BAYOU SORREL - Two men were cited for illegal fishing activity after it was discovered they used a device rigged to a battery to shock and capture more than a dozen catfish.

The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says Justin Sullivan, 28, and Gary Cupit, 55, were both ticketed Saturday for taking game fish illegally with the aid of an electronic device and violating recreational gear license requirements.

Officials say they were first tipped off after receiving reports of two men shocking fish in the Grand River in Iberville Parish. Agents found two men matching the suspects' descriptions cleaning fish at a dock and inspected their boat.

On the vessel, agents found two long-handle dip nets, an excessive amount of wire lying in the bottom of the boat and a small circular device at the end of the wire with alligator clips to hook to a battery.

The men both admitted to shocking the fish because they couldn't catch anything with their hoop nets, for which they also lacked licenses. Agents seized the shocking device, a dip net and 16 catfish.