OK all, I’ve done more research and have come up with the following update on Mike Hart, the professional bass fisherman who got caught cheating at Western Outdoor News, WON Bass 2010 US Open held yearly at Lake Mead.
First off from the sounds of things WON will not be filling charges against Mike Hart for cheating at the US Open even though it has been verified that nine, 2 ounce torpedo-shaped sinkers with hooks attached, were removed from bass turned in by Mike Hart. According to reports Mike even admitted to cheating and placing the weights in the bass. However it does sound to me like the Nevada Wildlife Department might pursue something.
The following are quotes from WON publisher Bob Twilegar
“We caught someone at the US OPEN with 5 fish that all had weights with hooks in them. This is pretty factual information which we reported immediately. On the surface the evidence is overwhelming as to what happened, and we went to much effort to make that be the case. We did so with the help and oversight of the Nevada Wildlife department who were on site at the time it all was happening.”
“We do not have the option of “pressing charges”, etc. It is up to the state or federal government to prosecute a criminal case and it is the state versus whoever is charged in a criminal case. All we can do is cooperate or not, but we have no say in whether a case is prosecuted. “
“The Nevada Wildlife department was involved with the initial sting operation in the matter, so obviously we have been more than willing to cooperate with them and any other legal authority involved. But we do not get to “press charges” as some are suggesting.”
“We were told at that time, and again since, to not discuss the case in public, other than to report the facts in our own publication. So we do not really have an option to give you opinions on what should be done by others, or speculate on whether this happened in the past.”
“Our main focus at the US OPEN, and since was not to catch a cheater. We had hundreds of great and honest anglers battling it out in an amazing battle under the most brutal conditions you can imagine. It was an incredible tournament, a unforgettable Tribute to the Legends dinner program, following a great I-cast show. That is what we would like for people to remember about this years US OPEN, and many will for sure.”
When asked if WON was still going to ban Mike Hart from fishing their tournament circuit for life Bob Twilegar stated the following.
“We would not allow someone who attempted to cheat in this manner to fish any of our future events. This was obviously done with advance planning and with the intent to cheat to win money, and with it comes the maximum penalty that WON BASS can hand out, which is a ban from fishing our events.”
I would tend to believe that in light of the ban from WON tournaments Mr. Hart will also be banned from fishing in any other tournament organizations. In my opinion, regardless of any legal actions I believe that Mr. Hart’s days of fishing, even if its just for fun, have come to an end.
Several reports indicate that Hart had fished in 100 team events over the years, finished in the money an estimated 75 percent of them and earned more than $200,000 in addition to a few bass boats. While he wasn’t going to win the U.S. Open Hart likely would have won $1,000 or more had the cheating not been uncovered.
I have not been able to verify the authenticity of the following but according to several online reports, the statistics below are just for the American Bass Tournament circuit. Take note of the amount of dead fish weighed in by Hart. I don’t know about you but that number seems extremely high to me.
Total Number of Tournaments Fished: 103
Number of Tournament Cashes: 85
Career Cash Winnings: $37,103.00
Number of 1st Place Finishes: 10
Number of Top 5 Finishes: 44
Number of Top 10 Finishes: 61
Total Number of Fish Weighed: 441
Dead fish: 126
Through out the years I have fished over 75 tournaments, some of them in extremely brutal conditions and during all that time I can count the amount of dead bass that I weighed in on one hand.
I also find it a little suspicious that just for the ABA tournaments listed, he finished in the money 85% of the time. While it’s true that he is a good fisherman that number seems just a little high to me.
While most tournament anglers are good honest people as sad as it is, I know for a fact that anytime money is involved there will always be someone that will attempt to find a way to get the edge over other competitors. While some ways are fine other ways may be unethical but still legal, other ways, like Mr. Harts way, is not only unethical but illegal as well.
In my years of tournament fishing I personally witnessed on more than one occasion, anglers attempting to cheat. I saw anglers disqualified during boat inspections for having bass in partitioned off live wells. I’ve seen live bait, minnows and crawdads in live wells as well as in coffee thermos and water jugs. I witnessed people attempting to conceal night crawlers in hidden compartments. I’ve heard of people getting caught filling their live wells by removing bass from submerged cages that were placed there prior to the tournaments.
I have personally witnessed bass spit up lead weights while in the weigh basket on the scale. When I said something to the director he just laughed and said, “The bass must be really hungry if they are willing to eat lead.” While the majority of tournament anglers and directors are standup people, there will always be those who just don’t have enough confidence in themselves as anglers and will attempt to find a way to cheat. Even though I enjoyed the competition and comradery of fellow anglers its events like I mentioned above that made me finally decide to stop tournament fishing. Who knows, maybe now that Mike Hart got caught it will keep other’s that might be considering cheating to think twice about it or maybe they just wont enter.
Below is a video that usgambler posted on You Tube that he filmed at the US Open.
Thanks for visiting my site. Be sure to tell all of your fishing buddies and come back soon.
Until Next Time, Good Luck and Tight Lines To Ya!
This is the first time I’ve read about the Mike Hart story. My mother began taking me fishing when I was 5 and I’ve always practiced catch and release with freshwater “sports fish” such as bass, pike and muskie. I’m 26 now and she still is my best fishing buddy, we’re ecstatic just to catch a few nice fish between the two of is in a day and could care less about tournament fishing. It is really disheartening to see such behavior not only because of its excessive cruelty towards the animal but the irresponsibility towards the entire fishing community; who can be just as compassionate about the sport regardless of whether or not it will pay the bills.