Family ties not as strong as monofilament - MnDNR CO Reports

Area MnDNR Conservation Officer Weekly Reports - Dec. 10, 2018

District 9 - Brainerd area

CO (Conservation Offficer) Tim Collette (Brainerd) checked an adult father and son angling, there were two tip-ups outside the portable fish house, but only one line down in the house, even though there were two holes. When asked for licenses, the father said he wasn’t fishing. When noted that then the son had an extra line, the father said that was the case. The son replied tersely that the father had indeed been fishing and he could take his own ticket. CO Collette also checked muzzleloader deer hunters, anglers and spearers. Complaints of trespassing and dogs chasing deer were handled.

CO Chelsey Best (Crosslake) enforced ice fishing, muzzleloader and trapping laws this past week. Incidental furs were collected and deer registrations were verified. Enforcement action was taken for no licenses, illegal-length fish and ATV registration issues.

CO Karl Hadrits (Crosby) reports activity this past week of checking fishing and muzzleloader deer hunting activity, and investigating a case of trap tampering.

CO Patrick McGowan (Pine River) continued field training with a conservation officer candidate. They spent time working Lake of the Woods and Upper Red Lake. Time was also spent investigating a deer poaching case that involved multiple deer being shot over bait, without a license, at night. Enforcement action for the week included angling with extra lines, illegal-length walleye, walleye overlimit, ATV registration violations, narcotic violations, and multiple big-game violations.

CO Eric Sullivan (Pequot Lakes) contacted anglers who reported success with catching crappies, walleyes and northern pike. Sullivan also conducted seasonal equipment maintenance and managed evidence.

CO Scott Fitzgerald (CCSRA) reports assisting at Camp Ripley with firearms and shotgun certification. He also attended a taser instructor school during the week. A call of illegal ATV use in the SRA was followed up on and enforcement action was taken. Assistance was given to a local agency for a call for service and some reports and Step 4 FTO paperwork were finished.

CO Jim Guida (Brainerd East) worked big game muzzleloader season and fishing enforcement this past week. Anglers were checked on area lakes. An aerial angler/fish shelter survey was completed with CO Jason Jensen of the DNR Aviation Unit.

District 2 - Bemidji area

CO Tim Gray (Blackduck) checked area ice anglers and shelters. He warns anglers to be cautious with the varying ice conditions.

CO Brice Vollbrecht (Bemidji) completed the final step of field training with CO Zavodnik. He worked a detail on Upper Red Lake where numerous violations were encountered. Anglers are reminded to carefully measure fish before keeping them. Vollbrecht attended a meeting at Camp Ripley regarding National Association of State Boating Law Administrators and future training requirements for the Division. Area lakes were patrolled with mixed reports. Caution is advised when traveling on the ice as ice depths very greatly. Deer season cases were wrapped up and paperwork distributed.

CO Jacob Swedberg (Detroit Lakes) spent the week patrolling area lakes monitoring ice-fishing activity, meeting with other DNR divisions to discuss ongoing issues in the station, and assisting Otter Tail County. Most lakes have between 8 and 12 inches of ice and fishing has been good during evening hours. Potential deer-hunting violations were also investigated. Enforcement action for the week included fishing with extra lines, fishing without a license, ATV registration violations, and possession of marijuana.

District 4 - Walker area

CO Jacque Hughes (Longville) reports finishing field training. She patrolled multiple lakes checking anglers, who should double check ice conditions before traveling onto lakes. Enforcement action for the week included no license in possession and traffic violations.

CO Mark Mathy (Cass Lake) primarily checked anglers. The ice continues to thicken but those taking full-sized trucks on the ice are taking a big risk. Separate complaints of wanton waste for deer and northern pike that were dumped were investigated. Two complaints of people taking deer from vehicles/roadway were also investigated. Enforcement action was taken for an overlimit of pike, angling with an extra line, unattended line, angling with a tip-up more than 200 feet away, unregistered ATV, no fish house license, no angling license, and no spearing license.

CO Randy Posner (Staples) reports ice has slowly been forming on most lakes, but the ice thickness is still unpredictable. Some anglers report thin ice, especially on the Crow Wing River. Spear fishermen have had some success and so have the anglers. He checked some rabbit hunters and the harvest was low. Muzzleloader deer hunters were checked. There were a few successful hunters this past week but deer activity has slowed, according to the hunters he checked. Reports of deer-carcass dumping and unregistered deer were investigated. He also worked with DNR Wildlife on the report of a cougar hit by a car near Nimrod. The animal was cougar and it was collected by Wildlife for testing. The history and its origin are unknown.

