I agree cheating does go on. Too bad because everyone but that one person or team can be totally honest and the few will wreck it for everyone.

Wish is was that simple.

I think the random assignment of co anglers in the trails that do that sorta thing is one of the best methods to self police, many have the hardest time with integrity of a trail seeing 1 angler boats head out to fish, or predetermined teams, many times Robby had a guy n the boat. I believe my count of cage remnants, or baskets found during bass club tournaments is 4 , never was there one with fish in it, but still, makes you think.

Because its just the way its always been done.

I think 50% is closer than 1%. Remember, cheaters don't win all the time. Like someone said above, there are more ways to cheat than just weighing in caged fish. I wouldn't be surprised to know that someone cheated in half the tournaments I've fished. I'm not saying they weighed in dirty fish, but someone made casts early, got information when he wasn't supposed to, was on the water during off limits, etc. Hell, there's a possibility I've cheated a time or two unknowingly by simply visiting with a buddy that's been on the water when the rules said I couldn't receive information. See how easy it is?

Talk to any game warden, its much more prevalent at the lower level, club tournaments and local team trails where random pairing or an observer is not involved, once you get above that and up to the AAA level its much more rare, because of methods put in place to prevent it.

Spot on.

Cheating is not what you may think it is. "Cheating" is also pros/guides fishing amateur/owners tournaments on home lakes. Having a distinct advantage is cheating in my book and I don't appreciate it. How often it happens? Don't know, once is too many.

If it's not in the rules of the tournament then it's not cheating.. We all sign the same entry...If you don't like the rules --- don't play.

I love to fish against the "pros/guides' if they win you have a built in excuse for loosing.. If you win it's ----- Yea I kicked there goat smeller !!

Sorry guys I have to believe that it is much closer to 1% as well.
It is just like in sales, the weak sales guys always have the story, "well I'll never get that business, because my competition is paying them under the table." Some of this may happen, but in almost 30 years of outside sales, I really only know of one or two actual cases of it. In reality what is happening is, the competition is getting up earlier, working harder and kicking your rear. It's the same in tournament fishing.

People keep making statements about "they work harder or are better fishermen", it really has nothing to do with winning or losing or whether you even enter a tournament. I don't even fish tournaments because I know that I suck at fishing. If you forgot to put on your life jacket in time, fished 30 minutes into the cutoff of the no prefishing time, started running your boat before your partner got his life jacket strapped up or violated any other small rule of the tournament. and continue to fish the tournament, you cheated. Mistakes would, in my belief, make the number higher.

In over 20 years of law enforcement, one thing that I have learned is there are plenty of honest people out there but there is no shortage of people willing to break the rules when it can get them money, especially if they think that they have it planned out where they will not get caught. I also know that there are plenty of stupid people and just because they cheated doesn't mean that they cheated well enough to win. I could vouch for myself and maybe my partner but I would never stake my reputation vouching for strangers just because they are presumed to have the same hobby as me. You put money into the equation and people will cheat. Heck, I don't even play fantasy football any more because too many coworkers were colluding, which is cheating, in that because of the chance to win a little money.

All that said, does not mean that I assume that because someone won a tournament that they cheated. I do assume that they atleast competed against some cheaters. Nor does cheating mean that you took a competitive advantage. It simply means that you broke the rules and continued the tournament anyway.

if there is money involved, there will always be someone trying to cheat to get it.

I want to fish in tournaments but can't find any good jerseys to wear.