High School fish tournament fraud

Hope the kids on that boat learned not to cheat.

https://www.kxii.com/content/news/Man-facing-charge-for-fish-tournament-fraud-509886181.html

Legend 195 will be coming along shortly....

I’m pretty sure this guy has been caught “bending” some rules before in some tourneys years ago. I guess a tiger never really does lose his stripes.

I want to give THSBA props for finally catching this guy!! He has a long history of incidents in tournaments on Texoma but other than an FLW “withdrawal “nobody could ever make anything stick. Way to go THSBA!!!!

Always been lots of suspicion swirling around this person, it’ll be interesting how this plays out.

What a idiot. There was nothing even in it for him .

What exactly did he do, anyone know?

Reading between the lines, it sounds like he may have caught some of the team's limit. Trouble seems to follow that guy everywhere he goes.

Hmmmmmm...

I've heard a lot of stories over the years...

how are people like him and Jason May allowed to captain these HS teams?

I'm surprised Robby Rose hasn't been captaining a team.

The game warden in the article is prob one of the best wardens in the state too.

I read somewhere there was no cheating in hs tournaments . if there is money or glory cheaters gonna cheat the biggest problem is that when a guy cant pass a poly the tournament directors are always wringing their hands trying to figure out a way not to disqualify a person because it looks bad on the trail.

Wow, a captain cheating, go figure. Sad to see that.

The kids knew the rules too, anyone pointing fingers at them as well?

I like how teams win or get a top 10 and they’ve never been on the lake before, zero pre fishing, first time on the lake. Some of these teams need to go straight to the pro rank, just ask their parents. Lots of teams are doing it the right way, too many are buying their way in. I’ve been told numerous times, “why would I be their boat captain when I can get someone else to do it and possibly win”. One dad was just posting how his son had “put in the hard work” then the post right before stated he’d never been on the lake prior to the tournament. Same dad that isn’t the boat captain but fishes all the time. Nothing like teaching them the right way.

And this is exactly why ONLY parents/legal guardians of one of the team members should be allowed to be a boat captain. Too many parents out there willing to coddle their child to the top by paying for the best boat captain. It really is pathetic.

In defense of these organizations alot of the teams, clubs, what have you are run by people who aren't involved in the "fishing community" for lack of a better word. They aren't on here, the name Robby Rose doesnt jump out to them, when I was captaining I had to have a background check done thru the school that the district I'm in does on every volunteer, I'm sure it's for felonies, etc. Beyond that nothing else. Hell these people still get entry into tournies now run by people who know .....

Maybe a registry should be started for cheaters kind of like for pedophiles and registered sex offenders.

those same parents will have no problem throwing a fish in the box to help the kid either

In today's current environment you better make sure any names you add to that registry have been actually convicted or have admitted cheating or chances are high you will be sued. That is the reason people with questionable activities regarding tournaments are still allowed to fish. If you publicly turn them away over possible cheating and they were not convicted of it then you stand a good chance of being sued.

Boy I can't wait I can't wait until these kids stop fishing high school events and move up to bass champs and media and TTZ. It's going to be really interesting

Mark I see your point but tournament directors should also grow a pair and have the right to refuse service to anyone just like the rest of Americas businesses

they do

this fella has been barred from fishing large trail events in the past

if you publicly labeled someone a cheater without proof, I could see the opening. Quietly and privately telling someone they cannot participate in your event is not grounds for any legal action

Why? What is going to be interesting about it? My high school senior and his high school senior partner fished THSBA and Media this year. I captained for them in THSBA and in Media they operated the boat themselves and pre-fished, planned, etc, all by themselves because I was fishing the same division of Media against them. I literally cant think of one story from this season of Media or THSBA that anyone would find interesting.

