A Florida wildlife officer acting on a tip and vehicle description located a poaching suspect who was found in possession of 35 out-of-season and undersized snook.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission stated Monday that the unidentified suspect also was cited for the illegal use of a cast net.
If it were open season on snook, only hook-and-line fishing would be allowed, and the bag limit would be one snook per day.
The FWC stated that the officer who responded to a tip arrived at the unidentified Lee County location to find that “the snook stealer [had] slipped away.”
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But after receiving a description of the suspect and vehicle, the officer located the “wet and sandy” suspect and discovered a cast net and 35 snook, plus a mangrove snapper, in the truck’s bed.
Snook fishing in the region, from Sarasota Bay through Gordon Pass in Collier County, is catch-and-release only through Aug. 31.
