boat had an official it wouldn’t necessarily stop all cheating. For example, the illegal stocking of fish from other lakes like this story or the hidden live well like was highlighted in a previous video where the guy was pulling fish out with a co angler in the boat and he didn’t even notice.
I just found you this evening. I find it pretty disappointing that there is so much to cover. The day that cheating at this level became a " Thing," should have been the day they reconsider how they do these tournaments. I don't fish Bass, but the last few tournaments I have watched on Television have shown Catch and Release with a Judge on the boat. Maybe not foolproof, but it is definitely harder to cheat. Still it makes me sad.
Back in the mid 80's, I started fishing with a bass club outta the Bay Area. One of the top anglers in the club also fished pro/am and tournaments. He was legitimately good. Didn't need to cheat. But..... he got caught at the Delta pulling a cage up with a couple huge fish in it. That was it for him. No more club, tournaments etc. No one wanted anything to do with him after that. He moved away.
I like how a lot of the early comments once the Cominsky and Runyun vids went viral how naive people were like "I can't believe this in fishing" or "this is just an isolated events" etc etc. How can people think there wouldn't be cheating even in a fishing tournament with $$ on the table. I'll keep saying it, if there is something to win, $$ or recognition, there is cheating going on people. Let's stop holding things to higher standards because people are going to do whatever possible, no matter what the sport.
Deer hunting is the same way...not about the money as much as the recognition....people bait them in and shoot them at night with night vision scopes and silencers. They buy them from deer farms, kill them, and then drive around with it on the back of their truck and brag like they actually hunted to get it. Big land owners raise them from fawns, hand feed them for years until they grow a rack big enough to stand out then kill them.... killing their pets basically. I remember a story in the 70's or early 80's where a well known hunter at the time, Noel Feather....paid money for a Boone and Crocket racked buck and promised the couple who had raised it that he would take good care of it until it died of old age. The couple sold it because they were having health issues and could no longer take care of it. Noel Feather instead made a fake hunting video and killed the deer with a compound bow and sold copies of it in sporting stores. He bragged in the video about how hard it was to kill such a smart animal and what a great hunter he was. Fortunately someone who was friends of the couple who sold the deer, saw the video and recognized the buck. They reported it to authorities. Noel feather needless to say never made another hunting video and lost all credibility!
Just like the sham election. Video evidence of it and they say what we are watching doesn't matter. Crock of crap. Cheaters should be gutted like the fish were to find those weights inside.
@@borntobewild9056 your close but that's not how Noel went down. Prior to his fall he was a great hunter but like all the other ( cheaters ) greed got the best of him. Have you noticed who he used to hunt with ?
@@rethinkinc.5385 Yes I know that song. I am not a Metallica fan but that guitar work is impressive. Actually my name is from a Twilight Zone Episode. Episode 42.
It’s the only album of theirs I like.,it’s written well.,the progression is good and it’s the peak of their talent. But yeah I don’t really like them besides that album myself.
Amen! Yes money is nice but it’s always been all about how well I could compete against the local people. When I was younger it would kinda give me a gauge to maybe step up to the bigger tournaments. Dang cheaters ruin it for everyone who are honest!
I hope you aren’t referring to me Five Speed! I have never cheated but wonder about a couple of anglers in the small tournaments I fished. This good ole boy right hear would never do that ! My morals would not allow that type activity period!!!!!!
Cheating in fishing tourneys is as old as live well technology. Some people go so far as to raise bass in an aquarium for long periods of time. It’s crazy that this topic hasn’t blown up before.
Farm ponds, golf course and retention ditches in the coastal south are loaded, LOADED, with 6-10lb largemouth that you can catch on foot with nearly anything these fish are dumb, and BIG. Every boat needs an observer, every scale needs a $50metal detector and all can be right......... ain't it a damn shame
No need for weights. Just get some fish tanks and start feeding specific fish for specific tournaments. I’m sure there is some sort of growth hormone that you could use to boost fish sizes. The real problem is big money tournaments. This sport shouldn’t be looked at as a means of living in a financial sense. It’s seriously ignorant that this is anything more than a means to catch your own food or enjoy the hobby. It’s only as serious as you make it.
There was a deer hunter back in the seventies before today's food plot style hunting. He had so much pressure from his sponsors to preform, he started taking deer at night. He got caught and was stripped and shunned. He said he felt a release of the pressures he was under.
This is why before fishing tourney these days they do a gill net take on all major spots on the lake to be fished taging all target species and returning them they record length and weight of each tagged fish as well as introducing about a week before the tourney a stocking catch of sport size so adolescent fish and older sized 110 inches or more on largemouth varies fish to fish but either way all those fish are taged and recorded as well if they recieve a fish turn in thats tagged and weight is off outside an allowed tollerance for feeding habits and such they investigate the source
100 k huh. Came to America in December, 1979. My father then worked for Hewelett Packard. He said minimum wage was 1 or 2 dollars per hour. Gas was 30 to 40 cents per gallon. Driving speede limit in California was 55 mph on the highways. I remember the American River used to have salmons dead all over the rivers during the winter times. Plenty of bugs, grasshoppers, butterfly's, catipillers, all sorts during the spring. They we're EVERYWHERE. Plenty of food for fish. Now your lucky to see anything. Totally off topic but just somthing from the 80s.
