Emily Chan
In September 2022, two men cheated during a fishing tournament based in Cleveland, Ohio, in an attempt to win a prize of almost $29,000. As a consequence, they were sentenced to 10 days in jail and had their fishing license suspended.
That spring and summer, 37-year-old Chase Cominksy of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, and 44-year-old Jacob Runyan of Ashtabula, Ohio, had won a series of Lake Erie tournaments.
But in the final tournament, it all went downhill for them. It turned out that the men were using weights and prepared meat to make the walleye fish they caught heavier.
Cominsky and Runyan competed at the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament in Cleveland. Fishermen from several states came to the tournament to see which team could reel in the five heaviest walleye fish in Lake Erie.
Jason Fischer, the director of the tournament, noticed that Cominsky and Runyan’s walleye weighed more than they looked. When he sliced the fish open, he found 10 weights inside, with eight weighing 12 ounces and the other two weighing eight ounces. In addition, several prepared walleye fillets were stuffed in the fish.
They were immediately disqualified from the tournament and told to leave. If Cominsky and Runyan had won, they would have received an award of $28,760. Initially, they declared themselves not guilty in the trial, but they eventually admitted to some of the acts and were sentenced in May 2023.
Ultimately, they pled guilty to a fifth-degree felony charge of cheating and a fourth-degree misdemeanor charge of unlawful wild animal ownership.
They were given 10 days of jail time and lost their fishing license. Additionally, they were slapped with a $2,500 fine, part of which can be donated to a charity that works with children and fishing.
According to Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley, Cominsky’s 22-foot boat with a trailer and two motors was forfeited as well. It was used during the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament in September 2022 and had an estimated worth of $130,000.
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