Story from KSTP.com
http://kstp.com/article/stories/S179227.shtml?cat=1
(Click on above link for picture)
Posted at: 08/28/2007 03:23:31 PM
By: Nicole Muehlhausen
Men arrested after illegal netting in Whitewater River
Recent rains have made the Whitewater River near Rochester difficult to fish. This has created a situation for fishermen to take illegal steps in order to catch trout.
On July 23, Kevin Cook, a DNR Fisheries Specialist noticed a van and group of men near the south branch of the river. The lack of any of the men having a fishing pole cast suspicion on their activity. Cook contacted Rochester Conservation Officer Mitch Boyum.
Boyum noticed two of the men walking on the trail heading towards their vehicle, one carrying a bucket covered with a shirt.
\”I approached them and announced myself as a ‘Conservation Officer’ and asked to see fishing licenses. When the man set the bucket down, part of the shirt moved and I could see that the bucket was full of fish. At this time I could only see brown trout,\” said Boyum.
Boyum then approached the other group of men standing in the stream holding the net.
\”They saw me and dropped the net and started to walk away. I announced myself as a ‘Conservation Officer’ and told them to stay there, but they kept walking out of sight into the woods. I found them hiding in tall grass,\” said Boyum.
When asked where the net was and they said they did not know and that it was in the stream somewhere. After the subjects were cited, Boyum returned to the area, searched the bottom with a pole and instantly located the net at the bottom of the stream. It was then taken as evidence, as well as 79 brown trout.
Cited with an over-limit of trout were Carlos Bonete, 21, Angel Cardenas, 44, and Carlos Chalco, 47, all of Minneapolis, and Oscar Morocho, 30, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The possession limit for stream trout from April 14 through Sept. 14 in Olmsted County is five. Each man faces fines of at least $1,000. They were also cited for illegal use of a net to take trout. Bonete was also found to have an active warrant and placed under arrest by the Winona County Sheriff’s Department and transported to jail. A court date for the fishing violations is set for August 31 in Olmsted County District Court.
Contact Turn-In-Poachers hotline at 1-800-652-9093 if you see or suspect illegal fishing activity.
-J.
and a 
.