I was trying to figure out how someone can cheat and it be undetectable but the closest thing I can come up with is using heavy water (deuterium oxide d20) and basically injecting it into the meat of the fish with a basting injector under the scales. It may kill the fish or possibly leak out. Heavy water just has a different molecule arrangement that makes it heavier than normal h20. Or you could inject them with thick water which is basically water with starch based thickeners which cause it to be just slightly heavier than regular water and since it is thickened, it is less likely to ooze out. It would make more sense to inject a bait fish with the heavy or thick water then stuff it inside of the game fish.
That's the reason I quit tournament fishing.. The same teams just kept placing and winning almost everything. Not saying they wasn't good fisherman but everyone has bad days on the water.
I’ve heard of people cheating for plaques and trophies, much less cold hard cash. There were a group of guys that would get together for open tournaments. They would go fish, then before weigh-in, they would meet up and collect the 5 heaviest stringer from all their catches. One boat would turn it in, not a gimme, but surely increasing their odds. Redfish tourneys have their share. Dropping fish (oops) on the fish’s nose, trying to shorten fish. Manipulating tails again to shorten fish. I can surely see a ring, trying to take $100k in the 80s. Even in the bass masters, they weren’t past doing at least some unsportsmanlike things.
I'm from Longview, Texas, where KYKX is located. They hold the tournament on Lake o the Pines. That tournament got so big, they went from a two day tournament, to a three day. It's a big bass tournament, not a 5 fish. First place was $105,000 plus. Fisherman were coming from all lower 48 states to fish it. But cheating had gotten so bad the canceled it one year, and after that they dropped the prize money way down, now you don't hear anything about cheating.
Anything that makes money attracts cheaters, why wouldn’t fishing have cheating in many facets? I watched blatant cheating on televised archery completion, then the same thing at a completion I went to in Ohio, it was so bad that a older gentlemen took me to the side and said “it’s always going to be a 10” even with the BS I would have won but I shot a 14 that wasn’t in play because I didn’t know the rules, I also skipped one off the floor by getting my anchor point wrong shooting at a low target, even with the miss I had more points from shooting all 14s when the rest went for the sure thing with the multi rings. This was my first and last tournament, Covid also hit and I hurt my shoulder shooting hundreds to a thousand shots a day with a 70 pound draw and taking pain meds not knowing I was hurting my self badly.
Thats why I got out of tournament fishing! Sore loosers and cheaters. Even if you win legitimately. Your always gonna have sore loosers that call the winners cheaters. Just a pure disgrace
This stuff is said to still be happening. I consider myself very skilled. The tournament scene never enticed me for several reasons. This being one of them. The other is the meager payout. People always ask why I don't do tournaments. Really? Is it not obvious? You hear these things on the local circuits.
This is why I can’t stand cheaters. If you have no morals, are willing to screw over anybody for your own personal gain, it’s very likely it may be to no end. If you are honest and decide to start cheating, weather it be on your spouse, or your friends spouse, look at the endless forensic files type shows. I bet none of these people thought they were capable, but there they are.
This ought to tell you guys something back in the '80s the minimum wage was $3.75 an hour if I'm not mistaken and trust me if you were an electrician and you were making 10 to $12 an hour you're knocking in some big ass bucks you could afford a nice car and stuff like that nowadays you make 10 to $12 an hour you're lucky if you can rent a one bedroom apartment
Why in the world are fishing competitions hanging all their trust in a polygraph test? This test doesn't test anything but how a person feels that day. If a person feels good about cheating, they will pass that test every time. A person can take some medicine which will slow their anxiety, and they will pass the test. The polygraph just lets people who have no conscience keep moving forward. Of course, an honest person can also pass the polygraph, the point is, so can a very bad person who believes in what they are doing. Source: I have taken, and failed a polygraph; I was beyond nervous because I was very young, and at that time, I didn't understand how it worked so I kept thinking, what if I'm forgetting something, they'll know! (It was for a job interview; and I didn't get the job).
I know there was somebody else on here that is from Longview as well, I grew up in Longview and I think they had canceled it twice but not sure about that but don't know much about it but do remember hearing about it since it's held at Lake of the pines.
We used to have tagged stocked trout in Montgomery County, and the “people in the know” would almost always would catch the tagged fish, back in the 80s it was a $500 fish, lotta money back then. When there’s opportunity there is cheating, sad to say😢🎣
@@michaelmcclenon6663 after the fact, it would fish jus for the hell of it, and the creek was right behind my house. Caught plenty of Palominos and rainbows, took my limit and went home
$105,000 in 1980 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $378,214.08 today, an increase of $273,214.08 over 42 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 3.10% per year between 1980 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 260.20%.
We quit the local Tuesday night because of cheating. Couple guy took my dad up the creek to get fish. 3 boats would would pick who was gonna win and take the fish off the stringer.
I remember this or maybe it was another year at that tourney. I thought I heard at the time they were bringing them and maybe storing them at their home in North Louisiana. There is a little more to the story that I heard but I am not sure it is true . It's been a long time but it was big news back then
Polygraphs don't work. If we want to eliminate this issue entirely, we need mobile x-ray or ultrasound testing at the weigh-in of all the major tournaments.
honestly sounds like it could have been a drug smuggling ring was involved running from FL to tx. i remember the hay days of smuggling in fl and alot of fishing tourneys in the keys people thought were rigged but would not speak out as the people cheating were the bigger and big bosses of smuggling rings. check out some of the old tournes with sailfish, marlin, dolphin, and back country ie redfish, snook, trout, and tarpon. back in that time frame
Fishing should never have become a competitive sport, it's much more important than that but a bunch of overly competitive dudes back in the sixties hijacked a solitary pursuit for personal profit and started all these big money tournament " trails" and where there is big money you'll get even bigger greed, and that's what's wrong with " professional" fishing.
