- A fishing tournament on Lake Erie ended in scandal Friday when a winning team was accused of cheating.
- The tournament organizer cut open several walleye fish to discover heavy lead weights.
A fishing tournament on Lake Erie devolved into a scandal in Ohio on Friday after the team that appeared to have won was accused of cheating when weights were discovered inside their catch.
The Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament series was set to conclude this weekend, but chaos erupted during the championship weigh-in on Friday in Cleveland. Competitors Jacob Runyan and Chase Cominsky were initially named champions until the tournament organizer sliced into the walleye and discovered heavy lead weights.
Videos shared online show the organizer, Jason Fischer, cutting into one fish after another to reveal more lead weights as well as additional fish filets that appeared to have been stuffed inside.
Meanwhile, other anglers immediately began shouting "get the fuck out of here" and "you should be in jail!"
—Billy (@Billyhottakes) October 1, 2022
Fischer addressed the incident on the tournament's Facebook page on Friday, acknowledging that many in the community were "disgusted" and apologizing for not uncovering the "cheating" sooner.
"I just genuinely care about running an honest tournament," Fischer told local WKYC in a statement, "and Lake Erie anglers deserve it."
Runyan and Cominsky were disqualified and new winners were named. However the pair have won tournaments in the past, including the same tournament last year, so questions remain over how the ordeal will be addressed, The Toledo Blade reported. The team's prior wins mean that if organizers of past tournaments take legal action, there could be a lot of money at stake.
Fishing tournament prizes can reach well over $100,000 in prize money and sometimes include major items like boats. Legal experts told The Blade that cheating to win such prizes could constitute fraud.
A criminal defense attorney and angler also told WKYC it's possible the pair accused of cheating could potentially be charged with a crime, calling it "theft by deception."
It's unclear what exactly prompted the tournament organizer to cut into the walleye on Friday, but Runyan and Cominsky have been accused of cheating in the past, The Blade reported.
Runyan and Cominsky have not been charged with a crime and could not immediately be reached by Insider. Runyon declined to provide comment to The Blade.