Fishing world erupts after cheating scandal caught on camera: 'Disgusted'
The pro fishing world has been caught up in a cheating furore after two winners of the Lake Erie Walleye Trail’s event were allegedly stuffing their fish with weights.
Chase Cominsky of Hermitage and Jake Runyon of Cleveland won the event after their catches weighed-in the heaviest.
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However, tournament director Jason Fischer allegedly caught the two using weights within the fish.
In a video that has circulated online, the fish are sliced open to find lead weights inside.
Major drama in the pro fishing tournament world where multiple time winners were caught stuffing their keepers with lead weighs and other fish filets @StoolOutdoors pic.twitter.com/2cTxKQJwya
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 1, 2022
An angry crowd begin to circle around the contestant as accusations are hurled around.
"You're out of here," Fischer said.
Contestants described the act as cheating and one person could be heard yelling that the fisherman "should be in jail.”
"You piece of s**t," a man yells.
"You f**ked over a lot of people man," another angry man said.
"Call the cops," another is overhead yelling.
There was outrage on social media over the incident.
There’s a chess cheating scandal, a poker cheating scandal, and a fishing cheating scandal and they are all I care about
— Alex Tumay (@alextumay) October 1, 2022
Serious Controversy in Pro fishing tournament as multiple-time winners caught stuffing lead weights and other fish filets in their fish to have the heaviest catch to win hundreds of thousands in prizes. pic.twitter.com/Sxqeo2XC0K
— Billy (@Billyhottakes) October 1, 2022
Y’all know I like fishing, well…this pisses me off!
Meet Jake Runyan and Chase Cominsky, AKA big cheaters.
They recently were caught cheating in the last tournament of the year of a major walleye fishing tournament trail.
They were even going to be crowned team of the year. pic.twitter.com/Bw7hf96q4z— DannyBTalks (Daniel Baldwin) (@DannyBTalks) October 1, 2022
Tournament apologises over fishing scandal
Following the drama, Fischer took to social media to apologise for the drama that unfolded.
“Disgusted guys and gals, I’m sorry for letting you down for so long and I’m glad I caught cheating taking place in YOUR LEWT at the same time,” Fischer wrote.
“I hope you know now that when I say ‘you built this LEWT and I will defend its integrity at all costs’, I mean it. You all deserve the best.”
Before the scandal, Cominsky and Runyon were in the lead for fishing team of the year.
Accusations of cheating appear to be surfacing in many sports at the moment with chess and poker embroiled in scandals.
Bizarrely, a poker cheating accusation sparked a heated debate on the weekend.
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