# Four WI anglers nailed for 40 'eyes over the limit on URL



## Duckslayer100 (Apr 7, 2004)

Here's the link: http://www.twincities.com/outdoors/ci_14087300

*Four Wisconsin anglers cited for keeping 40 illegal walleyes*
By Chris Niskanen 
[email protected]
Updated: 12/29/2009 11:14:55 PM CST

After a long drive to northwestern Minnesota's Upper Red Lake, four Wisconsin anglers decided they needed an illegal cache of walleyes to take home, a conservation officer said.

Now they could face a total of $3,600 in fines after being cited for keeping 40 walleyes over their limit just before Christmas.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer Brice Vollbrecht was checking ice anglers Dec. 23 on the sprawling Beltrami County lake when he came across a group of four anglers in two rented fish houses.

Two anglers were in each fish house, and after they invited Vollbrecht inside, he said, he became suspicious after questioning them about the number of walleyes in their possession.

"I got a different story from each group," Vollbrecht said Tuesday.

The possession limit for Upper Red Lake walleyes is four. Anglers are required to throw back walleyes between 17 and 26 inches, with one trophy more than 26 inches allowed.

Back at the anglers' rented cabin, according to Vollbrecht, he found 44 filleted and wrapped walleyes in a freezer, in addition to the 12 walleyes the anglers had in their fish houses. The 56 fish, Vollbrecht said, meant the four men were 40 walleyes over their limit. Some fish were outside the legal length limit, he said.

Each angler was cited for a misdemeanor of having 10 walleyes over the limit, according to Vollbrecht. Each faces a fine of $800 to $900, including the restitution value of the fish.

"They admitted later they knew all the laws. They said they drove a long distance and they didn't feel like 16 fish (for the group) was enough," Vollbrecht said. "They admitted they had been doing this for a couple of years." 
Vollbrecht hadn't filed the tickets yet with Beltrami County authorities, so the anglers' names were not available Tuesday. Vollbrecht said two were in their 20s, one was in his 50s and the other in his 60s. They were not related to one another, he said.

The anglers had been fishing for three days and allegedly hid their activities by filleting the fish in their rented cabin and not a fish-cleaning shed. They disposed of the carcasses at a gas station Dumpster a mile away, Vollbrecht said.

"The resort people had no idea what they were up to," Vollbrecht said. "The owner wasn't happy with them."

In the 18 months he has been checking Upper Red Lake anglers, Vollbrecht said, it was his biggest fishing bust.

Upper Red Lake walleye fishing was closed in the late 1990s, but the DNR reopened the walleye season in 2006 after a successful stocking program.

Of its 120,000 acres, about 72,000 acres of Upper Red Lake are under the jurisdiction of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians and closed to non-band members. The Wisconsin ang-lers were fishing on the 48,000 acres under state jurisdiction.


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## MSG Rude (Oct 6, 2003)

Another example of greed. No matter what or where there are always those that believe they are entitled to more then everyone else for one reason or another.

Sad.


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## bobert (Jul 26, 2009)

we dont have walleyes over here are they really good eating or something?


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## H2OfowlND (Feb 10, 2003)

Yes they are. They are the most sought after fish in the North Central part of the U.S.. I'm not sure if anything over here would compare to the flavor of a Walleye. It has a white flaky texture when cooked/baked/fried. And they are fun to catch.

H2OfowlND


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## drjongy (Oct 13, 2003)

Isn't a Zander pretty much like a Walleye, except a lot larger?


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## Gooseguy10 (Oct 10, 2006)

Damn NRers


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## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

Gooseguy10 said:


> Damn NRers


Honestly, that was my first thought after reading this part. 


> "They admitted later they knew all the laws. They said they drove a long distance and they didn't feel like 16 fish (for the group) was enough,"


Seems I have heard that one before as an excuse for people messing up others hunts :x What a bunch of frickin losers.


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## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

And yes, walleye is basically the same as zander, but they dont get as large. A lot of restaurants out here have been caught selling gander as walleye.


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## BROWNDOG (Nov 2, 2004)

Fricken NR 

I see it alot in the Brainerd Lakes area in the summer, mostly on the smaller lakes that have the mom and pop resorts. Some are RES. and some are not..

Pontoon with 8 kids and 4 adults= 12 limits of panfish of different species and only bought 4 lisc. and are fully within the legal limits.


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## Gooseguy10 (Oct 10, 2006)

For the record, I was totally kidding about the NR comment. It doesn't matter what color your license plate is.....people who break the law in this manner are all the same. And yes, every state has their fair share of these d-bags that break the laws in their own state and across borders.


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

Browndog....

That is illegal what they are doing. If a person is under 16 and if the adults only have individual NR licenses. They can only possess 4 person limit. But if they people have a family license....the kids can catch a limit as well. So in your example.. 4 adults, 8 kids if they adults have individual licenses only 4 limits. If they have family licenses 12 limits.


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

Another prime example of blatant disregard for games laws resulting in little more than a slap on the wrist.

MAKE A DAMN EXAMPLE OF THEM!!!

Take away their MN license privileges for 3-5 years.
Collaborate with WI and make em loose privileges in their own state for 3-5 years.
Confiscate equipment. Augers, rods, hell, take their truck!
Increase fines.

Make the lawbreakers pay, and theyll think long and hard next time about breaking the law.


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

Bareback..... I would love to see something along the lines of what "big game" violations for some states out west. Ie if you get a ticket in CO....it also counts towards WY or other states. Have a nation wide database. They should do this with all violations....big game, small game, fishing. Keep a running tab. IE if you get a ticket for a small game violation....it goes towards fishing and big game. Make it hurt to get one ticket at all.....even if it is something as simple as an Uncased gun (for those states that have that law).


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## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

I was kind of thinking of capital punishment.


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## Doogie (Feb 23, 2007)

MN is already a Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact member, so is WI



> The Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact also establishes a process whereby wildlife law violations by a non-resident from a member state are handled as if the person were a resident, meaning they can be served a ticket rather than being arrested, booked, and bonded. This process is a convenience for hunters, fishermen, and trappers of member states, and increases efficiency of Wildlife Officers by allowing more time for enforcement duties rather than violator processing procedures


they haven't been sentenced yet, it just says the easiest they can get off is a fine and restitution


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## Goose Guy350 (Nov 29, 2004)

If you can't play by the rules you shouldn't be allowed to play at all. They should lose all hunting and fishing rights for a minimum of 5 years.


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## BuckdownBen (Nov 13, 2008)

no wonder why i haven't seen a walleye all season, first the wolves, now the cheese heads.


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