Such a ****ty thing, so glad they got busted. So I dropped the boat off at the dealer yesterday for its annual tune up and winterization. Looks like I’m back to pond fishing until next spring!
There's been a lot of great memes from this fishing scandal. My boat is going to the marina tomorrow for it's annual service, winterizing and shrink wrap. See ya in the spring, suckers! I'm still going to hit some local ponds on my lunch break to catch fish this fall. Maybe I'll luck into a big one somewhere.
The fishing tournament thing is funny to me. Our friend hosted a walleye tournament last year on Lake Erie in Ohio. We watched all the boats with binoculars - cruising around, keeping an eye, etc. All walleye were allowed to be cut open, per the rules. I think they chose one per team. I don't know why that isn't a common thing across the board with the kind of money out there to win. I fish these waters during summer. It's crazy they have to do what they did. We were averaging 10-15 pounders all summer (with some bigger of course).
Love the fact that I'm able to come home and fish in my backyard. My pup decided that he wanted to see what's biting as well. Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk
Fishing tourny update....I didn't realize they were so close to me, lol. https://www.yourerie.com/news/penns...RYtUf0yzVXhzKnszKD1JbOcu5LWcUdOwTcxcwG1FecKZ0
Not sure how they will go back in time and prove that they cheated in the previous tournaments when all of those fish are long gone by now. Everyone knows they cheated, but proving that in court and seizing their assets is going to be tough, I would think.
I'm surprised that they seized the boat and trailer. I don't know the Great Lakes region(s) so unclear if they have laws on the books for tournaments since there are so many. Aside for being caught for a potential fraud charge or something in that matter, I wonder what, if any, conservation law was broken? It's not like they cheated a limit law, stepping on a fish to make it longer kinda thing. By no means am I defending them, scum if you ask me, just curious what they wrote in the request for the warrant to seize the property?
I believe they are looking at some sort of game violation for cutting up walleyes and stuffing the filets inside the fish with the weights. But that was this recent tournament - that boat was won last year.
ESPN article Prosecutor: Fishermen caught cheating at tournament charged 3:03 PM CT Associated Press CLEVELAND -- Two anglers accused of stuffing fish with lead weights and fillets in an attempt to win thousands of dollars in an Ohio fishing tournament were indicted Wednesday on charges of attempted grand theft and other counts. Jacob Runyan, 42, of Broadview Heights, Ohio, and Chase Cominsky, 35, of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, were indicted in Cleveland on felony charges of cheating, attempted grand theft and possessing criminal tools and misdemeanor charges of unlawfully owning wild animals. They're due to be arraigned Oct. 26. Neither man immediately responded to voicemails seeking comment. The cheating allegations surfaced Sept. 30 when Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament director Jason Fischer became suspicious because Runyan and Cominsky's fish were significantly heavier than walleye of that length typically are. A crowd of people at Gordon Park in Cleveland watched Fischer cut the walleye open and announce that there were weights and walleye fillets stuffed inside. An officer from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources confiscated the fish as evidence. Fischer also did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment. Runyan and Cominsky would have received $28,760 in prizes for winning the tournament. According to search warrant affidavits, the five walleye contained a total of eight 12-ounce (.34 kilogram) lead weights and two 8-ounce (.23 kilogram) weights, as well as the fish fillets. Officers from ODNR, the Hermitage Police Department and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission seized a boat, trailer and fishing gear belonging to Cominsky on Tuesday in Pennsylvania. The anglers had used the boat during last month's tournament, the affidavits said. One of the affidavits disclosed that Runyan and Cominsky were investigated by Rossford police in northwest Ohio in April after being accused of cheating in a different walleye tournament. According to a Rossford police report, an assistant Wood County prosecutor concluded that although the men might have cheated, there was not enough evidence to charge them.
I he they get nailed good!! The only thing "competitive " in hunting" I've done is coyote calling tournaments. Never felt/known anyone cheated. Was a fun run.
I had 100 rainbow trout and 15 lbs of fathead minnows put in my pond yesterday. We had a ball catching the trout last winter and in the Spring after ice-out. My wife enjoyed fishing for the first time in her life last year. We set up heated ice tents and one always had a full bar with snacks. I put down rubber flooring so she didn't even have to put her feet on the ice. Now, it doesn't seem to matter how much the pond OR fish cost! lol
