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Snookered

An officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported spotting Fernando Pantoja, 37, fishing on the Indian River in Sebastian, Fla. — after the end of the fishing season. The officer told Pantoja to stop fishing and return to shore to have his cooler and net inspected. According to the report, Pantoja instead started throwing fish back into the water. The officer ran closer to Pantoja’s location and spotted a large snook floating on the surface. Pantoja — apparently aware of the consequences of being caught with a dead fish — started “bumping” the fish in an attempt to revive it. “I told him to stop and put it in the cooler,” the officer said. “He did not, instead bumping it [and] allowing it to come to.” — which the local newspaper referred to as “bringing the fish back to life” to avoid criminal charges. The snook swam away, but Pantoja was still arrested, charged with not allowing an inspection by an officer of the state. (MS/Sebastian Daily) ...The fish, meanwhile, will be talking about this in school for years.