A Louisiana man has made his bid to join the Bass Tournament Hall of Shame after being charged with fishing contest fraud during the recent Sealy Outdoors Big Bass Splash at Toledo Bend.

Aaron Moreau of Pollock decided he’d take matters into his own hands to ensure a payday at the ever-popular tournament that awards cash and other prizes on an hourly basis for the biggest bass. The 38-year-old suspect reportedly stuffed 2.59 pounds of lead weights in a bass he brought to the weigh-in.

A tournament official in charge of measuring the fish immediately recognized something suspicious about it and, per proper procedure, sent a signal to the weighmaster. According to Big Bass Splash spokesman Chris Bennett, son-in-law of BBS founder Bob Sealy, tournament officials contacted law enforcement personnel and a biologist from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

LDWF Enforcement Division agents said Moreau fled the scene and, after a warrant was issued for his arrest, turned himself in to LDWF agents on May 23. He was taken to the Sabine Parish Detention Center.

If convicted of fishing contest fraud, Moreau could be fined as much as $3,000 and jailed for one year, according to the LDWF.

LDWF Enforcement Division spokesman Adam Einck said agents involved in the case are Capt. Trey Mason, Lt. John Volentine, Sgt. Derek Ware, Corp. Dustin Nash, Corp. Ryan Durand, Senior Agent Michael Thacker, Agent Logan Laffoon and Agent Lane Devillier.

Nash labeled it as a pretty rare occasion and told WWL Radio, “I’ve been on for 4 ½ years now and this is the first time I’ve ever seen it happen locally.”

No matter the frequency this is another sad chapter in the history of tournament fishing. Moreau’s arrest marks the latest in several high-profile cheating cases, including the incident that went viral in September 2022 during the Lake Erie Walleye Trail Championship.

Chase Cominsky of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, and Jacob Runyan of Broadview Heights, Ohio, were disqualified from the tournament when lead weights and fish filets were found in the walleye they weighed. The scene was recorded live on video as the weighmaster slit each fish to reveal the lead weights and fish filets, angering other walleye fishermen in the tournament.

Cominsky and Runyan entered guilty pleas March 27, 2023, to two charges of cheating, a fifth-degree felony, and unlawful ownership of wild animals, a fourth-degree misdemeanor.

The two men were sentenced May 24, 2023, to 10 days in jail and a year of probation.

I am just as shocked as anyone that it has happened again, much closer to home than Lake Erie. As a good fishin’ buddy of mine texted as soon as he heard the news, “Disgusting.”

You never know when someone might fall to temptation or greed to cheat in a fishing tournament. It’s imperative all anglers, tournament officials and weighmasters are vigilant in tournaments that sans the bad apples are fun, competitive and wholesome.

Sealy and Bennett handled the recent cheating incident well in a video statement posted May 23 on the tournament’s Facebook page.

Sealy said in the video that received more than 42,000 views in 24 hours, “From all of us at Sealy Outdoors, we thank our dedicated staff members who work diligently for our anglers at every event and a special thanks to Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries for all they do to protect fishermen and our fisheries. For the past few days, we have respected and honored authorities as they have conducted their investigation and today a person has been apprehended. This is nothing we ever want to do, but when the time comes you can trust that we always stand up for the honest angler.”

Bennett said, “… a fish was weighed in by an individual that indeed was recognized (as suspicious) by my ‘bump’ man immediately. At that time we took proper protocol, sent a signal to the weighmaster and held that fish until authorities arrived. When the authorities arrived they, along with a state biologist, determined that that fish had been manipulated by lead weights. Since then they have asked us to cooperate with them for a few days while they did their thorough investigation.”

Sealy also said the manipulated bass brought in on the first day of the tournament weighed 6.69 pounds, according to a story May 25 in The Daily Sentinel in Nacogdoches, Texas.

“For the individual who did this, we have no idea what possessed him. But he’ll never be able to fish another Sealy Outdoor event,” Sealy said in an Outdoor Life story written by Natalie Krebs and posted May 24.

Louisiana bass angler Ryan Hanson’s 10.64-pounder topped the field of 2,247 fishermen in the Big Bass Splash. He won a Phoenix bass boat, Ram pickup truck and $10,000, including hourly cash prizes. John Jones was second with a 10.58-pounder worth $15,000.

DON SHOOPMAN is outdoors editor of The Daily Iberian.