"We got weights in fish!"
Posted on 10/13/2022 4:32:57 PM PDT by SamAdams76
Conspiracy and Controversy in the Air?
September 2022 saw World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen embroiled in a lengthy turmoil involving allegations of cheating against 19-year-old foe Hans Niemann.
The younger Niemann has admitted to cheating in the past when playing online games, but argues that he has played it straight for quite some time. This would include his recent in-person games against Carlsen and other ranked players.
Carlsen, who has reigned atop the chess world for over a decade, says he refuses to play against in Niemann, suggesting the American-born player has “cheated more… than he has publicly admitted.“
Across the industry, many have speculated as to how Niemann may have cheated (assuming he, in fact, did). One popular theory is that he used electronic anal beads that were stimulated by a remote party who would instruct Niemann which moves to make next according to the suggestions of a high-powered chess simulator.
It may sound crazy (and rather uncomfortable) on the surface, but when money and glory are on the line, is anything ever truly off the table?
Success Breeds Attention
As is the case in world-level chess competition, high-profile fishing tournament success can open countless doors for anglers. In the case of Jake Runyan and Chase Cominsky, both of whom live near Lake Erie, their success on a series of walleye tournament trails in 2021 landed the pair over $300,000.
After the duo capped off an impressive series of victory at Walleye Slam, Fall Brawl, and the Lake Erie Walleye Trail Championship last year, expectations were high leading into the 2022 season.
Understandably, many eyes were on the duo leading into this year’s Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament event, which began on Friday, September 30.
According to Spectrum1 News, the duo has been accused of cheating in the past. Much like Niemann in the chess world, then, success has bred both attention and scrutiny for Runyan and Cominsky.
There’s Coincidence, and There’s Evidence
While the jury remains split on the Carlsen/Niemann turmoil, it appears evidence may work against Runyan and Cominsky.
In a YouTube video (warning: explicit language) by Mo Fishing Adventures filming the Lake Erie Walleye Trail weigh-ins, Runyan and Cominsky are announced as being “definitely team of the year champions” after recording a weight of 33.91 pounds – for comparison, the closest bag was 28.18 pounds, followed by 25.25 pounds.
Off-camera voices in the crowd begin audibly questioning the weights on the duo’s fish. At the 4:55 mark, after reaching into the stomach of one of the winning team’s walleye, Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament director Jason Fischer exclaims, “we got weights in fish!”
In the roughly 70 seconds that follow, multiple tournament anglers appear on the screen expressing their displeasure about what appears many believe is a deliberate act of cheating. In the days that have followed, the visual of a dejected Jacob Runyan watching the extraction have already become infamous.
Tournament fishing – walleye or otherwise – can be incredibly expensive, time-consume, and stressful, so the reaction of the crowd is understandable and, it appears, warranted.
Angler Gene Merck has shared a video on Facebook that, as of Saturday, September 1, has been viewed over 2.4 million times and shared over 40,000 times. In the corresponding post, Merck notes that there were eight pounds of weights stuffed into the walleye.
Course Correction and Looking Ahead
In the immediate aftermath of one of the biggest fishing stories of the year, Lake Erie Walleye Trail Tournament Director Jason Fischer took to Facebook and expressed his feelings about the event, stating that he was “disgusted” and, later, “still at a loss for words.”
He also announced that anglers Steve Tyszko and Chris French (who landed the 28.18 pound bag) were awarded the Trail Championship victory. The team of Steve Hendricks and Brian Ulmer also secured the trail’s 2022 “team of the year” award.
Just as the chess world will have additional eyes on accountability, however, the fishing community may be paying additional attention to the scales in the months (and years) to come. Cheating in fishing is nothing new, but hopefully it will eventually become a thing of the past.
In a Facebook Live video published on October 3, Jason Fischer offered apologies to the Lake Erie Walleye Trail sponsors and the youth who were encouraged to attend the event because of the “profanity and unprofessionalism” he demonstrated after discovering the lead weights. In the same video, Fischer states, “On Friday, 9/30 of 2022, we witnessed one of the most disgusting, dishonest acts that the fishing world has ever seen in live time.”
Fischer continues, “there’s always been stories of dishonesty in competition, but I have personally never seen anything quite like this in competitive fishing, that is. The individuals involved here appear to have put greed and ego in front of anything else, forever tainting our sport.”
Later, Fischer notes, “to see so much negative light on our sport hurts me to the core.”
Hope the vegas “black book” enters their names.
Outdoors/Rural/wildlife/hunting/hiking/backpacking/National Parks/animals list please FR mail me to be on or off . And ping me is you see articles of interest.
Seems like I might have heard this one before ....
They angled for a $28,000 payout. After viral video, 2 fishermen were charged (indicted for those of you in Rio Linda) with cheating.
10/14/2022, 4:59:20 AM · by WeaslesRippedMyFlesh · 24 replies
nbc ^ | 10/12/2022 | Tim Stelloh and Angela Yang
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4100478/posts
Scales of justice: Two Ohio anglers are INDICTED after ‘cheating during Lake Eerie Walleye Campionship by stuffing their catch with lead weights’
10/13/2022, 12:14:17 PM · by C19fan · 68 replies
UK Daily Mail ^ | October 13, 2022 | James Gordon
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4100260/posts
Watch professional fishermen get caught cheating to win high-stakes tournament, furious crowd wants to tear them apart: ‘You should be in jail!’
10/2/2022, 9:27:17 PM · by mowowie · 54 replies
The Blaze ^ | October 01, 2022 | Paul Sacca
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4097703/posts
Lead weights and lie detectors: The scandal that rocked a Cleveland fishing tournament and became worldwide news
10/04/2022 11:29:05 AM PDT · by Red Badger · 47 replies
Yahooo! ^ | Mon, October 3, 2022 at 10:33 PM·12 min read | Jay Busbee
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4098190/posts
“We Got Weights In Fish!”: Cheating Scandal Rocks Ohio Walleye Tournament
10/13/2022 4:32:57 PM PDT · by SamAdams76 · 2 replies
Premier Angler ^ | October 6, 2022 | Aaron Shultz
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4100417/posts
Commentary: Cheating scandal rocks Lake Erie walleye tournament
10/02/2022 6:50:38 AM PDT · by randita · 37 replies
Newsbreak ^ | 10/1/22 | Matt Markey/The Blade
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/4097606/posts
Sounds like “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”, except the frog was fed buckshot by a competitor so it would lose.
“ One popular theory is that he used electronic anal beads that were stimulated by a remote party..”
Kinky.
L
With that being said, when there is a will, there is a way.
Hopefully these guys will be ostracized and banned from the sport. Maybe even sued....
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