@@oid__ Still though it would be hard to prove. I’ve definitely caught fish that were stuffed to the gills with fish. Better than just loading them with sinkers.
Unless he had a sawed off shotgun he would have had a hard time putting a shotgun to his head. We had an illegal bear and wild animal game ring here in Western North Carolina it ran the entire South, from Florida to Virginia, and West as far as Texas. They had a meat processing plant tractor trailer that ran a route you would illegally kill whatever game take to to a meeting spot, get paid and they drove off. It ran for years until it was busted by a multiple state wildlife office sting. They had officials from every state who infiltrated every ring in every state. The shame of all this was, when they went to court many were turned loose with fines, and a lose of their licenses, and slaps on the wrist. Here in North Carolina I don't think one person went to prison for their crimes.
It's so sad man. I always wanted to compete in bass fishing but between the requirement of expensive electronics and the un-sportsman like way some of these guys carry themselves it just turned me off. There's just so many levels to cheating in fishing. From snagging to weighting fish. Though, I'd be somewhat interested in kayak tournaments. Then at least you aren't relying on live scope instead of actually fishing. Plus the CPR style of tournament is arguably way better for the bass population.
You might consider online tournaments using tourneyX and kayak tournaments. Lot’s of small friendly tournaments and clubs in that realm. Cheaper than boats and it’s all cpr using length instead of weights. People still try cheating but it’s rare.
the MAFIA pun" Swimming With The Fishes " wow.. amazing video- more stories like this please! in the hunting world they follow the 3 "s" Shoot Shovel Shut Up.. didnt know the fishing world was that bad too..wow !
Kingfish tournament out of St. Thomas. Winner had big fish. It looked like it was dead for days. Rules are broken. I saw the guy who won the dolphin derby hook the fish then hand the rod over to the “hero boat owner” who brought the fish in but the guy who hooked it won. You have to bring you own fish in! I said something but was told to be quiet. We got third. If they cheat like that they will cheat at everything. I’m not friends of them now.
Don't know anything about bass tournaments and their cheaters.. But I Do Know about some salmon Derbie/tournament in Seattle back in the late 70's and early 80's. They would go to the reservation and Buy whole Salmon, put them on ice..(not frozen), then into their cooler/fish box. For several years a small group would always place in the top 3. When the local paper put their faces out, someone turned them in.
I went to Lake Montgomery where the World record bass was caught and met with a DNR employee who said his father was with the fisherman and witnessed the man putting bird shot in the 22.4 lb. record bass. Hearsay I know.
i have been thinking , you could inject water and salt into your fish , the salt will make the water stay in. i have thought of 2 or 3 other ways to cheat and get away with it. i am not a fisherman but i think it would be pretty easy to cheat.
Wow I'm with you. Cheating, that's the last thing that I would think to check. A cheating fisherman. I guess it's time we look at fishing. Heard of the big one that got away and no video? Now I have to wonder. But there are a lot of honest people in this world that make daily choices of the good side and give humanity hope. Can I get a Amen?
They really went as far to stock the pond is mind blowing. Yeah I'm glad people have caught on to these cheaters then and now. These people go that far to cheat and ruin everyone else's hard work and pretty much their careers as fisherman. When they would've won instead of the cheaters. Gotta keep your eyes out for this because people see money and will come up with the craziest ideas and screw everyone else over to get it.
Sounds like Dixie mafia. I lived in Central GA. In the early 2000s and ran with a couple good ol boy type dudes who were Dixie mafia. Not saying I was "in" with them or anything like that. But I knew a couple of them pretty well , they were very serious dudes and were definitely into some shady stuff. Over the years since i moved away, I've tried to find stuff about them online, just out of curiosity, but there isn't much info to be had online. Anyone who spent much time in good ol boy circles in the deep south can certainly attest that they exist though. I don't know about numbers , or how far they spread, but that story definitely sounds like it has their marks all over it. Crazy stuff.
@@5050fishing After I posted that comment I searched on UA-cam and found a couple of documentaries about them, didn't watch any of them yet, but they seem to be more geared towards specific stories about a member doing this or that, not really about the organization. There definitely isn't much info online about the org as a whole.
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![FISHING FIGHTS [when things get ugly on the water] partONE](/img/tr.png)
What a sad world we live in. No honor no integrity no decency. 😢
Yep 100%right
At a local fishing tourney a friend and myself entered. One guy we found out later cheated. The best part is me and my friend caught heavier fish without cheating. The cheater cried that we cheated, he said there are only 8 pounders in these waters, I caught a 10 and my friend caught a 12 pounder. The cheater caught an almost 8 pounder. The prize was really not much. A fishing rod, medium tackle box half full, a gas card for $50 and a gift card for a local restaurant for about the same. So maybe $400-$500 in prizes and money. We found out a few weeks later the guy admitted to another friend he added weights or even sand to his fish and thats how he always wins. He got beat up pretty bad, spent time in the hospital. He deserved what ever he got.
Souther IL by chance?
Cheaters and cons always accuse others of being cheaters and cons
@@BOOTEDUPFL Gee, sounds like Joe Brandon~~!
