Angler Caught Cheating at Sacandaga Lake Fishing Tournament
"Cheaters never win" hit home for a New York angler busted at the Great Sacandaga Lake Fisheries Derby and the Walleye Challenge. With thousands of people expected for the annual event, State and Local authorities had round the clock patrols in the area. One of those patrols discovered the anglers plans.
Officers Jason Hilliard and Robert Higgins with The Department of Environmental Conservation first noticed tip-ups that had been left out overnight. While investigating the setup near an unoccupied shanty, officers found a 32-inch northern pike being kept alive and stored in the ice.
The officers returned the next morning to the shanty to discuss the unattended tip-ups. When the angler was asked if he was having any luck, he claimed to have caught a big Northern Pike earlier that morning, entered it in the contest, then released it. Officers then informed him about the previous night's patrol. The angler confessed to catching it outside of tournament hours. His entry was disqualified and officers wrote him tickets for having unattended tip-ups.
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