Fishing Forum

Jun 6, 2005 7:51 am US/Mountain Woman Busted With 51 Fish Under Her Skirt Save It [url "mailto:?subject=Woman%20Busted%20With%2051%20Fish%20Under%20Her%20Skirt&body=http://kutv.com/watercooler/watercooler_story_157085236.html"]Email It[/url] [url "javascript:print()"]Print It[/url]
(AP) SYDNEY, Australia There must have been something fishy about the way she walked. Customs officials said Monday they stopped a woman as she arrived Friday in the southern city of Melbourne on a flight from Singapore and found 51 live tropical fish allegedly hidden in a specially designed apron under her skirt.

“During the search customs officers became suspicious after hearing ‘flipping’ noises coming from the vicinity of her waist,” the Australian Customs Service said in a press release. “An examination revealed 15 plastic water-filled bags holding fish allegedly concealed inside a purpose-built apron.”

The species of fish was not immediately known, but customs officials warned they could carry diseases that could decimate Australian fish if they escaped into local rivers.

Customs officers will charge the woman once they establish what species the fish are. If convicted of smuggling wildlife, she faces a fine of up to U.S. $83,617 and could also get a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
(© 2005 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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Thanks for the heads-up Kevin,
I guess my plan for smuggling Tiger Muskies in my pant legs has now been foiled too[angelic]
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speaking of bucket biology: i saw 3 large dead channel cats floating in quail saturday, dont think they belonged there, and at sand hollow on suday i was wading just north of the boat ramp and saw a fish i thought at first was a bluegill then a crappie but as i got closer to it i could tell that it wasn't either. strange thing is that i wasn't scared of me. i could touch it, it wouldn't let me grab it but i could walk up to it and poke it. if you are familliar with tropical fish it looked like a convict which is an african cichlid. its sorta round like a bluegill but is black with white stripes. it was about 6" long. i dont know, it may have been something i'm just not familliar with. any ideas what it could be?
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[reply]Thanks for the heads-up Kevin,
I guess my plan for smuggling Tiger Muskies in my pant legs has now been foiled too[angelic][/reply]

You're really brave, or totally unconcerned about your own "lure". I would guess even a small tiger has enough teeth to cause you a lot of grief if you had it in the same side pants leg as you dress on. LOL.

Fishrmn

same body shape tube dude but the fish was unmistakably black with white stripes. if you look at the fish in your pic and imagine it with the stripes white and the body black you have the fish in question.
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The only fish I've ever caught that looked like what you're explaining was called a "sheepshead". We caught 'em in north carolina in the surf. They had huge molars (like sheep). I do know that there are many types of striped fish though. Maybe it wasn't scared because it was sick? Maybe it was a salt water fish someone tried to plant. I think TD is probably right though, probably some kind of tilapia.

[#505000]I wish some of you bucket biologists out there would quit introducing chubs, and carp around the state and focus your illegal activity more on bringing the larger catfish species to the state, such as the Blue and the Flathead!! [cool][/#505000]
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[#505000]If I wasn't a law abiding citizen who frowned on bucket biology I would take matters into my own hands!!! [][/#505000]
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Ive seen some pretty big goldfish and koi swimming in the shallows of a few lakes around here too. (Hey, those are members of the carp family - that means they're fair game to use for catfish bait right?)
Sunset Pond even has a population of good sized red eared turtles that will sun themselvs on partially submerged branches.
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My mom lives in Santa Ana Ca near a park with a couple ponds we used to fish as kids. There is a canal/ditch that is fed by one of them, that winds into a neighborhood. About a 200 yard hike down it, through some fences and whatnot, there is a large pool under a road. It was chocked full of Oscars up to 3-4lbs! Big bad boys with bad attitudes, especially when hooked by 10 year olds. Best bait was the tail-meat from a crawdad.

I agree with the assesment that the fish spotted was probably a Tilapia. They are pervasive in the Lower Colorado system, and I used to find bass with them in thier gullets quite often. Once came upon a 10lb-ish bass with a huge tilapia wedged into its gullet. Both were expired.
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it didn't appear to be sick at all. it was quite quick to swim off when i would try to grab it. i wanted to pick it up to see if i could identify it. it wasn't afraid of me approaching it and touching it's tail but it wouldn't let my grab it. seemed more like a fish that had been raised hand fed in a pond or fish tank perhaps.
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