Louisiana Man Arrested for Contest Fraud – Stuffed Fish with Lead

Louisiana is a place made for sportsmen. The northern half of the state from Ruston to Monroe and south to Alexandria is famous for its deer leases. That same part of the state is also known for more than a few big bass fishing lakes. Closer to the coast we have our own honey holes for big fish. Some of them are on shore, and some of them are offshore.

It's estimated by Zip Recruiter that an individual who wanted to pursue the sport of bass fishing as their job could earn an average salary of just over $50,000 a year. Yeah, you can make that much money just fishing every day. Of course, you have to invest in a boat, lures, lines, rods, reels, and you get the idea. Fishing as a hobby can be done very cheaply or it can cost you as much as a second house.

Of course, today's fisherman isn't as interested in landing a lunker to feed the family. Most of today's fishing is done for sport and for trophies. That is why fishing tournaments are so popular across Louisiana. On almost any given weekend you can find or make a few new friends and fish for "cash and prizes". Sometimes those cash and prizes are minimal and other times, they can be paydays of thousands of dollars.

For example at the Big Bass Splash which was recently held on Toledo Bend in Many Louisiana the top prize was valued at $100,000. It included some cash, a new boat, a motor, and all the accessories you could ever want. The second prize in that tournament was $15,000 in cash. So, you see there is a motivation to win.

Where there is a motivation to win there could also be a motivation to cheat and agents of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries were called to the Big Bass Splash in Many, Louisiana to investigate a fish that was turned by one of the competitors.

Tournament officials suspected a fish turned in by Aaron Moreau of Pollock, Louisiana was not on the up and up. So they contacted LDWF agents who discovered the fish had been stuffed with 2.59 pounds of lead-weight sinkers. The fish had been turned in as part of the weigh-in on May 17th.

LDWF Agents learned that Moreau had fled the scene when they attempted to confront him with the accusations brought against him. Later a warrant was issued and Moreau turned himself in on May 23rd. If convicted Moreau could face a fine of $3,000 and one year in jail.