Ky rednecks indicted

[Lamar Gilbert]

Jun 28, 5:56 PM EDT



Something fishy in Kentucky waters



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BENTON, Ky. (AP) -- A pair of fishing buddies were charged with 10 felonies after being accused of cheating in fishing tournaments on Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley on the Kentucky-Tennessee border.



Marshall and Lyon county grand juries on Tuesday indicted Dwayne E. Nesmith, 43, of Island, and Brian K. Thomas, 31, of Dawson Springs on nine counts of theft by deception of over $300 in Marshall County, one count of complicity to commit theft by deception of over $300 and one count of attempted theft by deception of over $300 in Lyon County.



An investigation of the pair started April 30, when the men allegedly stashed five live bass in a fish basket in the water, then picked them up to weigh in at the Relay for Life Buddy Bass Tournament at the Lake Barkley State Resort Park, state police said.



Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Sgt. Bill Snow said someone reported the bass, which were marked with clippings in their fins.







Nesmith and Thomas were witnessed picking up the fish early on the morning of April 30, then putting their catch in the boat, Snow said.



Snow said the men allegedly entered three of the stashed fish in the tournament's weigh-in at the end of the day.



That sparked an investigation into tournaments the pair had previously won, Snow said.



Kentucky State Police Sgt. Brent White said Nesmith and Thomas won several thousand dollars and a bass boat worth $30,000 by allegedly catching fish before a tournament, then submitting the fish as being caught during the competition.



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The two men were arrested Tuesday after the grand juries handed up the indictments.

 

[Jeffrey Durham]

Only in Ky.



I am so proud of our folks...:wacko::wacko:

 

[TOMMY RICH]

They're watchin' em' like a hawk now...should see more just like it in the near future!

 

[Bryan McDonough]

I agree with you MOBass. I actually found a dead bass tied up one time while prefishing. The question is how do you stop it, because i don't really see a way to completly stop this stuff.

 

[Jason L]

It's impossible to stop unless you have someone watching every boat the whole day. You could have a friend not in a tourney with bass in a livewell on his boat just hand you the fish..



Or to be REALLY sneaky.. have someone on scuba gear put the bass on your hook

 

[Dewey Storie]

A cheater never wins & A winner never cheats

 

[TOMMY RICH]

A$$holes will never get enough punishment IMHO!

They should take boat,house, car and ban them from ever getting fishing license!:lol:

 

[Donnie Matney]

Tee they took their $30,000 rig that they won the week before. Also I think they took their truck and all equipment.



Donnie

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Not enough dude!:angry:

Examples always work:lol:

 

[Mini]

This stuff is actually making me not want to fish tournaments. It is happening at every level.

 

[TOMMY RICH]

I quit 10 years ago Mini....It was happening on a local lake here that these SAME two guys kept showing up with huge fish when everyone I knew were coming up short.

Rumors were flying after three times of winning. After they found out a few of us was investigating them and watching them very closely....Needless to say, they did not win any more and actually quit the club.

Seen one of the guys that used to fish the tourny here the other day and he was told personally that they WERE cheating and was tying the fish to one of THOUSANDS of stumps located some where up lake.

Funny thing was these guys had a fast enough boat to beat us all to the end of the lake and mysteriuosly just dissappear:angry:

 

[Mini]

I hear ya Tee....with seemingly endless boundries to tournaments here it could be happening. I do have 2 confirmed reports of 6lb+ fish that have been found tied up to docks in the St Clair River. I am not saying anyone is, it is just too coincidental. Afterall you can literally be almost 200 miles away from a competitor in some of the tournaments I fish in on the Great Lakes.

 

[Donnie Matney]

TEE I agree they should throw them under the bridge, I just wanted to let everyone know they had won and lost a boat due in a tourny.



I have been in some tournys locally here I have suspected another type of cheating. Under this format a one person limit would be 6 fish (legal KY limit by the way), so that would be 12 fish per boat for two anglers. If one partner has got his limit then they would start giving fish to the other when they had an extra to increase their weight. I am not 100% sure this is happening but I can guarantee it been done in a few tx this year. Problem is, you can never catch the person cheating. Oh well I guess Mini is right that it happens at all levels.

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

That's why most tournaments have the option to administer a polygraph. They need to start doing it!!



TOXIC

 

[Kenny Guess]

When ever big money or big prizes are at stake....people will come up with ways to cheap ! I am afraid it is a fact of life......Kenny