# White Bass Poached



## Dick Monson

Posted on Thu, Jul. 08, 2004

OUTDOORS: Tip leads wardens to sizable white bass bust on DL

N.D. wardens cite 6 St. Paul anglers for keeping 388 white bass over daily limit

By Brad Dokken

Herald Staff Writer

Six anglers from St. Paul face misdemeanor charges for keeping 598 white bass in a single day - 388 more than their daily limit allowed - while fishing Devils Lake last week near Minnewaukan, N.D.

Charged in connection with the July 1 incident were Chane T. Moua, 19; Anthony Vang, 20; Kaven Kongchee Vang, 19; Peter Vang, 26; Xu Vang, 45; and William Yang, 21; all of St. Paul. The six are scheduled to appear Monday in Benson County District Court.

According to an investigation report filed by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, an anonymous tipster called the state's Report All Poachers hot line after observing the anglers catching "a lot of fish" at the boat ramp two miles south of Minnewaukan.

The caller also reported the anglers as having several ice chests and was able to provide a description of the vehicle and a partial license plate number.

Game warden Gene Masse of New Rockford, N.D., responded to the call and contacted warden Chris Knutson of Devils Lake and a Benson County sheriff's deputy for backup en route to the scene. According to Masse's report, the deputy was the first to arrive and encountered the six anglers with coolers full of white bass.

Masse, upon his arrival, checked the anglers' fishing licenses and found they all had been purchased earlier that day, which meant none of the fish legally could have been caught before July 1. North Dakota's white bass limit is 35 daily, with 175 in possession.

"I asked them if they knew how many fish they had in their coolers," Masse wrote in his report. "They did not know. I told them that they probably were in excess of their daily limit."

Masse and Knutson then counted the fish, and the two wardens tallied 598 white bass in the coolers, along with four walleyes. Each of the anglers was more than 64 fish over his daily limit, Masse said.

Besides issuing citations, the wardens confiscated the anglers' fishing gear, along with the coolers and the fish, the report said.

According to Paul Freeman, game warden supervisor for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department in Devils Lake, exceeding the daily limit of white bass is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by a maximum fine of $1,000 and 30 days in jail. Jim Wang, Benson County state's attorney, was not available Wednesday to comment on the case.

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Dokken covers the outdoors. Contact him at (701) 780-1148, (800) 477-6572 extension 148, or by e-mail at [email protected]. 
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Another example of commercialization of ND's wildlife resources. Pretty obvious that white bass have been taken for resale for many years. Will be interesting to see how this plays out. *The fine is only $2.50 per fish. *


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## Matt Jones

This is getting ridiculous...what is this? The 4th MAJOR poaching bust on Hmongs this summer? There's already been 3 I think in MN. This is getting out of hand.


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## Matt Jones

...and another boatload of 5,000 Hmong is on it's way to St. Paul. They need to pass some laws where immigrants need to take classes on our game regulations in order to purchase a license.


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## Ryan_Todd

what i don't understand how a person would want to clean that many fish.


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## DL ND WANNABE

I saw some pictures posted on another forum of the fish they confiscated from one of the busts here in MN. It showed one freezer full of Crappies and another full of White Bass. Other than the blatent poaching, the part that got me was it looked like they didn't even have the fish cleaned. Heads fully attached and no sign of the fish being gilled or gutted. Just catch them and toss them in the freezer. Boy, those must be tasty after a few months. As far as I'm concerned, take their licenses for life along with anything and everything they have in their posession at the time of capture. Lose a few cars and boats and people may start thinking twice. Have a good one. Ed


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## nodakoutdoors.com

Another answer to the ongoing question....have you noticed the white bass population on DL drop?


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## mallard

I thought I read somewhere that the MN DNR hired a hmong to work in the hmong community as an educator on the fish and game laws.There was many more problems a few years back than there are now.A friend that lives by Park Rapids,MN had to constantly chase them off of his land in the fall.He rarely has any problems now.


