Would you report this suspected overlimit?

A facebook group I am part of has a guy on there who during the summer is ,3-4 times a week posting images of 2-3 man limits of panfish, perch, walleye, etc. He is also taking dozens of sheepshead (No big deal but just to illustrate the amount of meat hes taking).

When asked what he does with all that fish he claims he eats them, hosts large fish frys, and also gives many away. He claimed to have cleaned just under 3000 fish in his fish house this year.

He posted pictures of limits of sauger on december 24,25,26. 2 man perch limits on october 9,18,24,25, 3 man limit on the 10th and 11th, 1 man limit on the 6th,and a half limit on the 23rd. I could keep going but you get the point.

I have been taking screen shots of his posts.

I am curious how you guys would respond? I don’t want to be one of “those” guys but it really seems suspicious to me.

You have to do what YOU can live with but nothing reported…nothing changes.
TIP line is confidential and if the CO’s find nothing to charge with no harm.

pantherpop wrote:

You have to do what YOU can live with but nothing reported…nothing changes.
TIP line is confidential and if the CO’s find nothing to charge with no harm.

+1
Innocent people have nothing to hide and never have to worry about being approached by a warden.

Jonesy wrote:

I don’t want to be one of “those” guys but it really seems suspicious to me.

Which guys are “those” guys? The guys who freaking hate freezer-filling fish pigs who trawl out our lakes and ruin the fishing for everyone else?

You could go on? Why? You’ve already showed that weather or not the guy is over the limit NOW, he has almost certainly been a gross violator in the very recent past.

Sorry to sound p!ssed off, but fish pigs like this really DO p!ss me off. This guy knows what he’s doing, he just doesn’t give a rat’s butt because he thinks there’s no chance of getting caught. Even if this guy was a total moron and didn’t know what a possession limit means, gross negligence is not a defense.

I say call before this guy has one more meal. IMO, it’s my duty as a sportsman to report what I see when it looks suspicious. It’s somebody else’s job to determine if there’s really a crime being committed, it’s not on you to be the judge/jury, but NOT saying something when you have this much by way of suspicious postings…

Grouse

Not only should you report him but post it also. Let him sweat knowing the law will come a callin’.

I might add it’s almost your duty as a ethical sportsman to turn him in.

I agree with the above posts but I just have to play devils advocate.

What if this guy is legal and is eating everything he keeps? Assuming he’s keeping as much as it appears.

Do you see the situation differently when the law has no power?

If he is legal he can eat fish morning, noon & night. If not he has a fine coming.

You can slice it and dice it anyway you want but the fact is poaching is theft. Thieves whether they steal money or natural resources are thieves and should be treated as such. In fact it can be argued it’s harder to replace a poached fish then it is stolen tackle or goods.

Zero tolerance on this subject for me.

Blacktrtrans ,,,, I have thre tip line number listed in my phone as this… AATIP so that when I need it is comes up right away, I have used it MANY times and will continue to use on any poacher, I dont care who they are !!

Is there anyway to tell if he is fishing with another person or 2? I don’t like a poacher as much as the next guy…..

plumbum75 wrote:

Is there anyway to tell if he is fishing with another person or 2? I don’t like a poacher as much as the next guy…..

He claims he fishes with his mom or a friend. I sent an email (tried calling no answer) along with pictures to the Co in his area.

He did put a post up a couple months ago because a few people were asking questions. He said he knows the laws and doesn’t violate them.

I should add that whenever this guy posts he pisses me off by the quantity of nice perch he’s taking home. Also seen quite a few 11,12″ saugers also.

As far as being one of “those” guys I pretty much feel the way everyone who commented does. Just was looking for some confirmation of my feelings about it. I will update if I hear anything back.

IMO, every sportsman has the ethical obligation to report anything he reasonably suspects is illegal taking of game or violation of the game laws.

Note the bold on “report”. Our job is not to investigate, or prove, or convict, or do anything else. That’s law enforcement’s job. And if it turns out the guy is perfectly legal, well, who is harmed? Absolutely nobody.

But to be honest, I don’t believe that many people consider being over the possession limit with fish in the freezer to be illegal. It’s one of those things they just choose to ignore because it doesn’t suit their purposes.

