An alert fishing guide saw something and said something last Thursday while fishing on the South Sauty arm of Lake Guntersville, Alabama, resulting in a citation for illegal harvest of gamefish.
The angler, who asked not to be named, spotted bowfishers shooting fish in the shallows, and while he watched one of the shooters arrowed a fish that appeared to be a largemouth bass. The angler moved closer and observed that the fish was, in fact, a bass, a species that is protected from harvest by any means other than hook and line. While rough fish including gar and carp may be shot, bass and other gamefish are protected. He cautioned the anglers that bass were not legal for harvest, but they did not respond. He then photographed the boat with his cell phone.
Back at the ramp a friend of the angler called state law enforcement, and a short time later Senior Trooper Thomas Bobo of the Alabama Marine Patrol proceeded to the area and issued a citation to Kyle Everett Worthington, age 24, of South Carolina, for "taking gamefish by illegal means".
Trooper Bobo said he was not at liberty to discuss details of the case at present, pending prosecution by the Marshall County District Attorney's office.