k den

So my Son was a part of a "HS" shotgun shooting team a few years back. IMO the thing that makes these "HS teams" ripe for cheating is they really have nothing to do with the school and do not fall under the UIL umbrella as far as I know. They often meet at a school and have a sponsoring teacher so they can call it the "whichever HS fishing or shooting team" but in the end they are not really a school sport. In the shooting thing teams would even recruit good shooters from other areas to come shoot on X team even if they did not go to the school the team was "sponsored" by. You have a 501C3 company running a club and calling it a HS sport. No rules other than the ones the company creates, no real sanctioning body. The shotgun thing definitely was that way and we found ourselves paying and enriching the company and their employees but that was it. With scholarship money and prizes on the line, adults are going to cheat to get their baby a scholarship and also so they can brag on their kid. If you want to have a youth tournament trail, awesome but I wish they would stop calling them HS teams because in my mind, and I may be totally off base here but they are not. The other thing that might help would be for UIL to recognize a couple of these popular outdoor sports and have a little oversight. I am not a proponent of Govt., they mess up almost anything they touch but in this case some oversight from someone other than a 501C3 company and whatever rules they create would probably be good.

There's a reason that official school/district/UIL sanctioned activities don't involve prize money/scholarships as a reward for success

Solid response, thanks for the feedback. My point is that lots of people get on here and say something based on a rumor, or something just completely made up and unsubstantiated based on their biases, but ask them for their basis of the comment or proof of the rumor and you get nothing but a bada$$ comment like "k den".

I congratulate all of the highschoolers who are learning to fish tournaments without cheating

So you think American businesses have "The Right to Refuse Service to Anyone"?

The link posted on the first page of the confirmed story with charges being pursued is not a rumor. Nor are the teams that were disqualified from Lewisville. So that is two events that have documented proof, not just hearsay. I'm not sure what else you are looking for. Mug shots maybe?

If you're suspected of being a cheater, you can't fish my tournaments.

Are you going to argue that ?

I agree.

Hopefully no one is advocating that a team/angler DQd for a lifejacket violation not be allowed to fish any future tournaments.

Absolutely not Mark Just cheating violations or suspicion of cheating

So the linked story has soemthing to do with how the kids are going to make Media, champs, and TTZ interesting? I guess I am not following this far enough down the rabbit hole. Also, are you saying that this cheating is somehow limited to hgih school fishing events only, because I beleive this thread has also confirmed that this same guy has been caught cheating in other tournaments. Can we assume that it will be "interesting" when the participants of these other tournaments "move up to bass champs and media and TTZ"?

I'm with you.

suspicion of cheating? So two of the guys on this forum who are always complaining (about hs tourneys, mlf, flw, bla bla bla that they dont have to watch or follow) enter your tourney and both say they saw xxx the guy whos been winning most of them breaking a rule and that guy is gone due to suspicion..hahaha good luck with that. If youve been on this forum for more than a month you know there are a whole bunch of guys who would certainly band together if they thought they could get rid of competition.

I completely agree with this.

I wasn't talking about Media, TTZ, Champs. I was simply stating that there is substantial proof that there are two well documented cases of blatant cheating, one included in the original post. You said people get on here talking about rumors or unsubstantiated events based on bias, I was just providing two instances that were neither rumor nor unsubstantiated. I am not disputing the fact that the guy has been caught cheating in higher level events. That being said, with captains displaying this behavior to their relatively unexperienced kids, it could have an effect on how they compete in larger events.

This guy has been caught before, it was just 3 years ago he was DQ'd from winning a ABA event because of his previous cheating https://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/11489607/Re:_Ram_series_Richland_chambe Does THSBA not have a rule if you've been caught cheating before you can't enter?, I'm surprised no one protested him being involved in the first place, guys reputation was well known in the regional tourney scene.

Shallow water, my point about TTZ, champs, and media is that it was only interesting to see if the kids who are learning to cheat in these high school events try the same thing at the larger events as they get older. I'm not saying every high school fisherman is a cheater either.

I am saying that there seems to be a lot of cheating talk and already several disqualifications in a very short time and high school tournaments

No, what he's saying is that there are a ton of kids being introduced to competitive fishing the wrong way due to this HS fishing stuff. And they're going to carry a range of bad habits varying from slightly irresponsible to downright malicious into competition in their adult life - and its going to be at an unprecedented level, due to the sheer number of these kids.

