Bass fishing scandal remedied with lifetime ban for angler

Have you heard about the scandal that has rocked the professional bass fishing circuit? A leading money earner rigged the game, got caught and has been banned for life.

Thanks to Grindtv,com, a Yahoo! Sports blog for the full account. Mike Hart, hailing from Southern California, stuffed lead weights into fish he caught that increased the weight of each by two ounces.

The tournament used catch-and-release but a few of Hart's fish died prior to the end of day weigh-in. They were filleted for charitable contributions and led to the surprise inside.

What made Hart's actions seem more egregious was the venue he chose to perpetrate the dastardly deed, the U.S. Open

Hart is no piker at the game. He has earned a couple of hundred grand in prize money during his time on the bass fishing circuit and the prize for the contest he tried to rig was $40,000 and a brand new bass boat.

What you've got to like about this episode of performance enhancing is the absolute no-tolerance of cheating on the part the Western Outdoor News bass tour (WON)