Response from DNR on P2 Poaching

Feel free to post this on the website you posted your earlier threads to.

The MN DNR does in fact have Conservation Officers patrolling Pool 2 of the Mississippi River. The officers not only patrol in watercraft, but they also patrol on foot as well as on bicycles. The officers are not able to be on Pool 2 constantly. Their patrol areas include several other bodies of water in addition to the many other duties that they are assigned. I can personally attest to the fact that Conservation Officers patrol Pool 2 year round when conditions allow.

I strongly encourage anglers to call the TIP line at 1-800-652-9093 when they see violations. Note as much information as possible about the violator and pass it on to the dispatcher. Be aware however, that there are times when a Conservation Officer is not available to respond immediately. ALL TIP calls are responded to as soon as possible.

Thank you for your concern and your dedication to Minnesota’s Natural Resources.

1LT John Hunt
District Supervisor
MN DNR-Division of Enforcement
651-735-7042
[email protected]

It was nice of the DNR to respond so quickly. Sounds good. Have any of you seen these patrols? I dont get on P2 often so the chance of me calling in are slim. I would still like to see some BIG signs on all accesses and waterside parks.

I don”t think I have ever seen a conservation officer on 2 in the summer. Only in the fall when duck season starts.

I see CO’s all the time on pool 1, and in the area of upper pool 2. Most always on bikes, sometimes you see them going by in boats on pool 2, and jetski’s on the MN river(maybe they are using these on p2 also?).

I have seen them quite often down there. Even one day when I forgot my wallet with my fishing license in it!
Last year fishin’ one of our cat spots from shore a dude had a stringer full of walleyes from 2-close to 10 lbs. and some smallmouth on it. Didn’t have the cell phone on me but proceeded to tell the guy he had to release all the fish and he ended up doing so. He proceeded to catch a few more walleyes and a white bass which he asked if it was o.k. to keep… Needless to say the guy was pretty bummed when he had a feast on his stringer one minute, and the next had to settle for one measley wiper for dinner.

Well I’ve been checked a couple times on the water on Pool 2 so they are out there, one of the CO’s I know is pretty strict too. Doesn’t matter to me, I don’t give them any reason to hassel me.

I was checked this spring at the confluence. Green lund with a 140 Jonny on the back.

They are out there. Just ask Briank about the time I put my lights on a 1/2 hour late. $108 fine for that. And that was in the middle of January!

dd

DD,
On Pool 2?? I’ve got to say, I’ve fished it no less than 25 times this year and hundreds in years past and I’ve never seen a single CO…. EVER. Not on the water, not at the landings, no where.
At Prescott on the other hand I too have been ticketed for not having my lights on at dusk and I see them there all the time.
I find it very interesting that Suzuki got an e-mail back so quick saying that someone covers this water and myself and another friend can talk to Dave the E. Metro Fisheries guy and he says there isn’t anyone assigned to that body of water.
I’m not calling anyone a liar by any means, I just find it odd.

More enforcement is fine by me! I would prefer it.

Mike

you know- i have been fishing pool 2 for about 10 years pretty consistently now and have never saw a C.O. out there. I have watched numerous people take fish out of that body of water and it is really getting to make me mad. The other day we were down there and a guy had a 29.5″ in his livewell and was bragging about it. We told him he had to put it back and he tried but the fish was dead. . For one thing the bigger fish arent even good to eat so why do people always think that they have to keep these fish. They are the fish that poduce the best for the next and upsoming seasons. Now excuse me for saying this but if these stupid people cant obey laws- or even possibly read the regs about the waters they are fishing then maybe there privledges should be taken away for good. Pool 2 is known for its big eyes and if you know the right places to fish they are always there. We have a spot that consistantly produces HOGS and it was very angering to see this guy kill such a nice fish. Now thanks for letting me vent. On the flip side of this the fishing on pool 2 is really starting to heat up right now. We are pulling crawlers on about 6-8ft leaders in the hammered gold colors. Anybody who has the time to get down there should get in on what I think is one of the best river bites I have seen . Good luck to all and have fun fishing!!

i’m curious as to why they even let u fish pool 2. no matter how many u throw back, what are the odds of that fish dying anyway. those swallowed barbs/trebles take there toll. those large eyes slam those hooks. if u don’t cut the line they die. one option would be use barbless hooks. i’ve never seen pool 2 but i assume it must be rather small. i spend alot of time on pool 14 and i’ve never seen a dnr on this pool either. once in awhile the coast guard shows , but not till after that jetski/bassboat crash.

P2 is a fairly long stretch of river. Not much of a need for barbless hooks or anything like that. The primary group of guys that target the walleyes and bass are trophy fishing. My assumption is hooking mortality is very low.

I’m on the water a lot. Very rare to see any enforcement from a boat. 90% of it is in the spring when they are out checking for expired boat tabs and fishing licenses. Almost always that first week in March.

