PITTSBURGH — Fish stories just aren't what they used to be. To be believed, you'd better have live-streaming video, a digital scale and a lawyer. Now big-money fishing tournaments are even turning to metal detectors to prevent anglers from cheating.
Two fishermen accused of conspiring to cheat in a lucrative Lake Erie walleye tournament pleaded not guilty before a grand jury last week in Cleveland to felony charges of cheating, attempted grand theft, possession of criminal tools and alleged misdemeanors.
Jacob Runyan, 42, of Broadview Heights, Ohio, and Chase Cominsky, 35, of Hermitage in Mercer County, were the apparent winners of the heaviest five-fish catch in the Sept. 30 Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament. Suspecting something fishy, however, the tournament director cut open their walleye and lead weights dropped out.
The apparent gotcha moment was witnessed by competing anglers, captured on video and went global on the internet and news media. If convicted, the two anglers each could face up to three years in prison.
First prize in that tournament totaled nearly $30,000, but that's small fry compared with some fishing contests. In August, a marlin tournament in Ocean City, Md., paid its top winner more than $4.5 million, setting a world record for the prize if not the fish.
Rumors of cheating have always existed. Some pro anglers have been prosecuted and the more lucrative tournaments, including the Walleye Trail, reserve the right to require winners to pass a polygraph test.
The lakeside debacle in Cleveland has increased concerns in the competitive fishing world that greater payouts are leading to greater temptations. Already a Lake Erie walleye tournament promoter has announced that the ongoing 2022 B'Laster Lake Erie Fall Brawl and Nov. 27 Fall Walleye Slam will have metal detectors at the weigh-in stage and lie detectors for the winners.
Most of the world-class bass tournaments have announced 2023 event dates, but organizers have been mostly quiet about the walleye scandal. Many tournament participants expect new scanning protocols to be announced by the end of the year.
"This has been terrible for the tournaments and for fishing as a sport," said Ron Taylor, a semi-pro bass fisherman from Cranberry. "It's been hard on the people who are playing by the rules and I think for people who just like to hear about catching big fish."
He's concerned that this public glimpse of the "dark side of competitive sports" will tarnish the integrity of other fishing events. Regional tournaments held by his organization, the Pennsylvania Bass Federation, on waters including the Ohio River, Youghiogheny River Lake, Raystown Lake and Lake Erie might include a half-dozen boats and pay the winner $100. Top prizes at the state level are around $1,000.
"Metal detectors and lie detectors at the more lucrative tournaments are probably a logical extension of this scandal," said Taylor, a retiree from Bayer Pharmaceuticals. "But we can't afford all that at the smaller tournaments, and even if we could, it's going to slow things down and take a lot of time."
After tournament anglers speed back to the weigh-in site to beat the fishing deadline, there's a lot to do. Pull out the boat, park the trailer, stow the gear and tie down the boat, wait in line for a weighing bag, make sure the fish in the livewell are healthy, wait in another line for the fish to be weighed, have them returned to the water and wait for the tallying of the score.
"If a metal detector makes it take longer for those fish to get weighed, it could jeopardize their health," Taylor said. "Only live fish count. Guys are going to be [really mad] if their fish die while they're waiting to get weighed."
And what's next for fishing tournament security?
There are many ways to cheat. The rumor mill repeats stories such as of surreptitiously hiding fish in a submerged basket. Use your imagination, because cheaters certainly will.
Taylor said the fishing tournament industry will have to continue adapting because "there's a lot of money at stake."
