Although the Cook County News- Herald knows that the majority of sportsmen and women are lawabiding folks, there are a few that run afoul of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Conservation Officers. Periodically, the DNR provides a report of some of the miscreants the Conservation Officers (CO) have encountered. The News-Herald shares these stories as a reminder to all to be safe and to follow the rules!
CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) reports that swirl holes have formed on smaller lakes with the recent warm weather. This is where the water runs back into the lake after an angler drills a hole making it a large hole. With the colder weather and a little snow, these man eaters are impossible or hard to see and the CO found some on the smaller lakes that would swallow a good sized man. It is a good idea to carry ice picks with you. Prepare yourself to survive no matter what the situation and live to fish another day. The CO found a man without a fishing license and a couple others who didn’t think they had to have them with them.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) patrolled area GIA trails and forest roads; grooming of trails has not been possible yet due to low amount of snow cover and riders are urged to use caution as the possibility of hitting unseen obstacles is very high. The officer also checked area lakes and anglers and issued a car kill deer permit to a family that was happy to get a deer this year.
CO Marty Stage (Ely) saw an increase in fishing activity throughout the week. The snow nearly disappeared during the recent warm spell and rain, but was replaced nearly immediately, though there is still not enough to make the snowmobile trails usable. Deer are already losing their antlers; in fact, one eight-pointer dropped an antler in the officer’s yard on Dec. 6. Hopefully that isn’t a sign that it is going to be a difficult winter.
CO Joyce Kuske (Little Falls) reported that when questioning a hunter about his unregistered deer from firearms season, she first got a story that the hunter had had the deer in the back of their truck at the bar, had given the deer away and that guy had tagged it but he didn’t know who the guy was. Kuske asked if he really wanted to stick to that story as he will get into more trouble with that one. The hunter hung his head and said, “No, I have the deer; it’s in the freezer in the shed.”
WREO Keith Bertram continues to be disappointed with hunters abusing the one deer limit. He completed an investigation where a bow hunter shot a very respectable buck, but was still not satisfied. The hunter illegally placed his non-hunting wife’s gun deer license on the buck so he could continue to bow hunt. Appropriate enforcement action was taken.
CO Sarah Sindelir (Grand Rapids) took a call where a deer was shot and was still alive on private property. She investigated how the deer was shot and determined it had been taken legally. After dispatching the deer, she was able to give it to the hunter who had come looking for it.
CO Demosthenes Regas (Blackduck) contacted an angler who was found to be in possession of a protected slot limit Upper Red Lake walleye. The angler stated that the “beer factor” may have influenced the group’s fish measuring abilities.
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