This was in the Bellingham Herald today. What a shame! The Game Department is pushing to close the Nooksack down for fishing at the end of February instead of March 15th, this just helps their case. Why doesn't the Game Department fine these guys thousands of dollars instead of the hundred or so dollars they do?

Lawman lands steelhead poacher

Mark Porter, The Bellingham Herald

A Custer man was cited for illegal possession of a native steelhead during closed season Saturday after a state wildlife agent caught him landing a 22-pounder on a gravel bar along the Nooksack River near Lynden.

The man, in his 40s, had the fish confiscated, his fishing gear seized for forfeiture while his buddy - who allegedly was his lookout - was cited for complicity for the misdemeanor crime, said state Department of Fish and Wildlife enforcement agent Russ Mullins.

Each man faces fines in the "hundreds of dollars," Mullins said. The wild steelhead population is in decline, he added.

"People lose sight of the fact that by killing such a fish .... is basically a theft to everyone," Mullins said. "This is the kind of fish you want to help replenish the native stock."

Mullins was patrolling the area of the Nooksack near Lynden on Saturday after receiving several complaints by law-abiding fishers who were watching poachers take illegal fish.

Here's what happened, according to Mullins:

He had just arrived to the area at about 1 p.m. and was watching five fishers in brush upstream when he watched the man run toward his fishing gear and start fighting a steelhead. The man landed the fish in 15 minutes, and when he pulled it out, Mullins said the size of the fish tipped him off that it was a native and therefore illegal.

Hatchery steelhead aren't that big, he said, and hatchery fish also have had one fin on their backs clipped off by hatchery workers before being released.

The man had a picture taken with the fish, and then his friend went up the river's embankment to be sure there weren't any wildlife officials waiting around. Meanwhile, the poacher put the fish in a black plastic bag and was starting up the embankment after his friend gave him the "thumbs up" sign that everything was OK, Mullins said.

"Once it was clear it was going into a bag, that's when I decided to step in," Mullin said.

Mullins called and stopped the man, who "knew the gig was up," Mullins said.

Wildlife officials aren't going to catch every person who catches an illegal fish, including native steelhead, but this is a lesson for people who would poach, he said.

"I'm sure the word is already out," he said. "We're out there."

Reach Mark Porter at mporter@bellingh.gannett.com or call 715-2263.

They need to put those guys in a black plastic bag and let all the law abiding anglers beat them with sticks. What a shame!!!

I caught a guy with a nate in hatch only waters a month ago.I am afraid it happens alot more than I want to know about!A friend sicked the game warden on the erea but when there is only one law official for way to large an erea coupled with the fact that the river is imposible to patrol without the oficer spending half the day to check one fishermen!we need more law enforcement!You get caught you lose your rights forever!

This guy deserves to be KICKED in the sack, if ya' know what i mean. Closing down rivers because of poachers is the wrong idea, because fisherman are the eyes and ears of the river most of the time, not enforcement officers. Im glad one of these scum bags got arrested, even if it was for hundreds.

I completely agree that a fine of only a few hundred dollars is not even enough! it should be at least a grand and loss of equipment and fishing rights.

I know lot of us take cameras along when fishing, so it might be cool to act all excited and stupid when you see one of these jerks bonkin' a wild fish and offer to take his picture with a promise to mail him a couple of free copies! then you got his pic and address to turn him over to the law.

Shame on the officer for not being at the waters edge to save the fish.Kick the Poacher in the A** go stright to Prison for atleast a year,impound his house,lose his job,put his picture in the paper with a sign that reads I can't be trusted with our natral resourses

Unfortunately, the officer wouldn't have had an infraction to deal with if he had stepped out, and this guy would have surely done it again if he only got a warning. While a Native was removed from the gene pool, we can hope that others won't be because of the enforcement. Hopefully this guy was removed from the "poacher" gene pool and won't do it again. It is a tough call, sometimes, open to a lot of second guessing.

I agree that the fines/penalties are not enough. A guy I used to work with (back in the late 80's) was busted twice while I worked with him for poaching (1 deer, 1 Elk) he got small monetary fines and lost his hunting/poaching equipment both times as well as a suspended jail sentence, after the second offense. I have heard through a mutual friend that he has poached a couple more deer since then. Keep slapping these guys on the wrist and they'll keep poaching.
I wonder what a $1000 automatic first offense fine with loss of equipment followed by a $10,000, 30 day jail sentence (mandatory) for a second conviction would do to slow poachers down?

