Although the Cook County News- Herald knows that the majority of sportsmen and women are law-abiding 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 Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte) spent time patrolling for angling and snowmobiling activity. He attended a conference at Camp Ripley and worked with area officers during the trout opener. Overall, the fish cooperated and anglers were happy despite the amount of slush on the lakes. Enforcement action was taken for angling and snowmobile violations
CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) participated in a work detail with several officers during the opening weekend of the winter trout season. Snowmobilers and anglers were checked.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) checked anglers and fishing shelters on lakes this past week. The trout opener saw warm weather with some very bad slush spots. Manning also patrolled snowmobile trails and forest routes.
CO David Schottenbauer (Silver Bay) worked a busy trout opener. One angler saw Schottenbauer coming and started fumbling around in his shelter. When Schottenbauer arrived at the shelter, the angler opened up his door and shouted, “Yeah, OK, I have live minnows!” Schottenbauer observed a tipped-over coffee can with live minnows still in it and minnows swimming around the angler’s feet. Enforcement action was taken.
CO Ben Karon (Isle) took a call about an individual cleaning up his area by shoving garbage and his pants down one of his ice holes and pushing it beneath the ice. The person then proceeded to walk around in his underwear. The incident occurred on the north end of Mille Lacs Lake. Make sure to pack out your garbage.
CO Bret Grundmeier (Hinckley) checked trout anglers during one of the busiest trout openers of the past few years. Hundreds of anglers came out to try their luck on a local stocked lake and caught good numbers of rainbow, brown and lake trout. One first-time trout angler attempted to hide a couple small rainbow trout inside his jacket pocket because he thought he was over the limit. When asked why his pocket was wet and dripping water, he had to give up the hidden fish. Fortunately for the angler, but adding some embarrassment, he didn’t know what the fish limit was and ended up not being in violation.
Contact local DNR
Conservation Officers to report
violations or ask questions:
Thomas Wahlstrom 218-370-0244
Darin Fagerman 218-370-1717
Mary Manning 218-475-0121
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