CHEATING to win a fishing tourney?

[voyager35]

How far would you go to win a tournament?
Do you always follow the rules?

Maybe this guy went a little too far?

Friday, January 11, 2013 10:46am PST


Man wins fishing tourney with fish stolen from aquarium

By: David Strege

A man on the island of Guernsey in the English Channel caught a 13-pound bass to win an ocean fishing contest and $1,290, only he didn't actually catch the fish in the traditional sense. He stole it from the St. Peter Port Aquarium.

Matthew Clark, 29, posed for photos of his winning "catch" and claimed the prize in the Bailiwick Bass Club Open Competition before getting exposed by another competitor who recognized the fish.

"My wife and I took the kids to the aquarium and saw the bass in the tank," Shane Bentley told The Mirror. "It stood out because it had some very distinct markings on its head.

"It wasn't until the winning fish was lifted for the photo that I thought, 'That's the fish from the aquarium.'

"Next morning, I went to the aquarium and asked to see the bass with the markings. But neither myself nor the owner could find it anywhere."

Bentley told contest organizers, who then alerted police. The Mirror reported that Clark panicked and sold the bass to a fishmonger, but police matched the head of the fish carcass to the missing bass and arrested Clark.

Clark wound up confessing to burglary and fraud over the summer incident, and on Thursday he was given 100 hours of community service after taking a two-year oath of good behavior.

According to The Mirror, Clark owed the owner of the aquarium $2,400, so on the last day of the fishing tournament, he scaled cliffs, climbed a rope ladder, and snuck into the aquarium through a back door. He presumably used a net to catch the fish.

It was unknown whether Bentley caught a fish in the contest, but he did catch a thief.


http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/...from+aquarium/

[plugcrazy]

Serves him right. If you can't do it fair and square why bother?

[captnemo]

Serves him right. If you can't do it fair and square why bother?

That's right. The recent case of Lance Armstrong comes to mind. Cheating to win is a win that you didn't earn.

[vpass]

That dirt bag should be swimming with the fishes.

[hookset]

What do you guys think of the recent winners in the Absecon b&t tourney? The first fish of the year. They won a few hundred and were bragging about it on facebook. The season opened at 12am, and at 1:30 they were at absecon to weigh the fish. That means they would have had to catch all 3 fish in between 12-12:30 am to get to the tackle shop by 1:30.

In a freshwater bass tournament if you cheat you lose. On a party boat if you get caught stuffing sinkers down a fishs gullet to win the pool you lose and might get your *** kicked too. If youre in a surf tournament and weigh in a bass your buddy caught in a boat as your own fish thats cheating. These guys were fishing the power plant all winter and bragging about it. Why should they get prizes for bass they probably caught before midnight. Thoughts?

[seamonkey]

I think that is disgusting. You can check them out on facebook urban anglers. Bragging about catching fish all winter just check out the page. They they just happened to catch those fish at midnight? Total bs they should be disqualified if they cheated. Lots of other guys out there fishing all night. If they did catch those fish after midnight its good but it seems mighty suspicious to me.

[DarkSkies]

There was a fight on the jetties yesterday......

I specifically won't go into who, where,
We're keeping this general for a variety of reasons....
But anyone who fishes a lot, knows who, and where........

We're not going to name names either.....
Please bear that in mind....and please don't make me take the time out from my busy day to monitor and censor this thread.....
I will censor it if I have to.....so please show some respect and follow my request to speak in general terms here....






**The fight had to do with sportsmanship.....and how some of us would, and do, go to any lengths to win a tourney....

[DarkSkies]

As mentioned, those who fish a lot, and have been fishing for 50 years or more.....already know......
I was asked to start a thread to raise awareness.....
Having said that.....some of the examples here....will make it clear to those who fish a lot,....that the possibilities would be a small subset of people.......
As I said, please don't play guessing games....or mention names,,,,,,'
If you want to relate examples of your personal experience, you can....but without the names of the actors....


This is but one example....of several....of questionable behavior....
I want the readers here, to ask themselves, what they would do, or not do....in situations like this.....

