Conspiracy and Controversy in the Air?

September 2022 saw World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen embroiled in a lengthy turmoil involving allegations of cheating against 19-year-old foe Hans Niemann.

The younger Niemann has admitted to cheating in the past when playing online games, but argues that he has played it straight for quite some time. This would include his recent in-person games against Carlsen and other ranked players.

Carlsen, who has reigned atop the chess world for over a decade, says he refuses to play against in Niemann, suggesting the American-born player has “cheated more… than he has publicly admitted.“

Across the industry, many have speculated as to how Niemann may have cheated (assuming he, in fact, did). One popular theory is that he used electronic anal beads that were stimulated by a remote party who would instruct Niemann which moves to make next according to the suggestions of a high-powered chess simulator.

It may sound crazy (and rather uncomfortable) on the surface, but when money and glory are on the line, is anything ever truly off the table?

Success Breeds Attention

As is the case in world-level chess competition, high-profile fishing tournament success can open countless doors for anglers. In the case of Jake Runyan and Chase Cominsky, both of whom live near Lake Erie, their success on a series of Walleye tournament trails in 2021 landed the pair over $300,000.

After the duo capped off an impressive series of victory at Walleye Slam, Fall Brawl, and the Lake Erie Walleye Trail Championship last year, expectations were high leading into the 2022 season.

Understandably, many eyes were on the duo leading into this year’s Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament event, which began on Friday, September 30.

According to Spectrum1 News, the duo has been accused of cheating in the past. Much like Niemann in the chess world, then, success has bred both attention and scrutiny for Runyan and Cominsky.

There’s Coincidence, and There’s Evidence

While the jury remains split on the Carlsen/Niemann turmoil, it appears evidence may work against Runyan and Cominsky.

In a YouTube video (warning: explicit language) by Mo Fishing Adventures filming the Lake Erie Walleye Trail weigh-ins, Runyan and Cominsky are announced as being “definitely team of the year champions” after recording a weight of 33.91 pounds – for comparison, the closest bag was 28.18 pounds, followed by 25.25 pounds.

Off-camera voices in the crowd begin audibly questioning the weights on the duo’s fish. At the 4:55 mark, after reaching into the stomach of one of the winning team’s walleye, someone exclaims, “we got weights in fish!”

In the roughly 70 seconds that follow, multiple tournament anglers appear on the screen expressing their displeasure about what appears many believe is a deliberate act of cheating. Tournament fishing – walleye or otherwise – can be incredibly expensive, time-consume, and stressful, so the reaction is understandable and, it appears, warranted.

Angler Gene Merck has shared a video on Facebook that, as of Saturday, September 1, has been viewed over 2.4 million times. In the corresponding post, Merck suggests that there were eight pounds of weights stuffed into the walleye.

Course Correction and Looking Ahead

In the immediate aftermath of one of the biggest fishing stories of the year, Lake Erie Walleye Trail Tournament Director Jason Fischer took to Facebook and expressed his feelings about the event, stating that he was “disgusted” and, later, “still at a loss for words.”

He also announced that anglers Steve Tyszko and Chris French (who landed the 28.18 pound bag) were awarded the Trail Championship victory. The team of Steve Hendricks and Brian Ulmer also secured the trail’s 2022 “team of the year” award.

Just as the chess world will have additional eyes on accountability, however, the fishing community may be paying additional attention to the scales in the months (and years) to come. Cheating in fishing is nothing new, but hopefully it will eventually become a thing of the past.

The post “We Got Weights in Fish!”: Cheating Scandal Rocks Ohio Walleye Tournament appeared first on Premier Angler.