Anglers sound off about alleged cheating
Bass fishing tournament fraternities across Texas and beyond are all ears these days as Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game wardens continue to investigate an alleged cheating incident that took place during a Bud Light Tournament Trail Big Bass event held at Lake Ray Hubbard near Dallas on Oct. 21.
The name of the person involved in the alleged incident has not been publicly released, nor have any charges been filed at this time.
"About all I can say is we are still gathering witness statements and following up on leads in the investigation," said Tom Carbone, the Dallas County TPWD game warden who is leading the investigation. Carbone said the case will be handled by the Rockwall County District Attorney's office, if or when any charges are filed.
Jeff Fisher, owner of the Bud Light Tournament Trail, declined to comment about the incident. However, the organization did issue a press release that outlined the chain of the events that has tournament junkies everywhere and Internet chat rooms buzzing.
Here is a recount of what happened, according to the Bud Light press release:
"During an hourly weigh-in at the BLT Ray Hubbard Big Bass Tournament, an angler brought a large fish to the weigh-in check point. The fish was transferred from the weigh bag containing the fish to the official weigh bag.
"The BLT tournament director, after weighing the fish, asked that the fish be put in a holding tank behind the weigh-in stage. The fish would have been the largest of the hour. After the hourly weigh-in was completed, the angler was asked to take a polygraph. This is required for all participants who catch the biggest bass of the hour.
"During inspection of the fish, by the fish handler and the tournament director, irregularities were discovered. A decision was made by tournament officials to interrupt the polygraph and have the angler and polygraph examiner witness an inspection of the bass.
"The angler was asked to remove the contents in the stomach of the bass or the contents would be inspected by BLT officials by whatever means possible. The angler chose to remove the contents and a lead weight was removed from inside the fish and handed to a tournament official. The angler then apologized to all who witnessed the removal of the lead weight. He was notified by the tournament director that he was disqualified. No objection or explanation was given by the angler as he left the weigh-in location.
"The fish and lead weight were then reweighed separately, and pictures were taken. The TPWD game wardens were immediately notified. Statements were given by tournament officials and all evidence was given to TPWD game wardens."
Carbone confirmed that the weight removed from the bass' stomach was heavy -- 1 pound. He added that the bass was subsequently released back into the lake unharmed after the weight was removed.
The game warden also pointed out that the bass in question would have been the second largest weighed during the tournament, which paid out $500 for the biggest bass of each hour and offered a $55,000 Legend bass boat for the overall heaviest bass of the event. Tim Meenan ultimately won the tournament, and the boat, with a bass weighing 10.61 pounds.
Word of the alleged cheating incident spread like wildfire over the Internet and has likewise become a seed for heated chatter at tackle stores, doughnut shops, boat ramps and street corner barber shops as far south as Zapata and as far north as Ontario, Canada. The incident has even won air time on a number of TV and radio stations.
One Web site has been jammed with traffic since details of the alleged cheating incident began to emerge: www.texasfishingforum.com. TFF hosts chat rooms for anglers of all of kinds and covers a wide variety of topics ranging from boats for sale to which bait is working best for channel cats at various lakes.
A bass fishing forum thread titled "The Thing About Cheating ..." is the one most dedicated to the bizarre episode in question. Since Oct. 24, the thread has recorded more than 50 pages of comments and drawn about 53,000 hits. According to TFF owner J.P. Greeson, the interest has been been overwhelming but not surprising. Bass fishing is big in Texas. Those who compete in the tournament games don't take kindly to those who play dirty pool.
"We've had a couple of issues on TFF in the past that generated quite a bit of interest, but this one has to take the cake," Greeson said. "The fishermen are mad about this. They have every right to be."
John Salamone of Jasper echoed Greeson's sentiments. Salamone is the tournament director of the Texas Super Team Tournament Trail, which hosts a series of events each year on Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend.
"I am saddened by this, mainly because it could be a black eye for tournament fishing," Salamone said. "But I have less than zero sympathy for this guy. He was trying to steal from a bunch of other fishermen, and he got nailed in the process. I am hopeful that he is charged and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Matt Williams' e-mail address is mattwilliams@netdot.com.
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