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## NDJ

Also the vehicle came back to a commercial market....

Didn't they get off in MN after claiming they didn't understand the english??? Doubt that would fly here in ND

Also they eat them whole...Head & guts!!! they boil it all up...White bass are similar to a fish in their native country, I'm sure most are sold in the St. Paul area. Also they are bringing boats up... & they are all hooked up cell phone wise, to report the fishing & the wardens...

It does seem the white bass #'s are down a bit...hence the new limits


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## snowflake

Look out guys,they're coming by the bus-load  Mn. has had a real problem with this kind of thing for YEARS from these guys!!!Way back in the 70's they were being busted for setting nets in LakeNakomis,Island Lake,Prior Lake,and where-ever else they darn well pleased to.You have to do your own patrolling of this type of thing as the G/F folks can't be everywhere and THEY know it.Keep your eyes open and good-luck


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## angus

Did the white bass population dip? With that many fish being poached, I think the water level dropped!! What you may not have heard about yet is the boatload of five Minnesotans caught the day after the white bass bust with 43 walleyes over their limit. These morons were observed trying to dump their excess fish out of a cooler as the warden's boat approached. Do you suppose they haven't figured out yet that dead fish float. Long story short, tickets issued all around and probably another slap on the wrist.


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## Field Hunter

When you see this happen call the wardens immediately. I remember when they first showed up in the Pelican Rapids area about 20 years ago or more, a couple were ice fishing Star lake for northerns. Each of the two had about 10 lines each in the water. They DO understand the laws! When I mentioned I was on my way to call the warden they PROMPTLY pulled all the lines and took off. I didn't thnk a '72 chevy impala could make it through snow as deep as it was that day....I guess you just had to be driving as fast as those two were.


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## swift

I was reported for wanton waste on DL about 15 years ago. My brother and I were catching white bass on shore keeping a few. Someone saw us toss one on the rocks and called the Warden. When he arrived we were pulling out and he stopped us and told us we were reported. We went back and he looked around. We showed the warden what we kept and that we didn't waste any and he released us. When we were driving home we talked about how it must of looked to the person that reported us and how glad we were the warden came out and checked it out. I post this because I hope everyone will help police the game laws but if you get stopped and weren't doing anything wrong think of it as a positive and reevaluate what you were doing that raised a question and see if you can change that behavior.


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## njsimonson

Yeah, it was only a matter of time before the meat-hogger, thank-God-for-no-limits-crowd got busted on DL for overharvest after the new regulation "slipped" under the radar somewhat and was established.

Kudos to the anonymous tipper and to the G&F for their work!


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## SiouxperDave25

Five of them were hit with $500 fines and the sixth paid a $300 fine. All had to pay a $225 administration fee and had their ND fishing licenses suspended until June 30, 2005. Their fishing equipment and coolers were also forfeited.


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## SiouxperDave25

There were three more arrests made in the Devils Lake area in the last week for exceeding the limit. It sounds like DL area game wardens will have a busy summer

Case 1) Five fisherman from the St. Paul, MN area (Sopheap Chhun, Sunny Lau, Heangly Mom, Saki Mom and Leigh Nguyen) had 43 walleyes in their possession, *18* over the limit. They were each fined $150 and had to pay $225 admin fees.

Case 2) Three fisherman from Taylor Falls, MN, (Chong Lor, Pao Lor and a juvenile) had 482 white bass in their possession, *272* over the limit.

Case 3) Two fisherman from an undisclosed MN town (Chu Vang and Mai Vang) had 261 white bass in their possession


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## dosch

Please don't lock this thread

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:6i ... hing&hl=en


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## snowflake

Maybe they'll all eat themselves to death 8)


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## FrozenHusker

I heard these guys were getting off!
Something about how there are no limits on fishing in the country they came from? It sounds like BS to me, but has anyone else heard?

