Kayak fishing has grown tremendously in the last 10 years. That growth can be seen in tricked-out kayaks fully rigged with all the latest and greatest electronics, and the tournaments giving out hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of money and prizes. It’s a big thing, and it just keeps getting bigger by the day.
Here in the Northeast, the kayak fishing tournament scene is huge. There are many tournaments, both online and live events, that take place throughout our many great lakes in the region. But tournament angling comes with people looking for that competitive edge to win, even if that includes cheating.
In a recent month-long tournament for the New York Kayak Bass Fishing Club (NYKBFC), Pennsylvania kayak angler Jacob Housman was caught cheating by using his small aluminum bass boat in a kayak-only event while on the St. Lawrence River this summer. Housman used his bass boat with a cut-out section of a kayak on the back deck to fish the kayak tournament, fooling the judges by photographing his fish inside the “kayak.” In doing so, he was able to place high in the standings. Not only is this illegal to do, but gives a foul taste in everyone’s mouth that’s trying to do it correctly.
Wired2fish recently spoke with John Tammaro, tournament director for the NYKBF, about the issue and he explained what transpired.
On Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, Tammaro received a phone call from the PA Kayak Bass Nation tournament director, Joshua Sims, on the issue of Housman cheating in multiple events in Pennsylvania. He has been under five different allocations in different tournaments, including the Bassmaster Kayak Series event this past year on the Susquehanna River. Housman was accused of fishing within the 100-yard limit of certain fish ladders and dams in the river.
In the 2025 June month-long online event for NYKBF, Housman submitted a large smallmouth on what looked to be a cheaper green kayak in a vertical picture. At the time, even though the picture seemed a little fishy, Tammaro approved the photo and submitted it to the event.
A month later, Housman posted a picture of a smallmouth from the St. Lawrence River on his personal Instagram account, @yocooutdoors. Many of the other NYKBF anglers including Tammaro thought the fish looked suspicious. As it turns out, after further forensic data was discovered, this was the same fish submitted in the June month-long event. The picture was taken on the back of Housman’s small bass tracker aluminum boat which raised the most red flags.
Surveillance videos and pictures arose of Housman’s boat with the cut out pieces of kayak rigged on the back deck. After further consultations between Housman and Tammaro, Housman came clean this past Sunday, November 9, 2025, and admitted that he was in fact cheating in these tournaments. Housman gave his winnings of $200 back to NYKBF.
NYKBF, NY Slay Nation, PA Kayak Bass Nation, PA Slay Nation, and TourneyX have all given Housman a lifelong ban from fishing any kayak or online-format events for the rest of his life.
I reached out to Housman on instagram as we have mutual online friends, but did not receive a response on the subject. Wired2fish will update the story with his comments if he provides any.
So why do all this? According to Tammaro, Housman wanted solely to gain more social media followers and grow his presence on social media to become more popular. It was never about the money, it was about being in the spotlight, which are all the wrong reasons for fishing in the first place. This takes away from the fun everyone else is trying to have and those following tournament rules the correct way. This is exactly the spotlight a true cheater deserves.
To hear about the story even more in depth, tune in to the Kayak Fishing Obsessed Podcast in the coming days to hear Tammaro talk into every little detail about the situation.
