Late Sunday, two teens were arrested on the I.C. King Park bike trail while fleeing officers. According to the report filed by Officer Billy Doyle, the youths had been electrofishing from a small boat just offshore.
When confonted by the patrol boat, they oared straight to shore and ran for their truck, which failed to start. They fled to the bike trails, where Officer Jake Bullet met them before they could get very far.
“We recovered the electrofishing apparatus from their skiff, a cooler full of stunned fish, and several sticks of dynamite,” said Officer Doyle. “Additionally, we found their truck’s battery, which was powering the electrofishing device, and which explains why their truck wouldn’t start.”
The two teens were not identified by police, but according to sources, are both residents of Gettysvue. They are also under suspicion of pouring soap into the community fountains at the entrances to the subdivision. This not only makes an unsightly giant ball of suds, but sudballs also blow down onto the golfcourse, causing an inconvenience for golfers.
Electrofishing is illegal in the state of Tennessee. Two electrodes are placed in the water about 3-4 feet apart and attached to a power source. When current is applied, fish in the nearby waters are stunned briefly and float to the surface. According to the law, this practice creates an unfair advantage for the fisherman while probably endangering the endangered snail darter somehow. Dynamite fishing involves lighting a stick of dynamite, throwing it overboard, and collected the fish that rise. It is also considered illegal.