Wood County, TX — A North Texas man was arrested Sunday after authorities say he attempted to cheat during a fishing tournament by placing weights inside a bass before the weigh-in.
Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens arrested Curtis Lee Daniels of Willow Park, Texas, on March 8, 2026, during the Lake Fork Lure Company Fishing Tournament on Lake Fork.
Tournament organizers contacted Texas Game Wardens after a bass submitted by Daniels raised suspicions during the weigh-in. Officials used a metal detector and discovered foreign objects inside the fish.
Wardens later found three weights inside the stomach of the bass and determined they had been intentionally placed there.
Investigators also located weights of the same style inside Daniels’ boat.
Authorities say Daniels had already won two hourly prizes totaling $2,500 before the suspected cheating was discovered.
Daniels was arrested and booked into the Wood County Jail. His bond has been set at $20,000.
He has been charged with violating Texas fishing tournament law, a third-degree felony. If convicted, Daniels could face between two and ten years in state prison and fines of up to $10,000.
The investigation remains ongoing.
