Fraud in a Texas Fishing Tournamet

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SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Tex. —

Late on a Saturday afternoon this summer, dozens of boats — Reel Madness, Miss Directed, Knot at Work — were rushing toward land as part of an annual women’s fishing tournament here. The trouble started when state game wardens noticed that the catch aboard the Nice Tails boat was not so nice.

One game warden who watched the Nice Tails team transfer its fish from the boat to a blue cooler at a nearby ramp had a problem with two large spotted sea trout. The red discoloration on their tails, bellies and rear fins indicated that they were not caught during the weekend tournament, but caught days earlier and kept alive in a wire basket or some other device. On the South Texas Gulf Coast, such a move would be the equivalent of sneaking into a big-city marathon at the final mile to cross the finish line first.

Tips came in, including one stating that the father of the Nice Tails captain and another man were seen receiving an illicit flounder. Witnesses were interviewed, and at least one informer — the man who supplied the flounder — came forward.

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After a weeklong investigation by game wardens and the filing of a probable-cause affidavit, the arrests began: The four female team members, along with the boat’s captain and two other men, were haled before a Cameron County justice of the peace, arraigned and released after posting bond.

They were charged with a third-degree felony — fraud in a fishing tournament — for their actions at the Ladies Kingfish Tournament in August. Texas is the only state with a tournament fishing fraud law, but perhaps the most extraordinary thing about the crime was how ordinary such fraud has become across the country.

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