Ever Ask About Cheating? I Do

One good thing about being a long-time bassin’ head is I get to talk to a lot of people – which pretty much means I ask them a lot of questions. And whenever I talk with someone who fishes tourneys, one question I ask is about cheating. Examples thereof.

Why? Because it sort of fascinates me. The human brain, the wanting to cheat, the inventiveness of these cheaters, the fact that it’s so dumb to do I can’t image why someone would do it short of incredible financial hardship…which no true basser would ever use as an excuse anyhow.

So there I was in Maine last month. Family vacation (oxymoron…), went fishing as much as possible, sometimes fresh, sometimes salt. Meet a couple bass fishermen, and in the course of our convos ask them that cheating question. Lo and behold out come a couple examples – alleged examples.

One was…let’s say, Erie-like (lol). Went something like this-a-here:

> Two boats meet up in the middle of a lake in the middle of a tourney. Each boat has an angler and a co, randomly paired.

> One boater starts handing the other boater fish like they do that every day. At least one co-angler, who is brand new to tourneys, thinks something is sorely amiss but keeps his mouth shut. No threat was made to him, he’s just not sure whether that’s kosher.

> Eventually, days later, the bad feeling he’s got makes him pick up the phone and call the TD. The result: bans for life.

Can you believe that?! No slight of hand, nothing.

That’s why I always ask. Funny, funny stuff. Anyhow, here’s the next example:

> I mentioned the pet carrier rumor on Logan Martin – an “innovation” I still laugh about – and get told the following.

> A couple guys  who supposedly moved up to Maine from out of state start showing up to derbies. They do well (let’s call ’em the “transplants”).

> During practice for one tourney, another competitor sees one of transplants’ boats on the water, far off, with something big on the back deck. He motors over, and it looks like a pet carrier with a blanket over it.

> He goes over and confronts them, and they say they have a dog in there. Did I mention it was like 100 degrees at the time? (Apparently it gets that hot about once every 10 years in Maine….)

> Don’t know whether the investigating angler called BS or what, but long story short, the two transplants skedaddled outta state, apparently never to be seen or heard from again – in Maine, anyway.

I have no reason to doubt these guys’ stories, but at the same time the deets can get sketchy and can become urban (or rural) legend-ish over time, if you know what I mean. But what I continue to find nuts is that this is going on year after year because people actually want to cheat!

Don’t get it, but it sure is entertaining…which is why I don’t see it as a black eye on bassin’. I mean, I obviously don’t condone it nor should anyone, and it ain’t funny if a cheater takes your greenbacks, but this stuff is generally FUNNY!

So since it’s never going away and there’s cheating in every form of competition, why not have a laugh at it instead of foam at the mouth? Guess it’s the turning lemons into lemonade approach. Lemme know if you think if you think I’ve been eating the wrong wild mushrooms….

Having said that, in the era of more and smaller technology, the days of cheating in bassin’ tourneys may be numbered. More on that later.