In order to make their catches appear heavier by stuffing them with weights, two fishermen were caught cheating during a fishing competition.
On Friday, while competing in the Lake Erie Walleye Trail Championship at Cleveland’s Gordon Park, Ohio, Chase Cominsky of Pennsylvania and Jake Runyon of Ohio were busted. The catch made by Cominsky and Runyon was nearly twice as heavy as the next closest competitor at over 33lbs (15kg).
When the fish were gutted, tournament director Jason Fischer decided to reveal the cheating of the two. A number of lead balls were placed inside each fish on purpose in order to increase the weight of the fish the duo caught and win the competition and associated $5,000 prize money.
“We have got fish weights!” The crowd, which had assembled, was informed by Fischer.
The earlier victories of the pair in other competitions are now being questioned. They have already won numerous first-place awards and a substantial quantity of cash at different LEWT competitions, including the 2021 championship.
The pair won the $100,000 prize for the best catch in the Lake Erie Fall Brawl the previous year but were disqualified. When the anglers’ catch was to be weighed, in which their five heaviest fish of the day were to be placed on the scales, suspicions were initially raised in the closing moments of the competition.
Onlookers were outraged and demanded explanations; some even made threats to call the police. The two allegedly forced the items down the fish’s throats to increase their weight and boost their performance in the competition.
Along with the lead weights, there were pieces of other fish fillets that had been put inside the catch’s body to add to their weight.
The dramatic finding was captured on camera and shared on social media. When asked on camera if he has anything to say for himself, Runyon remained silent the entire time.