Hey Brother ! I started fishing tournaments in the 1970's and into the 80's . All in Florida . Cheating was widespread and common practice . I saw it first hand . After writing letters and complaining to officials . I was black listed . Ain't that just about right . Believe me , it hasn't stopped or even slowed down . Thanks for bringing up this subject . Kickbacks and payoffs , it never stops . Cheaters never win , they just get rich !
Donald J T for instance? Yanks elect cheats, blatant ones, and then violently defend them.
A different topic to what they select as the best to lead their great nation, they should be able to find a couple that might still be dickheads but relatively honest. From afar they get it right occasionally, but the decades apart make evolution suspect. As allies they are better than the alternatives, but that's not a high bar.
I didn't know Joe Biden was a tournament bass fisherman.
@@kerryparks1979 👌🤣😂🤺👍
@@kerryparks1979 I think they caught pelosi husband cheating at the recent bass tournament that’s why they beat him up 😂
Sounds on brand for Florida. That's why my dad never joined a tournament, he just took my brother and I for leisure and taught us how.
About cheaters getting rich though.... It always comes back to bite them. Yeah sure maybe they'll never get caught, but what a miserable empty feeling it must be to be where you are not by your own merit but by duping others. And if they are people with APD, like sociopaths, then why would you be jealous of them anyway? All sociopaths feel is anger, rage, and giddiness about hurting and fooling others. That doesn't sound very good to me. They can keep their money, I'd rather have joy and fulfilment.
I was spearfishing a small bridge here in the Tampa Bay Area about 8 years back and found an unmarked crab trap tied to a pylon with a fresh rope. I was curious so I lifted the trap and noticed there was a bunch of big fish packed inside. So I cut the rope and when I got the trap to shore I found there was 5 keeper sized gag grouper, 4 big mangrove snapper, and 2 sheepshead. Keep in mind this was a small bridge inshore in about 3 feet of water outside of the channel of the bridge. I definitely believe this was either setup by a contest cheater or just someone stashing out of season fish. This trap was to small to have all those fish swim in and while there is grouper in that area I believe there’s no way that many could or would get in this trap by themselves. Just thought I’d share an interesting find.
Yeah what are the odds that would all be in the same cage someone definitely stashed it and was cheating. Nice find.
In Tampa here also do you know of any good bass spots I have 2 great ones but would not mind another
Evading daily catch limits?
@@rennatsinned5451 Exactly definitely a fishy situation.
@@ODA-OPerator I was born and raised in Bradenton. Moved to Orlando from 2015-2019 which is when I did a bunch of bass fishing and learned a bunch of spots. Here in town I don’t have many bass spots as I mostly fish saltwater. I do know some small lakes and ponds in the Lakewood ranch area that hold big bass especially during spring.
I remember vaguely hearing something about this story through another channel and about this guy fishing because it helped him regain muscle memory and rebuilding the strength and the nerves and helping with nerve pain.. the only thing I'm going to comment back is that I can relate to that because I have fished my entire life, and I'm 35, but I've never fished as much as I fish now and over the past two and a half years because when I was 28, 7 years ago, I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and I had a tumor growing between my lung and my heart. They went in and removed it. So basically I had heart surgery or the equivalent of. But the tumor came back three times. And it did not ever respond to chemotherapy or radiation or freeze cell treatment and a lot of other medications and treatments that they tried beforehand. So I had a lot of back to back to back thoracic surgeries, very very big ones at that!! and I have permanent nerve damage in the center of my chest with a bunch of zippers for scars and fishing has helped me rebuild my nerve strength and my muscle strength..even though I have a hole in my chest where they had to cut the top portion of my rib cage out.. still have major issues at a younger age and WILL for the rest of my life .. but that's part of life, the only point I was trying to make is that fishing helped me more than any back and forth to the hospital rehabilitation ever did! But I can proudly say I'm two and a half almost 3 years clean blood work and clean images.. as far as this guy goes cheating he's just another loser like the rest of them! But I'd never wish anybody to catch on fire.. 🤣😜. Everybody stay safe out there, watch out for the idiots, and catch'em ALL!!🎣💪🏼✌️🎣💪🏼
God bless you brother. I pray you have a long and healthy life and catch lots of fish (health food!)
@@douglaskeith2789 thank you brother!! That means a lot!!!! You stay safe out there and catch them ALL!! ✌️💪🎣
Fishing is probably the easiest sport to cheat in, so many ways to cheat and almost no ways to get caught, tons of money and little over site. I would bet much more cheating goes on than we know. Considering how random fishing is and how many good anglers are in each tourney, to consistently win now a days would be almost impossible.
Do you think Jacob wheeler is cheating?
I hear about plausible deniability all the time, oh yeah from the FBI!!!! Use that!!!
Which makes zero sense when all you need is a metal detector and a knife that's that he'll a metal detector and a hand to feel the fish is pretty much all it takes and to have each team have person to ride with any other team picked at random daily that ends all the cheat pretty much .
@@dmac7403 most cheating isn’t done by stuffing lead into a fish…especially in bass tournaments where the fish must be alive on the scale. Even then it is possible for a fish to have swallowed something metal so a metal detector wouldn’t necessarily prove anything without actually cutting the fish open…which would kill it. Stuffing fish is pretty basic and old school and I think that is why the walleye cheating scandal blew up like it did.
