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) worked with Officers Murray and Duncan checking anglers during the BWCA trout opener. Most anglers had good success. The COs were able to find plenty of people to check and talk with. The weather was good and the going was great due to the lack of snow. Hard packed trails and wind-swept lakes made snowshoes unnecessary. The COs got the pleasure of watching an otter cross a lake right in front of them one morning. Winter has arrived in Cook County.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) checked anglers on the BWCA trout opener. Some nice fish were caught and compliance was good. Manning patrolled snowmobile trails and forest roads during the busy holiday weekend and assisted again with a car stuck in another section of snowmobile trail. The officer also patrolled trails during a dogsled race near the Gunflint Trail and was pleased to note no user conflicts and no problems or breakdowns despite the bitter cold.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) worked the BWCAW trout opener with area officers. Some nice trout were seen on the ice on a few of the Boundary Waters lakes. Snowmobilers were checked with reports of rough trails. The officer answered numerous questions about the new AIS training and followed up on past investigations.
CO Amber Peterson (McGregor) checked area trap lines and visited an angler on Big Sandy who thought he would try to put his illegal length walleye down his fishing hole as Peterson pulled up to his fish house. The fish was dead and was not going to swim away for the angler.
CO Bill Landmark (Moorhead) responded to a call of two large bucks with their antlers locked. One of the bucks was deceased from their battle. With the help of the reporting party the officer was able to free the living animal and after a while he recuperated and wandered off into the woods.
CO Shane Osborne (Evansville) received a complaint about a vehicle ramming fish houses on Moon Lake outside of Brandon. A group of juveniles decided to ram fish houses with their truck. They rammed the first house but it was a spear house and ended up dropping the front of the truck into the spear hole and got stuck. Several charges will be pending along with a hefty tow bill.
CO Jeff Johanson (Osakis) reports that after observing suspicious behavior and fresh blood on the floor of a spear house an angler eventually admitted to spearing an illegal length northern pike on a special regulation lake. The fish was found hidden in a gunny sack underneath the back seat of a vehicle. To make matters worse, the angler was found to have transported a loaded rifle onto the lake as well. Enforcement action was taken.
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