BassNJake Posted May 4, 2020 Posted May 4, 2020 Forgot to post this story ... I'm out early Sat morning and across the cove watch a sweet Phoenix boat with 2 power poles pull up on shore. It's pretty early so visibility is not 100%. One of the guys gets out and he's carrying a bag but he keeps looking around to see if anyones watching. The guy in the boat is messing with the livewells as he's got both lids open I happen to catch a fish and get a little distracted. When I look up the guys are pulling away and I see them stuffing the bag into one of the boxes About an hour later I make it to the other side of the cove to see this is where they were stopped As you look closer you can see the large cooler and the 5 gallon bucket I stopped and the cooler is filled with dingy water. I know I just caught some cheaters in the act, freaking ticks me off BIG TIME!! I went to the weigh in and guess what, those guys in the shiny new Phoenix weighed in 4 fish for just under 8 pounds I swear someone had to be cheating but it obviously wasnt these guys Quote
Global Moderator TnRiver46 Posted May 4, 2020 Global Moderator Posted May 4, 2020 Weird. I can’t tell one shiny new Phoenix from the next myself. What about this fish you caught? Topwater already? 1 Quote
Vilas15 Posted May 4, 2020 Posted May 4, 2020 Shoulda punched a big hole in the cooler and bucket. 1 Quote
BassNJake Posted May 4, 2020 Author Posted May 4, 2020 4 hours ago, TnRiver46 said: Weird. I can’t tell one shiny new Phoenix from the next myself. What about this fish you caught? Topwater already? I've seen some red ones, this one was blue. Glad it didn't turn out to be some cheaters. Sure as heck lined up like they were. Cooler is on an empty lot. Been catching them on topwater later in the day as it warms up. Been catching them on a crank earlier in the day. Been casting a lot more than catching though 1 Quote
BassNJake Posted May 4, 2020 Author Posted May 4, 2020 3 hours ago, Vilas15 said: Shoulda punched a big hole in the cooler and bucket. You know, there's probably a very legit reason for a big cooler full of water on an empty lot 1 Quote
Super User Hammer 4 Posted May 4, 2020 Super User Posted May 4, 2020 2 hours ago, BassNJake said: You know, there's probably a very legit reason for a big cooler full of water on an empty lot Hmmm, none that I can think of.. Quote
BoatSquirrel Posted May 5, 2020 Posted May 5, 2020 We had similar scumbaggery here in Nashville. The Wildlife Resources guys said next time to contact them so they can catch and prosecute the tournament cheaters. Keeping game fish in a cooler or cage is a no-no as well. Turn them in AJay! Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted May 5, 2020 Global Moderator Posted May 5, 2020 Call your game wardens. They can set up pretty solid sting operations on stuff like that to catch cheaters. If they find fish in the cooler, clip a small piece of tail fin from all the fish. Then the guys weigh in and the fish are confiscated and samples taken. DNA matches up, bam, cheaters are in the bag. 3 Quote
Super User jbsoonerfan Posted May 5, 2020 Super User Posted May 5, 2020 When I started reading I thought this was going to involve someone taking a dump. Come to think of it, there was no mention if someone had or had not taken a dump. 1 Quote
BassNJake Posted May 5, 2020 Author Posted May 5, 2020 7 hours ago, jbsoonerfan said: When I started reading I thought this was going to involve someone taking a dump. Come to think of it, there was no mention if someone had or had not taken a dump. hahahahahaaaa After their small fish showing at the weigh in; I'm guessing thats what happened. Should have left it in the cooler for the real cheaters? Quote
Global Moderator TnRiver46 Posted May 5, 2020 Global Moderator Posted May 5, 2020 9 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said: Call your game wardens. They can set up pretty solid sting operations on stuff like that to catch cheaters. If they find fish in the cooler, clip a small piece of tail fin from all the fish. Then the guys weigh in and the fish are confiscated and samples taken. DNA matches up, bam, cheaters are in the bag. The game wardens don’t really have a fond opinion of fishing tournaments in the area. The ones I know would probably get a laugh out of someone getting cheated out of fish tournament winnings. They would much rather see anglers legally harvesting fish and taking kids out than a bass tournament 1 Quote
schplurg Posted May 9, 2020 Posted May 9, 2020 On 5/5/2020 at 5:45 AM, BassNJake said: hahahahahaaaa After their small fish showing at the weigh in; I'm guessing thats what happened. Should have left it in the cooler for the real cheaters? Maybe they're just dumb. "Jethro, you idiot! I said leave four 8 pound fish in the cooler!" 1 Quote
BassNJake Posted May 26, 2020 Author Posted May 26, 2020 Heres an update. I spoke with a TWRA guy at the lake Saturday. They said they have had reports of guys cheating and some complaints were filed but they did not have any evidence. He called someone to ask what kind of boat was the team driving with the dead fish? A blue Phoenix!! So I guess the guys I saw had 2 6lbers die in the livewell They weighed a 4 something and 3 line burners. The TWRA guy said they had a big fish die at Douglas a few weeks ago as well. I pointed out to him the area I had seen the guys and the cooler and bucket I found in the area later He said they would do all they could and assured me they would get the book thrown at them, if caught. 4 Quote
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