Tournament angler offers insight on cheating incident that changed his life forever
One of North Texas' winningest tournament fishermen has fished his way straight to the jailhouse.
Robby Rose, a well-known Garland angler who may have won more boats and cashed more checks on Metroplex waters in recent seasons than any other pro fisherman, recently plead guilty to felony charges filed by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game wardens after investigations indicated he cheated in a Bud Light Tournament Trail big bass event held on Lake Ray Hubbard last fall.
First place in the Oct. 24 tournament was a fully rigged Legend bass boat valued at $55,000. Investigators say Rose put what may be perceived as a scandalous plan in motion to steal the prize when he stuffed a heavy weight down the throat of a bass he caught and subsequently brought to the weigh-in.
Suspicions spiked when fish handlers discovered some irregularities in the fish after it mysteriously submarined to the bottom of the organization's holding tank. When asked to remove the contents of the bass' stomach, Rose reached into its mouth and produced a large, lead weight. He left the scene after tournament officials notified him that he was disqualified, according to BLT reports.
Following a four-month investigation lead by Dallas County game warden Tom Carbone, Rose was charged with attempted theft over $20,000 but less than $100,000, a state jail felony offense. On April 13, he entered a guilty plea on the charges and was sentenced to serve 15 days in the Rockwall County jail by Rockwall County District Judge Brett Hall.
Additionally, Rose was ordered to pay a $3,000 fine, placed on probation for five years, had his Texas fishing license privileges revoked for five years and was ordered to serve 250 hours of community service.
"We are very pleased with the outcome," said Alex Imgrud, the lead prosecutor in the case for the Rockwall County Criminal District Attorney's Office. "We feel like it was a just punishment for the crime. Cheating is cheating, and neither the fishing community, nor this office, will tolerate it."
Robby Rose Speaks
Heeding the advice of his attorney, Randall B. Isenberg of Dallas, the 45-year-old Rose declined to comment about the incident during the months leading up to the hearing. Interestingly, however, the Garland business owner broke his silence in a lengthy phone interview two days before he was scheduled to report to the Rockwall County jail to begin carrying out his sentence behind bars.
Rose attempts to explain what drove him to venture into tournament fishing's dark side, where he committed a costly error that sent tremors rumbling through Texas' tightly-woven bass fishing fraternity, and, ultimately, changed life as he knew it, forever.
Describing himself as a fierce competitor with high morals and family values, Rose admitted he shoved a "lure knocker" weight down the gullet of a bass that initially weighed more than nine pounds on his uncertified digital scale. Bizarre as it sounds, however, he said he did not commit the act with the intention of altering the outcome of the tournament or robbing the eventual winner, Tim Meenan, of a prize that was rightfully his.
Rose claims his decision to alter the weight of his fish came solely as the result of pent-up frustration stemming from what he described as years of disrespect from various tournament organizations and unidentified fishing peers, who seemed to constantly question the validity of his catches when he fared well in an event.
Rose has racked up thousands of dollars in prize money while competing in bass tournaments on lakes Lewisville, Cedar Creek, Tawakoni and other North Texas reservoirs. Although he has shared the boat with a partner from time to time, he has managed to win several team contests single handedly, which he said often left other competitors scratching their heads in wonderment or questioning his integrity.
A few years back, Rose said one tournament organization began requesting that he fish its events with a nonfishing observer if he did not bring a partner. Otherwise, he would not be allowed to compete.
"It's one thing to put a cameraman in your boat to highlight your fishing, but when they request to put an observer in your boat, that's sending two different messages," Rose said. "I brought that to the attention of the tournament director, and he didn't like it because he felt like I was questioning his motives."
Rose said he eventually left that circuit and began fishing smaller trails with paybacks that weren't nearly as lucrative. He claims the doubts and disputes followed him wherever he went, which caused his animosity towards the sport to continue to mount.
Rose said he reached the breaking point when BLT tournament director Jeff Fisher approached him at the boat ramp the day before the October big bass event. According to Rose, Fisher indicated he would not be allowed to compete in the tournament unless he fished with a partner or was paired with an observer.
"He told me some of the other fishermen had said they would pull their entry fees if he let me fish alone," Rose said. "I told him I didn't have a problem with [fishing with an observer], but added that I was considering legal litigation if this type of harassment continued."
Rose said Fisher retracted the request at that point.
"He said I'd passed the test, that most guys would have walked away with their tails tucked between their legs if they were requested to fish with an observer. He told me not to worry about it, that I'd be polygraphed if I won anything.
"I felt like I was being harassed for no reason, that they were questioning my integrity. I finally got sick of it. I got tired of the abuse. I knew right then that after this tournament, I was going to be done with tournament fishing. I told myself if they weren't going to respect me that I was going to send them a message: Call me cheater. Question my integrity. Rip the credentials off my wall. Well, then take this."
While Fisher confirmed that he spoke with Rose, he denied telling him he could fish without a partner or observer.
"We left with the understanding he would fish with an observer," Fisher said. "I didn't see him again until he showed up at weigh-in carrying that fish."
The weighted decision
Rose claims his decision to shove the weight down the bass' throat came midway during his boat ride back to the tournament weigh-in site at Chandler's Landing, a popular facility located at midlake on the lake's southeast shore. He said his mood swung from jubilant to somber when he came to the realization that his fish was not heavy enough to take the top prize.
"At that point I noticed that my lure knocker had bounced out of my cupholder," he said.
A lure knocker is a heavy chunk of metal attached to a string. Anglers use the tool to slide down their fishing line to free lures that become snagged on stumps and underwater snags.
Rose used his lure knocker that day to add a few extra ounces to his catch but insists monetary gain was not the motive. He said he cut the weight loose from the string and put it inside the fish knowing that it would still be the second-place fish and that he would be sure to get caught if asked to take a polygraph.
"When I put the weight in that fish, I did it to embarrass the sport," Rose said. "I wanted someone to take responsibility for the lack of respect for my accomplishments, for coming into my world and trying to rip my merits of award off my wall."
Looking back
In hindsight, the angler says there was no justification for his actions.
"I've never done anything like this before in a tournament," said Rose, who claims he has passed 13 tournament-related polygraph tests over the years. "It's the most foolish thing I've ever done out of frustration. It was stupid, idiotic, crazy, and there was nothing to gain by it.
"It was almost like a childish behavior, and I am going to pay for it for the rest of my life. At this point I am just ready to move on."
Matt Williams' e-mail address is mattwilliams@netdot.com.
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