On this shocking episode of Fishing the DMV, we uncover one of the biggest cheating scandals in kayak fishing history the Jacob Housman story. I’m joined by Jake Harshman as we break down the full chain of events that rocked the NYKBF community and the larger kayak fishing world.

In the June 2025 NYKBF month-long online event, Housman submitted a suspicious photo of a large smallmouth bass caught from what appeared to be a cheap green kayak. Despite initial doubts, Tournament Director Nick Tammaro approved the fish at the time.

A month later, red flags exploded across social media when Housman posted a nearly identical fish from the St. Lawrence River on his Instagram, except this time, it was clearly photographed on the deck of his aluminum Bass Tracker boat.

Soon, forensic photo analysis and surveillance footage revealed a shocking discovery: Housman had rigged cut-out kayak pieces onto the back deck of his boat to fake kayak submissions. On November 9, 2025, Housman confessed to the deception, returning his $200 in winnings to NYKBF.

However, this confession may only scratch the surface. Over the last two years, there’s no way of truly knowing how much money Housman may have stolen from other competitors through this elaborate scheme — casting a dark shadow over countless events and anglers who played by the rules.

As a result, NYKBF, NY Slay Nation, PA Kayak Bass Nation, PA Slay Nation, and TourneyX have all issued a lifetime ban, permanently barring Housman from all kayak and online-format fishing tournaments.

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   Jake Harshman social media: To book a trip, click on the link to his website down below: https://www.chocolatetownriverguide.com/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaZO8WzpUoURUatFznOEv1MyWsBsSaqbryvzVQ53VZ6XU0D1-LU5cv1_SYo_aem_TK7bWVZUN7koK6Z6wXDG3Q

  YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@JakeHarshman

   Instagram: https://instagram.com/pa.kayakbassin?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

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