The kids whose parents fish and are teaching them to fish and are capable of operating a boat on their own and behaving responsibly are not the kids he's referring to.

The thing being missed in your point is that the kids learning bad habits and cheating are learning from guys who are already competing and cheating in tournaments. This Lovelace guy certainly isnt new to tournament fishing or cheating. These cheating high schoolers are not going to introduce something new. Just like the current adult cheaters learned from their adult cheater mentors or parents before them. This is not a result, and wont be a continued result, of high school fishing tournaments being introduced.

This!

1500+ teams in THSBA and all you want to do is point out the few negative ones and all the negative aspects you can. Sad way to live a life...

Yes THSBA staff should have caught his name at time of entry but your right about them being new or not involved in the "fishing community". Did he captain more than one event?, if so just can't believe one of the other teams captains wouldn't have protested based on his past record, surely one of them knew about his history.

Scroll down towards the bottom of the post and there is a post about another tournament he was DQ'ed from. Apparently he has been doing this for a while.

HERE

I am not sure the THSBA is to "blame" because an obvious con artist tried and scam their event.

One thing that is for sure, if a person cheats long enough he will eventually get caught. The shame is the punishment usually isn't severe enough to deter that person or others from attempting to cheat in the future.

Well good point but he obviously wasn't using an alias or something since he worked for the high school at Gainesville.

Not sure if he has ever been convicted or not, but I think a conviction would be a red flag for anyone who was employed as a teacher.

Although for what they pay teachers and the BS they have to endure, they probably don't want to disqualify too many that will take the job...

Alot of that talk is simply uninformed rumor. The post yesterday about Caddo Mills is a great example of that. There have been some cases of people being caught cheating and they were all handled in accordance with the rules. That is a good thing in my opinion. Enforce the rules, make an example out of the few cheaters, the organizations will benefit from that long term. Most of the high school fishing organizations are still in their infancy.

I don't think you will see this wave of cheating emerge in the adult trails. Hold off on the panic button. What you will see is a wave of unprecedented competition. These kids are light years ahead of where most of us were as anglers in high school. Big numbers are about to be infused into the adult trails. I think that is the reason many of you guys really hate this high school fishing deal. I'm not sure if it's the added pressure on area lakes or just the fact that things are changing fast. Most of us hate change. It's human nature, but change is here and its to late to stop it now.

I really cant see this. Possible yes, but most fathers would never do this.

most father wouldn't do this??? That's a piss poor argument.

MOST captains wouldn't either.

Your right most Captains wouldn't, but I would bet you that way more would let things slide than a young mans father trying to install some integrity in his son. Also this would limit the number of boats that these have. And lets face it, that's what is mainly driving all the HS hate.

Maybe, by your wisdom, their mommas should be their high school football coaches too? Or their pot dealers teaching them shop?

I paid someone to teach my son championship level chess....what's the difference?

Because they are not paying to have their kids taught, they are paying for them to win, with little effort actually put in by the actual competitors. Your son was taught and had to learn skills then apply those skills. These kids, not all of them, show up and are told exactly where to throw and what to throw. Do they learn anything by doing that? Not really.

I see your point and I agree.

This is an extremely small number of participants that gets blown up on here like it is the majority. The vast majority of these boats have a parent/grandparent of one of the kids. And I dont believe we should paint the picture that fishing is as simple as point and shoot either. I know I have personally been in a boat, guided and unguided, with people who were casting where I felt I was casting, working the same bait the same way as I felt I was working, and they were catching and I was not. Do some kids have it significantly easier than other kids? Absolutely, there is no truly level playing field in any competitive sport. Do I think that people should go out and get the best guy on the lake to captain their kids? Absolutely not, but its that guys decision to go out with kids and give his time for free, because paying that guy is a rules violation and would fall into cheating (not saying it isnt happening, but the organizations put the rules out there in order to be able to enforce them should someone come forward with a protest).

We fished THSBA for 3 years, and I talked to a ton of captains at weigh-ins, ramps, check-ins, etc. and only 1 time in 3 years of 7+ events a year did I talk to someone who was not an immediate family member of one of the kids.

