Over the course of my career as a game warden, I have come across a countless number of individuals who have a variety of reasons for committing game violations. Sometimes it is a simple explanation of, "I didn’t think I would get caught," or "I didn’t know." But, sometimes these explanations make me take a step back and say,"What!? Are you kidding?" Here is a little example of one such incident.

Sr. Agent Eddie Skena and I were patrolling in St. Charles Parish in late May when we received a complaint that someone was fishing with a cast net in the Bonne Carre Spillway. Now anyone that grew up in this area can tell you that you never know what you are going to see when you go to the spillway. We made our way over to the area and it seemed that that plenty of people were enjoying themselves on this beautiful weekend. As we traveled underneath Airline Hwy, we saw two guys slinging a cast net into the overflowing water underneath the bridge. There was a certain nervousness about them as they saw us pull up, however they continued about there activities. We immediately go into our routine of surveying the area and checking fishing licenses. We then saw a 5-gallon bucket on the ground next to the fishermen. Inside were a couple of largemouth bass and some perch. Immediately, we knew we had something.

In Louisiana, bass and perch along with a variety of other fish are classified as "game fish," and can only be taken by certain methods. A cast net is not one of them. Not spotting a rod and reel anywhere in sight, I asked, "How did ya’ll catch all these fish." "The cast net," one replied. We explained that there methods of taking the fish were illegal and we received the ever so popular "Well, I didn’t know," answer. Eddie then nonchalantly asked, "So, ya’ll got any other fish?" They led us to their vehicle and in the bed of the truck was a 55-gallon drum. We could hear the fish splashing around inside. "We have a couple more," they said. Altogether, they had 7 largemouth bass and 11 perch. Realizing that the "I didn’t know" excuse was not working, one of the fishermen offered another excuse. He said, "We were only taking the fish to feed my catfish at home. They’re not for us."

Was this guy serious? All those bass and perch to feed his pet catfish? How big is this catfish and how hungry is he? Is the catfish so picky that it can only eat a strict diet of delicious pan-fried bass and perch? Did they really expect us to ignore the fact that they are committing a violation because they told us they were trying to feed their pet? I just wasn’t buying it.

In the end, we issued the guys citations for taking game fish by illegal methods and seized the fish. Luckily, all of the fish were still alive and were able to be returned to the water. But still, it makes me wonder what the next excuse will be on the next day with the next violation. Only time will tell, along with the violator’s ever so colorful imagination to try and get out of a ticket.