Jacob Runyan & Chase Cominsky: Bait & Switch

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0:45september 30th 2022 was a warm humid saturday out on lake erie at gordon park in cleveland ohio the wind was blowing and the fish were biting it was a perfect labor day weekend for the championship of the 2022 Lake Erie Walleye Trail Tournament. That's the L-E-W-T pronounced Lute. And speaking of Lute, it seemed like the fishing partners Jacob Runyon and Chase Kaminsky were going to make off with a good amount of it. As they officially weighed their catch, it became clear that they had won the championship. Again. In fact, for the past couple years, they'd been on quite a hot streak. When you have 19 tournaments and two guys, a team, wins nine of them, that's pretty unusual.

1:37Jacob and Chase didn't even seem all that excited by their latest victory. It was just one more win to add to their long list of accolades. Going through the motions, Jacob and Chase posed for a few pictures with their winning catch. Then they bagged him up and prepared to leave. But just then, the tournament organizer, Jason Fisher, noticed that something seemed odd about Jacob and Chase's catch. Something was suspicious. You know, somebody to have that much success doesn't seem like it would be something that would be normal or typical or something that you wouldn't look at, I guess, and say, geez, how did this happen?

2:23Jason moved in closer to inspect the fish. Spectators got out their phone cameras, snapping pictures and recording videos of what happened next. Jason slashed open one of the fish with a knife, and what he found inside led to a major scandal that rocked the world of competitive fishing.

2:47This is The Opportunist, an original podcast from Podcast One. You're listening to a story told in one episode called Jacob Runyon and Chase Kaminsky, Bait and Switch. I'm Sarah James McLaughlin. In this episode, we dive into the story of Jacob Runyon and Chase Kaminsky, Two middle-aged men who became embroiled in a cheating scandal in the high-stakes world of competitive fishing.

3:27In 2021, 42-year-old Jacob Runyon and 35-year-old Chase Kaminsky teamed up for the first time on the Lake Erie fishing circuit. Chase was a transplant from Pennsylvania who'd been fishing in Ohio tournaments for a while. Jacob was an Ohio local who was relatively new to the sport. Whatever chemistry they had going between them, it worked. Immediately, they became a duo built for winning. Before teaming up, neither Jacob nor Chase ever managed to crack the top 10 finishers in tournaments. But once they started competing together, suddenly they were winning. A lot. and usually by a large margin.

4:08Well, what we know, or at least what I know, is they were very unusually successful participants in Lake Erie tournament fishing. We spoke to Dave Golowinski, a frequent commentator in the Ohio Fish and Game Circles, for more perspective. Evidently, these two guys teamed up and won more tournaments than normal people can win. So they were very consistent winners. In the Lake Erie circuit, individuals and teams of two pay entry fees of around$300 to$400 a piece, which are added up to make the prize pot. Competitors then vie for the chance to take the podium and be showered with cash, prizes, and discounts provided by sponsors.

5:04While some do it purely for the love of the sport, others take things more seriously. Win enough tournaments and you can rise to the level of fishing full-time professionally. So between pride, prizes, and cold hard cash, there's a lot on the line. And that means a lot of incentive for people to try and go around the rules. There's a lot more to fishing than beating the other guy. It's kind of normal, especially for young people. You know, I can outfish you, I can outdo you. Winners are selected based on the highest total weight of the catch of five walleye fish, a variety of the perch family with big iridescent eyes.

5:48The rules stipulate that the fish must be caught within a specified area on Lake Erie within the time frame of the tournament day or weekend. But sometimes people try to find ways around that. Cheating can take many forms, like passing off someone else's catch as your own, or reeling in big fish outside the official competition window. Some particularly bowl grifters have even packed fish with ice to boost their weight, knowing it would melt away and leave no trace of foul play. Now, there are some procedures in place to catch cheaters. For example, winners are subject to a polygraph test to try to make sure that the winning fish were indeed caught fairly.

6:29They can also be subject to a voice stress analysis, or VSA, which is also designed to catch fraudsters and untruthful statements. But both of these technologies are only so effective. They can be inaccurate. They can be manipulated. And at the end of the day, with dozens of boats out on a lake for any given tournament and only so many officials on hand to monitor the proceedings, it mostly comes down to the honor system. The competition is based on fellow fishermen trusting each other to follow the rules. The other thing is a lot of these people all know each other. I mean, the people that are in tournaments and things.

7:09So there has to be some sense of fair play that they all expect from each other. And I think that's probably the case in these instances. As the 2021 season went on, Jacob and Chase continued racking up wins. They got bragging rights, to be sure. Besides the prize money, which can be up to tens of thousands of dollars, winners might even get prizes like a brand new boat worth$100 ,000 or more. They called themselves the people's champs, but that rubbed some people the wrong way. As Jacob and Chase kept winning a tournament after tournament, some other fishing teams started to grumble about things being unfair.

