Local fishing enthusiasts say a cheating scandal during a Lake Erie tournament last week isn’t representative of local anglers or the millions across the U.S. who participate in such competitions and noncompetitive fishing.
During a weigh-in of catches at the Lake Erie Walleye Trail, tournament director Jason Fischer discovered weights in the walleye of an Ohio-Pennsylvania team. Videos of the discovery show an enraged Fischer and an increasingly restive crowd infuriated by the two men’s deception.
New Franklin resident Maria Licht, who runs the Better Half Tour Bass Fishing Tournaments on the Portage Lakes with her husband, Erich Licht, said the reaction is understandable. When she heard about the incident, she had a similar, visceral response.
“I was sick to my stomach,” she said Monday. “It made me sick.”
A feeling of betrayal after Lake Erie Walleye Trail scandal
For those who don’t participate in tournaments or otherwise fish, the intense interest and revulsion in the fishing world over the cheating scandal might be surprising. But Licht said organizers and participants in tournaments of all sizes rely on competitors to be on the level.
When they’re not, it’s like they’re betraying a friend.
Larger tournaments with big prizes have turned to lie detector tests to root out cheaters, but that doesn’t always work, as last week’s tournament revealed. For smaller tournaments, trust among competitors is essential.
So when two men competing for about $30,000 in cash stuff their catch with weights, it grates on fellow competitors and disgusts amateur anglers. It’s the deflated football scandal of the fishing world.
“There’s a lot that goes into a fishing tournament — a lot of time, a lot of money…” Licht said. “I can understand when people cheat why other people get so upset. These guys see each other weekend after weekend after weekend.”
Licht said she and her husband started The Better Half Tour to create a shared experience, in line with the fishing community’s general sense that the activity is family-friendly.
“I was always the only girl,” she said. “That’s why I invented the Better Half Tour.”
Before the pandemic, she said her tournaments were averaging about 30 couples, along with the occasional father-daughter or mother-son team.
“It’s amazing how many women are enjoying this and having a ball,” she said.
Fishing tournaments on the Portage Lakes
The Portage Lakes, Licht said, is a bass-fishing hotbed, with tournaments four days a week during prime fishing season.
She said she’s never heard of or experienced a scandal on the lakes like the one that unfolded a week ago. But when big money and prizes are in the pot, some anglers could be tempted to put their thumbs on the scale, said Aaron Futrell, co-owner of DeLong Lures in Canal Fulton.
Futrell shares ownership of the lure manufacturer with his brother Brandon, a Marshallville resident, and Stephen Ziegler, a Springfield Township resident.
“The big ones, they do put in lie detector tests that you have to pass, especially if the money is over $5,000,” he said. “In other states, I’ve heard of people busted, [but] they do their best to weed them out.”
‘A way to make this right’
Licht said tournament director Fischer is a client of her and her husband’s non-fishing business, and she knows the national publicity from the scandal has been difficult for him.
“He is the hardest-working guy,” she said.
On Monday, Fischer, who lives in Northeast Ohio, apologized for language he used as the scandal unfolded and promised to work to keep the tournament clean.
“I can tell you as a tournament director this type of behavior will not be tolerated,” he said in a video statement released on Facebook. “I’ll figure out a way to make this right for my anglers. I hope we can learn from this and make some changes in tournament fishing that protect the integrity of all circuits.”
Jokers in the mix
During tournaments and trails — individual tournaments that comprise a “tour,” usually ending with a championship — competitors become familiar with each other, often developing friendships based on a shared respect and competition. That’s one reason the Lake Erie Walleye Trail scandal is so painful for so many, Futrell said.
“[It’s like] guys cheating at your local poker table,” he said in a phone interview, noting the wide popularity of fishing tournaments and individual angling around the Portage Lakes and throughout the U.S.
“Fishing is the second largest participation sport in the country,” he said. “More people in the country fish than any other sports besides jogging.”
So a scandal at the Lake Erie tournament level casts a wide net — wide enough to capture the interest of millions.
‘Good, honest people’
Fischer said tournament documents had been turned over to authorities and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources would investigate for possible prosecution of the cheaters.
But for smaller tournaments with fewer resources, even the lie detectors used by big competitions are a prohibitive expense, meaning they’ll need to largely keep to counting on honor among anglers.
Futrell, whose company has sponsored tournaments, said it takes a leap of faith.
“I’d like to think that most anglers are good, honest people because I think that most people are good, honest people,” he said.
And cheaters might have more than their conscience to contend with if they’re caught, he said.
“Some people might take them behind the woodshed,” he said.
Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at[email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj.
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism