[LiveBaitNinja]

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/19468/cheating+scandal+at+us+open+rocks+bass-fishing+community/

[MorseRunner]

My wife just sent me this link, and in the subject line put: "Is nothing sacred?"
I will spare the "group" from the true language I'd like to cut loose with.
I just can't understand, "why?" This hobby, in my other hobby of radiosport..
I just don't/can't understand or tolerate cheats.

[twade]

Banned for life, it is not worth it to cheat but some people just don't learn. No respect for a guy like that.. none at all.

[tinyfisher]

Not only a cheat, but shows no respect for the fish that he targets. Purposefully tying a trebel hook to a sinker and shoving it down the fish's throat so it gets lodged? No wonder he had 3 dead fish to weigh in. It's a shame they don't persue criminal charges in cases like this...

[PoWop]

...an Unethical double-whammy: Disgraces the fish and his fellow fisherman = Complete Loser.

[Geo7455]

Glad he got caught. i hate people who cheat. I would rather be at the bottom of the standings then cheat. Now the next thing is he was killing the fish...that really pisses me off. I think he got off light....maybe they need to add something in the rules that if you get caught cheating you forfeit all the money you won during that calendar year!

[gmaned]

they should have let the rest of the guys in the tournament kick his ass.

[vard]

Easy, guys. Put this into perspective. The guy is a schmuck, no doubt. He deserves to be banned, no doubt. He killed some fish, no doubt.
He's not Hitler, he's just a cheater.

[Jerry K]

What now,put up X-Ray machines before the Scales. Nothing is sacred anymore. Throw a blanket on this loser and beat him.

[LiveBaitNinja]

I thought they used xrays already, because the weight-padding is such an old idea. The old hidden-basket trick (pre-caught fish in a live basket) would have been smarter. Lazy cheaters get caught a lot easier.

[T-bo]

Someone get a rope!

[John Mannerino]

I have been in tournaments that wave a metal detector over the fish in the basket. You would be suprised how fast that stops the lead thing. In 15 years I have seen it all. From culling( where illeagle) to people calling in partners on the phone telling them where they are catching fish. How about this one I witnessed. On the Mississippi river, there was 4 boats anchored on a good wingdam before take off. I went to the dam across the river. When a big name pro arrived the 4 boats picked up there anchors as the pro went by to fish the dam. So they blocked the wingdam so nobody else could fish it except the pro. It was pretty clear what they were doing because none of the boats were fishing. Told the director/ showed him pictures and I was told that there is nothing in the rules stateing that was against the law. The pro won the tourney from there. When there is money on the line there will be cheaters.

[MorseRunner]

Sad to see that fishing too has its share of cheats John. And yet, many see "no problem" with it..
People "pushing" rules, knowing it is not in the "spirit" of the rules, good sportsmanship is becoming a thing of the past with the continuing "win at any cost" mentality. Have heard of guys cheating to win a certificate or a plaques without any money attached. Can't imagine looking at myself in the mirror in the morning doing this stuff.

[muskyman]

I have fished at least 50 tournaments on lake mead and I fished the U.S. Open for about 10 years. That was just horrible what he did. Giving the tournament fishing community a bad rap.

[MorseRunner]

DrakeBuster: You've taught your children well. (and they've learned what they were taught)

I've never fished a tournament. (fairly new to boat fishing, and a million other reaons)
They ought to put this cheater's picture on every fishing magazine cover, to let everyone
know what he is.

[eyedogger]

I fish a lot of tournaments and like Mannerino have witnessed some unethical practices. I consider many of the guys I compete against to be my friends. I am guessing he is probably a pretty lonely guy. He most likely lost the respect of all of his friends. I feel bad for all the guys that finished behind this guy in past tournaments. I am sure this isn't the first time he pulled this. Hope he has another hobby. He is probably one of the guys that probably is over his head in debt trying to stay in the tournament game.. No excuse...

Barry O

[Superman_55]

Believe it or not, this happened at one of my national tournaments a few years ago. It was unfriekin believable!!! They had pre-fished the whole week before, no biggie, but they kept all the big keeps in under water net type system. They actually took first in the tournament, believe it or not, and failed the lie detector test. After failing multiple times, they ended up coming clean about everything and obviously lost the prize money and the boat. All in all, about a $50,000 loss...WOW!!! It makes me sick to know this sh*t is going on at the pro level now. Oh well...it's sad...bottom line.

[John Mannerino]

As Barry said. He is most likely in debt because of tourney fishing. I have seen it MANY times before. I was blessed with a good job and I never did anything I could not afford to do. I have seen it bring people down big time. Most times ,even if you win you will still lose money for the year. If your going to fish tournaments, do it for FUN and dont look at it as a moneymaker. You will feel better at the end of the day when you donated your money to the winner.

[White Rabbit]

What a spanky. Of course being from Southern Cal he wouldn't know what that means, but he is one.

[White Rabbit]

I see there's a filter on the forum that wouldn't let me say what I originally wrote. No problem. Probably a good thing to keep things from getting out of hand. Anyway, it rhymed with "bag off" .