On December 22nd, 2023, officers with Florida Fish and Wildlife were on patrol when they observed a boat being towed without a license plate. Officers initiated a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, a 71-year-old named William. How's it going? Not too bad. Been fishing today? Yeah, about two minutes. That's cold right here. I come back. Okay, I gotcha. Did you end up with anything? Okay. All righty. The reason why we stopped you, you don't have a tail lights. What is it? Tail lights. Tail lights. Yeah. I got a tag in the truck. Okay. Tag off. Fish in the truck. Okay. I got you. Are you fishing here? Yeah. [Music] All right. I'll go get my stick real quick. Been throwing your net at all? No. No. I got you. Too wet. Too cold for that. Yeah. Ain't no fish in. Okay. Okay. [Music] [Applause] How was the tide and the wind out there today? The tide was going out really wind wasn't bad. Okay. Yeah, this one's a little on the short end. I I'll reach in there and get him so you don't have to. I said I'll reach in there and get them. In the state of Florida, spotted sea trout currently have a slot limit of 15 to 19 inches in total length, but you are allowed to keep one over 19 in per vessel. The bag limit varies by region. Oh, and don't forget to subscribe for more fish and wildlife videos. You said you don't measure them. Why don't you measure them? Well, ain't that amazing? with me. I had one stuck on a boat and it come off. Okay. Yes, sir. I'd have to get another one. Okay. Yeah, cuz all of them. Okay. I got you. Um, do you have your driver's license with you somewhere? Rob, you just hand it to that officer there, please. Thank you, sir. Is this the only fish you got in the boat? Yes, sir. Okay. What was your name? William. William. All righty. Mr. William, we're going to have to take these. Okay. Cuz they're all undersized. You've been in Dixie all your life? Y 71 years. 71 years. I got you. Don't even need a fishing license no more, huh? All right. Finally paid up. Paid your dues on that. Yeah. I got you. All right. These things are slimy, ain't they? They are. about can't get a hold of him. Rob, can you grab that stick? Thanks. If you want, you can just open that cooler up. We got water in it. We can rinse hands. And Mr. William, if you want, um, you got short trout. Okay. And then like I said, the reason I'll wait for these trucks to go by. [Music] [Applause] The reason why we stopped you was for your your tag. Um so I'm going to give you a warning for not having the tag and not having the lights on the trailer. Um but the five fish will be a citation. Okay. Um, so if you just want to wait in your truck a minute, we'll just do a little bit of paperwork and then I'll come back up there. Okay. Okay. All righty. I appreciate it. Hey, Mr. William. So, I just wanted to talk to you about the stuff today. Okay. Um, get your license back. Um, so with the trout, if you'd have had one or two that was undersized, I probably could have worked with you some, but having all five being under, um, that's kind of tough. Okay. Um, so I did write you a citation for that, but I wrote you just some warnings for the the trailer stuff. Okay. Um, and it would normally be a court date, and I didn't want to do that cuz that would be more expensive. So, I just wrote the citation. Um, so I'm going to give you your copy. How much is that? 188. And if it's right here, you have 30 days from today to pay it. Okay. Courthouse. Yes, sir. At the courthouse. Um, I just need you to sign on uh right there next to that little black triangle. Yes, sir. And I want to talk to you about some other stuff. Well, I'm not going to document warning or anything today, but I don't want you to get stopped in the future and possibly get a ticket. So, if I can show you some stuff on your boat real quick. I'd rather you have it and not get stopped. Okay. See how your numbers is about gone? Yeah. You need to get you need to get you some new numbers. Um because if somebody sees that while we're on the boat, they'll probably stop you for that. Okay. Um and make sure you have all your safety gear um on there, too. Do you have I'm not I just put one. Okay. I see your life jacket. I see a throwable and you got players on the boat. You got to make sure they're in bait. Yeah. Yeah. So, you might you don't have to buy a new gun. Yeah. Just get you a new pack of those. Okay. Make Yep. That's good. Needs to be in the boat. And then make sure you have a whistle or horn. extinguisher in there, too. Okay. Do you have a whistle? Yeah, but supposed to be right on that side. I don't see one. But again, I'm not worried about it today. I just want to make sure that you don't get stopped for it later, you know. Um, and then two with your your with your net. Um, make sure that you have uh your name and address attached to each end. Mhm. It's got to be cuz that's actually a misdemeanor. Not having your name uh which it's not more than a 2 in stretch. That's good. And do you Yeah. And then you got to have the right amount of ties within a foot. So, make sure there's no more than 14 tiles in a foot. Yeah. But, uh, yeah, you have to have your name and your address attached to each end. Okay. So, I don't know if you want to get like something that you can write on and attach it to each end, but I don't want you to get stopped and in trouble for that, too. So, but I appreciate you being honest and u but it just it is what it is. Um, just make sure you get you a measuring stick in there. Okay. Yeah, I will. All righty. All right. Have a good day, Mr. Williams. In the end, William received a misdemeanor charge for being in possession of undersized spotted sea trout. He was required to appear in court or pay the $188 fine. William chose to pay the fine. 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