Bass tourney cheaters get nailed.....

[Big Muddy]

.
There was some of this going on over my way, too, but only got a slap on the wrist.

Rightfully so, these guys got hit with some hard consequences.


Published September 18, 2014
·FoxNews.com


"""Rigging bass tournaments landed a pair of Alabama men on ice Monday after rival anglers became suspicious of their dominance and tipped off investigators.

Gary Lee Minor Jr., 37, of Albertville, and Robert Scott Gillaspie, 45, of Boaz, won six tournaments in a row, but authorities later determined they were using previously-caught lunkers to tip the scales at the end of contests. They were convicted of cheating during a bass fishing tournament on Alabama’s Lake Gunterville and will spend 30 days in jail, authorities say.

They were found guilty of theft by deception and tampering with a sporting event by a judge following a non-jury trial on Monday. Both were sentenced to 30 days in jail and ordered to pay a $1,000 find plus court costs. They will also serve two years’ probation following their release and perform 400 hours of community service, according to Marshall County District Attorney Steve Marshall.

Minor and Gillaspie, who also were fined $1,000 each, had their fishing and hunting licenses revoked and were banned from future fishing competitions.

Minor and Gillaspie were arrested in May after a witness told officers from the Alabama Department of Conservation that they were keeping previously caught fish and using those catches for the official weigh-in. The officers conducted an investigation and got "enough evidence to be confident of a conviction," conservation officer Lt. Jim Kirkland told Al.com.

Both men have appealed the conviction, Marshall said."""

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[BarryBobPosthole]

Wherever there's money.......

I had a buddy (who's passed on now) who fished the Red Man circuit back in the day and used to 'jackpot' just about any tournament held on Grand Lake here that had any kind of substantial money involved. He and his fishing buddy had planted brush piles and spent a lot of time catching fish and releasing them on those brush piles. They both finished in the money almost every time they fished a tournament on that lake. It got bad enough that some circuits wouldn't allow them to enter although they were never officially 'caught' cheating. And I'm not sure that was across the line of actual cheating. Mike had quite the temper and I remember talking to him him one time and he was ranting and raving about having to take a polygraph after they'd won one big tourney there. They passed it. They caused many hard feelings among bass anglers in this part of the world. When I was at Falcon buying some rods, the guy there and I were talking and Mike's name came up and he said even though he was Mike's friend, he thought he and his partner were cheaters and their heyday was back in the 90's.

So, again, anywhere there's money there's .....

BKB

[LJ3]

Man... I guess I'm just not wired to understand why someone would do that. I suppose that's a good thing. And oh yeah, I have Postholes Postulate to guide me.

[Thumper]

Yep, they had some of that going on in some of the tournaments down here a while back. Evidently they were catching their lunkers elsewhere and hiding them somehow ... then recovering them for the tournament. They got busted by DNA testing!

I also heard about one old boy who weighed in some fish that were stuffed full of lead shot.

I agree with P-hole, where there's money ... there's assholes.

[BarryBobPosthole]

There was a lot of controversy about a world record smallmouth record here while back. That record has stood since 1955 and I personally don't think it'll ever be broken. Its 11 pounds-something which if you've ever fished trophy smallies is like an impossible to imagine weight. There was a guy that worked at the place the weight was certified that claimed the guy who caught it stuffed it with lead and boat motor parts and the record was stripped by IGFA and then later reinstated.

BKB

[LJ3]

I would never fish again if I killed a smallie like that.

[BarryBobPosthole]

The guy is 80 now and still alive and apparently has it on his wall. The biggest controversy now seems to be which state it was caught in. I love his response.

BKB

3684

[Big Skyz]

This is why I absolutely refuse to enter coyote hunting contests or fishing contests. Whenever money or prizes start getting awarded in regards to fishing or hunting...there is always a crook nearby to stink it up for everyone. Making a competition out of fishing or hunting turns me off cold.

[BarryBobPosthole]

I'm with you on that one BS. I fished tourneys a lot in the 80's and early 90's but eventually quit, mainly because I don't like to have to think about a lot of rules when I'm fishing. And the guys in matching jump suits with sponsor patches make me want to puke. Tourneys have undoubtedly done a lot for fishing technology and knowledge. But when you look at the whole package, I'd just as soon we didn't allow them on public waters.

BKB

[Chicken Dinner]

To each their own. I don't hunt or fish to get my competitive Jones out. Other than a little smack talk, I have no desire to hunt or fish with those that do. Kind of a silly way to measure your self worth - especially if you're a liar and a cheat.

[Big Muddy]

I may have mentioned this in the past....before my Dad passed away, I took him crappie fishing on Lake Washington, one of the best known crappie and bass lakes in the southern U.S....that red-colored cajun fishing line had just hit the market, and it was the craze down here, even though I never tried it.

We were fishing one of my hot spots, called the gator hole, when my Dad got snagged on an underwater stump....as he pulled in his line, his hook was actually tangled in about 10 feet of that red-colored fishing line....at the end of it, was about a 4 pound large mouth.

The line had been tied thru a hole in the fishes' lower lip with a palomar knot, so I knew it was not an accidental occurrence....the bass was as lively, as ever, too...I cut and removed all the line, and released the fish.

My first cousin owns the largest country store/boat ramp on the lake, so we dropped by, as we were leaving, and told her the story....she said there was, in fact, a bass tourney, to be held the next day, and she was going to contact DOW and the tourney officials.

Some guy got a real surprise, the next day, when that fish wasn't there next to that stump. ;)

[BarryBobPosthole]

When I was just finishing my first year of college, my girlfriend and I were camped on Lake Wister down in SE Oklahoma. We had a few limb lines out and we'd drink a little, do what 18 year olds do when they're camping, run our lines, drink a little......oh to be 18, poor, and making up ways to have fun again.

anyway, about midnight thirty or so an old pickup comes tearing into the campsite and out these two guys jump, throw their boat in the water and then came back in a hurry a little while later and tore ass outta there. I don't think they even knew we were there. About ten minutes after they'd left here came a fish cop ripping into the camping area. We were up and about by then and he came over to our camp sniffing around like we'd done something wrong. So he got the old 'We ain't seen nuthin' from us. Prolly we'd have helped him out if he hadn't been a asshole. After he left we got out in our jon boat and took three big flatheads, about 20-25 pounds each off of lines they were tied off to, no hooks just tied through a hole in their bottom lip. At daylight the next morning we were frying fish and eggs on our campfire when those guys came back to get their fish. There was a lot of cussing and yelling but they still didn't act like we were even there. We had a couple of big fish fries with those fish. We didn't even have to run our lines after that so we spent our time doing that other stuff the rest of our time camping. that's one weekend I won't ever forget!

BKB

[Big Muddy]

I bet "doing all that other stuff", left your fingers "smelling like fish", even BEFORE cleaning the fish, huh??? ;)



Haha....looks like we did it, again....from bass fishing cheaters to sex, in 12 posts !!! ;)

[BarryBobPosthole]

Best I can remember, my mustache too!

BBK

[Big Muddy]

Eeeeewwwwww !!! ;)