Two fishermen, accused of cheating during a tournament on Lake Erie in the US, have pleaded not guilty to the charges placed against them.

Jacob Runyan, 42, of Ohio, and Chase Cominsky, 35, of Pennsylvania, made a brief court appearance in Cleveland on Wednesday.

The cheating allegations surfaced on September 30 when Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament director Jason Fischer suspected that Runyan and Cominsky may have stuffed five walleye with lead weights and fish fillets.

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The pair appeared to have won the tournament before the discovery. The first-place prize in the tournament totalled around $28,000. They were later disqualified.

Fischer cut the walleye open and announced there were weights and fish fillets inside them. The fish was confiscated by an officer from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources as part of an evidence.

Search warrant affidavits revealed that the five walleye contained a total of eight 0.34 kilogram lead weights and two 0.23 kilogram weights, as well as the fish fillets.

In one of the affidavits, it was revealed that the two fishermen were investigated by Rossford police in north-west Ohio in April after being accused of cheating in a different walleye tournament. 

Earlier this month, Runyan and Cominsky were indicted on felony charges of cheating, attempted grand theft, possessing criminal tools and misdemeanour charges of unlawfully owning wild animals.

Both were released on Wednesday on personal bonds of $2,500. 

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The charges placed against them are fifth-degree felonies. If convicted, they could face up to 12 months in prison and $2,500 in fines.

The duo also face a misdemeanor count of unlawful ownership of wild animals — a charge related to raw fish filets they allegedly had on their boat. If convicted, their fishing licenses could be revoked indefinitely.