Local tournaments on lookout for bass cheats
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By Ed Zieralski<SCRIPT> pv["p.a_3"] = "Ed Zieralski";</SCRIPT> , UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER Monday, July 26, 2010 at 9:46 p.m.
Organizers of local bass fishing tournaments plan to meet to discuss how competitions are run in San Diego in the wake of last week’s cheating incident in the U.S. Open on Lake Mead
Jim Sleight, tournament director for the El Cajon Ford Night Fishing Series — with a tournament set for Saturday at Lower Otay — said he hopes to gather directors of the various circuits to discuss how to prevent cheating here.
“We’ve got to make sure nothing like this happens in any of our tournaments,” Sleight said.
The latest cheating to rock bass fishing occurred Wednesday, the last day of the U.S. Open. Mike Hart, a successful bass pro from Winnetka, between Northridge and Reseda, was banned for life from WON BASS tournaments — and surely all other money circuits — for weighing in a limit of five fish that contained torpedo sinkers rigged in a sophisticated way in the throat of each bass.
Hart weighed in bass the previous day, and three of them died. When officials filleted the bass to give the fillets to charity, they found the torpedo sinkers in the dead fish. Officials couldn’t believe Hart would try it again the next day, but he did, and they caught him.
One report indicated Hart had fished in 100 team events over the years, finished in the money in an estimated 75 percent of them and earned more than $200,000 and a few bass boats. He wasn’t going to win the U.S. Open — Clifford Pirch of Payson, Ariz., was champion — but Hart likely would have won $1,000 or more had the cheating not been uncovered.
John Cassidy of Angler’s Arsenal in La Mesa was tournament director of the U.S. Open. Harvey Naslund is director, and Billy Egan is director of operations. Egan reportedly spoke to Hart after he disappeared from the weigh-in. Egan said Hart confessed to cheating.
Cassidy said WON BASS is investigating to see whether any of Hart’s former partners were involved in any previous cheating. The Clark County district attorney also is investigating.
“Right now, we have our own issues here in San Diego that we’re dealing with, too,” Cassidy said. “We need to do everything in our power to make sure that people who fish our events have a fair and honest tournament.”
San Diego has had more than its share of bass-cheating stories and bass controversies over the years. The late Tom Heigel and his son, Kyle, along with Mike Hill and Dave Watson were banned for life from National Bass West and other circuits for snagging fish in a National Bass West Tournament in December 2005 at San Vicente.
Most recently, rumors of one pro angler’s repeated cheating in money tournaments had hit such a fever pitch that American Bass tournament director Rich Welch began conducting thorough boat inspections — not just livewells — before competition because there was suspicion that the angler was stashing live bass in his boat in a secret compartment and weighing them in to win money.
<SCRIPT> pv["p.a_2"] = "Local tournaments on lookout for bass cheats";</SCRIPT>
By Ed Zieralski<SCRIPT> pv["p.a_3"] = "Ed Zieralski";</SCRIPT> , UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER Monday, July 26, 2010 at 9:46 p.m.
Organizers of local bass fishing tournaments plan to meet to discuss how competitions are run in San Diego in the wake of last week’s cheating incident in the U.S. Open on Lake Mead
Jim Sleight, tournament director for the El Cajon Ford Night Fishing Series — with a tournament set for Saturday at Lower Otay — said he hopes to gather directors of the various circuits to discuss how to prevent cheating here.
“We’ve got to make sure nothing like this happens in any of our tournaments,” Sleight said.
The latest cheating to rock bass fishing occurred Wednesday, the last day of the U.S. Open. Mike Hart, a successful bass pro from Winnetka, between Northridge and Reseda, was banned for life from WON BASS tournaments — and surely all other money circuits — for weighing in a limit of five fish that contained torpedo sinkers rigged in a sophisticated way in the throat of each bass.
Hart weighed in bass the previous day, and three of them died. When officials filleted the bass to give the fillets to charity, they found the torpedo sinkers in the dead fish. Officials couldn’t believe Hart would try it again the next day, but he did, and they caught him.
One report indicated Hart had fished in 100 team events over the years, finished in the money in an estimated 75 percent of them and earned more than $200,000 and a few bass boats. He wasn’t going to win the U.S. Open — Clifford Pirch of Payson, Ariz., was champion — but Hart likely would have won $1,000 or more had the cheating not been uncovered.
John Cassidy of Angler’s Arsenal in La Mesa was tournament director of the U.S. Open. Harvey Naslund is director, and Billy Egan is director of operations. Egan reportedly spoke to Hart after he disappeared from the weigh-in. Egan said Hart confessed to cheating.
Cassidy said WON BASS is investigating to see whether any of Hart’s former partners were involved in any previous cheating. The Clark County district attorney also is investigating.
“Right now, we have our own issues here in San Diego that we’re dealing with, too,” Cassidy said. “We need to do everything in our power to make sure that people who fish our events have a fair and honest tournament.”
San Diego has had more than its share of bass-cheating stories and bass controversies over the years. The late Tom Heigel and his son, Kyle, along with Mike Hill and Dave Watson were banned for life from National Bass West and other circuits for snagging fish in a National Bass West Tournament in December 2005 at San Vicente.
Most recently, rumors of one pro angler’s repeated cheating in money tournaments had hit such a fever pitch that American Bass tournament director Rich Welch began conducting thorough boat inspections — not just livewells — before competition because there was suspicion that the angler was stashing live bass in his boat in a secret compartment and weighing them in to win money.