I’d have to toss a guess out there and say that 90% of the poaching is happening from the confluence up to the dam where you have Hidden Falls park on the St Paul side and Minnehaha park on the other. The poaching and general slob fishing is from shore. When I say slob fishing I mean tossing carp/cats/sheephead up on shore to rot.

But be careful. Just because you see a guy putting a fish in the bucket doesn’t automatically mean they are poaching. Some down there do keep the rough fish to eat and some have figured out the pan fish bite too.

I highly doubt hook and line poaching is hurting pool 2 at all. Given its limited area. We are talking less than 1/10th of the pool here. But I do concur with the resentment it produces.

Nice to see the quick reply from the DNR. I know they are addressing the situation. I remember reading an article last year stating they hired a Hmong officer to patrol and educate the people down there. Hope that approach is working.

-J.

I have been a pool 2 fisherman for many years too. I do see them down there. I launch at Fort Snelling mostly and they are usually there. Just because you don’t see them all the time doesn’t mean they are not there. There is a lot of water in Pool 2 and the Minnesota River. They are also following up on non-fishing related offenses. Here is what we have in the whole “metro area” to enforce all the fish and game laws.
District 13
K350 Supervisor: LT Scott Carlson 952-447-3374
K351 Waconia Steve Walter 952-466-2296 Carver
K352 Osseo Todd Kanieski 763-576-8876 Hennepin
K353 Mound Jackie Glaser 952-442-6423 Hennepin/Carver
K354 Minnetonka Vacant – Hennepin
K355 Bloomington Thor Nelson 952-233-3587 Hennepin
K356 Fort Snelling Kevin Neitzke 612-725-2389 Hennepin
K357 Prior Lake Adam Block 952-873-6241 Scott
K358 Elcop Vang Lee 651-776-3510 Metro
K359 Elcop Thephong Le 651-487-5430 Metro
District 14
K370 Supervisor: LT John Hunt 651-735-7042
K371 Ham Lake Travis Muyres 763-571-2797 Anoka
K373 White Bear Lake Lisa Kruse 651-430-1189 Ramsey/Anoka
K374 Forest Lake Jason Jensen 651-408-1059 Washington
K375 Maplewood Brad Johnson 651-788-3867 Ramsey/Washington
K376 Eagan Jason Peterson 651-460-8141 Dakota
K377 Hastings Joel Heyn 651-768-8673 Dakota/Washington
K378 Metro Rec. Spec. Alex Gutierrez 651-464-7773
K379 Elcop Vuthy Pril 651-779-7493 Metro

I just did not want to sit back and see them get bashed to hard. They work very long days in less than ideal conditions. I think if more people would call tip instead of coming home and whining on the internet, there would be less poaching. We can all police the river by not leaving home without a cell phone with the TIP number.

Hey DD and BrianK…Those same guys who gave you the $108 ticket gave my boys and I coupons for free ice creme at Dairy Queen for wearing our life jackets when we were checked on P2 in June.

Glad to see your dollars going to feed our ice creme habit!!!

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DD,
On Pool 2?? I’ve got to say, I’ve fished it no less than 25 times this year and hundreds in years past and I’ve never seen a single CO…. EVER. Not on the water, not at the landings, no where.

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I’m just lucky I guess! It was a year or two ago. And I ran into the same C.O.’s 3 or 4 times in about 3 months. And I got checked by them 2 times. I tend to be out there during the week and not the weekend. So maybe they send their guys out on P2 more during the week than weekends?

And Martin? It’s Ice Cream not creme smartguy!

dd

Yep, I have seen them down there in past as well. Not often enough IMO. I applaud the people who know someone has an illegal fish in their livewell to voice the rules. Some people honestly are not aware that such rules exist on P2, even though its posted at the ramps.

There is alot of water on P2 and its tough for a CO to be there at all times with the limited staff they have. Rest assured there are far more eyes watching you down there than you are aware of. One evening I pulled out of the river and there was some guy at the ramp that said he was watching me for the last couple hours…and I did not even know it.

Everybody want to watch where you fish!

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I know that there are far more eyes watching me … I know it.

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I’m watching you right now Steve. Its OK I’m from the government.

That was fun! I totally tore apart your quote Steve and fashioned it into something completely different. I’m ready to be a big time journalist! Later sir!

dd

Quote:

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I know that there are far more eyes watching me … I know it.

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I’m watching you right now Steve. Its OK I’m from the government.

That was fun! I totally tore apart your quote Steve and fashioned it into something completely different. I’m ready to be a big time journalist! Later sir!

dd

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I just saw this……smarty pants!

Regarding the signs at the access. The sign at Lillydale really need to be replaced. The special reg sign still reads. Catch and release only – March 1, 1993 through Feb 28, 1999!

-J.

Nice!

That’s what us urban folk call “Modern Art”!