You might remember the viral video that surfaced last October showing officials cutting open tournament-winning walleye and pulling out weights from every single one. After being caught stuffing their haul with weights and fillets at the Lake Erie Walleye tournament, two anglers have been sentenced to 10 days in jail and 1.5 years on probation for their crimes.
A felony cheating charge and a misdemeanor animal ownership charge were pled guilty by Jacob Runyan, 43, of Ashtabula, Ohio, and Chase Cominsky, 36, of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, on May 11, 2023. In addition to jail time, probation, and a $2500 fine, the two were sentenced to jail time, probation, and a fine. It is unclear if the two will receive a lifetime ban, which many are calling for.
It was late last September that Rubyan and Cominsky competed in the Lake Erie Walleye tournament, where the average lake walleye weighed between 4 and 5 pounds at that time of year, and the best fish of the day had weighed 7.23 pounds. Jason Fisher was suspicious when Rubyan and Cominsky consistently recorded fish that weighed around 8 pounds each on the scale.
The officials discovered eight 12-ounce led weights and two 8-ounce weights sealed inside the walleye.
Anglers were caught cheating on a now-viral video filled with expletives and anger. The video shows officials cutting into each walleye and pulling out both weights and different fillets from different walleyes.
After Rubyan and Cominsky were disqualified, authorities seized Cominsky’s boat, a Ranger Pro Fisherman fiberglass, and trailer worth around $130.000.
At the time, the district attorney in Mercer County was aware of earlier rumors concerning cheating at tournaments, and thus issue a search warrant affidavit for the arrest of Runyan and Cominsky due to their investigation in regards to Toledo’s Rossford Walleye Roundup Tournament. Although they weren’t charged on this particular incident, they were disqualified from a different Fall Brawl tournament after one of them failed their polygraph test. This ultimately resulted in a loss of $100,000 worth of prize money.
Combined, the pair has won more than $306,000 from fishing tournaments in Ohio.
Yesterday, after the pair were sentenced to 1.5 weeks in jail and $2,500 in fines—quite a measly sum compared to not only their tournament winnings, but also the $29,000 they would have won if they hadn’t gotten caught at Lake Erie—Runyan apologized to the court and to everyone for stuffing the walleye at Lake Erie. “It was the most ignorant decision I’ve ever made.”
This pair’s sentencing should satisfy some of the voices heard in that viral video yelling, “You should be in jail!”
However, many fishing communities feel that retribution isn’t enough through jail time and fines. Gregory Gentile, the defense attorney in the case, noted that the social repercussions were likely to be much greater, pointing out that there is “seemingly endless public humiliation for these guys” and adding, “These guys will have to suffer this forever; when they go on dates, when they find a job. This case will appear forever on Google when they search for it.”
Currently, there is no word on any further consequences from fishing tournament officials. Many in the fishing community believe the pair should be banned from future tournaments, if not permanently.
Sources: wideopenspaces
