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 Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais)
did fishing and boating safety checks. Lake trout have been cooperating more than walleyes. He assisted with an ATV safety class and also took a complaint of a bear misbehaving in the Trail Center area.
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Tofte)
focused enforcement efforts this last week on fishermen and boating safety. The walleye bite is slowly picking up. Theofficertaught the classroom and riding portion of the ATV class with neighboring officers and volunteer instructors. Wahlstrom assisted Cook County and search and rescue in a recovery using his patrol boat on Lake Superior. Enforcement action was taken for navigation lights, angling with extra lines and other fishing violations.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland)
checked anglers, including one man who was proud to say he no longer needed a fishing license since he was over 90 and still catching fish! Manning helped with ATV safety class and field tests; all youngsters successfully completed the class and are now certified to ride. The officer issued Wetlands Cease and Desist Orders, spoke with a landowner about restoration work, and began contacting area bait retailers regarding proper licensure.
CO Cary Shoutz (Crosslake)
received a TIP call on two anglers from Missouri with a possible over-limit. Shoutz responded and found the anglers with 80 crappies and a largemouth bass in closed season. The Missouri anglers indicated they had not read the Minnesota regulation book and had no idea what the limit was for crappies and that bass season was closed. The men were issued citations and all fish were seized.
CO Karl Hadrits (Crosby)
reports that criminal charges are pending in a case where individuals used a dragline bucket, bed spring, and snow plow to illegally excavate a lakebed and remove emergent aquatic plants from an area lake.
CO Jackie Glaser (Mound)
observed a shore fisherman keep a bass and hide it in a garbage can. When the officer approached the man, she heard the fish flopping around in the garbage can. A nearby woman told the officer not to go in the garbage can because she had seen a skunk in the garbage can. Her 3-yearold son told the officer that there was a large fish in the garbage can, not a skunk. The officer agreed with the boy, pulled out a largemouth bass and thanked him for telling the truth. The man was then given a citation and charged restitution for keeping the bass.
CO Mark Mathy (Cass Lake)
received a fairly common TIP complaint of anglers taking overlimits of walleyes, but it had a rather unusual ending. The anglers were checked and found to have only one limit of walleyes initially but a subsequent check of the plumbing pipes and a septic tank near their resort motel resulted in several more walleye fillets and carcasses. The anglers flushed the walleyes down the toilet after realizing they were being investigated but admitted to double tripping after officers found the extra walleyes. The investigation led to charges for an overlimit of walleye, wanton waste, and obstructing an officer.
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