Seven People Charged With Fishing Fraud

Yes there is such a thing as "fishing fraud", and people who're caught doing it are in a heap of trouble.  The Brownsville Herald reports that's what seven people learned when fishing tournament judges caught them at it on South Padre island earlier this month.

It happened at the Ladies Kingfish Tournament sponsored by the South Padre Island Chamber of Commerce on the weekend of August 10th.  The seven suspects allegedly submitted a 2.6 pound flounder that placed second and won the $5,000 second-place prize.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials when the winning fish were examined after the tournament, they determined that the second-place fish wasn't caught during the competition.

A Game Warden says the four women and three men who allegedly submitted the "fraudulent flounder" have been charged with fishing fraud.  That's a third-degree felony that carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison.

Ten years for cheating a fishing tournament?  Yes we do take our fishing seriously here in Texas.