Fishing duo stripped tournament title their fishing catch were found to be stuffed with lead weights
>
Caught hook, line and sinker! Moment LEAD WEIGHTS are found in the catch of professional fishing duos and they are stripped of the tournament title and $5,000 prize – as angry mob berates them
- Chase Cominsky and Jake Runyon were stripped of their winning title after a tournament official discovered lead weights in the fish they caught
- The fishermen had competed in the Lake Erie Walleye Trail Championship
- At the weigh-in, suspicions arose when their fish weighed almost double that of their closest competitor
- In the world of competitive fishing, adding the weights to the fish increased the total pounds of Cominsky and Runyon and moved them to the top of the leaderboard
- When the weights were discovered, the duo were disqualified from the event
- The waiting crowd was furious when officials announced they had cheated
- Before the scandal, Cominsky and Runyon led the season’s professional fishing team of the year standings
- Cominsky and Runyon have been embroiled in controversy in the past
- At last year’s Fall Brawl fishing tournament, the duo were disqualified after their win after one of them failed a lie detector test
<!–
<!–
<!–<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
Two fishermen were caught cheating at a fishing tournament to make their catches look heavier by stuffing them with weights.
Pennsylvania’s Chase Cominsky and Ohio’s Jake Runyon were competing in the Lake Erie Walleye Trail Championship at Cleveland’s Gordon Park in Ohio on Friday when they were caught in the act.
Cominsky and Runyon’s catch weighed in at nearly 33 pounds—nearly double their closest competitor.
Tournament director Jason Fischer then decided to gut the fish, revealing the duo’s deception.
Inside each of the fish were several lead balls, deliberately designed to add pounds to the couple’s catch, thus securing the title and the associated $5,000 prize pool.
“We have weights in fish!” Fischer announced to the assembled crowd, who quickly grew angry.
Questions are now being asked about other tournaments the pair has won in the past. They have already won several first prizes and made a significant sum of money in several LEWT events, including the 2021 Championship.
The duo scored the best catch in last year’s Lake Erie Fall Brawl and attempted to claim the $100,000 prize but were disqualified.
Chase Cominsky and Jake Runyon would have added the weights to the fish to place them at the top of the leaderboard
After their fish were weighed, the couple were told to stay and photograph the fish
Suspicions were first aroused in the final moments of the tournament when the fishermen’s catch had to be weighed in which their five heaviest fish of the day were placed on the scales.
There was outrage from onlookers demanding answers, with some threatening to call the police.
The duo is said to have stuffed the items into the fish’s throats to increase their weight and improve their position in the tournament.
In addition to the lead weights, there were also slices of other fish fillets that had pieces tucked into the body of the catch, again to increase their weight.
The dramatic discovery was filmed and posted on social media. Runyon is asked on video if he has anything to say for himself, but remains silent the entire time
Chase Cominsky and Jake Runyon were stripped of their winning title after a tournament official discovered lead weights in the fish they caught
Jake Runyon, from Ohio, could do nothing but remain silent as the deception was revealed
Tournament director Jason Fischer then decided to gut the fish, revealing the duo’s deception
Fischer showed the collected lead weights pressed into the fish
Other fishermen gathered at the event were outraged when the pair were exposed as cheaters
The pair have now been declared “cheaters” on the official Lake Erie Walleye Trail Championship Facebook event page and will be banned from all future tournaments.
“Disgust guys and gals, I’m sorry I let you down for so long and I’m glad I was caught cheating taking place in JE LEWT at the same time.
“I can’t think enough to post results but congratulations Tsczyko and French and TOY Hendricks and Ulmer. The same goes for the yak and open winners. I hope you now know that when I say “you built this LEWT and I will defend its integrity at all costs”, I mean it.”
There was immediate anger from the assembled when the alleged deception was revealed
In the world of competitive fishing, adding the weights to the fish increased the total pounds of Cominsky and Runyon and moved them to the top of the leaderboard
Runyon remained silent while being hunted by other angry fishermen
At the time, the tournament director did not explain why, except that one of the men failed a polygraph test.
Runyon protested, saying how the fish had been caught following the rules and that they were innocent. He even got legal advice in an effort to sue their “profits” according to the Toledo Blade.
At another event, the Rossford Walleye Roundup in Ohio, several participants shared their suspicions that the couple’s fish looked “old” and may have been put away before the start of the event.
After the event, the couple decided not to donate their catch to a local food bank, as most other fishermen did.
The organizers of these previous tournaments may now consider taking legal action against the pair for alleged fraud and deceptive practices.