They say that cheaters never prosper, and that is certainly true. One Indiana angler is in hot water and legal trouble after allegedly trying to cheat during a bass fishing competition.
Authorities are accusing the angler of using pre-caught fish. The fisherman allegedly hid smallmouth bass that he caught the day before. He planned to add the fish to his total ensuring that he won. Far than just bragging rights, the tournament carried a cash prize of $1,300, so it's a serious issue.
The Illinois Conservation Police said someone alerted them on May 10 that the angler was hiding fish on a stringer in the Calumet River. The person said the fisherman might be planning to cheat in the Cal Sag Bass Anglers Tournament.
"The following morning, conservation police watched the location and observed the man retrieve four smallmouth bass from the stringer and place them in the live well of his boat before throwing the string on the shore and driving away," according to Illinois Conservation Police.
Angler In Hot Water
Authorities confirmed that the man was indeed participating in the competition. At the weigh-in location, authorities checked his fish and found four smallmouth bass that he had previously caught the day previously. They promptly charged the angler with a list of offenses.
Authorities charged David Moore, a St. John, Indiana native, with six misdemeanors and one petty offense. They charged him with conspiring to commit theft, possessing over the daily limit, possessing smallmouth bass that resulted in waste, failure to immediately release smallmouth bass unharmed, throwing fishing wire on the river banks, and importing a viral hemorrhagic speticemia-susceptible species without a permit.
Yikes! Those sound like serious crimes, but this Indiana fisherman isn't alone. Recently, authorities arrested a Louisiana man for allegedly committing fraud during a bass fishing tournament. The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries charged Aaron Moreau with attempted fraud.
They alleged that Moreau put 2.59 pounds of lead weights in a fish he caught to make it weigh more. The angler fled but eventually turned himself in. He faces up to a $3,000 fine and one year in prison. That cash prize was a whopping $500,000. If you can't do the time, don't do the crime. Cheaters never prosper.
