Cheater Caught Altering Fish at Sealy Big Bass Splash

[Ski]

Sealy Outdoors owner Bob Sealy and his son-in-law, Chris Bennett, have announced that an angler who competed in the Big Bass Splash Tournament over the weekend on Toledo Bend Reservoir has been arrested. Bennett explained that the angler, who was not named, turned in a bass at the weigh-in that was immediately flagged by the weight-master. Bennett said the fish was set aside and an investigation revealed that the bass had lead weights inside of it to increase its weight. Sabine Parish Law Enforcement confirmed that the angler was arrested and charged with a felony for fraud.

 

[Fishingmickey]

Ya think them walleye fisherman getting caught would have educated them up. Stupid is as stupid does.

FM

[Ski]

[TnRiver46]

13 minutes ago, Fishingmickey said:

Ya think them walleye fisherman getting caught would have educated them up. Stupid is as stupid does.

FM

Yeah cuz they were the very first people that stuffed weights in a fish………

 

oldest trick in the book 

[KSanford33]

Obviously I think this is awful, but 2.5lbs in one fish?! I can’t imagine that would feel even remotely natural. 

[fishballer06]

26 minutes ago, KSanford33 said:

Obviously I think this is awful, but 2.5lbs in one fish?! I can’t imagine that would feel even remotely natural. 

I could see sneaking in 2-3 ounces and no one being able to notice. But 2.5 pounds is going to be noticeable to any experienced fishermen. I'm just picturing an 18" fish that weighed almost 7 pounds 

[A-Jay]

A-Jay

[KSanford33]

21 minutes ago, fishballer06 said:

I could see sneaking in 2-3 ounces and no one being able to notice. But 2.5 pounds is going to be noticeable to any experienced fishermen. I'm just picturing an 18" fish that weighed almost 7 pounds 

Exactly!!!

 

And fish are generally not rock solid, so I would imagine a 2.5lb weight sloshing around in a fish would be very noticeable. 

[flyfisher]

Start looking into the kayak tournament fishing world if you want to see some creativity.  

[GaryH]

People who just want their moment of fame. I guess respecting the sport doesn’t mean much to them. 

[12poundbass]

15 hours ago, fishballer06 said:

I could see sneaking in 2-3 ounces and no one being able to notice. But 2.5 pounds is going to be noticeable to any experienced fishermen

Go big or go home! 😂

[ike8120]

Folks will try anything to win. I guess lessons weren't learned from past cheaters getting caught.

[F14A-B]

That guy really wanted to win didn’t he? 😂🤣😂 

[Zcoker]

Dang! You'd think they'd be a bit more reluctant after that last weight debacle. It'll never end. They'll find other ways to cheat. Just amazes me what they come up with...what extent they go to. Some of these crazy ideas, like this dude who cut off a live bass tail to use on other bass during a CPR tournament. Gained 'em few inches. They've since changed the rules...no hand covering the tail area. 

 

 

 

 

[TnRiver46]

4 hours ago, Zcoker said:

Dang! You'd think they'd be a bit more reluctant after that last weight debacle. It'll never end. They'll find other ways to cheat. Just amazes me what they come up with...what extent they go to. Some of these crazy ideas, like this dude who cut off a live bass tail to use on other bass during a CPR tournament. Gained 'em few inches. They've since changed the rules...no hand covering the tail area. 

 

 

 

 

That one is doubly disqualified, mouth not closed and a tail transplant 

[Woody B]

There's an occasionally a Kayak tournament on the lake while I'm fishing.  On 2 different occasions I've had kayakers peddle up to me and ask if I had any Bass they could take pictures of.  

 

Once during a big boat tournament 2 guys fishing near me saw me catch a Bass.  They came up and asked if they could have it.   

[gim]

6 hours ago, Zcoker said:

They've since changed the rules

I think the hawg trough has also been banned. Only a ketch board is permitted now.