An official in every boat would help a lot but those people are usually volunteers and it’s hard to find that many, especially when the weather is bad and some of these tournaments have 100+ boats. And if they are paid, that’s a lot of money to send that many people out for 8-10 hours per day. Some tournaments are more than one day long. I know some tournaments get as many volunteers as possible and pick boats at random to put them in. And even if every boat had an official it wouldn’t necessarily stop all cheating. For example, the illegal stocking of fish from other lakes like this story or the hidden live well like was highlighted in a previous video where the guy was pulling fish out with a co angler in the boat and he didn’t even notice.
@@dmac7403 that’s one way of cheating, you can rig the scale you can buy the judge you can have pre caught fish so many ways
I don't doubt there are secret things and groups like this in all professions, everywhere in the world. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
I just found you this evening. I find it pretty disappointing that there is so much to cover. The day that cheating at this level became a " Thing," should have been the day they reconsider how they do these tournaments.
I don't fish Bass, but the last few tournaments I have watched on Television have shown Catch and Release with a Judge on the boat. Maybe not foolproof, but it is definitely harder to cheat. Still it makes me sad.
Back in the mid 80's, I started fishing with a bass club outta the Bay Area. One of the top anglers in the club also fished pro/am and tournaments. He was legitimately good. Didn't need to cheat. But..... he got caught at the Delta pulling a cage up with a couple huge fish in it. That was it for him. No more club, tournaments etc. No one wanted anything to do with him after that. He moved away.
Llll
👍
lol what you can catch bass like they used to int he olden days? sheit if thats what it takes for me to get on a trophy bass then by all means lol
I like how a lot of the early comments once the Cominsky and Runyun vids went viral how naive people were like "I can't believe this in fishing" or "this is just an isolated events" etc etc. How can people think there wouldn't be cheating even in a fishing tournament with $$ on the table. I'll keep saying it, if there is something to win, $$ or recognition, there is cheating going on people. Let's stop holding things to higher standards because people are going to do whatever possible, no matter what the sport.
Deer hunting is the same way...not about the money as much as the recognition....people bait them in and shoot them at night with night vision scopes and silencers. They buy them from deer farms, kill them, and then drive around with it on the back of their truck and brag like they actually hunted to get it. Big land owners raise them from fawns, hand feed them for years until they grow a rack big enough to stand out then kill them.... killing their pets basically. I remember a story in the 70's or early 80's where a well known hunter at the time, Noel Feather....paid money for a Boone and Crocket racked buck and promised the couple who had raised it that he would take good care of it until it died of old age. The couple sold it because they were having health issues and could no longer take care of it. Noel Feather instead made a fake hunting video and killed the deer with a compound bow and sold copies of it in sporting stores. He bragged in the video about how hard it was to kill such a smart animal and what a great hunter he was. Fortunately someone who was friends of the couple who sold the deer, saw the video and recognized the buck. They reported it to authorities. Noel feather needless to say never made another hunting video and lost all credibility!
Just like the sham election. Video evidence of it and they say what we are watching doesn't matter. Crock of crap. Cheaters should be gutted like the fish were to find those weights inside.
@@borntobewild9056 your close but that's not how Noel went down. Prior to his fall he was a great hunter but like all the other ( cheaters ) greed got the best of him. Have you noticed who he used to hunt with ?
Whoa.. Who knew it could get this crazy. I guess most of us don't think like criminals. Shocking 😳
Did you know your name is a Metallica song on the ….And Justice For All album.? I have my doubts..,still a cool name.
@@rethinkinc.5385 Yes I know that song. I am not a Metallica fan but that guitar work is impressive. Actually my name is from a Twilight Zone Episode. Episode 42.
It’s the only album of theirs I like.,it’s written well.,the progression is good and it’s the peak of their talent. But yeah I don’t really like them besides that album myself.
@@rethinkinc.5385 👍
Found you on the algorithms when they cheated on LEWT. Appreciate all the content on the other cheaters too!
Thank you 🙏
Really enjoyed all these fishing cheaters stories. Thanks for doing that research man.
Thank you 🙏
Save it for a podcast please. UA-cam is for sharing videos. I don't watch this so I can just look at your face for 7 minutes...
I remember hearing about this in Florida back then. I heard they were putting big fish on stringers in hidden areas around the lakes.
This was about dudes stuffing weights in fish
Mate, you should make another channel called fishing cheaters and upload to both accounts. You are racking up quite the series
mob using fishing tournaments to launder money? not a crazy proposition
My stepdad's been saying so for years.
Obviously things that need to be aired on the net.....
I thought they were honest people I guess i was way off . Never have I cheated and never will cheaters are low class people .
Amen! Yes money is nice but it’s always been all about how well I could compete against the local people. When I was younger it would kinda give me a gauge to maybe step up to the bigger tournaments. Dang cheaters ruin it for everyone who are honest!
Something a cheater would say... 🤔
I hope you aren’t referring to me Five Speed! I have never cheated but wonder about a couple of anglers in the small tournaments I fished. This good ole boy right hear would never do that ! My morals would not allow that type activity period!!!!!!
@@davidharris4030 nah... I was just joking anyways
Cheating in fishing tourneys is as old as live well technology. Some people go so far as to raise bass in an aquarium for long periods of time. It’s crazy that this topic hasn’t blown up before.
Anywhere there is big money , there are crooks trying to find a way to get it .
