The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has caught a man taking over 100 fish from Lake Ellesmere in Canterbury.
Fisheries officers responded to a call from a member of the public last week who alerted them to the man taking fish from the lake.
When his truck was searched, three fish bins with a total of 111 flatfish including 29 yellow-eyed mullet were found.
The ministry said the limit was 30 flatfish per person per day - more than enough to feed a large family several times.
The fish, and the man's truck, were seized. He is likely to face charges for taking more than three times the daily limit.