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00:00They're easy to hide, they're hard to find.
00:11Let's go see if we can crack them down.
00:13You know why I want to talk to you?
00:15No.
00:16No?
00:17What about the bait you got up there by tower?
00:19They put it out earlier this summer,
00:20like that one we were sitting on.
00:22So I'm sure you got your licenses,
00:23but let me check them while I'm here.
00:26But wrong is wrong, and he knew it.
00:29We'll say he did admit it, you know, his wrongdoing.
00:33How many of these fish were legally hooked in the mouth?
00:36They went to the side.
00:38All of them were foul hooked?
00:40Yeah.
00:41You got to do it the way that your dad's doing it.
00:43Wild animals and wild places, they're more than a picture.
00:48They're inspiration, excitement, and adventure.
00:52Patrolling and protecting these natural resources
00:55is a first-class band of peace officers.
00:58These are The Wardens, dedicated to the preservation of our great outdoors.
01:04The bear hunting season in Michigan's Upper Peninsula opened on September 10th.
01:30Baiting is allowed 31 days prior to that, which makes August 10th the first day you can legally put out bear bait.
01:36Bear bait can contain meat, fish, and bakery products, but no chocolate or coca derivatives.
01:42And on public grounds, you can't use metal containers like a barrel to bait.
01:46The benefit of putting a barrel out like that is they don't have to come back up for weeks on end.
01:50They're very easy to hide.
01:52They're hard to find.
01:54And you can feed a bear for weeks on end off a barrel full of bait, which is illegal on public lands.
02:00In Michigan's District 2, conservation officers Calvin Smith and Bobby Watson were up early on the first Friday of bear season.
02:10The officers knew of a couple illegal baits to check and wanted to beat the hunters to the spot.
02:15Right there's a trail into the bait, so we'll just go up here, duck in, and wait for them to come.
02:25With C.O. Watson in his patrol truck about a half mile from C.O. Smith monitoring the bait,
02:30the officers are hopeful the hunters show up first thing in the morning, so they wait.
02:55After an hour in the woods, with no activity, C.O. Smith decides to meet back up with C.O. Watson.
03:07Let's go see if we can crack him down.
03:12As the sun comes up, the officers make a plan to canvas the area and search for the hunters using the illegal baits.
03:18They have photos of the hunters and their vehicles captured from trail cameras.
03:23This is, is that the fort again?
03:26Yeah.
03:27Yeah.
03:28All right.
03:29That's literally just a picture of them with the bait.
03:31Okay.
03:35Those are the prior ones that were on the bait prior to the start?
03:40Yeah.
03:41Yeah, August, this one's August 5th.
03:44They're August 4th and August 5th.
03:46The one with the white truck is August 4th.
03:48Do we have the Ranger and the Toyota prior?
03:51Yeah, not the Ranger though.
03:53Not the Ranger?
03:54No, just the Toyota.
03:55Okay.
03:56On the other side of the Upper Peninsula, in District 1,
04:03officers located a handful of baits that were started early and that utilized barrels.
04:08Myself and Sergeant Pomeroy and Officer Bacon, Ryan Bacon, were out here looking for early bear baits.
04:13We ended up walking and we found several barrel baits in the area, but then we found this one.
04:19It was ran by some fellows from down below the bridge.
04:23We found this one and we found another barrel bait.
04:25The CO's used trail cams to ID the suspects tending the barrel baits.
04:30The barrel at this site is empty now and officers Nate Sink and Jared Ferguson think the suspects will be up in the first full weekend of bear season to refill it.
04:39What they do is they throw the food for the bear, the bear bait and the barrel, and they have holes in the side.
04:45So it takes a while for the bear to eat all the food instead of just laying down and eating all the food at one thing.
04:50One time it will take probably a week to get it out of there.
04:52That's the advantages of the barrels because they just cut holes in the side and the barrel just keeps playing with it and it dumps out little food at a time.
04:59So we found this one and another one and we got information that the group wasn't going to come up either today or tomorrow and rebate the barrel baits.
05:09So hopefully today when they show up that we'll be waiting there for them.
05:16Now the waiting game.
05:18Hidden across the road but with a barrel in view, the COs wait for the suspects to show up to refill the illegal barrel bait.
05:26Sometimes part of the job is sitting and waiting. They never know who could drive by.
05:47When vehicles drive down the road, the COs duck down and hide as best they can so they don't give away their position.
05:57Dang it. That wasn't him.
06:01But after waiting for hours, no one showed.
06:05The officers left empty-handed but with plans to keep monitoring the bait.
06:09In District 2,
06:24an early morning set for COs Calvin Smith and Bobby Watson also came up empty.
06:29But the officers knew the hunters were in the area.
06:31Initially this morning set up on the bait waiting for them to come in there and check it.
06:38That didn't happen.
06:41They ended up seeing one of our patrol trucks parked half mile away and didn't come into it.