7:54Some people got all the luck. After a while, it started to seem unlikely that their winning streak had continued for so long. when you have 19 tournaments and two guys a team wins nine of them that's pretty unusual because fishing is a very sporadic uh chaotic thing in in some ways and that isn't to say that some people aren't better at it than others because they are but when you have people fessing up, say,$400 to enter a tournament, probably everybody that enters has some ability. So it's not like Joe DiMaggio hitting in baseball or something along those lines. It's very hard to win a lot of tournaments.

8:53So, you know, somebody to have that much success doesn't seem like it would be something that would be normal or typical or something that you wouldn't look at, I guess, and say, geez, how did this happen? It was an open question how Jacob and Chase kept raking in so many wins. And the victories just kept coming. At the end of 2021, Jacob and Chase won the Blaster Walleye Fall Brawl, the Walleye Slam Fishing Derbies, and the Lake Erie Walleye Trail Championship. And they racked up all of these wins in the span of just one week. Jacob and Chase's win at the loot event was particularly spectacular.

9:36Their five biggest walleye weighed in at 42.7 pounds, while the teams in second and third place were both in the 34.2 pound range. a staggering difference of 8.5 pounds. Once everything was said and done, Jacob and Chase were set to share a total of$306 ,000. But there was a little wrinkle in the results of the fall brawl. It was raising flags. As a matter of fact, there was a tournament the previous fall that one of them failed a lie detector test.

10:15As was routine after a tournament win, both Jacob and Chase took a polygraph test. But this time around, Jacob Runyon failed. He later objected to the questioning, claiming that the session dragged out for three hours and covered questions with little relevance to the competition, particularly because Chase had caught the fish in question and not him. He's out for himself. go. Jacob also asserted that he felt lie detector tests weren't the best way to check if a team had cheated. He thought inspecting the actual fish after the competition was a better bet. The way he saw it, if everything with the fish was on the up and up, then the team who caught them won fair and square.

10:58He said, if you cut a fish open and there's lead weights in the stomach, well, there you go. Jacob's preferences aside, after he failed the polygraph, the two had to forfeit the winnings from that competition, which included two bass boats, each worth$100 ,000, plus another $20 ,000 in cash and prizes. Even with their other winnings intact, it was a tough blow. The idea that they had cheated in one competition meant that there was a cloud of suspicion above them. And that was not a good look for a team that was eager to cozy up to the lucrative sponsors. And so instead of winning that, they were disqualified.

11:39But it didn't stop them from entering this tournament in the summer of 2022. At the end of the 2021 season, Jacob and Chase dusted themselves off and prepared for 2022. And their winning streak continued. Right out of the gate, they placed first and not one, not two, but three competitions back to back to back. In addition to another$13 ,000 in prize money, Jacob and Chase also received a glowing write-up in the Lutes website celebrating them for being the first ever team to three-peat. But with this new string of victories, questions still lingered about whether they were on the up-and-up. Other fishermen noted that they didn't actually see Jacob and Chase out on the lake during the competition.

12:27In fact, they weren't even seen practicing in the days and weeks before. Then another irregularity. Jacob and Chase won the 2022 Rossford Walleye Roundup. No surprises there. But what was surprising was that the team decided not to donate their catch to a local food bank, which was the normal practice. The question was, why? Could it be that there was something off about their fish? Some reason they couldn't be used to feed needy people? Some competitors who were there when Jacob and Chase's fish were weighed said something didn't look right. The fish looked old, like they might have been caught before the competition even began.

13:08If any of these whispers reached Jacob and Chase, they didn't show any signs of being bothered. Jacob, in particular, was self-assured. In an interview around that time, he said, I don't want to sound arrogant or cocky, but I am confident that we should do well in this championship, also because that's just what we do, winners win. His words were prophetic, but even so, the championship didn't turn out the way he expected.

13:43Up next, the 2022 LEWT Championship ends in a shocking twist. The following products are intended for adults. Consult with a physician before use if you are pregnant, nursing, or have any known or suspected allergies or medical conditions or are taking any medication. FDA has not evaluated these products for safety or efficacy. Sometimes you want the ritual of a drink without the heaviness that comes with alcohol. Breeze offers an adult sparkling tonic made for moments like that, crisp, flavorful, and built for socializing or winding down. Each can is infused with adaptogens, mushrooms, and botanicals so you can pick what fits the moment without sacrificing taste or quality.

14:26This isn't your average mocktail. Choose between tapping in with Flo's dose of Lion's Mane or tuning out with Dream, a sparkling mocktail made to help you relax and ease into rest with reishi, chamomile, and passionflower. Head to feelthebreeze.com slash drink5. That's feelthebrez.com slash drink5 and use the code drink5 for a$5 credit plus free shipping on your first order. Now, back to the story. September 30, 2022 was the day of the annual Lake Erie Walleye Trail Championship. The fishing team of 42-year-old Jacob Runyon and 35-year-old Chase Kaminsky had been on quite a hot streak. They went into the tournament feeling confident that they would win the whole thing.

