I am not sure if this belongs here or in the NFR forum. But anyhow, a guy that i work with was hunting during the regular season within all of the regulations(he tells me). He sees a small spike buck in a gmu that is any buck. He shoots the buck(first deer might i add) and retrieves it. When he gets back to his truck there is a warden there. The warden inspects his deer and discovers that the tines are just under an inch. The hunter is then written a ticket right on the spot for $5000. He takes it to court and the fine is cut in half. I guess this would be considered a poached animal. My question is: What if this happened on a river? And instead of deer it was salmon or steelhead. I have seen a lot of tickets given out for taking fish illegally(poaching) but have never heard of such severe panalties for doing so. I still think the hunter should have hired a lawyer. He threw himself on the mercy of the judge.