Does anyone know why the fines CAN'T be increased? Is there too much red tape involved? I keep hearing everyone say that the fines should be much higher, but I've never heard anyone mention how to go about accomplishing that.

It would seem to me that without the resources to enforce properly, the game department would be in favor of higher penalties that might reduce the number of incidents. Then, maybe they could use that revenue to keep a couple more hatcheries open. Wishful thinking?

Misdemeanors have a maximum penalty of $1,000, and 90 days in jail. GM's are $5,000 and up to a year. To change the classification of the crime would generally require legislation. Things get stickier from there.

The income part of the equation would be offset by the cost of prosecuting them, most likely resulting in LESS money. Most poachers are not well off with loads of extra cash, so then you get to the problem of the collection of their fines. They might be able to go bankrupt and have those fines forgiven by the court.

I am in the whatcom county chapter of TU. At the vancouver WDFW meeting this year we proposed that they keep the nooksack open above the Everson bridge to keep all the plunkers down on the main off of it during the wild fish run. But I don't think it is going to happen.It would help the enforcement because they would have a smaller area to police. Also it would be easier for us to police each other if everyone was in the same area. I'm glad they busted the guy but I think it will take bigger fines and more people getting busted to stop the poachers.

Should be at least $ 1K and a loss of fishing privileges for up to one year. AND... court-ordered to turn in tags for at least 5 years. Yeah, I know by law we're supposed to turn those things in, but I don't see why they don't enforce it. Or is this not law?

I know plenty of people who trade several hundreds of dollars in search of 20+ steelhead all of the time. How is this any different, ya know?

The laws of this state should be applied evenly to all, regardless of the origin of their ancestors. The Indian American's nets can't distinguish between a Brat or a Nat so he catches both and sells them for $5 a piece at the dock on the Chehalis in Aberdeen. Doesn't even charge more for the Nat. He can do this in broad daylight with absolutely no fear of any punishment at all. No sales tax collected or paid. Yes I believe in their treaty rights but I don't think that the state should turn a blind eye to them and throw the book at someone else for the same offense. And no, I’m not a poacher sticking up for other poachers. I haven’t had a bite of stealhead yet this season and I did catch one Nat. If I have to buy one to eat it will have to come out of the Quinault.

"Without rules, we all might as well be up in a tree flinging our crap at each other".

I would be curious if any members here know the name of this poacher or his partner in crime. Also, would any one know how to find out their names as the "crime" and the criminals should be a matter of public record.

Tight Lines
(except poachers)
Paul

You can go to the State Patrol Office and ask to see the blotter list for that day.

I like the sack kicking idea!!!

Regarding the legislation.... there's always initiatives. If you could get some pro salmon groups to get an initiative started to raise fines for poaching, maybe voters would do it.

Secondly, I am probably opening a bag but if whites ( other non indians) didn't buy the fish from native Americans, they probably wouldn't sell much of it. Instead of laying blame, maybe we could educate family and friends that we shouldn't buy native fish from Indians. Just a couple years back I had a discussion with a board member who was complaining about the indians netting fish above Bonneville, but yet he planed to go up and buy eggs from them. It's this kind of stuff that needs to be stopped, decrease the market!!!
Just my two cents.....

Hey dont feel bad guys we have the same problem over here. Bob and I were fishing the upper Hoh on Saturday and I caught an old timer that has been here for years catch one on his flyrod and kill it. So hopefully he will get a ticket in the mail. The thing that smokes me the most is that he knew better and is one of the first people in the state of washington to start the catch and release program some 30-40yrs ago. I thought he was a conservationist when it comes to steelhead but I guess both Bob and I were wrong.

If the game warden got there before the fish was hooked why the hell didn't he just go down there and make sure it was released unharmed? That way it wouldn't have died! I guess he had to catch them poaching in the act to prove a point. Still sucks.

Seems to me that the intent would be easy to make a case for if the guy has a lookout. The intent here being the taking of an illegal fish. This would allow the officer to arrest before the fish is killed and bagged. Thus, saving the nat but maybe it won't fly. Seems there ought to be a way to save the fish with a little tweeking of the laws so they favor whats right rather than the damn poacher.