Angler Busted for Cheating at Tourney
A North Texas angler, Curtis Lee Daniels, got arrested for allegedly stuffing weights inside a bass at a Lake Fork tournament Lake Fork fishing tournament competitor accused of cheating, North Texas angler charged after weights found in bass at Lake Fork Lure Co. Tournament - CBS Texas. The fish had three three-ounce weights inside Lake Fork fishing tournament competitor accused of cheating, North Texas angler charged after weights found in bass at Lake Fork Lure Co. Tournament - CBS Texas. What are the penalties for this kind of cheating?
Curtis Lee Daniels of Willow Park, Texas, was arrested on March 9, 2026, after allegedly trying to cheat at the Lake Fork Lure Co. Tournament. Tournament officials suspected foul play during weigh-in when a metal detector wand alerted them to a foreign object inside Daniels' bass. Texas Game Wardens performed a necropsy on the fish and discovered three 0.75-ounce weights in its stomach. The weights showed no signs of erosion, and similar weights were found in Daniels' boat. Daniels was charged with violating Texas fishing tournament regulations, a third-degree felony because the tournament's guaranteed cash prize was $100,000. He was booked into the Wood County Jail on a $20,000 bond and was released the next day. The Lake Fork Lure Co. Tournament, presented by Sealy Outdoors, offered a grand prize of $11,500 for the heaviest bass. Daniels had already won two hourly prizes totaling $2,500 before his arrest. William McDaniel of Festus, Missouri, ultimately won the grand prize with a 10.22-pound bass. A conviction for a third-degree felony in Texas could mean 2 to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000. Other penalties could include license revocation and civil restitution. Cheating scandals have rocked the fishing tournament world before. In 2022, two anglers were caught stuffing walleye with lead weights and fish fillets during the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament in Ohio. They were sentenced to 10 days in jail, 18 months probation, and forfeited their $130,000 boat. Curtis Lee Daniels has a prior conviction in Wood County for a misdemeanor in 2019 for possession of slot limit black bass. He was found guilty by a jury in January 2019 and forced to pay $519.
