cheater

[youmyboyblue]

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/...ing+community/

[Bluechip]

What a douche bag...

[meaux fishing]

probably not the first and wont be the last... he is just the one that got caught

[Dink]

I'm pretty sure this happened to me at the tarpon rodeo a few years back........I had first place yellow and black tuna......a boat weighed in 2 smaller fish and beat me by 4oz on this blackfin and only 2oz on the yellow fin........almost spoke up, but let it go.......

[longcast]

S o b

[LPfishnTIM]

that was a high dollar tournament, he places in the money often and how often did he cheat was the question, I don't mind getting beat by a better fisherman, but a cheater, is a different story, I bet there is someone who has placed behind him on a couple tournaments who was cussin a storm after finding this out.

[Ray]

Can someone cut and paste the article?
I cannot view it from work computer.

[meaux fishing]

here you go Ray...


A professional angler found to have stuffed lead sinkers down the throats of fish he submitted for weigh-ins during a prestigious bass-fishing tournament has been banned for life from that and other competitions in a scandal that has rocked the tight-knit and passionate bass-fishing community.

Mike Hart, a successful Southern California pro whose career earnings total more than $200,000, was accused of cheating in this manner during the recent $100,000 U.S. Open held at sprawling Lake Mead on the Nevada-Arizona border. An official with the Western Outdoor News bass tour said Hart confessed after he was caught virtually red-handed.

WON Bass will not pursue criminal charges against Hart, but the episode has tournament organizers around the country speaking out against cheating and seeking ways to prevent their events from being similarly tarnished.

"On the one hand it was a day of infamy for organized bass fishing in America," said Harvey Naslund, director of the WON circuit. "But on the other hand it was a major victory for all who have long cared for, and taken steps to protect the integrity of bass-fishing tournaments."

Catching a cheat is difficult because tournaments are catch-and-release, so bass are kept in aerated wells on the boats and weighed live at the end of each fishing day, then released.

However, sometimes bass die after being caught and Hart had offered three dead fish during the weigh-in on the second-to-last day of the U.S. Open. They were filleted so the meat could be delivered to a charity, and found to contain weights.

Officials waited until the final day to confront Hart, who turned in a full limit of five bass. All five were found to contain lead sinkers.

In all, nine sinkers were removed from bass turned in by Hart. Naslund said each sinker was torpedo-shaped and weighed two ounces. Each was attached to a short line and tied to a small treble hook, presumably to catch in the throat and hopefully keep the weights from entering the belly and being detected if the bass were cut open.

WON Bass determined that Hart acted alone, even though he had a lower-tier "Triple-A" fishing partner aboard his boat during each of the three days of the U.S. Open.

Naslund explained that the Triple-A partner fishes from the back of the boat while the pro stands at the bow, driving and steering with a foot-powered trolling motor.

On the third day of fishing, Naslund said, Hart was said to have asked his partner -- who had flown in from South Korea -- to change places while he rigged some tackle and checked on the fish in the live-well.

"The same scenario existed on Day 1 and Day 2 of the U.S. Open," Naslund said.

The South Korean angler, who would have shared part of whatever purse Hart had been entitled to after the third and final day, was given a refund for his entry fee.

For what it's worth, the U.S. Open was won by Arizona pro Clifford Pirch, with a total weight of 31.44 pounds. He earned $40,000, plus a new bass boat.

[Ray]

All they gotta do is put the live fish bag on a wooden or plastic table and wave a metal detector wand over the fish. If it beeps, kill and fillet the fish. If not, throw it back into the lake.

[whunter29]

This is pathetic and they should have pursued criminal charges against him. I have fished numerous bass tournaments and I can actually say most do a good job at preventing cheating.

[flyphisher]

Cheating at a tournament for money is a felony in Louisiana. Some guy got busted a couple years ago up around Shreveport. He had caught the fish before the tourny started and stashed them in a wire mesh cage.

[Gerald]

Same thing happened at Lacassine several years back. Remember when the same 2 guys won several times, with 3 fish that weighed something like 27-28 lbs.

[Uncle Barty]

This should sum up his career...FAIL!!!!!!!!!!!

[fishinpox]

Originally Posted by flyphisher

Cheating at a tournament for money is a felony in Louisiana. Some guy got busted a couple years ago up around Shreveport. He had caught the fish before the tourny started and stashed them in a wire mesh cage.

happens all the time . crab traps , it is bs i fish tournys not for the money but for the fun abd braggin rights sure money is nice to win but i guess some people just suck at life enough to have to cheat what a bunch of douche nozzles