District 1 – Baudette area
Last update:15/05/2023
CO Ben Huener (Roseau) checked turkey hunters and followed up on a report of fires started without burning permits. Fishermen checked Šumski Jezera, and in some places, fishermen caught good. Fishermen were checked along the Canadian border and work was done with Ontario law enforcement officers who found Minnesota fishermen fishing for walleye during Ontario's closed season. Other offenses included minor boat handling offenses and fishermen using too much line.
CO Tony Hams (Warroad North) spent time checking out fishermen in the area. The infractions observed were fishing with extra line, illegal length of the lagoon, not having a license and not having a fire extinguisher on board.
CO Coby Fontes (Warroad South) reports he had a busy weekend working on the fishing opener. Violations found were fishing without a license, not having a license, and illegal length of fish, to name a few. Sources reports that people across the state have enjoyed incredible fishing and wonderful weather.
CO Jeremy Woinarowicz (Thief River Falls West) has taught at the CO Academy, researched unmarked mink traps and worked on a fishing opener in the Thief River Falls area with good success. Enforcement actions for the week included fishing without a license, possession of fish of illegal length, possession of bass only during catch and release season, unregistered ATV, no helmet on a minor ATV operator, and a minor ATV passenger violation .
CO Demostenes Regas (Blackduck South) reports working on a busy fishing opener. Fishermen enthusiastically entered the water in large numbers. Regas noted that many anglers reported a very slow jig bite, but the pike was very active. Time was spent monitoring completion of spring beaver capture at the end of the season, issuing wildlife ownership permits and assisting with instruction at the Substitute Boating School held at Camp Ripley. Enforcement measures for this week included vessel lighting, vessel registration and violations of fishing licenses.
CO Nicholas Prachar (Blackduck North) reports a busy fishing opening. Prachar worked with CO Fontes at Upper Red Lake. The two took action against various illegal fish lengths and excessive limits for the judge. Other enforcement measures were taken due to lack of fishing license and expired vessel registration.
Baudette East vague.
Baudette West vague.
Thief River Falls East prazna.
Karlstad empty.
District 2 – Bemidji area
Last update:2023-05-22
CO Tom Hutchins (Crookston) reports that he spoke at a firearm safety class in Crookston last week. Time was also spent checking fishermen and boat operators. Cases related to fires and deer hunting were monitored.
CO Brice Vollbrecht (Bemidji #1) monitored fishing activity in the lakes in the area. Time was spent working on details at Upper Red Lake and assisting the DNR Forestry Division.
CO Chris Vinton (Perham) reports helping fourth grade at Menahga School? ?You got hooked on fishing, not drugs? children's fishing day. Commanders Jordan Anderson, Al Peterson and RTO Greg Oldakowski helped many local volunteers make the day a success. Lake areas and public accesses are checked for AIS and fishing compliance. Enforcement measures were taken due to parking problems on public accesses to the water, failure to present the vessel's registration and lack of a fishing license. A local beekeeper was forced to protect his bees and take in a bear that was damaging the apiary. They gave the bear to a local so it wouldn't die.
CO Jake Swedberg (Detroit Lakes) spent the week checking in on anglers and participating in training. He took training at Metro to become a DMT operator so he could more easily handle DUI/BUI cases. Swedberg also helped with regional AIS details in the Baudette area. Compliance was very good, with only a few violations to be resolved.
CO Steve Chihak (Moorhead) spent the weekend working on sport fishing, boating and ATV surveillance and security. Time was also spent on deer farm inspections.
CO Angie Warren (Mahnomen) spent the week assisting Academy staff at Camp Ripley, working on an AIS detachment near Baudette, and working with Whiteland tribal officials on a possible crossing.
CO Bill Landmark (Pelican Rapids) spent the week attending BCA training in St. Louis. Paul.
CO Brett Fox (Bemidji #2) spent the week working ATV, boating and sport fishing. Fox also spent time working at an AIS check station near Lake of the Woods. Enforcement measures were taken due to problems with registering ATVs and boats, not having a fishing license and not removing the vessel's drain plug.
CO Al Peterson (Osage) followed the break-in case. He has also worked on fisheries enforcement, wildlife calling and ongoing cases.
