WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – Pro tip: if you’re going to break state rules and take too many trout, don’t post a picture of yourself with your haul.

That’s what state Environmental Conservation officers say a man did in May. They got a report from a ‘concerned angler’ about a publicly posted photo which showed a man in the Town of Clifton posing with 38 brown trout.

Statewide fishing regulations allow one angler to take five trout a day, with no more of them over 12 inches in length, while stream fishing.

The officer investigating recognized the man as someone who had been warned about fishing without a license.

The man, who was not named in a press release from Environmental Conservation, was issued tickets for taking trout more than the daily limit and taking fish contrary to fishing regulations.

The officer confiscated the trout and donated the fish to a local food pantry.

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