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

IMO, every sportsman has the ethical obligation to report anything he reasonably suspects is illegal taking of game or violation of the game laws.

Note the bold on “report”. Our job is not to investigate, or prove, or convict, or do anything else. That’s law enforcement’s job. And if it turns out the guy is perfectly legal, well, who is harmed? Absolutely nobody.

But to be honest, I don’t believe that many people consider being over the possession limit with fish in the freezer to be illegal. It’s one of those things they just choose to ignore because it doesn’t suit their purposes.

Grouse.

x2
I know my luck,if it were me,I would have been pulled over before I got home.I stress all the way home hoping the skin patch is wide enough on my catch.
transam,turn the tables,if it were you,do you think anyone would hesitate to turn you in out of suspicion alone??

I understand no one wants to be a tattle tale,but,how many reports have you read in Mn cuffs and collars??
we need to step up and protect our resources,remember,you and I are paying for them through our hunting and fishing license,protect whats yours,and mine.

plumbum75 wrote:

Is there anyway to tell if he is fishing with another person or 2? I don’t like a poacher as much as the next guy…..

Just so, as mentioned before; if he’s within his legal limits, there’s no crime in being reported. By calling the tip line, all you are doing is reporting suspicious activity. If he’s convicted as a result, you aren’t to blame, he is.

Mostly echoing the comments above. If he has displayed enough evidence in your mind that he has violated laws, you have a responsibility to report it as suspicious activity. IF he is guilty, he is stealing resources and that affects us all.

For myself personally, I have to be confident in my mind that I would be willing to state under oath that I witnessed a violation in order to report it. I have a few CO’s cell numbers in my phone and the 800 #, and some days it feels like I’m on speed dial calling stuff in. CO’s can not take action on a poacher if they don’t know about it or stumble upon it. WE have a responsibility to assist in self-policing our resources.

However, I am against people over-reacting and reporting on the first thing they see without taking a deep look. I’ve been reported and checked out a few times. Usually it comes down to clients photos of fish in the live well. Someone sees the pic and doesn’t know how many guys I’ve had out or any of the other circumstances. OR, they see me out, recognize myself and the boat and ASSUME that the different clients I have out are all the same guys. When in reality I may have had 12 different guys out over 5 or 6 days. The last thing I want is a CO that has a level of doubt about my character as a sportsmen. You say it shouldn’t matter??? Well if/when a CO has to make a judgment call on a gray area, a preconceived perception could make that go really bad fast.

Fish Fries – This is one that I still have trouble with and know a lot of others flirt with possession limit violations. Law is the Law and we most follow it. But like many others, I do a neighborhood fish fry each year for about 35-40 people. They consume a heck of a lot of fish. So anyways, I can have 2 days possession, my daughters can each have their 2 day possession (of which they MUST catch themselves) and that part is fine. Now, what if some of the neighborhood kids bring bags of fish down to contribute in advance. I can’t have them in my freezer or in my possession…..Gray area, and I don’t want a CO to have a negative view of me and assume I have harvested more than the law allows. We all know that when you get a citation, your often guilty until proven innocent.

I echo Randy’s Wieland’s thoughts…

As far as big group fish fries…you CAN have over YOUR possession limit in hand IF the extra’s are claimed by other people via written note/license number while in your freezer– with/packaged the extra fish. I “store” peoples/clients fish all the time that way.

This sounds more of a jealous stalker case than a fish and game violation. You state your pissed that he catches and keeps quality fish. You have questioned him about who he’s fishing and he’s responded that he is with relatives and friends. He’s also posted that he knows the laws but he’s giving answers to your questioning that you don’t like so you assume he’s guilty. I’d say you need to watch your own bobber. Because just like you the CO will be quick to judge based on your jealous opinion. Your also judging by photos not first hand observations. It’s one thing to see something happening first hand and a whole different thing to see a captured image of a split second and assume the rest.

CW

Soooooo many people get busted now, because of stuff they post on social media. The DNR does monitor sites folks…. (IDO included)Just send the link to his FB page showing all the fish pictures to the DNR and they can do what they want with it. (love the jealous stalker take…?)