Also heard there was another bust this past weekend. More Asians over the limit, is this a trend?


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## james s melson

The St. Louis river near Duluth is having ALOT of trouble with Asian fishermen. Most are shore fishing and come and go back and forth all day double-dipping. One problem with the shore fishermen is the fact that the kept fish are on stringers in the river with more than one persons fish on each stringer. It is hard for the wardens to determine who's fish is who's.


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## Proud2BHmong

First of all in remarks to many of your racist comments, I would like to say that I'm proud to be Hmong. I'm also proud that these scums were also caught poaching and I have to admit that it does teach a good lesson to many Hmong people out there. What I don't understand is that how could so many White people be so ignorant on one Subject. At least when my people poach which doesn't give them the right to do so, they eat what they catch. And yeah right absolutely, from head to tail we eat it all. Unlike your White racist people who shot and kill thousands of buffalos leaving the poor Native Americans to starve and should we mention about the Sturgeon population that nearly depleted in the early 1900s because you wanted their eggs and let their corps lying along by the hundreds and thousands. I don't condone people for poaching, but if they eat the dam thing, then I would say at least that's better than shooting or killing something for the sport. Besides, God has plans for everything. Hmong people are one of God's way of cleaning DL out. Without the Hmong people contributing their good and hard earned dollars to flourish dead old town of DL, there would be less money flowing in the state and not to mention, fish population as well since (some) White people think they are too good to eat White Bass. So what's the issue here? Oh yeah right, poaching. I think that this subject is more about poaching and it's more about racist. I'm glad that I stumbled here by accident. I hate poachers and I'm glad that these scums got busted for what they've done, but don't think or assumed with your white uneducated mind that all Hmong people do the same thing. We may bring coolers to keep our fish in so they don't rod on our trip back home. Which brings one more thing, DL should be lucky that Hmong people have put it's name on the map as being one of the best spots to fish. So please before you white racist people get all ignorant, please do your homework first. And one last thing, if you want to talk about who breaks the law more, why don't we look at the prison population, are there more Hmong or are there more Whites? Yeah, I rest my case. Thank You and please don't judge others unless you judge yourself first. I'm sure many of you go to church, so why not preach what you've learned. Not all blacks are from the ghetto, not all whites are from South and deal with meth, and not all Hmong poach so don't assume with your ignorant minds. Free your minds and the rest will follow! We've already learned the hard way in WI with Chai Vang, please don't let it be another case of ignorant minds over animals. Peace


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## bearhunter

bye bye hmong troll uke:


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## dosch

Thanks for the laugh....


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## Hardsell

I have never heard of White Bass in MN. Here's a recent article that is pretty interesting.
Poaching is never good for anyone.

http://www.twincities.com/outdoors/ci_12424283


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## NDTerminator

A Hmong/Indian Activist. PLease tell me you aren't wearing a bandana or porcupine quill choker, as nearly all "Professional Indians" seem to do... 

We're not talking ancient history here, Proud, so trying the old lib tactic of re-directing the discussion won't work.

Nothing rasist about it this issue. The hard cold fact of the matter is that these massive overlimit cases on Devils Lake are committed by Hmong people. As this is not the same group being caught again & again over the years, I think it's a logical assumption this is a cultural issue and has nothing to do with race per se. And even casual research reveals it's not just a ND/Devils Lake issue, as well...

I'll assume that these folks are fully able to understand the regs, so it cannot be a mere language misunderstanding, which isn't a defense anyway.

I aupplaud you if you choose to obey the law, but for sure a pretty large segment of people of your race travel to Devils Lake every year, sometimes several times a year, with the premeditated intent to break the law bigtime in regard to over limit.

As a law abiding outdoorsman, your defense of these people based on their race is at best, misplaced. Your attempt to somehow make this the fault of Caucasians is even more so.. :eyeroll:

Quit playing the race card and possibly try explaining why these folks figure the laws don't apply to them and they have to catch & keep every fish in the lake. Surely as a cultural insider you have some insdight into this. I personally have long been curious about this mindset...


