There was a guy in SoCal ( can't remember his name -- this was 4-5 years ago ) that participated in a ton of tourneys over many years . He won or placed well in several of them . The lakes they were fishing had spotted bass mostly --- so really big bass were kinda uncommon . He devised a way to attach a small hook to a banana type weight ( 2 to 3 ounces each ) then would shove the weight down the bass throat and the hook would keep it place . He did this without the Co 's seeing it . The only reason they ended up catching him was because he always had a higher than average mortality vs other fisherman .
The fish that were brought in and had died were being cleaned and donated to local charities . One of the people cleaning these fish found the weights and reported it . The next tourney comes around and they suspected this guy , so when he brought in his fish , they weighed then and immediately cleaned them , ended up finding a weight in every fish .
This guy was well liked and respected , but ended up paying huge fines , no fishing license and no tourneys anymore --- probably lost any friends he had also .
Put a little money in front of some people and they totally change how they act .

There was a guy in SoCal ( can't remember his name -- this was 4-5 years ago ) that participated in a ton of tourneys over many years . He won or placed well in several of them . The lakes they were fishing had spotted bass mostly --- so really big bass were kinda uncommon . He devised a way to attach a small hook to a banana type weight ( 2 to 3 ounces each ) then would shove the weight down the bass throat and the hook would keep it place . He did this without the Co 's seeing it . The only reason they ended up catching him was because he always had a higher than average mortality vs other fisherman .
The fish that were brought in and had died were being cleaned and donated to local charities . One of the people cleaning these fish found the weights and reported it . The next tourney comes around and they suspected this guy , so when he brought in his fish , they weighed then and immediately cleaned them , ended up finding a weight in every fish .
This guy was well liked and respected , but ended up paying huge fines , no fishing license and no tourneys anymore --- probably lost any friends he had also .
Put a little money in front of some people and they totally change how they act .

That happened at the US Open 10 or so years ago on Lake Mead. Guy was arrested, charged and never seen or heard from again.

Anyone that cheats will eventually get caught especially with the technology we have today (internet, camera phones, etc...). The bass fishing community does not put up with cheating. These people get put on blast via the internet & social media, word gets around within days and the criminals days of cheating and tournament fishing are done.

RIP Mike Long... but not really