. [/quote]

This is an extremely small number of participants that gets blown up on here like it is the majority. The vast majority of these boats have a parent/grandparent of one of the kids. And I dont believe we should paint the picture that fishing is as simple as point and shoot either. I know I have personally been in a boat, guided and unguided, with people who were casting where I felt I was casting, working the same bait the same way as I felt I was working, and they were catching and I was not. Do some kids have it significantly easier than other kids? Absolutely, there is no truly level playing field in any competitive sport. Do I think that people should go out and get the best guy on the lake to captain their kids? Absolutely not, but its that guys decision to go out with kids and give his time for free, because paying that guy is a rules violation and would fall into cheating (not saying it isnt happening, but the organizations put the rules out there in order to be able to enforce them should someone come forward with a protest).

We fished THSBA for 3 years, and I talked to a ton of captains at weigh-ins, ramps, check-ins, etc. and only 1 time in 3 years of 7+ events a year did I talk to someone who was not an immediate family member of one of the kids.[/quote]

There are a lot of guys like myself that aren't "related" to the kids who are there. At least two of the top ten teams had captains that were not blood related but they are considered family. You spend 4 years with a pair of kids throughout the highs and lows of their lives and you become family. Some of ya'll want to focus so hard on ANY negative or perceived negative that you refuse to see the good that is in the majority of the program. (not directed at you SW)
This whole thing comes down to jealousy and "get off my grass" mentality but hey, ya'll just keep on

And we thank you for that sentiment

Agreed txduck.

I will add that as a parent who has taught a kid to fish, and is working on 2 more, if it was as easy as cast this right there then I would be able to get a lot more fishing in and a lot less entertaining on the water.

The captains aren't suppose to be paid beyond a modest gas reimbursement, we got $50 race track gift card for gas. Which doesnt begin to cover expense usually

Come on folks this is the first time this has happened.

As an outside observer of the THSBA, I've seen a handful of cases of rule infractions, but very few cases of cheating. Don't see how this association is any worse than any other tournament organization.

Professional Anglers still get DQ'd today. Are they cheating? Rarely to almost never. Most is unintentional.

I just don't know why THSBA is receiving so much heat, it seems as though they are taking proper actions when violations, rule infractions are reported. What more are they to do?


Maybe volunteer Captains should receive a stipend to cover expenses and all kids need to pay dues to cover these stipends as opposed to depending on participants to voluntarily help cover costs.

My thoughts. Ryan is a cheater, has always been a cheater. I have called him a cheater openly. I have called tournament directors and said he was a cheater. He finally got caught and I am glad. Hopefully they will modify the rules with a clear statement that say if you have ever been DQ'd from a tournament, you can NOT be a captain. Ryan should never be any where near any competition involving fishing ever again in his life.

And for those that want to reference the "rumors" of him cheating. He had the opportunity to pay for his own polygraph to clear his name after he was DQ'd for failing a polygraph. His excuse was his blood pressure medication. He NEVER went and paid for a Polygraph to clear his name. His excuse was that he couldn't afford it. As well know, this goes years and years back. We all know how much tournament fishing cost and if he can afford to still fish whatever events that will still let him, then he dang sure had the money to clear his name. He didn't ever clear it because he cheated....and he knew it....and he continued to cheat. I hope they hit him as hard as they possibly can.

I'd guess this will do it from him,

My previous mention of "rumors" was not about this instance or this individual, it was in reference to previous threads and comments on high school fishing.

Everyone needs to let the high school part of this go!! Focus on the adult who always has been and always will be a cheater! He was dq'd years ago in an Angler's Choice pro am! He was charged but before it all went to court he went away for some other issues! by the time got out the Judge that had pushed it had passed away and with him went the case. When he was dq'd from the ABA a few years ago I commented on here on a thread about the incident. Then was attacked on here by one of his buddies. I gave my name and some how they found my phone number and it continued on. I had about an hour conversation with Ryan bc he knows me bc I protest him any time he shows up at any tournament! In the end I told him I hoped he had learned his lesson and that he could try to rebuild his reputation! Apparently he hasn't and now he has drug a bunch of kids into this mess with him! I hope they finally convict him so the argument about he has never been convicted finally goes away and so does he from any type of organized fishing tournaments!

