Tournament Fishing Cheaters

I guess by now most everyone has heard about the cheaters in Minnesota who stuffed Walleye with weights and were caught. It has been very popular on all social media outlets and while I do not necessarily feel compelled to share my opinion I do have to means, method and opportunity to put my opinion out there for you to know where I stand. It is absolutely wrong. I think most if not everyone will agree. I do not want to defend these guys and there is nothing I can see about what they have done that is right. I will say this for them, they are paying dearly for their transgression, and it is not even close to being over for these two fellows. They have become famous in the worst possible way. For those of you who don't know, according to the social media post that I have seen they stuffed eight pounds of egg weights, Walleye filets, and even a pair of plyers in five fish in order to have a heavier weight than everyone else. They got caught because a fisherman complained, and the tournament director cut open the fish and found the weights. All while being recorded on video that has since went viral. Yes, they are scum and a disgrace to sportsman, fisherman, and put all fishermen and women in a negative light.

I am not a professional fisherman. I have fished in a local bass club for a few years, have fished in a few tournaments, and have one charity tournament I fish just about every year. I will say this. The integrity of the tournament is only as good as the men or women who fish in the tournament. No set of rules and no tournament director no matter how effective or efficient they are can prevent someone from being dishonest. We had a MLF pro disqualified this year from a tournament for breaking a rule. Those guys have a judge and quite often multiple cameras on them and still manage to break a rule every now and then. I have witnessed a team or two being disqualified from tournaments, rightfully so. I have been highly suspicious of some anglers in some club tournaments as well as charity tournaments. The more valuable the prize the more likely you are to have deception. I don't care how many rules you make if someone wants to cheat bad enough, they will do it and may or may not get away with it.

For the most part my experience has been that most sportsmen are very ethical. I have seen some make bad decisions. I saw a pro bass fisherman pay a very high price for fishing in a charity tournament that not only he sponsored with a product he sold but also was paid to MC the tournament. He won first place and was a great guy, but I think that was a huge mistake that ultimately cost him his business, and not only did he never get invited back to MC the tournament he never fished it again.

Now we get down to my thoughts. I have integrity. If you ever happen to see me claim a prize in a tournament you better believe that I followed every rule, regulation, and did it by the book. Tournament directors are welcome on my boat at any time as well as game and fish officials. If I or anyone in my boat are doing wrong, it is without me knowing that I am in violation and I am fully prepared to suffer the consequences. I respect wildlife and intend to fully obey the law and all tournament regulations to the fullest of my ability. If I receive a prize at a tournament, I will accept it facing forward with a smile on my face because that prize will signify my hard work, dedication, and probably a lot of luck. I do not ever expect to be a professional angler and that is not my goal. For the amount of money, I spend annually on fishing I could very well purchase more fish than I can eat and buy every first-place prize of every tournament I fish and have change left over. I fish because I enjoy fishing. I fish a few tournaments usually for a good charitable cause a year with the hopes that I will get lucky and place high enough to be recognized as a winner but regardless I am going fishing and have fun because that is what I like to do. I donate my entry

fee with no real expectation to win but with hope that it will help someone in need. My prize is usually catching one and maybe bringing home a few to put in the grease for a meal. So please do not get mad at me when you see me fileting a few fish to eat.

Please continue to have tournaments and have fun fishing. It is a great sport, and we will not allow a couple of bad apples to ruin it for us all. If you have to cheat to win a tournament, shame on you. If I cannot win fair and square, I am not going to weigh in.