Viral professional fishing video exposes Ohio fishermen caught in cheating scandal
Professional fisherman and multi-tournament winner Jake Runyan found himself at the center of controversy after a viral video exposed him for stuffing his fish with lead weights and other filets.
On October 1, Barstool Sports writer Billy Football shared a viral video on Twitter of professional fisherman Jake Runyan. While at first the chaotic nature of the video may seem hard to understand, it’s quickly revealed that Runyan – and his non-present partner Chase Cominskey – were involved in a cheating scandal.
Members of the crowd can be heard yelling, urging someone else to “call the cops” as an official at the event begins cutting open each of the team’s fish. Catch after catch, the official pulls out one or two lead weights from inside the fish, as well as filets cut from smaller fish.
Weights and filets were found inside all five of Runyan and Cominsky’s catches, and several spectators took photos and filmed the scandal from start to finish.
Jake Runyan, Chase Cominsky caught in fishing cheating scandal after viral video
Cominsky did not appear in the video as he had seemingly left the competition before the angry mob of competitors and spectators formed, leaving Runyan to take the brunt of the backlash.
One man off camera could be heard shouting claims that Runyan had been cheating for years, and that he had finally been caught.
Runyan was questioned on the spot, “How many f**king tournaments have you done this?”
In December of 2021, the Cleveland, Ohio native and his partner Chase Cominsky won both the Blaster Walleye Fall Brawl and the Walleye Slam earning the Lake Erie Walleye Trail Championship.
These unprecedented victories also came with $306,000, according to Runyan.
However, these incredible wins are now under scrutiny as the duo was caught in one of the largest fishing scandals in recent history.