District 10 - Mille Lacs area

CO Ben Karon (Isle) spent the week patrolling different areas in the station and checking many anglers on area lakes. Varied success is reported on Mille Lacs Lake at this time. Violations for extra lines, undersized walleyes, improper ice shelter ID/registration and illicit drug usage were among the most common.

CO Ashley Whiteoak (Malmo) worked ice angling and ATV enforcement on Mille Lacs Lake. Enforcement action was taken for illegal-length walleye, fishing without an angling license, failure to register an ATV, possession of a small amount of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Anglers had good success rates catching walleyes and perch on Mille Lacs Lake.

CO Dustie Speldrich (Willow River) and other area conservation officers conducted a search warrant relating to big-game hunting violations. A complaint of a public waters violation was looked into. She also taught the law portion of youth snowmobile safety and checked small-game hunters and anglers.

CO Dan Starr (Onamia) worked panfishing activity and found some limits to be had on smaller fish. Deer-season investigations were worked on with pending charges. Starr found snowmobiles to be out and about with very minimal snow coverage. Enforcement action was taken for no registration and failing to have safety certification for snowmobile operation.

District 11 - St. Cloud area

CO Joyce Kuske (Little Falls) handled calls of a deer found with its head cut off, a deer found with its antlers cut off and a TIP call of a hunter shooting too many bucks. A tip of wanton waste was investigated where mallards where shot during waterfowl season and left to rot in the back of a truck. The duck hunter was located with enforcement action taken. A few anglers are out with their portable fish houses. Kuske watched one angler pull into a public access with their fish house on the trailer and they were contemplating if they should take their full-sized pickup truck out on the ice. The smart decision was made and the angler didn’t drive out on the ice.

CO Annette Kyllo (Pierz) reports working ice fishing and muzzleloader enforcement. Assistance was given to nearby COs on a hunting case. Kyllo also reports assisting the county with a missing persons search.

CO Todd VanderWeyst (Paynesville) worked angling and hunting activity in the area. He worked with neighboring officers on a trespass case. Administrative tasks were also completed.

CO Keith Bertram (Long Prairie) responded to a deer dumping complaint this past week. He conducted several interviews, which led to five unregistered deer and two cases of lending and borrowing deer licenses. Ice anglers were also checked. Violations included extra lines and expired ATV registration.

District 12 - Princeton area

CO Mike Krauel (Mora) spent the week checking anglers. Krauel would like to remind anglers to use caution when venturing out onto area lakes with vehicles as he received reports of recreational vehicles going through the ice on local lakes. Krauel also assisted a neighboring officer execute a search warrant. Enforcement action was taken for no license, extra line and expired ATV registration.

CO Nathan Benkofske (Milaca) reports working ice anglers and muzzleloader hunters this past week. Enforcement action was taken for fishing without a license, no registration on an ATV, and possession of a small amount of marijuana. Time was also spent assisting other area COs with a big-game investigation.

Aviation Section

NR Pilot Brad Maas (Brainerd) completed two helicopter training flights with one pilot, and gave a presentation on this year’s cattail spraying at the Region 4 Wildlife Winter Meeting. He also attended to administrative tasks.

CO Pilot Jason Jensen (Brainerd) reports starting a fisheries creel survey of Crow Wing County area lakes. This study is to continue monitoring the level of fishing pressure during the ice season. Jensen also flew the first wolf pack count flight of the winter.

NR Pilot John Heineman (Bemidji) flew wolf telemetry and attended an annual fire meeting in Duluth. Heineman also worked administrative tasks.

Water Resource Enforcement Officers

WREO Joseph Stattelman (NW) spent time checking anglers and answering AIS questions for a public service group. Old case files were cleaned up and he followed up on ongoing cases.

WREO Mike Scott (NE) spent time conducting WREO-related duties and administrative work. Scott also spent time training with Ecological and Water Resources staff on public water-related issues.

WREO Robert Haberman (North Central) worked on new public water cases, as well as APM and WCA. Haberman also answered question for the general public and checked ice anglers. Haberman also worked muzzleloader hunting activity.

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Joe Albert, Communications coordinator | Division of Enforcement