The price of cheating in tourneys...

fishinman
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by fishinman »

simply put , monies for particular event redistributed accordingly by attaching cheaters wages or by other legal means if self employed and banned from tournaments for life. no need to stop them from fishing. Individuals as such probably cheat in other facets of life. So to stop them you'd have to hang'em. I believe that is really not feasible. Not being able to compete for the rest of their lives would be a reasonable punishment.
birdman920
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by birdman920 »

I know this thread is ancient ! but I think now that Steve Sapp is long since departed ! maybe someone would want to shed some light on the accusations of cheating ! I have heard a million stories over the years ! just don’t know if they were ever true ! , 23 boats & 100’s of thousands he won over the years ! his name & story need to be told !
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by RMANZO »

Not sure if Sapp was ever really caught red handed. His friend/partner “Varnie” was caught in an Anglers Choice pro/am catching fish from a barrel under a dock. They gave him the awards boat anyway and said “don’t come back”. Then they both just sort of disappeared.
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by ash »

birdman920 wrote:I know this thread is ancient ! but I think now that Steve Sapp is long since departed ! maybe someone would want to shed some light on the accusations of cheating ! I have heard a million stories over the years ! just don’t know if they were ever true ! , 23 boats & 100’s of thousands he won over the years ! his name & story need to be told !
Anything posted by the internet would be conjecture, especially 12 years later. If you really want to know, reach out to the TD's at the time. It's safe to say that Sap suffered greatly up till the end. The takeaway is don't cheat, and if you have to question what you're doing is within the rules, you probably shouldn't do it or talk to the TD prior to the event.
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birdman920
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by birdman920 »

I wonder if any of the “am’s” , aaa’s , co’anglers , back seaters , that fished with Sapp ‘ in all those Pro-Ams he won ‘ noticed anything suspicious ? , like maybe casting into a spot , that maybe held a barrel ?….
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by Whoopbass »

I heard in one Pro Am he done about 35 mph to his first spot. Absolutely in no hurry. His first spot was some place on the delta that had a wall on it and on the other side was his buddy with a bunch of nice fish. Steve would cast to the other side of the wall where his AM couldn't see and his buddy would grab his line and hook a fish on it.
Said the wreck that killed him was intentional. Suicide due to Shame.
I don't know if these are facts its just what I heard. I also heard about the barrel thing so that probably has some legitimacy to it.
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by RMANZO »

The “Varnie” barrel incident is in fact true. My buddy is the amateur who drew him and reported it to the TD. The TD then took my buddy by boat to the location and that is when they found the barrel. Shame on the TD and the organization that didn’t prosecute the cheating loser. BTW that organization doesnt exist anymore. You all remember them, the org that people always had to FIGHT with to get the boat they won at the TOC’s....
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M Pollard
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by M Pollard »

[quote="Whoopbass"]I heard in one Pro Am he done about 35 mph to his first spot. Absolutely in no hurry. His first spot was some place on the delta that had a wall on it and on the other side was his buddy with a bunch of nice fish. Steve would cast to the other side of the wall where his AM couldn't see and his buddy would grab his line and hook a fish on it.
Said the wreck that killed him was intentional. Suicide due to Shame.
I don't know if these are facts its just what I heard. I also heard about the barrel thing so that probably has some legitimacy to it.[/quote

I heard the same thing.... Told his am to stay in the back of the boat while he pitched around a cement pilling and was catching fish...I have heard it from many people..
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by mark poulson »

I think that, if the man is dead and not around to defend himself, anyone who says, "I heard" is just spreading gossip.
Either offer some kind of proof, or keep you gossip to yourself.
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by Whoopbass »

Did he defend himself when he was alive or did he go into hiding like that cheater Biden did?
For the record Biden is too far advanced with dementia to even know how to cheat. He was installed by his party the same way a toilet is installed.
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by jiggin4bass »

The guy is dead why keep bring up old threads.
Try posting current fishing events
Without bring up biden or newsom your stuck with them so get over it.
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by mark poulson »

jiggin4bass wrote:The guy is dead why keep bring up old threads.
Try posting current fishing events
Without bring up biden or newsom your stuck with them so get over it.
Amen!
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birdman920
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by birdman920 »

