POACHER gets BUSTED For ILLEGAL HARVEST

Spoiler Alert! I catch nothing relevant, but here is some juicy YT drama instead.

Made a stop leaving Sanibel back to Tampa and came across this as it was too windy to take the kayak out. Interesting take as a Federal officer made an angler toss a deceased fish back into the water as opposed to confiscating it. Many would consider this to be a "waste"

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[blaze]

Dude trying his best to revive that fish!!! 😂😂😂😂 hell give it mouth to mouth and some chest compressions.

[ABNHW]

dude you got a freakin tackle shop in your truck!!!

[billbussler]

I've never seen this happen in person but on the game warden shows on tv I've seen them take illegal fish that were already dead to donate them to soup kitchens. I think it is a big waste since it was already dead.
Reminds me of something funny....when I was a kid I was fishing a pier with my uncle. He had a little speckled trout in a bucket of water that he knew was short. Sure enough the fwc comes along and sees the little fish. He tells my uncle to hold it up and says it looks then says "put it back in the water I got to get my tape measure" so what does my uncle do? He tosses the fish over the rail back into the water lol. Omg I was pretty young but I remember that officers face got so red and he almost yelled, what did you do that for, and my uncle was like you told me to lol. Sorry for the long post but that's too funny not to share.

[alexkg]

Just remember folks, if it's close, it is not close enough. Just throw it back and let it get bigger.

[flysubcompact]

Maybe the fed officer did not have a way to keep the fish from spoiling? Maybe because the feds don't have a policy for harvest?

[lagginwagon]

Great videos sir! Sea-Money's videos turned me onto yours and I'm happy to find that yours are just as epic! These Florida videos have me fiending to get back out to fishing the Atlantic and Gulf ASAP! I haven't visited the beautiful state of FL in about 5 years which is far too long as far as I'm concerned. Keep up the awesome work, and tight lines!
Also, if you've never been, check out 10, 000 Islands down near Everglades City sometime. It's a most epic spot you could hit in your yak and camp out on uninhabited mangrove Islands. The few times I've been there, my buddies and I had the island we posted up on all to ourselves.

[MrTatts]

Nice one Elias!
For those mullet, try a Mepps spinner (Size 0, or 1) with a gulp sandworm behind it. Ultra light line and hang on cos they really take off. We use 4lb fluoro straight through or lighter if you have the space to play them out in.

[FloridaBoyGrizz]

I swear that guy looks like lojo fishing

[trent]

Back when Striped Bass were endangered, I saw a guy get caught with 11 fish which was a $500 fine per fish with 3 violations. Game Warden said he watched the guy for several hours and waited for him to pull his boat out of the water on the ramp we were about to use. The guy first lied and said he didn't catch anything because he didn't think the warden knew about his hidden well beneath his seat. Hard lesson to learn. Also told the guy you better hope they're all still alive.

[stevenbrown]

The one time I actually saw a game warden was with a beer in my hand. He was cool about it. I was honest. I told him on my way to the river I stocked up my cooler with sodas and thought a tall can sounded good. I let him know I will be there a few hours so I wouldn't be driving with alcohol. He gave me the regular routine, let me see you're license and checked my cooler and all that and said have a good day. He started walking away and I shouted hey want a coke? He took me up on the offer. And went back to his patrol down the riverbank. He did let me keep it and finish it. Said it would be a waste of good beer to pour it out

[mainemagic]

Guy is lucky he wasn't in Maine...Saw a guy out in a John boat hauling in illegal stripers one after another, all too short. He had two coolers on boat. He comes into boat launch, loads up boat on trailer, then State Fish and Game block him on ramp. He got arrested, cuffed, boat and tackle got confiscated and towed along with his car. The only way shelters get meat is by way of road kill.
Maine hit this guy with $10k fine, 1yr of community service, court fee's and lost fishing license for 5 years. Article in paper
Said he already had been to court for similar incident 2 yrs prior.
It just isn't worth it to Not follow the rules of Maine ...tough lesson to learn..

[Distantttt]

made him throw it back because it hurts the angler to see a good fish to waste like that, it’ll make him think twice on next time he harvests an illegal fish

[venchergaming]

Honestly though, if its not legal, its not legal. If your ruler says spot on, throw it back because fish and game's ruler will be just short.

[fishingbanditsilva]

We need this in Long Beach California these South East Asians be taking small halibut and all fish that are not size legal pisses me of..

[aloadtoad]

Love that area down there!!! My Aunt and Uncle live over the bridge in Cape Coral (lots of freshwater canals with TONS of largemouth) and I head over that drive in Sanibel anytime I’m visiting. Caught my first baby tarpon on the fly along that road. Those culverts are dinner conveyor belts for snook, reds and everything else. If your ever down there again, try the Island Cow for

[mengzilla]

There are so many fish in that fishing hole omg

[EricFortuneJr.]

I don’t usually keep redfish that big anyway. I prefer mines around 18”-22” for the best quality, especially back waters. If I have to keep measuring it then I’ll just toss it back. If it’s clearly legal then I’ll keep it.

[sirfishslayer]

I am in favor of a count limit, and no size restrictions. Better off to keep your first 5, than to go though 15 fish (maybe killing some in the process) to get your size that you need. Of course, that fish will not go to waste. It will become part of other fishes and turtle's diet....so...it is just the guy's family that lost out on a meal. Of course the government officials that wrote the law really don't care about that....it is all just numbers and statistics to them.

[FishFinder]

Good ! Hopefully the guy paid a fine too. Agree with your comment above that it makes no sense NOT to harvest the fish at that point. If the fish is dead then definitely make the guy pay a fine to basically BUY the fish and let him keep it rather than have it go to waste. At the 3:30 mark the guy is just looking at it.... should just give the fish mouth to mouth at that point LOL

[mykemyers]

Sounds like the officer either wanted to save himself getting dirty or save himself some paperwork