[Swamp Girl]

3 hours ago, Woody B said:

There's an occasionally a Kayak tournament on the lake while I'm fishing.  On 2 different occasions I've had kayakers peddle up to me and ask if I had any Bass they could take pictures of.  

 

Once during a big boat tournament 2 guys fishing near me saw me catch a Bass.  They came up and asked if they could have it.   

 

Man, that's depressing, Woody. Those guys weren't even ashamed of being cheaters.

[PhishLI]

5 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

Man, that's depressing

More like pathetic. DBags.

[Zcoker]

10 hours ago, gimruis said:

I think the hawg trough has also been banned. Only a ketch board is permitted now.

 

Yes, the hawg board was banned from the more popular tournement organizations. They even found ways to cheat with that one. The hawg board is thin and easily flexed. So smushing a fish against it to bend it, the board would draw down and show shorter lengths. The measuring lines on it were also very faded and people would remark them. I also head something about cutting the board. So basically a single fish could be used for multiple entries. The Ketch board on the other hand is thick and cannot be bent. The lines are dark and clearly defined. The board also has upper rail measuring points.  

[gim]

I tell you, people will do just about anything to win won't they.

 

@Zcoker I use a white hawg trough with black numbers, but I'm not in any yak touneys (obviously).  I am in an annual work fishing contest and we are required to submit an entry with a length photo.  A white board with black numbers seems to be pretty obvious.  See below, I think its easy to see how big the fish is.

 

 

[Zcoker]

4 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I tell you, people will do just about anything to win won't they.

 

@Zcoker I use a white hawg trough with black numbers, but I'm not in any yak touneys (obviously).  I am in an annual work fishing contest and we are required to submit an entry with a length photo.  A white board with black numbers seems to be pretty obvious.  See below, I think its easy to see how big the fish is.

 

 

 

Those boards are still allowed for certain local contest. Most all the big name CPR tournament's like KBF don't allow them for the reasons stated. If you notice the yellow board in the picture I posted, you'll see how faded the numbing eventually gets. The remarking of them just gave cheaters another opportunity to take advantage of. I'm quite sure the makers of the Hawg boards didn't anticipate any of this nonsense! They're really not a bad board. 

[Fishingmickey]

     Being a long time tournament kayak fisherman.  I take pride in my pictures making sure that my pictures are clear and accurate.  A cheater is as despised and ostracized in the kayak world as I am sure is the case in the power boat sector.  The examples above just really seem to paint a picture that all kayak tournament fisherman are less Corinthian then other tournament fisherman.  I just hate to see the few bad examples coming up repeatedly whenever cheating is mentioned and tarnishing the entire group.

Fishingmickey

[Zcoker]

15 minutes ago, Fishingmickey said:

     Being a long time tournament kayak fisherman.  I take pride in my pictures making sure that my pictures are clear and accurate.  A cheater is as despised and ostracized in the kayak world as I am sure is the case in the power boat sector.  The examples above just really seem to paint a picture that all kayak tournament fisherman are less Corinthian then other tournament fisherman.  I just hate to see the few bad examples coming up repeatedly whenever cheating is mentioned and tarnishing the entire group.

Fishingmickey

As with anything, stuff like this can ruin it for everyone else. What do they say about a bad apple? At least these fishing organizations are taking action to make things as fair as possible and to limit the possibility of cheating as much as they can. Even still, if there's a will, there's a way. Even with all these new restrictions and re-written rules in place, new devices and so forth, cheaters will always find a way to beat them. Some of the techniques that cheaters come up with just boggles my mind. 

[Zcoker]

The battery thingy caught my eye. At first, I couldn't wrap my mind around it but once it was explained, I was like, whoa! They (cheaters) take three AA batteries and wrap them together with duct tape and then place them under the fish to be measured right in the middle of its body. What this does is shorten the actual measurement. That I couldn't understand: why would anyone want to shorten a fish in a length contest? Well, as it turns out, one can use the same fish twice! Once for its actual length and again for its manipulated length, just like they do with board bending. CPR tournaments have been won by mere fractions of inches, so it does make sense.