15:14And that's exactly what happened. Jacob and Chase's catch was hauled up on the stage to be weighed. And the total of their five walleye was a staggering 33.9 pounds. Their heaviest single fish weighed in at a whopping 7.9 pounds, which made it easily the biggest fish caught by any team that day. For a little more perspective, the average walleye weighs just 3 pounds, so Jacob and Chase's catch blew that out of the water. Altogether, Jacob's and Chase's five biggest fish tipped the scales at 33.91 pounds. That was more than 5 pounds heavier than the weight of the second-place team's catch. Standing on the podium, Jacob and Chase went through the motions of smiling and posing for pictures.

16:02Then, they went to leave with their prize winnings, nearly$29 ,000 worth. Not bad for a day's work. Chase left the stage first and headed to his car, and Jacob wasn't far behind. But then, something happened that neither one of them expected.

16:27The tournament director noticed something seemed odd about Jacob and Chase's fish, and he went in to get a closer look. Here's Dave Golowinski, an Ohio local and reporter familiar with the case. Well, they got caught because some people operate in the real world. And one of them was a guy named Jason Fisher, who ran the tournament. And he looked at this fish that was being weighed, and it weighed 7.9 pounds. And he said, there's no way that that fish should weigh 7.9 pounds. It's just not big enough. And so apparently he squeezed the fish and felt hard stuff inside. Now, Jason was even more suspicious.

17:18So he proceeded to take out a knife and cut the fish open to find out what was inside. He pulled out a small metal object about the size and shape of a chicken egg. It was a 12-ounce lead weight. It certainly hadn't gotten there on its own. Jacob and Chase had somehow stuffed it into the fish's mouth between when they caught it and when it was weighed to make it seem like it was heavier than it actually was. They'd been caught red-handed. And they hadn't done it with just one of the fish. All five of them had weights inside. Ten weights were found in total, which added to a total of seven pounds to their overall catch.

18:00Remember, they had only won by five pounds, so the added weight was more than enough to tip the scales in their favor. In fact, if they hadn't added as much weight, they might have gotten away with it. While they were a little overzealous with the weights, they did take some steps to try and cover their tracks. The weights had been wrapped in fillets of walleye fish. In addition to further padding the weight of the catch, this was also an attempt to disguise the hard lump of metal. It was, well, not a stroke of genius exactly, but it was a thought. Actually, it shows that they have some intelligence because the cushioning effect on the lead weights would help mask what they were trying to do.

18:49So you have to give them some credit for that anyway. Their plan had almost worked. They almost got away with it. But as Jason continued slicing open fish and pulling out weights and walleye fillets, it was clear that they weren't going to get away with their scheme. The crowd of fellow competitors quickly realized what was going on, and things got really tense really fast. And when he found that, and other people were around the weighing table, the stuff hit the fan at that point. I think it was Runyon who actually was at the table and people, as soon as they saw the waves they knew that somebody was trying to swindle them Kaminsky ended up, I think, the story goes that he was in his car and people were outside his car ready with the pitchforks and torches and poor Runyon, he had nothing he could say.

19:59The evidence was right there in front of him. So it didn't turn out very well for those two anyway. Not a happy ending. It was certainly not a happy ending. The tournament organizers stripped Jacob and Chase of their title right on the spot. People were getting increasingly agitated, raising their voices as they heckled and insulted the cheating fishing team. As soon as the weights came sliding out of the fish, a lot of things fell into place. All of the suspicions that had been brewing around Jacob and Chase were confirmed. The previous failed lie detector test, the fact that they were never seen out on the lake actually fishing during the competitions, the fact that they didn't donate their catch and that some of their walleye looked old.

20:47It all made sense. Based on the evidence, it seemed that Jacob and Chase were going out on the lakes early, before the tournaments even officially started, which would explain why their fish looked old. Then they'd shove weights and fillets into the fish's mouths and stash them somewhere secret. When it came time for the tournament, they would pull out their overstuffed fish like rabbits out of a hat. Voila! Instant champs. With their suspiciously long winning streak, it seemed very likely that they had been pulling stunts like this for a very long time. Maybe for the entire 2021 and 2022 fishing seasons.

21:28So by that point, who knew how many people they'd cheated out of prizes? How many tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars they'd stolen from the rightful winners. Once it was clear what Jacob and Chase had been doing, people were ticked off. They were well and truly ticked off, and for good reason. I sometimes think that people are looking for places where they're not going to find cheating or where they're going to find people staying within the bounds of ethics and and law. And there's a few places where people hope to still find that. And I would imagine fishing tournaments would be one of those places because it's a personal thing.