Bagley prazan.
District 3 – Fergus Falls area
Last update:2023-05-22
CO Andrew Goodman (Fergus Falls) observed an increase in activity on local lakes over the weekend compared to the fishing opening. Reminders to fully prepare the vessel for the open water season were frequent with expired vessel registrations and a lack of personal flotation devices. Resolved several issues with parking at crowded lake approaches. Goodman urges you to be careful when parking so other people aren't blocked and have enough room to maneuver the trailer.
CO Tricia Plautz (Henning) spoke to the district's fifth-grade class about boating and ATV safety, as well as the duties of a conservation officer. Plautz followed up on the trap complaint and checked in on fishermen during the week. They also worked on implementing AIS and navigation.
CO Ryan Brown (Elbow Lake) spent most of his time fishing and boating. He also spent some time investigating fishing for coarse fish with nets. Violations noted this week included piling within site boundaries, unlicensed and unregistered vessels. Fishing success for fishermen is increasing on lakes in the region.
CO Shane Osborne (Evansville) checked out anglers, boaters and ATV riders. A cold front during the week slowed fishing activity, but the sting increased over the weekend. A report of a fence crossing a public waterway was received and investigated. The farmer has been contacted and the fence will be removed.
CO Mitch Lawler (Alexandria) reports a lot of pressure from fishing and boating this week as exceptional weather arrives. Walleye, walleye and pike anglers have found success in lakes throughout Douglas County. Several anglers were found with bass in their livewell. They were unaware of the catch and release season. A pair of fishermen Lawler checked had multiple violations: Neither had a fishing license, owned a lot of bass, and fished from an expired boat. Humans should leave young wild animals alone as they are likely not orphans.
CO Felicia Znajda (Osakis) located the discarded turkeys in the wildlife management area and continued to find and receive reports of discarded fish. He reports many fishermen at Osakis station with lots of sunfish, crappie and pike in their buckets. Judge fishing is still slow. Fishing violations included, but were not limited to, some pike within the slot and the catching of off-season bass. Znajda met with all new conservation officer candidates last week. She helped with firearm safety classes and a field day in Osakis, where she joined retired Commander Mike Thesing and other instructors. She also attended the Lake Osakis Association annual meeting, where she answered many questions.
CO Daniel Baumbarger (Glenwood) reports that enforcement efforts this week were focused on checking anglers and boaters and monitoring compliance with the AIS. Additional time was spent on garbage complaints, trespassing complaints and checking ATV operators.
District 4 - Walker area
Last update:2023-05-22
CO Jordan Anderson (Wadena) spent time focusing on ATV fishing and enforcement at Wadena and Park Rapids stations. Enforcement action was taken for a number of ATV, boating and fire violations. Pay attention to air quality warnings as they often trigger the ignition to shut off.
CO Patrick McGowan (Walker) has been working the busy lakes all week. Fishing success was different, some bream and carp were caught. Enforcement measures were taken due to numerous navigation violations and excess catches allowed.
CO Mark Mathy (Cass Lake) continued to check mostly anglers. Success was patchy and location-dependent. Mathy filed a complaint about minnows being stolen from a commercial minnow trap and received a nuisance beaver complaint. Measures were taken due to fishing and shipping violations.
CO Corey Sura (Remer) worked ATV and fishing throughout his patrol station and participated in the local ?Big Wheels? event for Northland Community School students. A change was made at Upper Red Lake, where enforcement action was taken in several cases of exceeding the possession limit and exceeding the judge's limit by more than 17 inches. One person was caught throwing a cigarette in the lake and was fined for littering. ATV enforcement actions were taken against individuals operating Class II ATVs on a state highway. Other offenses dealt with during the week included fishing without a license and possession of an illegal length spear.
CO Jacque Hughes (Longville) checked fishing and ATV activities. She also researched excessive TIP.
CO Adam Seifermann (Staples) reports seeing fishermen having good luck with fish in local lakes and rivers. He also reports that he attended trainings, researched TIP calls, and performed a K9 demonstration for a school group. The enforcement measure consisted of not having a fishing license, operating a vessel without a license, not having a personal flotation device and violating the PWC.
Vacant ATV reconnaissance officer.
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