Advertisement Clovis man pays $8,110 for catching 160 times trout limit NM wildlife officers seize hundreds of trout in 2014 Share Shares Copy Link Copy

The state Department of Game and Fish seized more than 1,600 rainbow trout from a man in eastern New Mexico last year and now the man is paying for it.Authorities say Bounchanh Bounsombath was arrested in May 2014 after officers served a search warrant at a home in Clovis. The 62-year-old Bounsombath told officers he caught all the fish at the Green Acres Lake and Denis Chaves Pond in northwest Clovis.Under state rules, licensed anglers can catch, and keep up to five rainbow trout per day and may have up to 10 trout at their home. Bounsombath has agreed to pay $8,110 in civil penalties after accepting a plea agreement.The bust was the result of an anonymous tip made through the agency's Operation Game Thief hotline. Most of the trout were in 1-gallon Ziploc bags containing two to four trout per bag.Game officials say they have never encountered such a case before.The department regularly stocks rainbow trout at Green Acres and Denis Chaves to provide local fishing opportunities.