Just thought the tournament anglers who lost thousands in entry fees ( including myself) , would want some closure ! , it’s seems like a fascinating story , did he really choose to end his life ‘ over the guilt’ of was it just an accident ?
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by jiggin4bass »

You will have to look else where for anwsers to your questions. Because
you wont fine the anwsers in this forum. Your asking and looking for anwsers your never going to get.
With everything going on with current fishing events with fishing orgs leaving dead fish after at tournaments and hogging up permits and holding them hostage to get the best dates to fish there tournaments. I would think thats a bigger deal than something that happen 10 or 12 years ago. The past is just that the past.
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by birdman920 »

All the pitfalls of tournament organization’ permit stacking, weigh ins , fish handling, etc. ! is nothing compared to someone who has stolen hundreds of thousands of entry fees ‘ paid by honest anglers ! I believe the story should be known ! , so history will never repeat itself ! , I gave up tournament fishing’ because of Steve Sapp ! & even 12 years later ‘ I’m still upset !
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by Whoopbass »

His story won't help. Even if we had his playbook someone eventually will come along with a different playbook.
Do a search on Tony Christian. He fished FLW and his story is similar to Steve's.
Bass Talk Live interviewed the guy that caught Mike Long which is interesting. It's on Youtube.
Robby Rose from Texas is another cheater that got caught. There are plenty that have been nabbed over the years and some of these guys are creative.
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by M Pollard »

Mike Hart was another cheater that got caught in the US Open putting lead weights in the belly of bass.
His fish would sink and some would be dead when he weighed them, they cut open a dead fish and it had
weights in his belly
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by mark poulson »

M Pollard wrote:Mike Hart was another cheater that got caught in the US Open putting lead weights in the belly of bass.
His fish would sink and some would be dead when he weighed them, they cut open a dead fish and it had
weights in his belly
I was the weighmaster for the Anglers Choice Castaic trail, and Mike Hart fished that with a partner. His fish were never dead, never sank,
and there was no evidence of him ever cheating. He and his partner, John Viazanko, were just always on them. They dueled with Bill Siemantal and Troy Lindner every tournament, taking turns winning, and there was never a whiff of cheating.
Mike Hart's cheating was a one time deal, when the pressure to live up to his reputation got the best of him, and he paid an enormous price. It cost him his job and his marriage. A pretty steep price to pay for one mistake.
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jiggin4bass
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by jiggin4bass »

Let me ask a question to you older anglers do you guy go to your local Donut shop up northern ca and set around every morning with coffee an donuts and bring old issues like this.
And come to this forum a expect to get your anwsers. With no facts a ything proven in a court of law. You'll need to let it go. YOU WILL GET OVER IT. Move on
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by Whoopbass »

Are you always this cranky Lefty?
The topic has evolved to other cheats and the ways they have cheated. If you do a search on the web for bass cheaters its rather interesting in the ways some of these guys have cheated. Not to mention the amount of money and prizes some have won in high profile tournaments.
There are plenty of facts to prove they cheated but usually the tournament orgs choose to sweep it under the rug.
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by M Pollard »

Poulson-
Did you read your post? you claim Hart never cheated, then followed it up with Hart cheated one time and it cost him his marriage, job, etc. So he cheated? I call your claims false. They check him and his fish because they were suspicious of his fish coming in dead, or sinking, They did not just randomly check his fish. They check because they suspected him of cheating in earlier tourney.. In the article they posted at the time stated he would bring in 1-2 dead fish each tourney and they were curious why, so they got one of his dead fish, opened it up and there were lead weights in the fishes belly.. When they were getting his dead fish from the bag to examine them he tried to leave.. Sounds to me he cheated more then just once...
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by TonyM »

Cheaters don’t cheat just once. Criminals don’t commit just one crime. And no one gets caught the first time.
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by mark poulson »