Asbury Park Club Marquis Tourney 2013
This tourney happens in June every year...open to the general public.....
* One of the conditions was that the winning fish had to come from the "front"...as I understand it, ocean and inlet fishing...
Nothing from the holes in the bay, bridges, etc, where big fish are known to sit every year till the water warms up or the bunker leave the "back"


Toward the end of the tourney, the leading fish was 13#....as many can remember, there were not many big fish to be caught from land in that month......
I knew of several fish larger than that caught during June.....I got a high teen fish, but as a rule don't enter tourneys.....
A few anglers I know, got fish bigger, to the mid 20s......
Here's where it gets dicey.....
Those who fish the "front" know this clearly....there were no tourney winning fish coming from the jetties at that time last year....I and some others were out there nights at a time (after that brief spurt of activity in late May)...with no jetty action...some of the best of the best, were hopping those jetties at night.....looking for that 20 or better bass,...and they just weren't there.....


So at the end of the tourney.....the leading bass is 13#...a very decent fish given the poor conditions we had last year.....
The tourney was won.....by a bass of over 20#...I believe it was 25.....














Where did that bass come from?

I and others were out fishing the one place "out front" in two counties that was producing larger bass,....usually only one a night....
and I can tell you for sure that the tourney wnner did not come from, where these bigger fish were....
The network of people I share intel with knows who fishes there, and what's caught.....

So...if it wasn't from the only place in the "front" that would have produced a bass like that.......
Did it come from the "back"?

[DarkSkies]

^(This is a rhetorical question....)
I can't answer that....and you shouldn't try to answer it either....
But for those of us who know how and where fish generally move during the season...it was puzzling.....
And brought up to me,. as something folks here might talk about...







What I would like to do here....raising awareness.....
is.....
1. Have folks here relate what they would do, and wouldn't do...to win a tourney.....

2. Would you bend the rules a bit?

3. Is it really unethical if the tourney rules say fish have to be caught from the "front"...and you happen to know where there a few large....in the back.....is that OK. or not OK?

4. If a tourney specifies "land only" and you know were some big fish gather up.....and can only reach them in a kayak.....is is acceptable to get them in a kayak....and then weigh them in as if you caught them from shore?












These are all ethical issues that could arise....for anyone participating in a tourney....
I would like our members here, to have an adult discussion, on
A. what winning means to you....and how far you would go, just to say you won a tourney....

B. Which of the above questions/instances above, would be acceptable to you....and which would not?



Thanks for reading....and thanks for your opinions.....

[J Barbosa]

The prizes at stake have a lot to do with it as well as "bragging rights".

Nice example:


2013 Mid-Atlantic $500.000

Payout Summary

Base Prize $468,000.00
$1000 Calcutta $102,460.00
$1500 Calcutta $149,460.00
$2500 Calcutta $242,050.00
On The Board Reward $199,280.00
White Marlin Pro Jackpot $413,600.00
My Port Calcutta - CAPE MAY $118,440.00
My Port Calcutta - OCEAN CITY $115,620.00
Total Payout $1,808,910.00

[seamonkey]

I think if you break the rules you should be disqualified. There should be no exceptions. Cheating on your taxes is something people do as well. If you get caught you can go to jail. I am assuming there is not enough evidence so far and that is why you are not naming the person or persons. If it was a club they should kick that person out. And their name should be posted when that happens. Just my .02. Thanks for raising the issue. I have no respect for cheaters.

[clamchucker]

This is but one example....of several....of questionable behavior....
I want the readers here, to ask themselves, what they would do, or not do....in situations like this.....

Asbury Park Club Marquis Tourney 2013
This tourney happens in June every year...open to the general public.....
* One of the conditions was that the winning fish had to come from the "front"...as I understand it, ocean and inlet fishing...
Nothing from the holes in the bay, bridges, etc, where big fish are known to sit every year till the water warms up or the bunker leave the "back"


So if it wasn't from the only place in the "front" that would have produced a bass like that.......
Did it come from the "back"?

The prizes at stake have a lot to do with it as well as "bragging rights".

Nice example:
2013 Mid-Atlantic $500.000

Payout Summary

Base Prize $468,000.00
$1000 Calcutta $102,460.00
$1500 Calcutta $149,460.00
$2500 Calcutta $242,050.00
On The Board Reward $199,280.00
White Marlin Pro Jackpot $413,600.00
My Port Calcutta - CAPE MAY $118,440.00
My Port Calcutta - OCEAN CITY $115,620.00
Total Payout $1,808,910.00

Jbarbosa you have a good point here. Dark correct me if I am wrong but I think the top prize for that Asbury fishing club tournament was $400. Cheating for that small sum of $$ would reveal it is all about ego for some of the anglers out there. It is disappointing to read. Years ago if it was discovered that someone was cheating and it was exposed they would have been removed from the club immediately. We are much more lenient nowadays.