Two fishermen caught stuffing fish with weights at Ohio tournament plead guilty to cheating

Competitive fishermen Jacob Runyan and Chase Cominsky made headlines last fall after being accused of stuffing fish with weights and fillets during September’s Lake Erie Walleye Trail fishing tournament. 

On Monday, the two pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including cheating, for their actions at the event where teams competed to catch the five heaviest walleyes at Cleveland's Gordon Park.

After growing suspicious of their haul, weighing 33.91 pounds, significantly more than five average walleye collectively would total, tournament director Jason Fischer found the duo filled their fish with weights. Cleveland19 reports that 10 lead-weighted balls and multiple walleye fillets were found inside the fish after they were cut open.

Runyan and Cominsky were automatically disqualified and later indicted on three felony counts, each carrying a one-year prison sentence and a misdemeanor punishable by 30 days in jail. Initially, the two were to stand trial Monday, but they reached an agreement to plead guilty instead.

According to Cleveland19, the men would have won $28,760 in prize money had they not been disqualified. 

In a video from the weigh-in posted to Lake Erie Walleye Trail's Facebook page, spectators questioned the legitimacy of Runyan and Cominsky's catch. A separate video shows an outraged crowd of competitors surrounding Runyan, threatening him with legal action following the findings.