M Pollard wrote:Poulson-
Did you read your post? you claim Hart never cheated, then followed it up with Hart cheated one time and it cost him his marriage, job, etc. So he cheated? I call your claims false. They check him and his fish because they were suspicious of his fish coming in dead, or sinking, They did not just randomly check his fish. They check because they suspected him of cheating in earlier tourney.. In the article they posted at the time stated he would bring in 1-2 dead fish each tourney and they were curious why, so they got one of his dead fish, opened it up and there were lead weights in the fishes belly.. When they were getting his dead fish from the bag to examine them he tried to leave.. Sounds to me he cheated more then just once...
I said he never cheated when he competed on Mike Iljin's AC Castaic Trail during my time as weighmaster of the AC Castaic trail. That was a period of four years.
He did cheat at the US Open, and was caught and punished. He was competing on the AC Castaic trail at that time, and was immediately banned for life.
No one else, and no other tournament organization, ever accused him of cheating. If you have some other information that says he did, please share it.
He did cheat one time, he got caught, and he paid a huge price for it.
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gixxer464
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by gixxer464 »

mark poulson wrote:
M Pollard wrote:Poulson-
Did you read your post? you claim Hart never cheated, then followed it up with Hart cheated one time and it cost him his marriage, job, etc. So he cheated? I call your claims false. They check him and his fish because they were suspicious of his fish coming in dead, or sinking, They did not just randomly check his fish. They check because they suspected him of cheating in earlier tourney.. In the article they posted at the time stated he would bring in 1-2 dead fish each tourney and they were curious why, so they got one of his dead fish, opened it up and there were lead weights in the fishes belly.. When they were getting his dead fish from the bag to examine them he tried to leave.. Sounds to me he cheated more then just once...
I said he never cheated when he competed on Mike Iljin's AC Castaic Trail during my time as weighmaster of the AC Castaic trail. That was a period of four years.
He did cheat at the US Open, and was caught and punished. He was competing on the AC Castaic trail at that time, and was immediately banned for life.
No one else, and no other tournament organization, ever accused him of cheating. If you have some other information that says he did, please share it.
He did cheat one time, he got caught, and he paid a huge price for it.
Mark,
There is no way that you can say with 100% certainty that Mike Hart never cheated in an Anglers Choice tournament. Your statement should have been: " Mike Hart never weighed in any dead fish with lead weights in their belly" while you were the weigh master. There are plenty of other ways to cheat. Just saying. It's a damm shame that he cheated. All those years of dominance down here in So Cal. You are correct that if you fished a tournament in So Cal, you where pretty much fishing for third place. Now everyone of Mike's wins is called into question and his credibility is shot.
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Re: The price of cheating in tourneys...

Post by mark poulson »

gixxer464 wrote:
mark poulson wrote:
M Pollard wrote:Poulson-
Did you read your post? you claim Hart never cheated, then followed it up with Hart cheated one time and it cost him his marriage, job, etc. So he cheated? I call your claims false. They check him and his fish because they were suspicious of his fish coming in dead, or sinking, They did not just randomly check his fish. They check because they suspected him of cheating in earlier tourney.. In the article they posted at the time stated he would bring in 1-2 dead fish each tourney and they were curious why, so they got one of his dead fish, opened it up and there were lead weights in the fishes belly.. When they were getting his dead fish from the bag to examine them he tried to leave.. Sounds to me he cheated more then just once...
I said he never cheated when he competed on Mike Iljin's AC Castaic Trail during my time as weighmaster of the AC Castaic trail. That was a period of four years.
He did cheat at the US Open, and was caught and punished. He was competing on the AC Castaic trail at that time, and was immediately banned for life.
No one else, and no other tournament organization, ever accused him of cheating. If you have some other information that says he did, please share it.
He did cheat one time, he got caught, and he paid a huge price for it.
Mark,
There is no way that you can say with 100% certainty that Mike Hart never cheated in an Anglers Choice tournament. Your statement should have been: " Mike Hart never weighed in any dead fish with lead weights in their belly" while you were the weigh master. There are plenty of other ways to cheat. Just saying. It's a damm shame that he cheated. All those years of dominance down here in So Cal. You are correct that if you fished a tournament in So Cal, you where pretty much fishing for third place. Now everyone of Mike's wins is called into question and his credibility is shot.
You're right, there is no way of knowing for sure.
I just didn't see any of his team partners over the years accused of cheating.
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