FWIW, a BIG northern was posted on FB by a resort on Mille Lacs a week or so ago and immediately questions followed about why no pictures of the 2 undersized northerns that were speared prior to the over 40″…? That post disappeared right quick !!!

c_w wrote:

This sounds more of a jealous stalker case than a fish and game violation. You state your pissed that he catches and keeps quality fish. You have questioned him about who he’s fishing and he’s responded that he is with relatives and friends. He’s also posted that he knows the laws but he’s giving answers to your questioning that you don’t like so you assume he’s guilty. I’d say you need to watch your own bobber. Because just like you the CO will be quick to judge based on your jealous opinion. Your also judging by photos not first hand observations. It’s one thing to see something happening first hand and a whole different thing to see a captured image of a split second and assume the rest.

CW

Not jealous at all. I didn’t type out correctly what I wanted to say. What I wanted to say was it pisses me off because I find it hard to believe that he is not violating, I catch enough fish I don’t need to be jealous.

Also fwiw the guy was convicted of being over limit a few years ago so his word might not mean much

I claim to caught these with a buddy. What will you do?

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hl&sinker wrote:

I claim to caught these with a buddy. What will you do?

Nothing. As I said it’s day after day, 3,4,5 days a week of limits. Maybe it’s the law enforcement in me I just find it suspect that he does not have a freezer full of fish beyond his limit. Couple that with his prior conviction and it doesn’t seem unreasonable. In the end it’s just a tip. Up to the CO if he feels there is enough to investigate.

If you are asking us you already know your answer as your Conscious is already sending alarm bells and hoping that we say don’t worry about it.

In the end you are going to be one to live (or forget about) with this.

Jonesy wrote:

Nothing. As I said it’s day after day, 3,4,5 days a week of limits. Maybe it’s the law enforcement in me I just find it suspect that he does not have a freezer full of fish beyond his limit. Couple that with his prior conviction and it doesn’t seem unreasonable. In the end it’s just a tip. Up to the CO if he feels there is enough to investigate.

Well I’m on that same facebook page you speak of and I thought that guy is either really stupid or he eats a heck of allot of fish. He posts his catch each time he goes out the way it looks. Now on a side note..he does post allot of pics of sheephead he catches and he defends himself all the time from critics on how bad they taste. Personally I don’t think the guy is very bright for more reason then one. I think he thinks he gets respect from folks on that facebook group as they are constantly telling how how great of a fisherman he is as I laugh at those sheephead pics!! I think anyone that posts that many pics of fish is pretty foolish as sooner or later your going to PI55 someone off and I think he is just that dumb and don’t really care. My 2 cents!!

hl&sinker wrote:

I claim to caught these with a buddy. What will you do?

ask what time we eat….?

If it were me I’d just send the guy a note in private saying that limits are in place to obey and that by posting these kinds of kept catches on a public forum he could find himself in trouble with co’s….that way too many people take offense at posts like this and have no problem at all reporting these incidents. If he continues with it, make a call. He’d have been warned in a subtle manner. I don’t think I’d air this in the public….he may have buddies with less than a congenial understanding of what’s going on.

hl&sinker wrote:

I claim to caught these with a buddy. What will you do?

Clean your cooler much?

There’s nothing wrong with reporting suspicious activity to law enforcement for their review and consideration. The idea that you have to see a violation before you call the TIP line is just silly — like waiting for a suspicious person to break into the house before you call the cops.

Ethics are not the same always as legality. Whatever the legal answer is, the proof is in his freezer.

Its simple report what you find and see what happens if nothing happens then so be it…. I know it would bother me more if I seen all that and did nothing.

There’s far more land and water for a CO to cover than they can actually cover in their area. While I have never reported somebody, or ever really even been suspicious of somebody, I think it is our duty to alert the CO of a possible violation to help them due their job effectively. If the offender did something wrong, then they get what they deserved. If they did nothing wrong, then it is no different than if you never even reported them to begin with.

That’s an awful lot of fish to be keeping. But you never know, maybe he has 6 children to feed and believes in harvesting or growing all of their own meals.