Snook Poacher Jailed

[dreamsfloatjoe]

  An 18-year-old St. Augustine man on Monday discovered for the second time in as many days that possessing snook out of season is serious business in Florida.

Serious enough to land you in jail, where Robert Carl Mock III, 18 (DOB 11-22-90), of 6171 Costanero Road, St. Augustine, found himself Monday morning. A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officer arrested Mock, thanks to an alert angler who called the agency's Wildlife Alert Hotline around 7 a.m. Monday and reported a man had four snook in the back of his pickup truck at Matanzas Inlet. He described the truck and gave FWC dispatchers its license plate number.

Currently the snook season is closed, and anglers cannot legally possess the species until the season opens Sept. 1.

By the time FWC Lt. Steve Zukowsky got to the inlet about 50 minutes later, the truck with the snook was gone. But Zukowsky caught up with Mock at his St. Augustine home around 8:30 a.m. and found the snook in a cooler in the back of a pickup truck that matched the caller's description.

In addition to the closed-season violation, Mock had a few other snook-related problems. For one thing, even if snook were in season, he had too many; the legal daily limit is one. For another, one of the fish was 33 inches long; the legal slot size is 28 to 32 inches.

To add to his Monday morning blues, Mock and two of his friends got tickets about 5:30 a.m. Saturday for two of the same charges -- possessing snook during the closed season and exceeding the bag limit. FWC officers Clay McDonough and Don Meurlot in Volusia County filed those charges.

On both days, Mock caught the fish in the Intracoastal Waterway at the LB Knox Bridge, locally known as High Bridge, in Volusia County at the Flagler line.

But on Monday, instead of writing Mock another ticket, Zukowsky hauled him off to jail.

"The bag limit violation is a major violation, which enhances the penalty, making it a first-degree misdemeanor. Because of multiple violations, the major violation and the fact that he was cited only two days before for two of the same violations, I booked him into the St. Johns County Jail," Zukowsky said.

"When people ignore fishing regulations, they are stealing from ethical anglers who abide by the law," he added.

Mock is facing several first- and second-degree misdemeanors for possessing snook out of season, exceeding the snook bag limit and possessing oversized snook, as well as mandatory civil penalties if convicted of the over-the-bag-limit charges.

The maximum penalty for a first-degree misdemeanor is a $1,000 fine and one year in jail; for a second-degree misdemeanor, the maximum is a $500 fine and 60 days in jail.

Officers seized the snook, the cooler and the fishing rod as evidence, and donated the fish to the St. Francis House in St. Augustine.

If you suspect someone is breaking fish and wildlife laws, or is boating under the influence, please report them to the Wildlife Alert Hotline by phone at 888-404-3922 or online at MyFWC.com and click on the Wildlife Alert graphic. You may remain anonymous and could receive a reward if your information leads to an arrest. Wildlife Alert helps catch poachers and earns callers rewards for turning them in to law enforcement.

Reference with photo:  The Fishing Wire news Story


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NOT a fine I wanna pay!   
18 years young.   

[SurfJockey]

Wow.  They don't play games down there!

[Ranger79]

yup its no joke down there

[ped579]

I salute  the person for making the call.  If more of this happens all over I am sure fishing would be enjoyed more by those for the sport and less by iodiot that don't follow the rules. 

Agin 

[Pfishingruven]

They just don't learn!

 

[Reel Time]

good for him, got what he deserved

 just imagine explaining that one to bubba when he ask's "what ya in for",,,,,lol

[Pfishingruven]

He was probably out before the article was done being written!