These jackwagons got caught stuffing their fish with lead weights wrapped in walleye fillets. I hope they get hammered big time. This tournament was worth 45k. Over the past few years they've won over a million in prize money and a boat. In a tournament they won this year in my backyard, Rossford OH, they weighed in some fish that looked like they've been dead for a week. They took off with their fish shortly after weigh-in, causing a lot of talk and suspicion....but nothing was done about it. This story has really grown some wheels, and it is being covered by all of the major national news outlets. I'd post the video, but it contains tons of profanities and threats. It's on the article link. One of the guys managed to get out of there, but the mob looks like it was ready to lynch the other guy. The good part starts at 4:50.
Trouble on the waterfront in Ohio -- a couple of fishermen have been accused of cheating to make their catches seem heavier than they were ... and the video proof is damning.
Chase Cominsky and Jake Runyon -- both locals -- were apparently caught stuffing their walleye with weights and other debris ... with things coming to a head on Friday as their fish were being weighed, and then cut open to expose the truth on Lake Erie.
As you can see, tourney officials started pulling out these little metal balls from the insides of the fish that Cominsky and Runyon had up for consideration -- some are saying they're made of lead, but in any case ... they seem to have been jammed in for extra poundage.
There are also slices of what some claim are fish fillets -- in other words, these guys are alleged to have cut pieces of other fish and stuffed them inside as well, clandestinely.
Some outlets are reporting that these two fellas were actually the frontrunners of this tournament -- dubbed the Lake Erie Walleye Trail in Cleveland's Gordon Park -- but that obviously came to a screeching halt when everyone caught wind of what had happened.
You can hear the utter outrage from people on the ground ... they were screaming at these guys, demanding answers and even threatening to call the police. Runyon was asked on camera if he had anything to say for himself -- but he stayed silent and just looked on.
There are reports of the fisherman going on to win other contests in and around the area -- and now, all of the accolades (and prize money) they've racked up are coming into question.
The official event page on FB had a harsh statement, calling out these gentlemen as straight-up cheaters. They write, "Disgusted guys and gals, I’m sorry for letting you down for so long and I’m glad I caught cheating taking place in YOUR LEWT at the same time."
They add, "I can’t think enough to post results, but congrats Tsczyko and French and TOY Hendricks and Ulmer. Same goes to the yak and open winners. I hope you know now that when I say ”you built this LEWT and I will defend its integrity at all costs”, I mean it."
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul. - John Muir
Saw that yesterday. Once I delved into the story -- and their continuing "success" -- I couldn't understand why they continued to cheat. People had been accusing them for a while as they kept winning. I guess there was a tournament that actually gives you a lie detector test after the catch, they were DQ'd after they failed, that would have been a wakeup call right there.
Everybody hates cheaters. This one also falls into the category of "dumb criminals". Pathetic.
don't watch much fishing tournaments... so don't really have any real ties to this story... but I think they should be banned for a significant amount of time...
Saw a meme earlier today on facebook. Picture of fish tacos, from Port Clinton Ohio, with shell, fish, and then lead weights on top. (heaviest fish tacos around)
J/C Geez. Greedy. Don’t they know… gotta lose a few to make it look legit. 😆 Reminds me of a golf scramble that I played in back in 2002. Some redneck course out past Columbia Station. My boss’s family ran the event - they were great people. But a couple guys- friends of a friend joined the scramble as well.There were 8 groups total and our group of 4 played lights out. Best ball and we ended up 7 under certain we had won the main prize - decent amount of cash and a couple gift certificates to a local steakhouse. We turned our card in, and minutes later a group of two guys - one of whom had baseball cleats on, turned in a card with a score of 10 under. Complete bs. They got the main prize and our group received a set of wal-mart head covers and a 20 gift certificate to Olive Garden. With nobody that we knew as part of their group, we couldn’t question them. Eh….. it was a fun day -got to eat a steak and bs with some good people. However, no doubt that those two cheated.
I worked with a guy, many years ago, who had a boat and took charters for Walleye on Lake Erie each year. I'm sure Captain Edd is rolling over in his grave right now.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
2 fishermen indicted on criminal charges in Cleveland fishing tournament cheating scandal
Jacob Runyan and Chase Cominsky have been charged with Cheating, Attempted Grand Theft, Possessing Criminal Tools, and the Unlawful Ownership of Wild Animals.
