East coast..

the level of cheating going on in the east coast compos is frightening

i love when anonymous guests pop in and post these kinda threads! i'd love to hear more about it, i'm not big into competitions at any levels(mainly coz i'm brutal) and also as guest has pointed out, the amount of cheating that can go on, and tempers that are lost over a few fish

Hey anonymous guest. Do you have any specifics or are you just flaming every comp?

Would love to know how people bend the rules to their own advantage, I would have thought it was relatively hard to get away with doing this kinda thing? I just don't understand why people would bother.

In case you're wondering, I'm just curious - it has nothing to do with the forthcoming SAISAC comp!

I know a guy was caught for trying to weigh in a semi thawed fish at the British Open. Why on earth would someone do that, when they know other anglers will despise them for it? I wouldn't be able to stand the shame of doing something like that! Mind you, the guy was obviously a complete idiot - what kind of plonker tries to weigh in a half frozen cod?

I suppose the biggest concern with catch and release competitions is weighing or measuring the same fish twice. This isn't really an issue in small club competitions where anglers are side by side. There was a screaming reels episode with all the other ways to cheat if your really interested :lol:

I'd be careful about this topic. An angler sued the IFSA after being accused of cheating and got a settlement.

Donagh

There is a huge element of honour and integrity that must go hand in hand with angling. Unfortunately this is not always the case. Anglers can get up to all sorts on either beach or boat.
This is not to be confused with competitive spirit. I got a great kick reading in the chat room last night about an angler on the shore pretending to pendulum cast in the dark while he then lobbed his trace into the zone a few yards in front of him. Not cheating. Competitive spirit.

Catch and release will always tempt the cheaters among us to try their luck. Money can also be a motivator. More and more competitions are being fished for big prizes.
Cheats are always eventually exposed. Their reputations are ruined forever, anglers don't forget! The majority (I would say 99.9%) of anglers have this integrity and honour. The few who don't will eventually trip themselves up. The rest of us must continue as we normally do, but keep an eye out, as Ronald Regan used say "Trust, but verify"!

like that one about the pendulem casting a few yards!! sly dog!!

Having been involved in competitive sea angling and running comps for many years, here are some of the "tactics" I have seen or heard used :

The decoy trace hanging from the rodstand holding every bait except the one that is catching fish.
Repainted fish measures that are a couple of mill shorter than the norm.
Bringing your kid along and asking him to get your fish signed in while you gain valuable minutes.
About 10 minutes before the end of the comp, move all your gear to the high water level. Be attending to this gear when the whistle sounds.
Walk towards the water slowly while reeling in your last cast as you will not be moving the bait.
At night, turn your arm in circles as if you were reeling in.
In the boats, reel with the drag loosened so no line is bring retrieved.
Where no groundbaiting is allowed, pile maddies onto to hook very loosely head hooked.
Fish at the tide line and bury your discarded bait innocently by standing on it.
Use a flexible ruler that can be bent to get a fish to reach the size limit.
Cover the head of the fish with one hand while you are measuring the tail end.
Always make a big show of measuring every fish you land, this will unnerve the opposition.
Cast and when the lead hits the water, reel in very quickly to disguise the true distance.
If catching fish in close, switch to a reel with limited line. Anglers looking at your line level will think the fish are at distance.
Vary your casting stance to ensure you can cast into your neighbours peg should he be catching.
Unnerve a catching angler by standing over him in a small group to watch him cast. A small amount of ribbing will greatly assist !

These are ones that I can think of off the top of my head.