22:22Everybody puts something on the line, in this case, maybe$400 to enter the tournament. And they expect expect everybody else to be as honest about it as they want to be. And so it violates their trust in each other. As for Jacob and Chase, it was a good thing for them that the tournament organizer just happened to be an off-duty police officer. With his authority, he was able to effectively calm the crowd before things got violent. While making sure that no one put a hand on them, Jason Fisher had the cheaters stay put while police were called to the scene. Spectators and other fishermen shouted for the cheaters to be arrested on the spot.

23:08However, authorities just took their names down before allowing them to leave. But even though they got to walk away unscathed, they weren't in the clear yet. Not by a long shot. They were going to have to face a lot more serious consequences. By the time everything was said and done, getting booed and threatened by an angry mob would be just the beginning of Jacob and Chase's problems.

23:36Up next, Jacob Runyon and Chase Kaminsky pay the price for putting their fingers on the scale. Now back to the story. On the shores of Ohio's Lake Erie, September 30, 2022, 42-year-old Jacob Runyon's and 35-year-old Chase Kaminsky's winning streak finally came to a sudden and glorious end. They were caught stuffing lead weights into their fish to cheat in the 2022 Lake Erie Walleye Trail Tournament. And given how many tournaments they dominated in the months leading up to the championship, suspicion immediately grew that they hadn't just cheated once. They'd been doing it for years. There was a scene at the podium as other competitors shouted angrily at the cheating team.

24:27Jacob and Chase got away before things escalated to violence. But that didn't mean they got off scot-free. Far from it. Authorities, including the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, conducted an investigation to get to the bottom of what had happened out on the lake. When they looked into Chase's boat, they found something surprising. There was a hidden compartment. Located under the steering wheel was a small storage space, and inside, it happened to smell like rotten fish. This was more evidence for the theory that Jacob and Chase had somehow caught bigger fish before tournaments, stash them somewhere, and then produce them on competition day so they could almost guarantee a win.

25:10It seemed like the Ohio Department of Natural Resources had uncovered a major clue that pointed on how they consistently produce such heavy fish. You almost have to give them credit for the creativity. A hidden compartment in the boat? It's almost like something out of Scooby-Doo. But while the discovery was reminiscent of a cartoon, the consequences of their actions were much more serious. Less than a month after they were caught cheating, Jacob and Chase were indicted by a grand jury and charged with cheating, a fifth-degree felony. They also faced charges of attempted grand theft, possessing criminal tools, and a fourth-degree misdemeanor charge of possessing wild animals.

25:52At their arraignment, both men pleaded not guilty and were released on a bond of$2 ,500 each. For several months after that, leading up to their trial, the two maintained their not guilty plea. But at the last minute, they changed their minds. The two originally denied guilt, but after a few months and as the court date approached, they pled out to, you know, lesser charges than probably that could have been laid on them. because grand theft, I mean, they could have ended up in real big trouble. And they pled down from that. Their trial was set to begin in the afternoon of March 27, 2023. But Jacobs and Chase's lawyers struck a plea deal just minutes before the jury selection was about to begin.

26:51Under the terms of the deal, the men pleaded guilty to a felony cheating as well as the misdemeanor charge for unlawful possession of wild animals. The other charges against them, including attempted grand theft, were dropped. A couple months later, in May 2023, Jacob and Chase were sentenced. At their hearing, the men told the judge that they were sorry for their actions. Still, they each received three-year suspensions of their fishing licenses, which was the maximum time allowed under Ohio law. Also, Chase was forced to forfeit his fishing boat, which had an estimated value of$100 ,000. The boat was turned over to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which auctioned it off.

27:35They used the proceeds to help fund fishing enforcement on Lake Erie. On top of that, they were made to pay fines of$2 ,500 each, and they were sentenced to 10 days in county jail. After that, they were to serve one year's probation. Outside of their cheating scandal, Jacob and Chase also have their own individual legal troubles pending. Jacob Runyon has been charged with unlawful restraint and domestic violence. He pleaded not guilty in July 2022. Meanwhile, in October 2022, Chase was charged with stalking a woman after tailgating her on the road, hacking her Snapchat account, and sending a threatening message.

28:16And in February 2023, he faced forgery charges in Mercer County, Pennsylvania. Allegedly, Chase and his 18-year-old son attempted to pass off fake$100 bills at a local bowling alley. The money was marked for motion picture purposes. Then, in October 2023, Chase got into even more legal trouble. He was charged with poaching white-tailed deer out of season and without a hunting license between 2013 and 2021. So, you know, not great guys all around. he ignores the law, which apparently is part of his lifestyle. With their various kinds of crimes, there is an underlying energy of trying to get one over on the people, almost like trying to assert dominance or prove that they can get away with something.