Florida man goes fishing in Bass Pro Shops pond, flees with live 50-pound tarpon
Florida deputies said the suspect fled the store with the tarpon in hand
www.aol.com/news/florida-man-goes-fishing-bass-074840844.html
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten
December 22, 2023
Florida officials are investigating a fishy situation after a man was caught on camera walking through a Bass Pro Shops location while holding a large fish in a net.
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The Lee County Sheriff's Office said they are looking for a male suspect who is accused of grabbing a fishing net from the shelf at the hunting and fishing store in Fort Meyers and using it to steal a live tarpon from the store's fishpond.
The man then fled the store in an unknown direction with the 50-pound tarpon, officials said.
(https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/2YflYjTTdeS7ZTXl.VJb9A--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_fox_news_text_745/4b32e4961b709327c603d082aef1165f)
Deputies with the Lee County Sheriff's Office are on the hunt for a male suspect who allegedly stole a 50-pound fish from the Bass Pro Shops store in Fort Meyers.
Police shared the video of the unusual theft in a Facebook post asking for the public's help.
"LSCO is attempting to locate retail theft suspect. But not just your 'normal retail theft," deputies wrote on Facebook. "We guess you could say THIS one will o-fish-ially catch your eye."
The man then fled the store with the 50-pound tarpon in an unknown direction, officials said.
Police said that a witness captured the incident on video via Snapchat, in which the alleged suspect can be seen wearing dark-colored pants, a navy blue T-shirt and a fishing hat carrying the tarpon.
"This kid just got it outta the small pond," the Snapchat video was captioned.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office is working with its Animal Cruelty Task Force, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and SWFL Crime Stoppers to find the person or people involved in the incident.
"The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is aware of an incident at The Bass Pro Shop in Fort Myers involving a tarpon. We are currently working with the Lee County Sheriff's Office to investigate further," a spokesperson for the FWC told FOX 35 Orlando. "I will provide updates when they become available."
Tight Lines & Merry Christmas !
People are insane
Not a "man" he is a punk and needs to spend some "quality time" in a cell with Bubba.
Just curious, what in tarnation is he going to do with it!
Quote from: Reeltyme on December 23, 2023, 05:42:14 PMJust curious, what in tarnation is he going to do with it!
I asked myself the same thing ... A few possibilities:
(1) Get it mounted (skin mount ).
(2) Win a "fishing bet" or a "dare".
(3) Some type of "fraternity initiation" stunt.
(4) Put it in his own "pond" and let it grow, for whatever purposes, later on.
(5) Being a "stupid kid".
Time will tell ...
Tight Lines & Merry Christmas !
Dave F.
50lbs?? Looks about half that size maybe. What a knucklehead
Here's something to ponder :
The Tarpon was not "merchandise", so he's not "shoplifting", per se.
Can he be charged under Florida Game & Fish statutes for "netting Gamefish" ?
It is not Robbery ( no other people were involved ).
It is not Burglary ( the store was open, occupied, and he did not "break in" ).
If it is "Theft" or "Larceny", what "value" can be assigned to the Tarpon, to properly charge the Perpetrator ?
Tight Lines & Merry Christmas !
Dave F.
FWC rules for tarpon indicate one should not remove it from the water at all. He broke a lot of rules. And he shoplifted the net.
You Can't Fix Stupid.
Bass Pro should not have had, or even been allowed to have, a tarpon to begin with. Maybe the kid had a plan and released the fish back to the wild where it belongs. That shop is not far from the water.
Quote from: oc1 on December 23, 2023, 08:09:25 PMBass Pro should not have had, or even been allowed to have, a tarpon to begin with. Maybe the kid had a plan and released the fish back to the wild where it belongs. That shop is not far from the water.
Those were my exact thoughts and hopes
Quote from: ez2cdave on December 23, 2023, 06:25:53 PMHere's something to ponder :
The Tarpon was not "merchandise", so he's not "shoplifting"
He took a net off the shelf to take the fish. The fish has a monetary value to the Tarpon and Bonefish Trust, the fishes actual owner. I live in the next county over and the Lee County High Sheriff has a zero tolerance to any animal related crime. He has adopted gravely injured dogs, set up a info reward system, a manned task force and a lot of other things. Animal hoarding cases are weekly around here. Sadly Lee County government looks a blind eye away when it comes to the deaths of dozens of Florida Panthers the development of Boston Red Sox stadium caused. But hey the snowbirds are happy!
Probably a stupid kid doing it on a dare. Still, animal cruelty is never funny. Plus, if the fish weighted 50 pounds that skinny nit-wit wouldn't be able to carry it.
I'm agree with a lot of what is said here - my first thought was a stupid hazing stunt. There is no lack of IQ like that of an adolescent male....-john
Well if it was, it makes me glad I never joined a fraternity. I didn't have much impulse control in my teens, especially when it came to trying to impress my peers.
What gets me is that a dozen people popped their phone out to video it. He runs by all kinds of folk. But not one limp noodle stuck a foot out to trip him or even try to clothesline him.
Quote from: ez2cdave on December 23, 2023, 06:25:53 PMIf it is "Theft" or "Larceny", what "value" can be assigned to the Tarpon, to properly charge the Perpetrator ?
Ok, if he "illegally caught" the fish, was the "pond" considered public waters? If yes, then the fish is a resource and there may be restitution. What a mess. Criminal trespassing, malicious mischief, maybe? I don't know FL game laws, but over here, courts can tack on adds for the "value" of the resource when you screw up. Hopefully, he put the fish back into native water.
How in the heck did that fish end up there to begin with? Surely displays like that are tracked and regulated. Are there tarpon hatcheries in FL? If so, maybe BassPro bought the fish.
looks like he's still on the loose!!!!
There was another Bass Pro Shop incident several years ago(a thread on it here) about a teenager "facing charges" for jumping into a pond(aquarium?). Anyone remember that one? Wondering what kinda charges they put on that guy?
I'm thinking that we'll never hear what happened after. Bass Pro screwed up and is in a precarious position so it's in their best interest to not press charges. If they won't press charges then the cops stop looking for the kid. Video of the release should have appeared on social media by now so maybe it did not go as well as they had hoped.
I don't know about you guys, but that tarpon did not look like 50 pounds.
I agree Bryan, looked more like 20 maybe 30 tops, but then perhaps the reporting was done by a fisherman? :d
Quote from: David Hall on December 29, 2023, 06:12:17 PMI agree Bryan, looked more like 20 maybe 30 tops, but then perhaps the reporting was done by a fisherman? :d
:d :d :d