I don't fish tourneys. Interesting video though. End of the day mankind will always find ways to cheat and take advantage of a system. People suck in general these days.
I just like to catch fish for a meal like crappie & sunfish occasionally white bass. I caught 7 crappie last night and that was a great supper. Occasionally I may catch a black bass on a crappie jig
I've been seeing reports of some KBf tournaments are using a photo comparison software that can identify characteristics of fish. This software can identify specific markings on a Bass and tell with a 94% probability if it's the same fish.
Lots of 55 gallon drums are hanging form boat slips in marinas. Cheating happens in every bass tournament. I know this from experience of knowing several that fished in them. I’d never fish tournaments. Can’t be trusted
If you really want to bring awareness to this issue, then release the names. This is why cheating continues as the offenders go somewhere else and repeat. When they’re called out publicly, deservingly so, that’s a much more effective solution. ‘You don’t want to bash anyone.’ Huh? You don’t want to bash cheaters? Yeah. Ok.
No offense, but you just gave me 12 additional reasons why I continue to have no interest in fishing tournaments! I fish for the joy of catching inshore, mostly saltwater, fish in SE Louisiana. I do enjoy keeping my legal limit for my consumption and for family and friends who do not fish. Fishing in my kayak is about as relaxing as it gets for me. I have fished with more aggressive anglers over the years (mostly in small motorboats). I really tend to be turned off by those who fish so intensely that it appears that they have a vendetta against a speckled trout or redfish that was responsible for a death in their family! Of course, your video takes fishing to an even darker level - thanks for some interesting info!
Thank you for the video! It's just odd the winner of the BKFT Alum creek tournament got is 5 keepers bass in the same small area 😂. Closer in your area ,the walleye cheater, now that's uncalled for!
Another scenario, my son, when he was younger, hooked a 28"-30" blue cat we call "Blue Lips" with a small bluegill rig. The fish broke the line trying to get it out the water. (forgot the net). This guy pulled in the parking lot and asking to buy the fish. We found out later Indian Lake was having a big catfish tournament that day!
I just don’t get cheating. Like, you didn’t do anything you didn’t win anything you didn’t succeed. And if you’re in need so bad that you NEED that prize money maybe you shouldn’t have a 1K plus kayak or 60K+ bass boat. It’s getting to the point where we just need to hand out our own boards on the day of the tourney.
I don't understand how anyone can take pride in cheating in fishing tournaments! I get it that you can win money but really to invest $75K + for a bass boat, $75K for a truck to pull it, spend thousands of dollars in gas, cheat and win $5K they have to pay taxes on in a tournament they cheated in...WTF?!?! If you need money that bad there are much easier ways to make it! Sign up for overtime at work and stay the F out of tournaments!
I agree with all the comments - cheating is just wrong. I don’t understand why someone needs the recognition of winning when they cheated to get recognized. Something’s missing in the character.
I found a basket in the back of a cove at Lake Sinclair, here in middle Georgia a couple of weeks ago.. altho it was empty.. it was hidden in the back of a cove under some limbs that hung out over the water..
I will still stand on this hill that 99% of the guys are playing it square. But there's always going to be that couple bad apples who gotta try it. I'm up in Oh next to Erie and those walleye guys were raping these tournaments for a while and became totally complacent with reality because they kept getting away with it. There were a lot of eye's on them for a while who suspected, but couldn't figure it out. I mean come on man, 9lbs of lead out of their one catch of fish? In the Walleye Trail in the rules, you are strictly forbidden to have any communications with other participants, other boats, phone calls, txt messages - anything communicating where fish might be hitting to or from anyone at all. But really, on Erie it's not tough, you'll see the charter boats in groups. add in livescope and all you do is reel em in, not tough with any experience on the lake at all. Oh, and they have a kayak division too in the LEWT - gotta be nuts to go out on Erie in a kayak, but they do it.
I often wondered how a guy can't just not measure the same fish twice... They should be ordered to film the bass being released... Was just wondering.. The Frye Guy..
I bought everything I needed to do bass tournaments this year. But it took all the fun out of fishing. I'm out there to unwind and record videos. So I quit. Fishing is fun again. ❤
People cheat because they can't actually fish. Cheating fishing means they cheat at everything else most likely. And mutilation of a fish or anything else is just a terrible person....and I'm being nice.
