Team of Fisherman Accused of Cheating By Stuffing Fish With Weights
A team of two fishermen is being accused of weighing down their prize-winning catch with lead balls at an Ohio fishing competition on Sept. 30 — and the fishing community is up in arms.
Jacob Runyan and Chase Cominsky headed to take photos as the winners of the Lake Erie Walleye Trail fishing competition, but their grins turned to straight faces when Jason Fischer, director of the competition, decided to cut open their fish.
"We got weights in fish!" Fischer exclaimed in several videos posted on social media as he pulled out what appeared to be several egg-shaped weights and fish fillets.
One video of the discovery garnered 7.7 million views and more than 400,000 likes on TikTok.
Some members of the crowd began shouting insults at the fishermen, who could have nabbed nearly $30,000 in prize money from their catch.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" one member of the crowd asked Runyan, who did not respond.
Runyan and Cominsky did not respond to requests for comment from TODAY and NBC News, and have not publicly commented on what happened at the competition last week.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said in a statement to TODAY an investigation is ongoing. The two men could potentially face charges or a fine.
Anglers Steve Hendricks and Brian Ulmer, who finished fourth at the competition, told TODAY they almost couldn't believe what they were seeing when Fischer removed nearly eight pounds in weights.
"We finally got rid of the problem that everybody suspected," Hendricks said. "So I just hope I just hope they hammer him."
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
