Two pro fishermen in Ohio caught some rage along with their fish on Friday.
After Chase Cominsky and Jake Runyon were declared winners at the weigh-in at the Lake Erie Walleye Trail Championship (LEWT) in Cleveland, their fellow competitors found some bizarre items stuffed in their catches, TMZ reported. Video of the incident shows someone cutting open the fish and pulling out what appears to be lead weights and even the filets of another fish that the men had allegedly stuffed down the throats of their catches to make them heavier.
Multiple people can be heard urging someone to “call the cops” and file a police report over the alleged cheating scandal.
“You got thousands of f***ing dollars you stole from everyone!” someone accuses.
WATCH:
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
The two fishermen have been accused of cheating in the past, according to The Toledo Blade.
Winners of the tournament receive cash prizes of up to $100,000 and are determined by the weight of their five largest catches, according to the LEWT website. Another prize goes to the largest single walleye caught. The official Facebook page for the event said the latest incident proved there was cheating during the competition.
“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,” Tournament Director and police officer Jason Fischer said, adding, “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.”
Pro fishing hasn’t been the only sport plagued by an alleged cheating scandal recently. Last month, the number one chess player in the world resigned against 19-year old Hans Niemann, who was widely suspected of cheating against him in a recent tournament.
Although Niemann has admitted cheating twice in online games when he was younger, calling them mistakes he made because he was young, he denied claims he had cheated against Magnus Carlsen. Chess.com countered Niemann’s claims and showed evidence that he had cheated more frequently.
Hank Berrien contributed to this report.
