Felony Charges Filed After Weights Found in Lake Fork Tournament Fish

The bass tournament fishing community in East Texas and Northwest Louisiana is tight knit, so when someone violates the trust of the others, it's much like a gut-punch to all.

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Such is the case of this past weekend's first ever Lake Fork Lures tournament on Lake Fork. After a suspected cheater was discovered on Sunday, March 8, the bass tournament world is buzzing with the news that someone was willing to sell out their integrity for the almighty dollar.

From the KETK NBC Facebook page, we've learned that this past Sunday, during the final day of competition of the bass tournament sponsored by Lake Fork Lure Company, Curtis Lee Daniels of Willow Park, Texas, who reportedly works as a fishing guide on Lake Fork and regularly fishes tournaments, was arrested by Texas Wildlife Enforcement Agents, for allegedly stuffing weights inside a fish before bringing it to the weigh-in scales.

In a separate posting on social media, 903 Outdoors writes that this particular fish was flagged after tournament officials waved a metal detecting wand over the fish and it alerted the staff to the potential presence of a foreign object.

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After confirming the alert, wardens conducted a necropsy on the fish and discovered three weights in its stomach that showed no signs of erosion. Game wardens also located weights of the same style and size in the angler’s boat.

Because this tournament offered prize money exceeding $10,000, Daniels was charged with violating fishing tournament rules, which is a third-degree felony in Texas.

Authorities booked him into the Wood County Jail, and records show he was later released on $20,000 bond while the case proceeds.