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Man arrested, accused of putting weights inside fish during tournament on East Texas lake

Tampered bass (Texas Game Wardens)

WOOD COUNTY, Texas – A Texas man was arrested and charged after authorities say he tampered with a fish and manipulated its weight during a fishing tournament on Lake Fork.

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It happened on Sunday when Texas Game Wardens in Wood County were contacted by organizers of the Lake Fork Lure Co. Tournament to investigate a bass turned in at the weigh-in that raised concerns of possible tampering. The fish was flagged after a metal detecting wand alerted tournament staff to the potential presence of a foreign object.

Wardens conducted a necropsy on the bass and discovered three weights in its stomach that showed no signs of erosion. Wardens also located weights of the same style and size in the angler’s boat.

Curtis Lee Daniels, of Willow Park, was arrested and charged with violating fishing tournament law. Because the tournament’s total prize value exceeded $10,000, the charge is a third-degree felony.

Wood County Judicial Records indicate Daniels was released from jail Sunday after posting a $20,000 bond.