On Friday Professional Walleye Anglers Jacob Runyan of Cleveland, OH and Chase Cominsky of Hermitage, PA were caught red handed by Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament director Jason Fischer.
The incident occurred in Cleveland, OH at the weigh-in of the last event of the year for the Lake Erie Walleye Trail. Tournament Officials became suspicious of the fish weight, which seemed unusually heavy for their size. Officials cut open the fish on camera in front of the crowd and discovered that each of them had been stuffed.
“We got weights in fish!” Fischer yelled when he pulled the first 12-ounce egg sinker out of the team’s winning batch.”
The footage shows the fish were stuffed with lead sinkers and extra fish filets. At the weigh in the pair needed 19 lbs to win the event however the “extra weight” combined helped push the team’s total weight close to 34 pounds blowing the rest of the field out of the water.
On the line for the event was an almost $30 thousand payday but the win would have also secure them the title of Team Of The Year. Now that this cheating scandal as gone viral (and made National News) Cominsky and Runyon’s previous wins on the tournament circuit are under scrutiny.
The incident is under investigation by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Cleveland Metroparks, and Fischer told the New York Times that all evidence had been turned over to the proper authorities.