Author: Ben Axelrod Published: 1:52 PM EDT October 12, 2022 Updated: 2:23 PM EDT October 12, 2022
CLEVELAND — Two men are now facing criminal charges following their roles in the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament scandal that happened in Cleveland last month.
On Wednesday, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley announced that 42-year-old Jacob Runyan, 42 and 35-year-old Chase Cominsky have been indicted on the following charges after allegedly placing weights and fish filets inside their catch:
One count of Cheating (felony of the fifth degree) One count of Attempted Grand Theft (felony of the fifth degree) One count of Possessing Criminal Tools (felony of the fifth degree) One count of Unlawful Ownership of Wild Animals (misdemeanor of the fourth degree) “I take all crime very seriously, and I believe what these two individuals attempted to do was not only dishonorable but also criminal”, O’Malley said in a statement. “I would like to formally thank the officers with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the Hermitage Pennsylvania Police Department, the Mercer County District Attorney’s Office, and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission for their quick actions and their execution of a search warrant resulting in the seizure of criminal tools, including Defendant Cominsky’s boat and trailer.”
The indictments come nearly two weeks after weights and fillets were allegedly found inside the duo's tournament-winning catch. The controversy proceeded to receive national attention, with a video of the aftermath of the incident going viral on social media.
The tournament took place near North Marginal Road and Lakeshore Boulevard in Cleveland on Sept. 30, attracting fishermen from several surrounding states who competed to see which team could catch five of the heaviest walleye fish in Lake Erie. Had Runyan and Cominsky won, they would have received a total prize of $28,760.
According to an investigation by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), the weights were discovered after the tournament director noticed that the fish weighed heavier than they looked and proceeded to slice the fish open. Ten weights -- eight weighing 12 ounces and two weighing eight ounces along with several walleye filets -- were allegedly discovered inside the walleye. The duo was immediately disqualified and instructed to leave the tournament, with the Cleveland Metroparks Police Department responding to the scene.
According to a release from the prosecutor's office, Runyan and Cominsky's fifth-degree felonies are punishable by up to 12 months in prison and up to $2,500 in fines, while misdemeanors of the fourth-degree are punishable by up to 30 days in jail and up to $250 in fines.
They formally thanked everyone but the tournament director who had the kahunas to slice open the fish and expose these criminals. I hope they do some time.
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul. - John Muir
I can never understand people who are all but caught, constantly suspected, surrounded by rumors and have everyone pointing fingers... yet continue doing the same thing. Definition of dumb criminal.
I don't care how good you might be as a fisherman, there is also a somewhat large degree of luck involved.
When the same guys keep getting on the biggest fish and keep winning tournaments, it's a pretty good indication that something is 'fishy".
We had a cheating scandal near Chattanooga some years ago in a bass tourney where a couple of guys went out a day or two early and caught several big fish, then put them on a stringer or in some type of cage to pluck out of the water in a slew to enhance their catch by switching out a few fish.
Not sure how they got caught, but they did.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn.
MONEY involved. Kiplying's I keep six honesty men serving- Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How....if money is involved you better check things real close, because humanity is what it is, humanity....there's a sucker born every day? Old wisdom, yet some folks think a hand shake is all you need.....crooked scales have been around for hundreds of years. Check, verify, or get hosed.
Last edited by hitt; 10/31/2201:10 PM. Reason: spelling
"You've never lived till you've almost died, life has a flavor the protected will never know" A vet or cop
The tournament may have been flawed if it awarded the prize money bazed only on the weight of the fizh.
The one count of cheating, it appearz, iz the only one of those 4 chargez worth considering, throw out the other 3 on definitionz. Unlezz the weightz were found on the outside of the fizh, or, there were zome proof of the men inserting the weightz into the fizh, I couldn't support a guilty vote on the cheating charge.
Oh we know they are guilty, but legally? legally they could have juzt caught zome fizh, that had had weightz in it.
they shouldn't get to keep any prize money, because they cheated, but waz it legal cheating? or in this caze, illegal- cheating by the law definition.
The boat and trailor zhould not be allowed to be confiscated, (in there were any decency) because they were not criminal toolz. They are not even toolz.
But back to line one. The Tounament waz flawed, if it only looked at the weight of the fizh to award the prize(z). People had to know the weight would have been influenced.