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## Andrew Bremseth

Proud2BHmong said:


> Hmong people are one of God's way of cleaning DL out..........
> 
> but don't think or assumed with your white uneducated mind that all Hmong people do the same thing.


The first statement I quoted literally made me laugh out loud :lol: :lol:

And as far as the "uneducated minds" statement goes, you should re-read your post, many grammar and spelling errors throughout the entire thing :eyeroll:

I guess I shouldn't have said that, it's probably racist. :roll:


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## jonesy12

This surprises me NONE! Its a daily occurance in the cities for this culture and that is a fact! There are metro lakes that the shores are lined with hundreds of people, none of which are regulated due to the discrimination flag.


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## Savage260

Since when is Devils Lake a dead town? I thought we were doing quite well. DL has been known as an excellent place to fish long before the hmongs came, and will be for many years. I read through all the posts and didn't see much if any racist comments,(EXCEPT FROM THE PROUD HMONG, which doesn't surprise me) were some posts deleted???

It doesn't matter what race you are or what species of fish, over limit is over limit. Our judges going soft on these folks because of "cultural differences" is a bunch of BS.


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## Candiru

"I am glad I stumbled here by accident" Really, Then you go back to ought four to dig this up. Sure. Just looking for the opportunity to thro the accusation of racism around. I am from MN and am well aware of the Hmong history of poaching there.


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## bearhunter

i dought he's hmong, just a troll.


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## rowdie

I have to admit, the words Whiete bass and Poached seem strange in the same sentence.


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## Pfeiferada

Do you know how or why the Hmong came here? They came here because they fought on our side in Vietnam, and once we pulled out, we allowed many of them to come here because if they had stayed, the Vietcong would have killed them all (thousands of them were murdered after the war). Many of those Hmong fought along my friends. Many Hmong died fighting next to U.S. servicemen! Many of those Hmong saved American lives! So watch how you guys are talking about the Hmong.


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## hunt4P&amp;Y

I'm not really sure how we are racist...? However I do know you were racist by calling us "white people" You put us in a category, however we simply stated they were Hmong. We could have used planty of racist remarks that would have actually been racist. In-fact I am watching a movie right now that complements this argument well. "Grand Torino" watched it?

The argument you brought to the table was flat out horrible and completely off kilter.

It made me so mad I was honestly shaking.

We could all sit here and bring up facts, statements and so on.. but it is pointless as he has his mind made up and we have our views.

Just keep the families of victims in Wisconsin in your prayers.


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## hunt4P&amp;Y

As for us "white People" not liking white bass... I fricking love them. You can't tell the difference between a eye and a white bass. You just have to know how to clean them.


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## teamflightstoppersND

Poaching is Poaching, whether walleyes or white bass. I wonder if someone could look up records to see what the names of the white bass poachers are. Its not being racist against the Hmong it called profiling the people who typically commit the crime. Im sure some of the fish is sold in resaturants in the cities which is illegal!


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## PJ

Proud2BHmong said:


> Which brings one more thing, DL should be lucky that Hmong people have put it's name on the map as being one of the best spots to fish.


WTF?


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## dosch

> Which brings one more thing, DL should be lucky that Hmong people have put it's name on the map as being one of the best spots to fish.


Thanks for doing that. And why do you guys shower in the sink at Grahams Island...it's kinda creepy.


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## dakotashooter2

I really believe it's a cultural thing. They come from a society that probably has less laws than we do and a majority of the laws they have are ignored anyway just in order to survive. I suppose we could install signage in the appropriate language at "hotspots" to educate these people but I really doubt it's gonna help. I think constant vigilance is the only answer. There are people of all races busted for this stuff. People that know the regulations. It's just gonna happen. The Hmonh are often just more visible because of their concentrated numbers.