People will cheat at any level and sometimes its name recognition they want more than the money. Heck I fished a one versus one tournament against a TFF member here. No money, just bragging rights. He knew he was going to win and so did I. He still felt the need to cheat though and wasn't even man enough to admit it after I found out.

...Some are getting more than that. I have mixed views on the whole deal. High school fishing is getting heat because it does have issues. Issues that tournaments on other levels don’t have so much... Overzealous parents that don’t know the rules, practices, and values that are second nature to most tournament anglers. Shortages of qualified captains and shortages of knowledgeable captains. The kids are the least of the problem! They just want to fish and learn. I think high school fishing is a great thing. I’ve done it two seasons but, there’s no way I’d do it if I didn’t have some relation to the kids I coach. I think THSBA is doing a good job but, there still needs to be more done to educate all involved that lack tournament fishing etiquette, knowledge, and understanding of rules. In the two seasons I’ve been a captain I’ve seen quite a few things that were questionable at best. You don’t take fish to the scales to see if they’ll measure (especially if they’re 12”)!! The “off limits” needs to be enforced or done away with. First of all, I talk fishing to a lot of friends and I don’t want to worry about violating off limits for something I’m not even fishing. Second, it’s such an unclear and grey area rule I think it’s violated all the time. These things need to be corrected because they’ll be fishing against us someday in our trails. That being said I think most will have a better knowledge of tournament fishing because of what they’re learning in high school fishing. How much tournament knowledge did you have in high school? Let’s just correct their mistakes and teach them the right way.

The biggest issues I have seen have been boat captains that don't respect no wake zones. They think simply because they are no longer on plane they are good. WRONG! TP&W could have gotten rich out on Ray Hubbard a few weeks ago during the HS tournament. But then again they could get rich out there just about any day but I rarely see them.

Where is this written anywhere in the rules? It’s not in the series we fished and it was nothing more than ones personal opinion on was was appropriate or within reason. A local guide (not on the lake he boat captained for) was getting $500 per tournament and this is a fact as we had a parent pay him and he had been a captain in multiple tournaments. There was a guide at the regional last year that was a captain. $500 is actually cheap for 12 hours, boat, gas, insurance, tow truck, etc. Many great boat captains do it for fee but not all and don’t blame them either way. There’s a reason in my opinion it’s not in the rules.

I know this is a fishing forum but unless I missed it somewhere people are complaining that he shouldn't be allowed to enter tournaments. I think the bigger issue is that the guy is a teacher. I'd rather see him removed from having contact with impressionable kids 5 days a week in school.

It is comical that y'all think making them fish with parents would fix it. We've all seen how some parents act at their kids other sporting events, what makes you think they would be any better when they are actually involved instead of standing on the sideline?

I apologize for my comments on this thread. The longer this thing goes the more I realize that I don't have near enough info to be posting negative things. I think I realize that with me it really is a "Stay off my grass" issue as TxDuckhunter posted.

Honesty.

For me, it’s just entertaining to read and throw a little gas in the fire every once in a while. Lol

This whole thread is unconscionable! High schoolers have no business fishing in competitive bass fishing tournaments. It never was even thought of back in my HS days, and I'm only 58. These HS kids need to mature, first, before they start doing adult things. It looks like it brings out the riff raff, too, to help guide these kids....but it's in the wrong direction.

Burn me to the stake, but sorry...I can have an opinion, too.

Please list out all the things we should be considering "adult things" so we can know where to draw the line. Should we take everything away from the kids that wasnt available to you 40 years ago?