@@nicknackdaddyack dude, don't make a statement, "people cheat because they can't actually fish", then say, well, he's a cheater so he must me a terrible fisherman. Makes zero sense to everyone except you I imagine.
Craziest story I have heard is a diver placing fish on weaker line under a dock and the cheater using a crank bait to hook the link which follows the line down to the fish and hooks it making it seem that it’s a legitimate catch
As another person commented I quit fishing tournaments bcuz of all of the cheating. There are guys who will cheat to win a Free tournament? Watch the Catch 22 for KBF, I confronted a person last year, He blocked me on social media. Free tournaments???? That's a Real Loser!
Hey D it’s off topic but I’m real interested in the cradle you use for your ketch board. Do you have a video where you talk about it or a link to where it was purchased? Thank you.
I heard about ten years ago of guys catching small bass early in the season, raising and feeding them (beefing them up) in private lakes/pools and then taking them to tournaments as 'caught' bass. Not sure if its true or just rumor.
On trimming, it's used outside of slots too. If you catch a 20" and a 19.5" that's still a solid two fish. It's completely disgusting that people do that. One of the things I like about kayak tournaments is how respectful CPR is to the fish.
Several years ago a friend and I were fishing Nolin River Lake in Kentucky. I caught a bass around six pounds. Two nearby anglers approached our boat and offered to buy the bass. I refused to sell the fish and released it. Turns out the other anglers were fishing one of several tournaments in the lake that weekend.
People who cheat are pretty pathetic human beings. It's just odd that being good isn't important. Cheating says "hey, I'm not good so I need to behave like trash and cheat.".
You wanted to know about the pink fins. That is a sign of stress, usually from intense captivity of some sort. In the boat tournaments that's either live well or being caged for a large amount of time, or in Kayaks the fish was leashed for the better part of a day.
Placing something under the fish to shorten the measurement. Small enough to not be detected in a photo, but enough to shorten the measures by a 1/4 inch. Happened in KBF. Guy was using double and triple A batteries. Basically turning a 20 inch bass into two fish. One 20" and one 19 3/4. This particular person was not actually caught in a KBF event. However he was suspected. Hoover confronted him after he was busted on another trail. The guy agreed to come clean and give up his methods. This one and board mods were the only one made public if i remember correctly. Beyond that, many dead bass are scored during the course of a season. Which is why many have called for swim away video clips.
Having month long long tournaments where a guy can fish alone and basically just submit pictures is as close of an invitation to cheat that I can think of. That whole system needs to re-thought.
Wow. This all makes me even more happy that I am not a tournament guy. Tried it years ago, both in person and CPR. Just wasn't for me. My bump board is just for my photos and I want to know what I really caught. I'm just happy catching fish and don't worry about size. I also think chubs and fall fish fight better than anything else I have ever caught so I am not all caught up in bass or trout.
Darren, great topic brother. I knew it existed, but not to such a disgusting extent. I follow, You, G.B, Damian Thao, friends you've met, and a few others. You're all respected, and true mentors to us. Especially us fishing our 1st seasons and higher, from our kayaks. More info to protect our fish, and fisheries. 💯 🐟 🌊
Cheating will never go away because people are damaged. Cheat once to save your home, I can hate but forgive but cheat because of a character flaw I find disgusting. Just accept your lot in life. Great video, you posted 2 I never heard of before, that scouting one is sly.
I can’t think of any competitive sport off the top of my head that involves money(whether it’s a payout or you’re a professional) that doesn’t have a cheating scandal. This is just my personal belief now-I believe that fishing should be kept strictly recreational and no tournaments allowed. I believe you wash away all the benefits of getting out in nature, catching a few fish and decompressing from a stressful world when you turn it into a competitive event for money. You know I’m not a “yes man” so I understand a lot of people come here to get information from you specifically for tournaments and that this belief might be controversial and trigger some of your viewers. With that said, hope everyone gets a chance to get out and catch one today and thank you for another well put together video Wendell!
@SGT_Reid have read it. Mayne i can't understand. Maybe if people have to re read it multiple times you aren't communicating it as well as you think you are. Would you apply that same logic to all other sports and recreation too?
