Fishing Tournament Cheater Who Used Lead Weights, Also Caught Poaching Antlered Whitetail Deer

There are additional charges in Pennsylvania for one of the two men who admitted stuffing the fish they caught with lead weights and fish filets to win thousands of dollars in a walleye fishing contest on Ohio's Lake Erie last year.

Poaching Antlered Whitetail Deer

Chase Cominsky, 36, from Hermitage, faces eight wildlife charges in Mercer County, Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission accused him of multiple illegal activities involving whitetail deer. Allegations claim Cominsky hunted antlered whitetail deer outside legal hours and during closed seasons, lacking a valid license from 2013 to 2021. His hunting privileges were revoked during this period. The charges pertain to unlawful game killing, possession, and violations of licensing, tagging, and reporting big game kills.

Authorities discovered five antlered whitetail deer heads at Cominsky's home, mounted between 2013 and 2021. Three were allegedly tagged under another person's name.

Previous Cases: Cheating and Unlawful Ownership

Cominsky and Jacob Runyan from Ashtabula, both from Ohio, were sentenced in May in Ohio, serving 10-day jail terms after pleading guilty in March in Cuyahoga County for cheating and unlawfully owning wild animals.

Cominsky forfeited his $100,000 bass boat and both were fined, with three-year fishing license suspensions.

The cheating came to light in September 2022 when suspicions arose about the unusually heavy walleye they submitted during a Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament, leading to an open inspection at Gordon Park in Cleveland. Walleye filets and additional weights were discovered inside the fish. A preliminary hearing for the Pennsylvania charges is scheduled for November 14. The attorney who represented Cominsky in the walleye tournament case will not represent him in the Pennsylvania case.

Poaching in Ohio

Illegal wildlife trade is a global issue, often centered around high-profile cases like elephant ivory and tiger parts. However, it extends to numerous species, including marine turtles and timber trees. While some wildlife trade is legal and supports various industries, the problem arises when an increasing portion becomes illegal and unsustainable, endangering species.

In Ohio, the largest case in the 146-year history of the ODNR Division of Wildlife, known as Operation North Coast, recently concluded. This operation addressed the illegal hunting and sale of Lake Erie sportfish and white-tailed deer meat products in counties along the Lake Erie shoreline. It began in March 2016 with search and arrest warrants, followed by interviews and investigations across multiple counties.

Over 2.5 years, wildlife investigators examined thousands of documents, conducted around 200 interviews, executed more search warrants, and analyzed a plethora of seized evidence, including a vehicle, 96 deer and turkey mounts, 35 sets of antlers, over 200 pounds of fileted sportfish, and 400 pounds of processed deer meat. This case highlights the seriousness of illegal wildlife activities and the extensive efforts required to address them effectively.