Bass Legend no More: Mike Long Exposed as a Bass Fishing Cheater
The West Coast is known for big swimbaits and big bass. Mike long profited from both. Some say Mike Long put the swimbait on the map. Posing with giant bass on social media and magazine covers. Upwards of 40 magazine covers, I read someplace. Mike Long has been a bass fishing cheater for many years and it is sad that it just now caught up to him. I have read several articles and watched many videos that discuss this tragedy in the bass fishing world. Here is a list of some of the sources of my knowledge of the exposure of Mike Long as a cheater and a big bass snagger. SDFish.com Westernbass.com
There is nothing that pisses me or any tournament angler off more than a bass fishing cheater. There have been bass fishing cheaters in fishing tournaments since they started. Imagine how many do cheat considering that this guy, Mike Long, did it for many years without being exposed.
The way I read it there were definitely skeptics all along. Obviously, enough for someone to take the time to video and record obvious snagging by Mike Long. Interviews were conducted. People started to piece together all the little lies and lack of fish catches while fishing with partners but then whacking them when fishing alone. Hind sight is 20/20 as they say but it seems like he would have been at least approached with caution when it came to product endorsements and things but what do you do. There was no proof and those giant bass do get a lot of attention and that is what companies want.
MONEY EQUALS BASS FISHING CHEATERS
It seems as though as long as there is money involved there will be cheaters. Especially when so much of the game is based on trust to begin with. When a guy fishes with one of the best bass anglers in California and gets angler of the year and contributes only 1 bass, yes a single bass throughout an entire tournament season. I believe his partner caught 34 of the 35 bass weighed in that year. After a season of that, there is sure to be a little skepticism. Then he decides to fish alone and starts winning tournaments right and left. Just a bit fishy. Bass Legend no More: Mike Long Exposed as a Cheater
The video named “the snow bass” nearly made me puke. It is amazing that someone would do that. It’s funny how people obviously turned a blind eye on Mike Long’s lies all because of money. The small lake that allowed him in during closed days and at night when nobody else had access is a prime example. They wanted to promote the lake and get more people there to fish and pay to access and whatever else they charged for. I guarantee the lake didn’t care how Mike Long caught his bass as long as he promoted the lake. There are unfortunately more people involved in this cover-up than Mike Long. This is only my opinion but seems like common sense to me. In one of the articles the writer says he just wanted to make a 10 pound bass mean something again (paraphrased). Couldn’t agree more.
I WANT A TEN-POUND BASS TO MEAN SOMETHING AGAIN
I have 3 bass on my wall that my dad caught in Florida. One is 10 pounds 14 oz’s one is 10 pounds 4 oz’s and the third is a 9 pounder. My dad fished every winter with shiners and I was there one winter and we tried with live shiners and balloons. My dad never caught a big bass on a shiner during the spawn. All the bass I have on my wall he caught on a RedShad Culprit worm, that’s about all he fished. If those bass were caught during the spawn they could have easily weighed 13 to 15 pounds.
Those bass mean something and for one man to catch 3 that big is a feat I promise you. There is plenty of people that have caught plenty of 10-pound bass in Florida but considering my dad never really fished for bass until he was in his 40’s 3 giants like these is an accomplishment. I owe all of my fishing madness to my Dad.
THE SKEPTICS
It seems that there are possibly other people that accepted what Mike Long was doing for personal gain. It is so crazy that people suspected this was happening but he was able to do it for so long and get so far in the industry. This is the real black eye I think. The fact that businesses even trusted him. I find it hard to believe that with all the post and skepticism that these companies weren’t turning a slight blind eye. Man he got another pic with my bait in his mouth. Way to go now get another one. In the end Mike Long is the one to take the fall as he should, but come on man.
There have always been Mike Long skeptics all along, check out this post on Western Bass Forum in 2014
Mike Long admits deceit behind bass record?
Mike Long admits deceit behind bass record
Earlier this month (2014), Mike Long, who claims to hold largemouth bass lake records at six of the local reservoirs, admitted on his Facebook account that he used a photo of a bass not caught by him to substantiate his claim of catching an 18-pound bass at Lake Poway in 2002.
Upon recent public scrutiny, including photos that surfaced a few years ago of another angler holding the same bass in the same boat, Long now admits that the bass in the photo was not caught by him. The angler who caught the fish, a former friend of his, has said the fish in the photo was 16 pounds, which would have fallen just short of the lake record at the time, 16 pounds 4 ounces.
“For the record many years ago I caught a 18 at Lake Poway. My 35mm film did not capture the bass. Bill Rice who was the editor at Western Outdoors wanted a picture and I sent him one of me holding my friend’s bass, and yes that was wrong,” Long said on a May 9th post to his Facebook account.
A screenshot of his entire post is posted in the photo gallery below. Accompanied by the photo that previously represented the Lake Poway lake record, as well as a photo of the actual angler who caught the bass. That angler has expressed that he did not want to be associated any further with Long or any stories involving him, so his face has been blurred…
-A dumb mistake by a younger Mike Long, but it doesn’t take away from his overall fishing credibility for me.
If anything, it shows he’s man enough to admit to it, and take responsibility for his actions.
-Agreed, still a monster bass-catching legend.
-What about dropping out of tourneys altogether because he refused to take a lie detector test after winning. That’s pretty standard protocol these days. If his credibility is so good why not just take the test? Integrity is all you can really judge a man on, younger or not he was a grown man. Lying about one thing… a lake record at that puts a question mark on everything else.
I am just proud of all the people involved in exposing this guy to the world. We need to be able to enjoy fishing tournaments without worrying about cheaters taking your hard-earned money. As for the Lake Records, he claimed. I’m not sure what can be done about that except erase them from the books and add them to his disgrace. Bass Legend no More: Mike Long Exposed as a Bass Fishing Cheater