Farm ponds, golf course and retention ditches in the coastal south are loaded, LOADED, with 6-10lb largemouth that you can catch on foot with nearly anything these fish are dumb, and BIG. Every boat needs an observer, every scale needs a $50metal detector and all can be right......... ain't it a damn shame
No need for weights. Just get some fish tanks and start feeding specific fish for specific tournaments. I’m sure there is some sort of growth hormone that you could use to boost fish sizes. The real problem is big money tournaments. This sport shouldn’t be looked at as a means of living in a financial sense. It’s seriously ignorant that this is anything more than a means to catch your own food or enjoy the hobby. It’s only as serious as you make it.
All these cheaters..I'm starting to wonder about that tank in the background, you must be growing your own fish for competitions..lol
There was a deer hunter back in the seventies before today's food plot style hunting. He had so much pressure from his sponsors to preform, he started taking deer at night. He got caught and was stripped and shunned. He said he felt a release of the pressures he was under.
Lol there was a real famous one that hunted in Yellowstone national park.
This is why before fishing tourney these days they do a gill net take on all major spots on the lake to be fished taging all target species and returning them they record length and weight of each tagged fish as well as introducing about a week before the tourney a stocking catch of sport size so adolescent fish and older sized 110 inches or more on largemouth varies fish to fish but either way all those fish are taged and recorded as well if they recieve a fish turn in thats tagged and weight is off outside an allowed tollerance for feeding habits and such they investigate the source
Maybe the judges for tournaments are in on it too
Idk why else they would miss so many obvious cheaters
Great video - more questions and guesses than actual information
😉
Love all these videos about cheating, keep it up bro🔥🔥
Thank you 🙏
100 k huh.
Came to America in December, 1979. My father then worked for Hewelett Packard. He said minimum wage was 1 or 2 dollars per hour. Gas was 30 to 40 cents per gallon. Driving speede limit in California was 55 mph on the highways. I remember the American River used to have salmons dead all over the rivers during the winter times. Plenty of bugs, grasshoppers, butterfly's, catipillers, all sorts during the spring. They we're EVERYWHERE. Plenty of food for fish. Now your lucky to see anything. Totally off topic but just somthing from the 80s.
I was trying to figure out how someone can cheat and it be undetectable but the closest thing I can come up with is using heavy water (deuterium oxide d20) and basically injecting it into the meat of the fish with a basting injector under the scales. It may kill the fish or possibly leak out. Heavy water just has a different molecule arrangement that makes it heavier than normal h20. Or you could inject them with thick water which is basically water with starch based thickeners which cause it to be just slightly heavier than regular water and since it is thickened, it is less likely to ooze out. It would make more sense to inject a bait fish with the heavy or thick water then stuff it inside of the game fish.
Good guess, I checked and it’s roughly $138,000
* I used 1985 as the year
😳
That's the reason I quit tournament fishing.. The same teams just kept placing and winning almost everything. Not saying they wasn't good fisherman but everyone has bad days on the water.
I’ve heard of people cheating for plaques and trophies, much less cold hard cash.
There were a group of guys that would get together for open tournaments. They would go fish, then before weigh-in, they would meet up and collect the 5 heaviest stringer from all their catches. One boat would turn it in, not a gimme, but surely increasing their odds.
Redfish tourneys have their share. Dropping fish (oops) on the fish’s nose, trying to shorten fish. Manipulating tails again to shorten fish.
I can surely see a ring, trying to take $100k in the 80s.
Even in the bass masters, they weren’t past doing at least some unsportsmanlike things.
I'm from Longview, Texas, where KYKX is located. They hold the tournament on Lake o the Pines. That tournament got so big, they went from a two day tournament, to a three day. It's a big bass tournament, not a 5 fish. First place was $105,000 plus. Fisherman were coming from all lower 48 states to fish it. But cheating had gotten so bad the canceled it one year, and after that they dropped the prize money way down, now you don't hear anything about cheating.
Thanks for the info 🙏
Had no idea they cheated like this in fishing
Anything that makes money attracts cheaters, why wouldn’t fishing have cheating in many facets? I watched blatant cheating on televised archery completion, then the same thing at a completion I went to in Ohio, it was so bad that a older gentlemen took me to the side and said “it’s always going to be a 10” even with the BS I would have won but I shot a 14 that wasn’t in play because I didn’t know the rules, I also skipped one off the floor by getting my anchor point wrong shooting at a low target, even with the miss I had more points from shooting all 14s when the rest went for the sure thing with the multi rings. This was my first and last tournament, Covid also hit and I hurt my shoulder shooting hundreds to a thousand shots a day with a 70 pound draw and taking pain meds not knowing I was hurting my self badly.
50k in the 80's was like 300,000 at least. This is based on realistate. I think houses were maybe 100,000 in Cali. right now it's 700,000.
Craziness
Thats why I got out of tournament fishing! Sore loosers and cheaters. Even if you win legitimately. Your always gonna have sore loosers that call the winners cheaters. Just a pure disgrace
This stuff is said to still be happening. I consider myself very skilled. The tournament scene never enticed me for several reasons. This being one of them. The other is the meager payout. People always ask why I don't do tournaments. Really? Is it not obvious? You hear these things on the local circuits.
This is why I can’t stand cheaters. If you have no morals, are willing to screw over anybody for your own personal gain, it’s very likely it may be to no end. If you are honest and decide to start cheating, weather it be on your spouse, or your friends spouse, look at the endless forensic files type shows. I bet none of these people thought they were capable, but there they are.
Not getting caught is part of the thrill.
And there you have it, cheaters are willing to kill to keep things under the wraps, truly scum bag people.