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## fenwickguyMN

Race is always a sensitive issue but lets not forget about what this topic is mainly about. 
It doesnt matter if you're white, black, brown, yellow. If you take keep more fish than what the state limit allows then you are breaking the law.

Im from MN and of southeast asian background. Ive been fishing MN, IA, ND, WI lakes and rivers for the last 10 years. Its something about being on the waters with your fishing pole and just enjoying the time. Do I keep fish, yes, do I release fish, yes, and one thing Ive always done is respect every states fishing regulations.

Being southeast asian and hearing these stories of other asians keeping too much fish just really upsets me. I've heard all the excuses...

1) didnt know what the state regulations were..i dont understand english...dailys..slots..possession..etc..etc..
* This is probably the lamest excuse ever. Everything in this country is in english. If you drove from MN to Devils Lake, im sure there was a street sign here and there that you must have read and understood.

2) i had to keep all these fishes because back where we're from we have to feed our families...there are no limits back in whatever country..etc..etc..
* The state law is the state law. If daily is 20, that means 20 only that day. If possession is 10 that means only 10 in your possession, not 10 per day. 
Yes there is nothing wrong with feeding your family but that doesnt mean you get to break the law. Everyone needs money to support their family but not everyone goes to rob the bank because they need to support their family.

3) i couldnt count what was in my possession...what was in my livewell..cooler..bucket..etc..etc..
* Cmon, everyone could count in whatever language is native to you. 
Dont be dumb.

Not everyone poaches in fishing but the ones that do just ruins it for everyone else.


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## Plainsman

fenwickguyMN great post. I was waiting for one like that. You may be of southeast Asian background, but your also an American I am happy to have posting here. Welcome, and I hope you enjoy the site.


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## bearhunter

Plainsman said:


> fenwickguyMN great post. I was waiting for one like that. You may be of southeast Asian background, but your also an American I am happy to have posting here. Welcome, and I hope you enjoy the site.


 +1 :beer:


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## mahmoodmahi

I think everyone has to remember that Hmong poachers are just more visible than white poachers, even though there are tons of white poachers running around breaking game laws every year. In College I had a friend from south east mn, and we used to go trout fishing around his fathers farm with some of his local friends. They told me about a local family that were well known for being poachers, two members of the family were caught with 55 deer in a truck on its way to a chigaco butcher shop. Another thing I heard about is that in highschool the local kids would go booz crusin at night, and every now and then shoot a deer with a 22 they brought along just for the fun of it. I have heard similar stories in other parts of minnesota, hell just look at who gets caught trying to kill plastic deer by the mn dnr every year. Point is I could say that rural youth are uneducated, shameless poachers (or worse hillbillies, ******** or any other term stupid term), but I know thats not true, I know most rural youth do not kill deer in the summer just for the fun of shooting something. Same thing with the Hmong, you can't go after the whole group, just becasue you have run into a few bad apples, and they happen to look differnt enough that you can identify them as an ethnic group. Rather like finding all the lundquists, Svensens, hansens, and nordquists caught poaching and then make the claim that swedes are shameless poachers, and we need to stop them from coming into this country.


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## fenwickguyMN

bearhunter said:


> Plainsman said:
> 
> 
> 
> fenwickguyMN great post. I was waiting for one like that. You may be of southeast Asian background, but your also an American I am happy to have posting here. Welcome, and I hope you enjoy the site.
> 
> 
> 
> +1 :beer:
Click to expand...

Im glad to be part of this site. Thanks for the support.


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## StarCraft2

This post is old, please, all this is history.



> When I ascend to heaven, I'll make sure to keep the gate open for you. When I descend to hell, I'll make sure to lock the gate behind me.


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## seek

Why did my search for white bass bring up this thread first?

I'm not an outdoors man, but i do love nature.
A couple pictures with some descent white bass or walleye would be fun.
I was thinking about coming up to DL, but now I'm not sure.

