LEWT Tournament Winners BUSTED!

[Captain Ahab]

My guess is they have been getting away with it and gradually getting more bold with the amount of lead.

Sounds like another angler with a similar bag called them out because his fish were almost the same length and girth and his weighed 9 pounds less. I guess they had 8lbs of lead in the fish. Crazy

 

[CatDaddy]

Sounds like another angler with a similar bag called them out because his fish were almost the same length and girth and his weighed 9 pounds less. I guess they had 8lbs of lead in the fish. Crazy

You answered what I was just about to ask - at what point does someone question the length-to-girth ratio as compared to what shows on the scale? This is nuts.....I would say someone got a little over confident in tactics that have worked in previous tourneys!

 

[Vollmer]

I don't love doing tournaments, but I do a couple per year as it is a great excuse to hangout with the fellas for a week, but this type of thing is always in the back of my head.

 

[CatDaddy]

I don't love doing tournaments, but I do a couple per year as it is a great excuse to hangout with the fellas for a week, but this type of thing is always in the back of my head.

Now it will be in the front of your mind. Invest in a metal detector....Are there rules about doing a quick check yourself? Of course you'd be "that guy" but hey, if you're not guilty then go ahead and check - right?

 

[Captain Ahab]

Tourneys are fun when you are catching nice fish. It really sucks when a guy is on the struggle bus. It really grinds a guys gears thinking you had a helluva day and some cheating ass bastard steals your thunder and money.

 

[Vollmer]

Tourneys are fun when you are catching nice fish. It really sucks when a guy is on the struggle bus. It really grinds a guys gears thinking you had a helluva day and some cheating ass bastard steals your thunder and money.

If I had been fishing the LEWT the past couple of years and was there when this guy got busted, I would have come unglued.

 

[Captain Ahab]

 

[Vollmer]

"How 'bout a round of applause"


crickets

 

[CatDaddy]

The train wreck is real after truly understanding what took place at that weigh-in once I pieced together the videos you guys shared. I do think the guy weighing the fish could've been a little more professional when he found out, but I also understand the reaction of the "feign punch" to the guy's face.

 

[svnmag]

 

[wjschmaltz]

Ha, that’s awesome.

What happens to fish from tourneys? Are they not filleted? How can someone not find them big ass weights while filleting them? Or even a bunch of small weights for that matter. Are the fish dumped? Cuz that would piss me off more than the weights!

 

[Vollmer]

Ha, that’s awesome.

What happens to fish from tourneys? Are they not filleted? How can someone not find them big ass weights while filleting them? Or even a bunch of small weights for that matter. Are the fish dumped? Cuz that would piss me off more than the weights!

They had the option of keeping their bag after the fish are weighed.

 

[Allen]

This is straight up proof of "no matter the punishment, someone is always willing to do the crime". People kill people knowing they are in a death penalty state, and we are surprised there are people in the tournament world that will risk a complete shunning or even criminal prosecution?

This dick and his partner deserve every bit of shunning the angling community can offer.

Stupid question here, but do all tournaments have someone responsible for feeling up a fish for weights? I am just curious here as to how this unfolded. I can see other anglers scratching their heads wondering how their catch of fish managed to weigh so much less than another's, but it would seem to me that the needing to file a grievance to get the fish checked would take longer than needed to mix these fish in with other team's fish on their way to the knife. Can a person just yell during the weigh-in and get them checked?


Yeah, I'm still finalizing my plans to enter and win my first walleye tourney, so all help is appreciated.

 

[Vollmer]

The train wreck is real after truly understanding what took place at that weigh-in once I pieced together the videos you guys shared. I do think the guy weighing the fish could've been a little more professional when he found out, but I also understand the reaction of the "feign punch" to the guy's face.

From what I gather, they suspected these guys have cheated multiple times.

I think the other big Erie series, the Fall Brawl, was sold because the guy was tired of dealing with the cheating accusations.

The fact that these guys likely did this multiple times, were accused multiple times, and even forced to take a polygraph and STILL did it again is unreal.

I can understand the reaction of the announcer. They put a lot of work into these tournaments and this tarnishes the reputation of it all, not to mention how many honest guys it torques off.

 

[Allen]

They had the option of keeping their bag after the fish are weighed.

Ahh, I can't even imagine why they had the option. Like the steady stream of fishing opportunities in the peak season hasn't allowed them to acquire all the needed bags of fish in the freezer. Seriously, WTF? Knowing every weighed fish would eventually get the knife has to provide an incredible amount of deterrence.

 

[Vollmer]

Ahh, I can't even imagine why they had the option. Like the steady stream of fishing opportunities in the peak season hasn't allowed them to acquire all the needed bags of fish in the freezer. Seriously, WTF? Knowing every weighed fish would eventually get the knife has to provide an incredible amount of deterrence.

I think this incident will create this exact type of improvement, among other changes.

 

[guywhofishes]

Good gravy - who rationalizes getting away with this - and living with themselves afterward? Makes me nauseous thinking about it. Yuck.

 

[SDMF]

Sponsors, tournament owners/directors, local chambers of commerce/tourism, guides, bait-shops, etc, etc, etc all LOVE big basket weights.

I wonder if sponsors have any recourse other than no further sponsorship when someone taints a sponsor's image?

I also wonder what sort of forensic IRS audit these 2 might be in for.

 

[Retired-Guy]

If I had been fishing the LEWT the past couple of years and was there when this guy got busted, I would have come unglued.

Or uncunted!

 

[ORCUS DEMENS]

Just got off the phone with a friend from Cleveland. These guys suddenly started winning tourneys last fall, always took fish with them after weigh in. Was prior grumbling about weights. Solution, all tourneys fillet and donate fish to food banks. I think they should invest some of their winnings on soap on a rope. BTW first prize was a boat value in excess $150K., that's a felony boys.