Taking Poaching to the Extreme

394A poacher in New Mexico has taken illegal harvest to new heights. Acting on an anonymous tip, Department of Game and Fish Officers found more than 1,600 rainbow trout in the home of Bounchanh Bounsombath, 62, of Clovis, New Mexico. The perpetrator was arrested and admitted to catching all the fish at Green Acres Lake and Denis Chaves Pond in northwest Clovis.

Department hatchery workers released approximately 10,000 rainbow trout into Green Acres and Denis Chaves between November 2013 and March 2014. Licensed anglers may catch and keep up to five rainbow trout per day and may possess up to 10 rainbow trout at their residence.

Bounsombath was booked into the Curry County Detention Center with a bond set at $2,500. The department will seek $8,000 in civil restitution for the state to recover the loss of the trout.