Unrelated. The newz 2+ zummerz ago, , the television newz, revealed a local major league Zportz Ztadium waz selling large drinkz, with the zame li@uid zize az the zmall drink, but the cup waz larger, ... Zo why were people complaining, bezidez it waz pretty obvious. they were paying more, but only getting a larger cup. But they were getting a larger cup, juzt not more li@uid. so, perspective Theze 2 guyz, may have learned from,,, the system ... and that? well that is American, America, Murica.
Can Deshaun Watson play better for the Browns, than Baker Mayfield would have? ... Now the Games count.
How would "the far side" make a comic out of this type of situation? sharks cheating at a human eating tournament? what would be inside the humanz? steroidz? greasy fazt foodz? Gold necklaces? bulletts? hmm, Liked the far side comics.
Can Deshaun Watson play better for the Browns, than Baker Mayfield would have? ... Now the Games count.
Fishing scandal: 2 plead guilty to cheating in walleye tourney
CLEVELAND (WJW) — Two men accused of cheating in a walleye fishing tournament on Lake Erie pleaded guilty on Monday.
Jacob Runyan, 43, of Ashtabula, Ohio, and Chase Cominsky, 36, of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, were each indicted in October on felony charges of cheating, attempted grand theft and possessing criminal tools, and a misdemeanor count of illegal animal ownership. They initially pleaded not guilty.
But on Monday, each pleaded guilty to a felony count of cheating and a misdemeanor animal ownership violation. The remaining charges were dismissed.
The pair is due for sentencing on May 11.
In the September 2022 tournament, anglers from several surrounding states competed for the heaviest walleye catches, according to authorities. The pair stood to win a prize of more than $28,000.
A tournament judge, however, noticed the fish caught by Runyan and Cominsky weighed more than they appeared to weigh. The judge sliced the fish open and inside were multiple weights, between 8 and 12 ounces, and several walleye filets. The pair was disqualified and told to leave the tournament.
Other anglers angrily confronted Runyan, while Cominsky quickly retreated to his truck and locked the doors.
In recent years, the pair had won a slew of fishing tournaments with cash awards and major prizes that included a fishing boat, in what some thought was the most incredible run of luck ever on Lake Erie. The Toledo Blade reported that the pair finished in first place in the three Lake Erie Walleye Trail events last year, pocketing tens of thousands of dollars, in addition to prizes from other contests.
“You have individuals who committed a fraud trying to obtain money. That’s a fraud in any context, whether it’s a fishing case or some Ponzi scheme,” Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor James Gutierrez said in October.
Authorities suspected the pair of cheating in past tournaments but never found evidence of any crimes, Gutierrez said.
Organizers of the fishing tournament intend to use metal detectors and lie detectors in future tournaments.
HERMITAGE, Pa. (WKBN) — A Hermitage man caught cheating in a Lake Erie walleye fishing tournament and facing forgery charges in a separate case is now charged with hunting violations in Pennsylvania.
Chase Cominsky, 36, is facing multiple wildlife and hunting violations. According to a criminal complaint, Cominsky is charged with two counts of unlawful killing or taking of big game; three counts of unlawful taking or possession of game or wildlife; two counts of unlawful acts concerning licenses; and one count of violation in tagging and reporting big game kills.
He is scheduled for arraignment on Nov. 14 in a Mercer County court.
The state game warden assigned to Mercer County said on Nov. 25, 2022, a person connected to Cominsky reported that he had taken several deer illegally and wanted authorities to know about it.
The witness said several mounted deer hanging on the walls in Cominsky’s home were illegally harvested by Cominsky during the night and not during hunting season. Not that it would matter anyway, because wildlife officials said Cominsky has not been permitted to hunt in Pennsylvania since 2008 because of previous violations.
In all, Cominsky had five illegally harvested antlered deer heads mounted on his wall, some with tags of a person who said they had never killed a deer, according to a criminal complaint in the case.
Cominsky in 2023 admitted to using weights to make walleye fish he caught heavier during a tournament in Cleveland to win a cash prize. He and his co-conspirator were sentenced in May 2023 to 10 days in jail and had their fishing licenses suspended for three years. Cominsky had to give up a bass boat worth $100,000. They also have to serve a year-and-a-half probation.
In February 2023, Cominsky was charged with forgery stemming from an incident where two employees at a local bowling alley said they received two counterfeit $100 bills from Cominsky. The bills had the writings, “For Motion Pictures Purposes” and “Not Legal Tender,” on them and had other markings that showed they were fake.
The forgery case is still making its way through Mercer County courts.
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul. - John Muir