No offense intended, but I find your post unconscionable. I was fishing competitive bass fishing tournaments with my pops or my uncle from early elementary school through high school in NE Texas in the 70s and 80s- and being competitive. You think competitive fishing is an "adult thing" that needs maturity? Hogwash. Driving the boat is an adult thing that needs maturity and that is why there are captains. I have captained one kid that I am not related to for the past two years in THSBA. He spends a minimum of 3-4 days a week with a rod in his hand. He reads everything he can get his hands on from reliable sources (not the trash on here I hope) on bass fishing. He does whatever I ask of him on boat/trailer maintenance, gear organization, etc. He does all of this while also being an FFA Officer, fishing team Officer, HS football player, and carrying a 4.4 GPA at a tough school taking tough classes. That is maturity in my book. I'm willing to bet a lot of these kids are on equal ground with the majority of the guys on this forum (fishing skill wise) and better than a lot of them. He has more business fishing in competitive bass fishing tournaments than a lot of the yahoos I see show up and donate at the tourneys I fish. I don't know you, but I generally have agreed with your opinion over the years of being on this forum and am honestly surprised at your post. But, like you wrote, you are entitled to your opinion. And my opinion is that yours is way off base on this topic.

It is not the kids that are the root cause... the "supervision" aspect of the equation is the failed part.

Very well said..

Okie My son has been fishing tournaments since he was 4 years old. He is 16 now and can hold his on with any adult. He is either watching fishing , reading about fishing or fishing.. The only problem I have with my son is he does not pay his own way. LOL.... He knows what to do and not to do when operating a boat. I wish I would have had a bass club at school. Most colleges have a bass team just like most a have a football team. So do we take the football team away? My only problem with high school fishing is it grew to fast to quick with that comes growing pains.. Kids grow up way faster nowadays than we did. There are some that will never mature just like we have some adults that need to mature. High school bass fishing is not going away so how do we make it work best for everyone and the includes fish care...

Don't post much but I have to here.

The worst argument I have ever been on in the water was with a high school captain who had 2 kids, and another father in the boat fun fishing. I have fished my whole life and never seen anyone act the way he did. The guy was a pitiful human not to mention role model. He started out cussing etc.. I was shocked..The kids were polite minus their actions, upon which the captain was encouraging them to do. (Cast up beside my boat power poled down in a small creek)

Moral of the story.. this is a sport.. treat it like one. I would like to see these guys try to pull some of this stuff on a football field. Coach would slap the $%^& out of them.

Captains, You are with young men and women at a pivotal point in their life and all of your actions are watched and remembered. Be a role model or step down, it is that easy. You are not helping the sport you are ruining it. That is small compared to the damage you are doing to our next generation. Teach them what we learned in sports; Respect, Courtesy, RULES, Values, Integrity and Honesty.. IF you don't have any of these yourself I assure you there is a guy with a bass boat that does. It is really that simple. If you don't I promise this will get so bad it will go away and you'll be paying for College again.

No one owns the water, we share it, remember that.

Fishing tournaments with family as a kid is different. My son did it with me as well. The parent fulfills all financial responsibilities. JMHO, young ones need to be able to afford the means needed to be a part....truck, boat, ins, money for all expenses required to get out there and fish. As a society, everybody is always trying to rush things. Let's all slow down and take a deep breath, and when little Johnny or Jill can afford to go at it on their own, let 'em go. They learn more and take a whole different approach when it's their own money footin' the bill. They will even appreciate the sport just that much more. I guess it's just my old school opinion coming out again, and I can accept and respect your opinions, too.

Now, there is a rumor that Gainesville HS teams were busted sharing fish at the State Championship. THSBA keeps DQ's quiet so as to not embarrass the kids, but it sounds like the whole team needs to be watched very closely next year. A few years ago, they watched Sanger like hawks after one of their boat captains was caught adding his fish to his daughter's bag.

Why does it seem like you probably only feel this way about fishing? Do you think kids who cant afford a bat, glove, cleats, etc with their own money shouldnt play baseball? Maybe kids who cant pay for pads, helmet, football, with their own money, shouldnt play football? A kid who cant buy their own first car shouldnt drive? At what point should kids have to start buying their own food in order to eat?

Fatally flawed argument when you assume that a person needs to be mature before fishing bass tournaments.

