U.S. man caught with 40 walleye

A U.S. resident was charged after being caught July 24 on the Canadian side of Rainy Lake with a large over-limit of walleye in his possession.
The charge came as a result of assistance from three members of the public who reported him to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources via the TIP (Turn In Poachers) hotline.
“Basically, we had some concerned local fishermen, from more than one source, who called to tell [us] that this individual had been observed fishing and taking too many fish,” said Lloyd Steen of the Minnesota DNR.
Steen and another conservation officer investigated the call and observed the man fishing near the Ranier lift bridge by Pither’s Point over a period of three days, at times alone and at times with various partners, returning each day to his dwelling with additional fish.
At some point, the officers were able to determine the man indeed was fishing on the Canadian side of the border, so they contacted their Canadian counterparts since they had no jurisdiction to act on the investigation in Ontario waters.
On the third night, the Canadian officers made contact with the man who was, at that point, with two other American citizens.
As a result of the investigation, charges were laid against the individual for having more than 40 walleye in his possession.
“We have seized a quantity of fish—a quantity of walleye—in the neighbourhood of 40, and we have charged the individual with an over-limit of walleye,” said Doug Gibb, enforcement supervisor with the Ministry of Natural Resources office here.
The two other Americans with him were not charged because they had not been seen fishing with him before, and only had caught one fish each.
The allowed limit of walleye is only one for an American fishing in Ontario waters—considerably less than what the man had in his possession.
Some were alive in his live well while some were in the freezer. It is unclear how many of the fish were alive.
Normally if the fish is alive and legal, it would be released back into the water, but the officer responsible for this was unavailable to confirm if that was the case.
“If there were fish in condition to be released, they would have been, but that would have been a small number,” noted Gibb.
Depending on the circumstances, individuals sometimes are taken into custody for such charges, but the man was co-operative and so the fish were confiscated and he was given a summons to appear in court here Sept. 24.
Steen said this successful bust was made possible by the concerned citizens who took the time to report what they saw, and by the co-operation of law enforcement officials on both sides of the border.
“Living together the way we do, with that imaginary line and jurisdiction issues, we work together, communicate, and we depend on each other,” he remarked.
“We absolutely could not have done this without each other,” he stressed.
The name of the individual is not being released at the time, but it is known that he is a former resident of International Falls.