😳
This ought to tell you guys something back in the '80s the minimum wage was $3.75 an hour if I'm not mistaken and trust me if you were an electrician and you were making 10 to $12 an hour you're knocking in some big ass bucks you could afford a nice car and stuff like that nowadays you make 10 to $12 an hour you're lucky if you can rent a one bedroom apartment
The whole polygraph thing seems ridiculous to me they’re not even accurate enough to be used in a court of law.
Why in the world are fishing competitions hanging all their trust in a polygraph test? This test doesn't test anything but how a person feels that day. If a person feels good about cheating, they will pass that test every time. A person can take some medicine which will slow their anxiety, and they will pass the test. The polygraph just lets people who have no conscience keep moving forward. Of course, an honest person can also pass the polygraph, the point is, so can a very bad person who believes in what they are doing.
Source: I have taken, and failed a polygraph; I was beyond nervous because I was very young, and at that time, I didn't understand how it worked so I kept thinking, what if I'm forgetting something, they'll know! (It was for a job interview; and I didn't get the job).
I know there was somebody else on here that is from Longview as well, I grew up in Longview and I think they had canceled it twice but not sure about that but don't know much about it but do remember hearing about it since it's held at Lake of the pines.
We used to have tagged stocked trout in Montgomery County, and the “people in the know” would almost always would catch the tagged fish, back in the 80s it was a $500 fish, lotta money back then. When there’s opportunity there is cheating, sad to say😢🎣
Definitely sus
Sounds familiar. Pa?
Sounds like you were in the know
@@fishsticks88 yep
@@michaelmcclenon6663 after the fact, it would fish jus for the hell of it, and the creek was right behind my house. Caught plenty of Palominos and rainbows, took my limit and went home
Where did you get that Shirt ?
I just stayed in Tyler, TX last week, went out on Athens and got an 8 pounder.
Heck yeah!
If money is involved so are crooks.
$105,000 in 1980 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $378,214.08 today, an increase of $273,214.08 over 42 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 3.10% per year between 1980 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 260.20%.
We quit the local Tuesday night because of cheating. Couple guy took my dad up the creek to get fish. 3 boats would would pick who was gonna win and take the fish off the stringer.
Honestly, it makes absolutely no sense to me that someone that feared being killed would take their own life.
That’s exactly how I feel
I remember this or maybe it was another year at that tourney. I thought I heard at the time they were bringing them and maybe storing them at their home in North Louisiana. There is a little more to the story that I heard but I am not sure it is true . It's been a long time but it was big news back then
Theft is theft. A lot of thieves end up dead from some of the other shady stuff they delve in.
Polygraphs don't work. If we want to eliminate this issue entirely, we need mobile x-ray or ultrasound testing at the weigh-in of all the major tournaments.
50k in the 80's would equal alot more these days. Probably 500k- 1 mil. A brand new truck was probably 6000 back then
honestly sounds like it could have been a drug smuggling ring was involved running from FL to tx. i remember the hay days of smuggling in fl and alot of fishing tourneys in the keys people thought were rigged but would not speak out as the people cheating were the bigger and big bosses of smuggling rings. check out some of the old tournes with sailfish, marlin, dolphin, and back country ie redfish, snook, trout, and tarpon. back in that time frame
Until sponsorships dry up I don't think you'll ever clean up that sport.
Fishing should never have become a competitive sport, it's much more important than that but a bunch of overly competitive dudes back in the sixties hijacked a solitary pursuit for personal profit and started all these big money tournament " trails" and where there is big money you'll get even bigger greed, and that's what's wrong with " professional" fishing.
What about just stuffing the fish full of minnows and crawfish? Sounds like nobody could prove that you’re cheating.
The amount of minnows or crawfish you’d have to stick in the fish to make a significant weight difference would look suspicious.
@@oid__ Still though it would be hard to prove. I’ve definitely caught fish that were stuffed to the gills with fish. Better than just loading them with sinkers.
Would you Please put your HAT ON RIGHT. THANKS
Obviously the dude died of 'LEAD POISONING' 😁
The lack of there being a 'digital' society back then makes info hard to find.
Great story. 👍
Unless he had a sawed off shotgun he would have had a hard time putting a shotgun to his head.
We had an illegal bear and wild animal game ring here in Western North Carolina it ran the entire South, from Florida to Virginia, and West as far as Texas.
They had a meat processing plant tractor trailer that ran a route you would illegally kill whatever game take to to a meeting spot, get paid and they drove off.
It ran for years until it was busted by a multiple state wildlife office sting. They had officials from every state who infiltrated every ring in every state.
The shame of all this was, when they went to court many were turned loose with fines, and a lose of their licenses, and slaps on the wrist.
Here in North Carolina I don't think one person went to prison for their crimes.
Polygraph? Are you kidding? Oh yeah. Tall fishing tales.
This entire thing sounds very fishey. But now I am hooked!
I took the bait, gotta scale back on my net surfing
Nothing suprises me anymore.
The entire system in this country is broken.
They said "ohh you like to cheat huh?? You think you can cheat death??" BOOM!!!
Did they find weights in him??
Nice vid..thanks bud..that sounds like a good movie plot type thang uno...✌️
100% mafia/mob involved if he was really scared for his life. The mob used to fix horse races and all types of stuff like this.
Grandma always told me cheaters never prosper
Well here in america most do...
@@abab-ml1ym she was talking about..."in the end". You have to be able to see the big picture buddy
Yeah, that's why I don't fish tournaments.