Let me put an end to that rumor before the high school fishing haters attach themselves to a BS rumor. A team from Gainesville had a blowout on their tow vehicle on the way to Athens HS. One of the other teams stopped and got the students and their fish transferred to their boat and took them to the weigh in so they wouldn’t be late and miss the check in cut off time while the boat captain changes his tire. Our rules allow this. No different than a boat breaking down on the water and another competitors boat transferring the fish and students into their boat and taking them to the lakeside weigh in.

Those of you that were at the weigh in and saw me take over the weigh in procedures for about 10 minutes, well the reason why is because it was reported to us that teams may have been sharing fish, so we investigated it on the spot. And the above is what the conclusion was. End of story.

Gainesville has been a great team, following all the rules and procedures set forth by the THSBA, especially when there has been a major violation involving one of their own teams.

I'm one of the oldest dads involved in this gig most likely as my wife and I didn't have our oldest son until I was 33, and my nickname with a lot of my friends is coincidentally "old school" because of the way I live my life and my opinions..............I don't think my dad was "rushing" me in 1976 when he said I was going to fish a tourney with him.He just knew two lines in the water was better than one and I did in fact add to our limit many times. My oldest son only began showing interest in bass fishing in the past couple of years even though I have been tournament fishing since he was born. Baseball, football, basketball, track and video games had his attention for all of those years. Ya wanna guess what got him on the water with me for 8-10 hours of fishing? High School fishing team. And I am grateful as hell to the team and the organizations that got him out there because it is absolutely awesome to spend a ton of time with him on the water doing what I love.

Your post should have stopped at the word “Rumor”. It’s time for people to quit perpetuating rumors and trying to stir the pot on the TFF. If it’s a rumor than there is a reason it is a rumor. There’s a time for people to begin to act as adults and stick to things that are actually the truth. This site has really shown its face in regards to its immaturity on the high school fishing threads. If an outsider read the stuff posted on the TFF lately they would think it was a bunch of immature middle school kids. At least you did start of with the explanation that it is a rumor. Many others on here have stated the rumors they have heard as facts. This site is beginning to really give bass fishermen a black eye.

How did they prove the 5 biggest fish weren’t combined from the two boats? Was an official present during the entire transportation?

No. It IS VERY different than a competitor hitching a ride in another boat with two separate unbiased officials watching over things. This, too me, kinda sounds like a convenient way to explain away an opportunity to cheat.

HAHAHA......so now boat captains are purposely blowing out there on truck tires so they can combine fish from another team!!!!

........and let's not forget about that little thing we have in America....."Innocent until proven guilty"!!!

Haha. Playing devils advocate here, is all.

Well, seeing that the highest finishing team from Gainesville only weighed in 7 fish total in 2 days and finished the event in 57th place with 15+ pounds (17 places out of the prize cutoff of 40th place), it’s a pretty easy conclusion no combining of fish took place. Quit making something out of nothing, especially when another team was helping the students get to weigh in on time and our officials did a proper investigation into the matter.

kudos for the transparency

Hey, hey! Take it easy with that LOGIC around here. People don't take too kindly to it.

I know very little about highschool fishing but why can't highschool fishing become a UIL sport? I'm sure there is a lot of stuff to go through, but with the rise in highschool fishing, I could see it in the category as other UIL sports.

for one, you'll see the scholarship money and prizes pretty much go away. it will become all about participation ribbons lile other UIL sanctioned events.

How does this person become a captain, not to mention how the hell do they become a teacher?

From the look of his record, this guy should never have been allowed to be a captain. Having said that, these kids are old enough to understand if something is right or wrong and made a bad decision. So all 3 to blame here. Glad they got caught, life lesson at an early age.

Ouch that's a pretty solid list...… Lots of good high school anglers and captains and lots bad ones as well. I have no idea how you go about separating the two

Sure they learn something. They learn some good spots to fish, and how to fish them, without having to spend countless hours on the water finding them.

If the boat and tackle manufacturers and retailers didn't come up with this idea...they should have.

