I think there should be a Most wanted type site for the guilty...

Fishing's Most Wanted...For those anglers who are found guilty on competitive fishing have their picture (mug shot) posted, alias and info on the incident/incidents...If you suspect someone you could go to the site and see if he/she have been found guilty anywhere in the U.S....Have it to were the TD's are the moderators and posted the convicted...

I for one would think that the guilty are less likely to move from State to State if they knew they were posted as CHEATERS...And would believe they wouldn't want their faces on web either..Just a thought especially after feeling now that I might have been cheated out of a Power Pole on Lewisville for BB and can't imagine how second place feels...After all Robby has a new title and trophy to add to the shelf...BUSTED...

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1. As others have stated, we no longer have to worry about the rat AND I don't think there is much of this type of thing that goes on. Most fishermen have great character.

2. In the interest of constant improvement: I agree with the boat check idea; however, maybe just make it a random full boat check for like 10% of the field. Less manpower, and still an additional deterrent.

Those that DO cheat, aren't catching the fish they alter on tourney day. They aren't capable. Losers.

I think I fished either a FOM or a Tuff Man on Stillhouse one time and before I even launched, a official jumped in my boat and checked my livewells and then tied a ribbon on my trollmotor, ones who launched at other ramps would have a tournament official come down to their boat to have it checked and ribbon tied on. Then they called us out by boat numbers, if someone did not have the ribbon on their boat, they could not go out without having their boat checked, they also checked your name off on a clipboard for going through the livewell check. I would say that was a great procedure that trail performed, I would just suggest increasing the livewell check to having anglers opening all compartments to being checked prior to heading out to fish. Just an idea.

I don't know about ya'll! when I have taking Poly graphs even though I was honest and ethical fisherman. I still got nervous. I could imagine if I had did something wrong and then took the test. I think I would have a heart attack.

Some of these ideas are out right crazy. They would put tournaments out of comision. Think of how some of these would work.

How about stating in the rules that if you are caught cheating, you will not only be dq'd, but you will pay a fine of $10,000 of which will be split among the competitors of that tournament. Might be hard to get the money, but sure would be a deterrent!

A full boat check might work in small tournaments, but would take more staff and time in large tournaments. Anglers already complain about the time it takes to idle by for only live well checks. It would be very difficult in large big bass torurnaments like Sealy's that draws thousands of boats.

I know, just an idea, I think this one had like 89-90 boats, it went smooth but not sure how well it would go with 200 plus boats, something to consider though.

I am the owner and TD for TX 3 Bass. The staff is just my wife and I. I also fish this event so me running around the lake with binoculars is out of the question.I do my best to look at the tail and mouth for the obvious signs of cheating. I have had only 1 livewell check since I began these events in Feb and yes there are other places to hide the fish... I make no money at this and a poly cost too much $ to have for a $25 entry fee tournament.

all we need is a law that jerks a guys license for getting DQed in a trounament because he forgot to zip his life jacket.

Rules are already in place for tournament cheating.

We don't need more rules,laws and politicians making laws about somehting they have no clue. We need more honest people and people to learn to be honest with themselves first, after one leans to be honest with themselves...........its pretty easy to be honest with everyone else.

Just my two cents.

Billy is 100% right.

To make it as foolproof as possible you would have to be able have a way to address all the potential ways to cheat. Livewell checks are a token effort, but probably not much of a deterent. Keeps them from hiding fish in an obvious place. With technology there may be some additional ways to monitor the anglers, on-board cameras, gps tracking etc. But someone has to foot the bill for that and have the means to monitor it. So unless you can make a rule to enter the tournament you have to have one of these devices, it likely is not feasible to do.

One thing that probably would be a pro-active step is being more assertive when you have an instance similar to the Basschamps situation. Seems the worst offenders have a history of sketchy activity. If you have an angler with a lot of suspicion around them and a history of doing well, maybe monitor them without their knowledge through some form of surveillance instead of putting an observer in their boat. If a spotter saw RR do something by watching him with binoculars once the questions started to come up you can run them off rather than just allowing them to stay in the game and do something only when they think are not be watched. Again, takes some effort and possibly some cost involved, but I bet it could be done. Maybe put something in the entry form that if someone is caught cheating in a trail they are not only DQd but agree to reimburse any money previously won that year. At least the anglers on the trail may feel a little more protected even if it would be getting blood from a turnip to get the money back. There could be a financial pound of flesh taken potentially if the angler did not pay back any previous winnings if the agreement is legally binding.

In a nutshell I think the local TDs do a good job preventing this, but cheaters are going to cheat. Looks as though the polygraph may keep honest people honest, but not much of a deterent for the hardcore cheater. So we are left with using a little common sense and maybe playing detective when there does not appear to be enough wool on that sheep. Hopefully catch them in the act sooner rather than later.

How about a fish fry at every tourney? Fillet about 1/3 of all the fish at random? Mmmmmm!!!!!

Here is an idea, run the stringer tournaments similiar to how these golf scrambles work. All of the tournaments have a different # of teams in the field, and clearly the field is made up of guys with different levels of ability. So for example: Say you have 60 teams, weigh in all sacks, then the TD will detirmine flights, here he could do 3 flights of 20. Obviously 1/2/3 heaviest weights will be your overall championship winners and recieve the larger checks, but 21/22/23 would win 1st, 2nd, 3rd in the first flight and so on. This is just a thought, it may be too complicated to set up. It may also help stop some of the "stuff" that needs to be stoppped because you can cash a "honest check" with a "honest catch" because no one knows where the cut-offs will be. This may also help bring more people into our sport because they feel like they have a chance to win a prize and also gain some knowledge from some of the areas best anglers.

Polygraghs only keep the honest anglers following all the rules of the tourneys.A thief like R.R. can beat a polygragh as has been done many times over.I dont think you will ever get rid of them -just something we have to live with and go on -just the way it is and always will be with all the criminals running the streets these days-Its sad but something we`ll have to deal with from now on.We need to continue doing the things we love to do and be more aware of whats going on around us and report any suspicious activity to the T.D. or officials!