I was in that tournament. It was at Lake of the Pines in East Texas.
In Canada we had a incident with a disgruntled canerman in a tv show here , makes you wonder about the old pros .. great show .. fish on
Bob Mesikomer?
I can’t find no details online it’s crazy it doesn’t give u much u gotta go deep
It's so sad man. I always wanted to compete in bass fishing but between the requirement of expensive electronics and the un-sportsman like way some of these guys carry themselves it just turned me off. There's just so many levels to cheating in fishing. From snagging to weighting fish.
Though, I'd be somewhat interested in kayak tournaments. Then at least you aren't relying on live scope instead of actually fishing. Plus the CPR style of tournament is arguably way better for the bass population.
You might consider online tournaments using tourneyX and kayak tournaments. Lot’s of small friendly tournaments and clubs in that realm. Cheaper than boats and it’s all cpr using length instead of weights. People still try cheating but it’s rare.
WHATS NEXT ? BOXING , BASEBALL , FUTBALL , BASKETBALL ?
or is it all , even nascar now ? you judge
the MAFIA pun" Swimming With The Fishes " wow.. amazing video- more stories like this please! in the hunting world they follow the 3 "s" Shoot Shovel Shut Up.. didnt know the fishing world was that bad too..wow !
Sounds like the mafia's been infiltrating fishing tournaments
I take it KY refers to Kentucky and not lube.
Or both, together?
This is why I stick to the bluegill tournament. Those bass guys are total criminals.
Kingfish tournament out of St. Thomas. Winner had big fish. It looked like it was dead for days. Rules are broken. I saw the guy who won the dolphin derby hook the fish then hand the rod over to the “hero boat owner” who brought the fish in but the guy who hooked it won. You have to bring you own fish in! I said something but was told to be quiet. We got third. If they cheat like that they will cheat at everything. I’m not friends of them now.
Don't know anything about bass tournaments and their cheaters..
But I Do Know about some salmon Derbie/tournament in Seattle back in the late 70's and early 80's.
They would go to the reservation and Buy whole Salmon, put them on ice..(not frozen), then into their cooler/fish box. For several years a small group would always place in the top 3.
When the local paper put their faces out, someone turned them in.
I never knew Don King was a fan of fishing
I would had never thought it went that high, crazy!!
Is there a bichir in that tank behind you?
Yeap!
@@5050fishing that’s cool. I’m into the fish keeping hobby but I’ve never kept a bichir
You’re really fishing with these click bait titles
Not clickbait if it’s true 🤷🏻♂️
@@5050fishing oh come on you know what your doing lol. With everything going on you know people are going to assume it involves the walleye cheaters.
I went to Lake Montgomery where the World record bass was caught and met with a DNR employee who said his father was with the fisherman and witnessed the man putting bird shot in the 22.4 lb. record bass. Hearsay I know.
He was about to tell on somebody that didn't want to be told on.
You got yourself a new subscriber from Houston with this video brother.
That cheating ring is probably still going with new members
They called him "Frankie fast cast"... forget about it
Good work man. Interesting
Thank you 🙏
the soft yet dark underbelly of pro fishing.
Lol
i have been thinking , you could inject water and salt into your fish , the salt will make the water stay in. i have thought of 2 or 3 other ways to cheat and get away with it. i am not a fisherman but i think it would be pretty easy to cheat.
Shhh, most ain't that smart. But cheatin ain't winning!
In the words of Ricky Bobby “if ya ain’t first, your last” what a couple of douchebags!
🤫
I was thinking to inject posing oil so many componds in body building you could add to builk it up
Large amounts of salt would be toxic and probably kill the fish. There are rules against weighing dead fish in bass tournament.
Wow I'm with you. Cheating, that's the last thing that I would think to check. A cheating fisherman. I guess it's time we look at fishing. Heard of the big one that got away and no video? Now I have to wonder. But there are a lot of honest people in this world that make daily choices of the good side and give humanity hope. Can I get a Amen?
Is that a bowfin??
It’s a birchir
@@5050fishing nice
Wow the mafia didn’t even cross my mind but they did have some stuff going on in Florida, i wouldn’t be shocked to hear it was mob related
I think that the mob would take a percent of entry fees and cash prize...not be in it cheating
They really went as far to stock the pond is mind blowing. Yeah I'm glad people have caught on to these cheaters then and now. These people go that far to cheat and ruin everyone else's hard work and pretty much their careers as fisherman. When they would've won instead of the cheaters. Gotta keep your eyes out for this because people see money and will come up with the craziest ideas and screw everyone else over to get it.
Sounds like Dixie mafia. I lived in Central GA. In the early 2000s and ran with a couple good ol boy type dudes who were Dixie mafia. Not saying I was "in" with them or anything like that. But I knew a couple of them pretty well , they were very serious dudes and were definitely into some shady stuff.
Over the years since i moved away, I've tried to find stuff about them online, just out of curiosity, but there isn't much info to be had online. Anyone who spent much time in good ol boy circles in the deep south can certainly attest that they exist though. I don't know about numbers , or how far they spread, but that story definitely sounds like it has their marks all over it. Crazy stuff.
Definitely hard to find
@@5050fishing After I posted that comment I searched on UA-cam and found a couple of documentaries about them, didn't watch any of them yet, but they seem to be more geared towards specific stories about a member doing this or that, not really about the organization. There definitely isn't much info online about the org as a whole.
You need some live plants in the tanks my man.