Texas Game Wardens said tournament organizers alerted them to something fishy in one of the catches.
WOOD COUNTY, Texas — Texas game wardens say a bass presented during a tournament weigh-in at in northeast Texas led to a felony charge after officials discovered weights inside the fish.
According to the state officials, game wardens in Wood County were contacted Sunday, March 8, by organizers of the Lake Fork Lure Co. Tournament to investigate a fish that raised concerns of possible tampering.
Tournament staff flagged the bass after a metal-detecting wand alerted them to the potential presence of a foreign object during weigh-in.
Wardens performed a necropsy on the fish. That’s when they say they found three weights in the bass’s stomach that showed no signs of erosion.
Wardens say they also found weights of the same style and size in the angler’s boat.
The angler was arrested and charged with violating fishing tournament law, according to game wardens. Because the tournament’s total prize value exceeded $10,000, the charge is a third-degree felony.
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