RAY SCOTT OUTDOORS, Inc.
Presents
Bob Cobb

Requiem For A Cheater

MOLINE, Illinois-American Society lives in strange times. A U.S. President disgraces the Oval Office and life goes forward. A man cheats on his wife and all is forgiven. But cheat in a bass fishing tournament and there's a cross to bear. The unpardonable sin.

Rick McFail is marked for life. He's the "Unforgiven." A tragic figure caught red-handed, trying to cheat the scales of justice at the Mississippi Valley Bass Club's Easter Seals Benefit Buddy Bass Tournament. McFail and his partner stand accused of weighing in bass - observed by a witness - taken from a cage in a marina boat slip.

The deceptive act unfolded at the August event last year. Time hasn't washed away the sin in the minds of area Bass Club anglers or softened the day-to-day pain for Rick McFail.

On the eve of the 2001 Easter Seals Charity Tournament, the nightmare is still a bad dream for McFail, an outcast from the bass tournament fishing scene.

Inside a fashionable, white frame house on sizeable acreage in East Moline, this 44-year old successful financial planner struggles to answer the question: "Why did you do it? Obviously, it wasn't for the money."

The down cast eyes look up. "I'd never cheated at anything. It was a real stupid thing," he says slowly, but offers no excuse for the facts.

In a hushed whisper with quivering lips he finally continues: "The emotions...they're still there. It's not like it happened yesterday - or like last week - it's been a year. Totally changed my life. I'd done it. (At the weigh-in) I was scared to death. I wanted to walk up there and admit it, but afraid there'd be a mob scene."

Tournament officials notified the top five teams that they would be subject to a polygraph exam to verify their catches. "We had a detailed description of the boat, motor and the anglers' clothing," recalls Jeff Roman, the tournament co-chairman, "so we were sure of the guilty team."

The next morning Jeff Roman's phone range and Rick McFail asked for a meeting. "I didn't sleep. I told Jeff I'd done it. I wanted to own up to it and deal with it."

McFail and his 27-year old partner Corey Hallsted of Moline never actually received the $2,500 first-place check. Thus, no crime committed in the eyes of the law, but in the court of sportsmanship the unwritten law of "thou shall not cheat in a bass competition" had been broken.

McFail claims it was not his intention to cheat. He says the pet cage holding the bass was pointed out to him on the practice day prior to the tournament by a "catfisherman at the dock."

According to his story, McFail tried to contact tournament officials with his concern about the "planted bass in the cage." But, next morning, after launching at the Albany, Illinois landing, made his way directly to the marina.

"I wanted to get there before, whoever had put the fish in the box, arrived," said McFail.

But, his reported action makes the story sound suspect. So happens a local resident on a nearby overlook waiting to see the tournament boats pass watched in disbelief. The pair retrieved the box, dumped the bass in the boat and reportedly left.

In McFails replay, "we set there for 15 minutes. Nobody showed up. We threw the fish in the livewell. Four alive and two dead."

In recounting the act, McFail admits to thinking "we've almost got a limit (five) bass in the livewell." Still in his mind there was no pre-planned misconduct to cheat. But, they admitted to keeping "two fish from the box" for weigh-in.

Temptation? An enticement so strong to explain the poor judgment: "I wanted to do good so bad." In the Good Book, Adam never tasted a more bittersweet apple.

McFail says his partner (Corey) is like a younger brother. "I'm the leader. I told him this is what we're going to do."

Bad apple or bad experience? It's spoiled Rick McFail's life. First, a letter of resignation to the 230-member John Deere Harvester Bass Club. "That's all gone. Lost my circle of fishing friends. Now, I've lost interest in fishing…something I used to do five days a week.

"I broke the bond with my wife (Joyce). She was totally taken off guard. Hurt. Sad. We're trying to deal with it. We moved to this new home. Trying to focus on life and make things better for my wife."

But, at the closing for the house sale, the "lady across the table" mentioned "wasn't that terrible about the cheating in the bass fishing at the Easter Seal tournament." The incident had been played earlier on the local TV news: "Area Business Man Cheats in Charity Tournament."

During the aftermath, McFail's path continued to be crossed with emotional-draining experiences. "It's been tough. I've had my mother-in-law pass away. Lost my dog of 14 years. We cried. Like losing a child. This stuff has to stop some time. One emotional happening after another."

As promotion for his McFail's Financial Services business he'd sponsored anglers in local bass club competitions and trophies.

"The next week the club had a tournament," says McFail. "I still purchased the trophies, but had the name changed to presented by the Harvester Bass Club. I didn't want the winners throwing the trophies in the river."

McFail admits, "Afterwards, a few clients moved their money." But, his business associates didn't ask him to depart the firm. "Ethically it was wrong. But you've not been charged with a crime," was the judgment.

But, McFail surely must wonder if he's being judged by a higher jury. The U.S. stockmarket has gone into the tank and the financial services business has been whacked in the economic downturn.

There's no "forgiveness" for Rick McFail's bad judgment. His expressing proper remorse and apologizing to his bass club may heal part of the pain. But, like a bad tattoo, he'll never erase it fully.

However, the Mississippi Valley Bass Club Easter Seals Tournament has moved on, putting the cheating scandal and the widespread embarrassment behind it. A field of 109 two-man teams entered this year's 27th renewal of the charity event and there's no question of the winning score. A polygraph test doesn't lie.

All registered anglers agreed to take the test. A member of the winning team, the big bass winner and a team member selected at random were hooked up to the polygraph machine, according to co-tournament chairman Jeff Roman.

"The positive outcome of the situation is the way we've handled it," believes Roman. "We'd asked Ray Scott, in the past, about coming up and acting as the master of ceremonies, but he declined to get involved in a buddy tournament because of his security concerns and the possibility of cheating."

Ray Scott, as founder of B.A.S.S. and the innovator of bass tournament rules, would only agree to "help out as weighmaster if the tournament required a polygraph" acknowledges Roman.

Under the new tournament format in bold type the first rule is: "Cheating will not be condoned. Winners will be subject to a Polygraph Test."

"No one can know how much time we've put into this charity tournament," points out Roman. "I was ready to whip somebody last year when you work so hard and have something like that spoil everything. But, we've overcome a bad thing. And, we're doing a real good thing."

According to W.K. Juncker of the Easter Seal Foundation, "This year's tournament is a big success with $10,529 donated to Easter Seals," pushing the total to over $330,000 in the event's history.

There are deeds and misdeeds. Cheers and tears. But, optimistically, a pair of bad apples didn't ruin the Easter Seal's benefit crop. Next year's harvest date is set for Saturday, August 24, 2002. Call W.K. Juncker at 309-762-9552 for entry information.

And, remember the Easter Seals creed: "Creating solutions, changing lives." Oddly, both are a truism in the case of "Requiem For A Cheater."

(Editor's Note: Included in the RAY SCOTT OUTDOORS news release archives are two background articles on the subject of bass tournament cheating: "Dark Side of Bass Tourney Revealed," and Ray Scott's view on "Bass Tournaments: Being On Guard Against Cheaters." Click on the "News Release" icon to retrieve these articles.