Well Tim so much for staying out of the TFF crosshairs like you were talking about at the rules meeting.

I think you are on to something. There should be background checks on captains

A lot of school district require all volunteers to register and complete a check if volunteering at the school. Unsure if it has made its way to the fishing trail yet, or if its assumed since he was an ISD employee already.

Thank you for the explanation. I will forward your response to the person who told me this rumor.

So the kids, the ones old enough to be in high school, knew nothing about it?

I dont think intention matters in this case bud. They knew what they did wether they intended to or not that morning. Want to elaborate on the story?

From every high school tournament I have seen the kids take the fish to the scales.. Tell me again how the kids had no part in this?
What bugs me about the whole thing is that this happened in November of last year and it is just now coming out.

the reason it is slow to come out is that with our everybody gets a ribbon mentality the tournament directors don't want to make the hard call that need to be made from time to time when folks go outside the rules if you have been fishing tournaments any length of time we have all seen some things that make you shake your head. there are rules for a reason for safety an fairness. .

I've seen quite a few defending the kids on the team here.....including someone that is apparently on the school team. Would love to see the kids that were involved in this provide their explanation of why they are not responsible. Did they see Ryan make a cast? Did they see him catch a fish? Did they see him put the fish in the livewell? Did they put the fish in their weigh in bag and weigh it/them in? It doesn't matter that he was the captain.....they knew this was wrong and are old enough to know better. As far as I am concerned, they are just as guilty in this as he is and should be banned from fishing tournaments. Bad decisions = consequences.

Never thought about that, in other instances you have a co-angler or marshall present to watch over things, I would be confident if the HS senario were to take place at other levels team, AAA, Tour, maybe even club level where money is involved the teams would be disqualified, you think Trip Wheldon would let this slide? I don't see this making something out of nothing considering the team involved had already been caught cheating once.

I am so happy my boys graduated high school before these tournaments were started, I do enjoy reading this stuff, can't believe some of the stuff I read and hear, its just crazy. Does anyone know exactly what the boat captain did ? Just curious.

The team from Gainesville that received assistance getting to weigh-in HAS NOT cheated in any of our events. You really should know your facts before commenting.

By the way, your hatred for high school fishing is truly legendary. However, I would bet everything I have that if high school fishing was around back when you were in school, you would have been the first one at your school to sign up.

The original topic of the post is certainly a valid thing to have on the forum. Unfortunately this thing as taken the same turn it always does. Everyone has a right to their opinion...Many in this thread that I strongly disagree with, and that is ok. However, those of you spreading pure unsubstantiated rumors are just plain sorry! No way around that.

People with that much hate towards something that doesnt involve them at all are typically lacking in reading comprehension as well. An 8 page thread may have been a little too longer to follow.

I agree! Why is this post even allowed by the wardens to continue......Need to make a sub topic called "BS" and have these kinds of threads moved....Should be deleted at this point....

I don’t hate HS fishing. It’s intertaining reading. Lol. I love how completely biased it is. Even the post game
BS is completely biased. You’re either a “winner” or “DQed”.....Then you’re a complete proponent on the internet or an opponent. This topic reeks of hypocrisy . They’re “innocent until proven guilty” but in a comment, you’re a hater unless proven to be a fan boy.

Again....LOVE ME SOME HIGH SCHOOL BASSIN’ GOSSIP!!!

Why sweep it under the rug?

OK FIFY

When I read the article, the name of the boat captain did not surprise me. The guy is a total [censored] and has a bad reputation in the Texoma area. Hopefully this ordeal will end all of his tournament fishing for good. Myself and a couple others decided to stop entering tournaments if we knew he was fishing them.

According to the ORIGINAL post it was not swept under the rug.

That has NOT been my 4 years of experience with our region's tournament director Matt Tolnay. He has had no problem with disqualifying teams for breaking THSBA safety rules, fishing in restricted areas, etc.

Just so you guys know the kids on the team and went to their principal. Guess they couldn't deal with the guilt of it all and good for them. The captain won't being able to wiggle out of this one.