I met Troy last year while fishing a Lake Murray Kayak Fishing event. He was super nice — friendly, curious, and easy to talk to. Over time, he’d occasionally message me or even call to ask about motorizing his kayak or for general fishing tips. Everything seemed perfectly normal.

As the SCYAK and LMKF joint event approached, Troy and I were in regular contact. With one month to go, he reached out often with questions about the rules, how the tournament app worked, and other details. I was happy to help. He came across as a guy genuinely trying to learn the ropes.

When the event finally kicked off, everything seemed fine. But his first fish submission raised a red flag. The photo didn’t meet the measurement rules — the mouth wasn’t clearly closed, and the fish wasn’t visibly touching the board. The same 16.25” fish was submitted two more times, and each time, a notification was sent.

Around 10:30 AM, I left Anderson and headed to Muddy Bay, tagging in SCYAK judge Chevy. While driving, fish submissions from Troy continued to come in — and they started to look off. Still, we approved them at the time because none of them were in the money, and full validation hadn’t yet begun.

But something wasn’t sitting right.

The fish had lifeless eyes. Their fins had lost all color, which doesn’t happen with live fish. The body coloration also clearly indicated the fish had been dead for some time. Every photo also showed a cooler — a detail that raised even more suspicion.

We messaged Troy to invite him to the awards presentation, but he declined. The goal was to speak to him privately and raise the concern in person. Still, the event continued. We celebrated our winners and honored what was, in many ways, a great joint tournament.

But during the post-event verification — before issuing payouts — the red flags turned into confirmation. Something was definitely wrong.

I dug deeper. I researched visual signs of dead fish in tournament submissions and spoke with a local expert — someone who’s kept and handled fish their entire life. The conclusion was clear and unanimous. I then validated with two additional local TD directors. Confirmed again.

On June 8th, 2025, I notified the tournament directors for LMKF, SCBASS, QCKBF, CYC, FKA, Kayak Kings, and others. The result was swift and unified.

Troy has now been banned from all reputable clubs and even blacklisted by local bait makers.