Cheating at fishing could be criminal in Texas

"A bill that would make it a misdemeanor — and in some cases a felony — to misrepresent the size, weight or provenance of a fish in a fishing tournament" recently passed the Texas Senate without dissent, Erica Goode of The New York Times reports. (Bettmann/Corbis photo)

"Some people are literally taking scissors and cutting off the tail of a fish to make it fit into a certain category," Republican Sen. Glenn Hegar, the bill's sponsor, told Goode. "Unfortunately, they're not playing by the rules." This bill is intended to address this sort of cheating found in some high-level bass fishing tournaments.

The bill will extend current "fishing laws to include saltwater and freshwater tournaments" and add "the provisions about misrepresentation," Goode writes. For tournaments under $10,000 a Class A misdemeanor charge would be issued for cheating and in tournaments over $10,000 cheating could land violators two to ten years in prison, a $10,000 fine and a third-degree felony record.

Many anglers like Tommy Hagler of Abilene, who told Goode that large prizes and the difficult economy have made cheating get out of hand, are pleased the bill has passed. (Read more)