It'd be weird to travel around in a state where some people are predisposed negatively towards me.
It's my leisure time, why put up with the hassle.
Maybe I should just keep my fishing dollars in MN and do the houseboat thing up in rainy lake.

If what your saying is true then a few bad apples among thousands of individuals sounds like the norm for any demographic.
Though I do think a refrigerated semi truck parked along the highway would be hilarious. J/K!!
Take it easy, ND.

Just a friendly FYI.
Hmong means "Free Man".


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## mymanimal

supaPoacha said:


> Too Bad So Sad... Once again I will continue my tradition since 2001 of driving to DL and filling my 5 coolers with white bass. While I'm at it, I will spend some time trespassing and littering my garbage into the lake and streets. Please continue to posts your gripes onto this page as that's all they will be. You cannot stop us from decimating your white bass. The best part after they are gone, we will move onto walleyes and anything else. I know you wish to stop us and talk your trash but I do dare you to try to confront me this season... Like this forum, you can't do jack &$#* but complain. I beg you to say something to me or try anything while I'm there. Sure, you don't know who I am but if you're so brave, why not just go out confronting any Hmong you happen to come across while fishing. When you come across me, I will rape you and eat your dog.


burn this account mod. :******:


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## willsot_20

Five of them were hit with $500 fines and the sixth paid a $300 fine. All had to pay a $225 administration fee and had their ND fishing licenses suspended until June 30, 2005. Their fishing equipment and coolers were also forfeited.


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## bigbassgiorgio

To all fishermen,

I think its great to have a site to share and connect with others who share your same passion in life "Fishing." However, lets be careful how we phrase things when we say them. Especially when you are talking about one whole race or culture. I know there are many good and bad fishermen out there of all race and ethnic backgrounds. I think It's wonderful to see diverse mix of people every time I hit the lakes and rivers. What I don't like is, seeing people snagging with trebles, killing unwanted fish (drums), and keeping over their limit. What I hope all fishermen would do is not judge others by how they look but rather by how the behave on the water. I too have seen many Hmong fellows snagging for carps. It really got me upset and I really wanted to notify the DNR however, I drove to another location to fish instead. I figure if I see them snagging again in the same area, it will be fair to call the DNR, the second time around. I've also seen many other people snagging besides the Hmong folks. Whatever the case, do what you think is fair and if you feel you need to call the DNR then do so.

I must confess that I'm a little embarrassed to fish on DL because of the large Hmong concentration every year. I don't want to get profiled into that DL Hmong group. As much as I have read and studied about the lake, I just think some Hmong families over do it. You don't need to bring everyone you know with you when you go fishing. Fishing is about studying the fish you are after and catching it with style. Maybe eating a few here and there, but mainly the challenge is what drives us everyday to the waters.

Whoever you are and whatever race you are, enjoy the water and make sure you read the fishing regulations when you purchase your licence, prior to fishing in that State. Let's focus on networking here instead of pointing fingers or hating on other races.

Say what you must but watch what you say. Thanks guys and see you on the river.

Bigbassgiorgio


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## Wordsworth2

Race is always a sensitive issue but lets not forget about what this topic is mainly about.
It doesnt matter if you're white, black, brown, yellow. If you take keep more fish than what the state limit allows then you are breaking the law.


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## MidwestMike

Until Every State's DNR, or Fish and Game departments demand higher fines, this poaching will continue in Every State. Poaching is poaching, weather it's a nasty carp or a Big Horn Sheep, until the penalty is too much to justify taking a chance, it will continue. As far as the Asian population being the biggest culprits in this area, that is a fact. I didn't read about any Jones' or Smiths' being busted for being over the bag limits? As far as the Vietnam Vet? If I read that right, he was a Vet? Because some people fought side by side with Americans still doesn't give them the right to break our laws on our soil? Am I wrong? The Vietnamese people in California did the same thing there with Ocean fish too. Then sold them in Restaurants, and in the markets? Wrong is wrong, plain and simple.


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