You would think after Chase Cominsky and Jacob Runyan got caught stuffing walleye with sinkers during a walleye fishing tournament on Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio last year, other past cheaters would’ve learned their lesson for the future…
Especially after the video went viral of all the fellow fishermen ready to throw down and whoop their a**.
But nah, people are dumb unfortunately, and a similar situation played out again this past weekend.
It went down this past Saturday, during the Bart’s Cove Walleye Duel in Dunkirk, New York.
Everything was going smooth, until tournament organizer Mark Mohr began to cut open the fish during the weigh in…
And that’s when Mohr realized competitor Pete Smith had stuffed two of his walleye with a smaller fish to increase the weight.
A 12-inch walleye with its tail cut off was discovered inside one of his fish. The other had a white perch inside of it.
Mohr discussed the ridiculous scene with Outdoor Life:
“They both had holes in their lips, and they were both stuffed inside bigger walleyes. The 12-inch walleye, it looked to me like they tried to stuff it and it wouldn’t go down, so they cut the last three inches off.
It was suspicious because the fish was still really bright, and then I picked it up and could see a hook mark in its lip.”
He said that cutting open fish has always been a standard practice at the Bart’s Cove tournament, even before the Ohio incident. And considering the winners got cash prizes and an all-inclusive trip to Panama, it’s necessary:
“It’s always been that way since before Ohio. But after what happened there, I absolutely insisted that every single one of these fish be cut open — not just Pete’s.
It’s just stupid what he did, especially after last year. I still can’t believe it.”
And the worst part for Smith? He didn’t even have to cheat to have a shot at winning some money.
Mohr then said:
“I got a phone call from Pete’s wife. She let me know that one of the individuals in Pete’s boat admitted to her that they did cheat, and that he was afraid to come to the weigh in on Saturday.
But the thing about it is that Pete didn’t have to stuff them. He only gained maybe 10-12 ounces, less than a pound. But he had a 22-something pound bag, and the next closest was 19-pounds.”
Mohr says the DEC will decide if its necessary to file criminal charges or not, and Smith is now banned from the tournament. He also hopes this past Saturday will show fishing tournament organizers that they need to really keep an eye out for this stuff.
Shameless…
