While there are plenty of fish to target in Florida waters, the tarpon is prized as one of Florida's premier catch-and-release fish. After all, tarpon are renowned for their stamina and fight. But one Florida man took a short-cut on the dream hook-and-battle: He pulled the prize straight out of the Bass Pro Shop fish tank.
Last week, an as-yet-unidentified man entered the Fort Meyers, Florida, Bass Pro Shop with a fishing net. He headed straight to the indoor fish tank, managed to net a sizable tarpon, and then booked it out of the store.
A bystander caught the tarpon thief's exit from the store on video, which the Lee County Sheriff's Office posted to its Facebook in a bid to find the man. In the video, the man simply walks by with a flopping tarpon in a net.
We presume he subsequently fled the scene with the prized fish, as he has yet to be located by law enforcement.
Tarpon are protected in Florida and are catch-and-release only. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission even prohibits anglers from taking them out of the water if they're larger than 40 inches.
He's not the first person to get up to something fishy in the Fort Meyers Bass Pro Shop ponds. In 2011, several students from nearby Estero High School jumped into the pond, a feat that was repeated in 2020 by another local man. Daniel Armendariz—who had previous arrests in connection with robbery, aggravated battery, and the sale or delivery of drugs—also jumped into the indoor tank and then posted the video to his Facebook page before fleeing the state. Bass Pro Shops reportedly said that it would cost $3,000 to decontaminate the tank after Armendariz's dive. He was charged with trespassing and was arrested again two months later in connection with unrelated crimes.
Also in 2020, Kevin Wise jumped into a Louisiana Bass Pro Shops tank after saying he would do so if he got 2,000 likes on TikTok. Wise told WBRZ, "I said that if I got 2,000 likes I would jump in the tank. I got way more than that and didn't want to be a liar." Others have also fished in the indoor tanks and outdoor ponds at Bass Pro Shops, though none have walked away with a fish as rare as a tarpon.
It goes without saying that swimming and fishing in Bass Pro Shop ponds are both illegal unless otherwise posted. In response to the recent tarpon theft, Bass Pro Shops said: "Our stores host more than 200 million visitors annually and provide a safe, fun experience for families who share our respect for wildlife. This incident is illegal, dangerous, and highly discouraged."
The tarpon thief is still on the loose, and Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for anyone who can identify him.
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