CLOVIS, N.M. – The state Department of Game and Fish has seized more than 1,600 rainbow trout from a man in eastern New Mexico.
Authorities say Bounchanh Bounsombath was arrested Monday after officers served a search warrant at a home in Clovis. The 62-year-old Bounsombath told officers he caught all the fish at the Green Acres Lake and Denis Chaves Pond in northwest Clovis.
Under state rules, licensed anglers can catch and keep up to five rainbow trout per day and may have up to 10 trout at their home.
The bust was the result of an anonymous tip made through the agency's Operation Game Thief hotline.
Game officials say they have never encountered such a case before.
The department regularly stocks rainbow trout at Green Acres and Denis Chaves to provide local fishing opportunities.
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