06:48So I knew they were still in the area.
06:50Armed with trail cam pics of the hunters and vehicles they are looking for,
06:55the officers are back in their patrol trucks as they set off to try to find the hunters.
06:59Here's a picture of trail cam that the officer Watts and myself had set up on the bait.
07:06It's August 4th, 7.30 in the morning, carrying a bait bucket into the bait.
07:11This is the same thing just a couple seconds later.
07:15One second later.
07:24And it didn't take long before CO Smith ran into one of the hunters from the group he was looking for.
07:41How are we doing?
07:42Good.
07:43Good.
07:44Good.
07:45Any luck yet?
07:46Still looking for one.
07:47Still looking?
07:48Okay.
07:49Yeah.
07:50Do you know where they're at right now?
07:52They are, they were somewhere.
07:55One was over that way a couple of miles and one was that way.
07:58Okay.
07:59I actually need to, I need to talk to both of them.
08:01Okay.
08:02Um, is there a way that you can contact them?
08:05I can try that.
08:06I couldn't get them on the radio earlier too far away, but.
08:08All right.
08:09Okay.
08:11So.
08:11Tell them you need to talk to them.
08:13Yeah.
08:13See them or something?
08:14Yeah.
08:15Well, see if you can reach them right now on your CB and we'll meet up with them.
08:20I just got a couple of quick questions to ask them.
08:22Okay.
08:23You guys can get back at the hunt.
08:24Okay.
08:24He's able to radio to his buddies and they show up to meet CO Smith just a couple of minutes
08:40later.
08:41Yeah, I have a CPL.
08:42Okay.
08:42I don't have a gun on it.
08:43Okay.
08:44You do too?
08:45Yeah.
08:45Okay.
08:46Just don't grab them.
08:47We'll get along just fine.
08:48Yeah.
08:48Um, Kelvin, you know why I want to talk to you?
08:51No.
08:52No?
08:53What about the, the bait you got up there by Tower, Tower Haines Road?
08:56I don't know which Tower Haines Road is, but.
09:00So if you go, go back out to 422, take a left, go up, and you come in, there's a bait
09:06back in there.
09:07Okay.
09:07When did you guys start that bait?
09:09Um, I think, uh, 13th.
09:13Just be honest.
09:14I, I honestly, I don't remember.
09:16Okay.
09:16But.
09:17Well before August 10th.
09:19Okay.
09:20Right?
09:21Maybe.
09:22Maybe?
09:23Yeah.
09:24Okay.
09:24Um, what'd you say if I got pictures?
09:29If you're trucked down with the bait, you're walking into the bait.
09:31Okay.
09:32Like on August 4th.
09:35You know, I won't, I won't be here doing this right now for that, so.
09:40Um, I understand, you know, it's training season, but those rules are in place for a reason, so.
09:49He's ticketed for having bait out too early.
09:51In this case, it's a court ordered $210 fine.
09:55In addition, the group can't hunt off baits that were established too early.
09:59Any questions?
09:59No.
10:00Okay.
10:01All right.
10:02Well, I hope you guys, good luck, and.
10:04Yeah.
10:05Hope you find a track or something.
10:07Yeah, hopefully you'll find something or throw a bunch of little ones and wolves.
10:13Right.
10:14Well, I appreciate you coming to meet me and.
10:16Yeah, no.
10:17Just get this done with, and that way you guys can get back to hunting.
10:19The state of Michigan has placed a high priority in recent years on restoring the lake sturgeon population.
10:3467.5.
10:35These fish are the longest lived fish in the Great Lakes.
10:39It's not uncommon for sturgeon to live to be up to 100 years old.
10:43They have a really big mouth here, like a big vacuum cleaner.
10:47They swim along on the bottom, picking up insects and small fish, crayfish.
10:52Anything they can find on the bottom and fit in their mouth, they could eat.
10:55They can grow at a huge length.
10:58They can grow well up to seven feet long, up to 200 pounds.
11:02Each summer, biologists with the Michigan DNR conduct a lake sturgeon survey of the St.
11:07Clair River and Lake St. Clair.
11:17We have the largest naturally reproducing population of lake sturgeon in the entire Great Lakes basin.
11:24The lake sturgeon are measured, weighed, and aged.
11:27You can see on the little fish, they've got really sharp scoots.
11:31These little protective armor plates on their sides here.
11:34It's really important for protecting them when they're young.
11:36You can see on this next medium-sized adult fish, those scoots are almost completely worn down.
11:41They're totally smooth just from living on the bottom and rubbing on things.
11:46In addition, biologists tag the sturgeon so they can track them in the future.
11:50We look at how well the fish are growing.
11:51We look at how well the fish are surviving.
11:54We get an estimate of how many fish, how many individuals are out there in different size categories.
12:02So that allows us to look at how our fisheries regulations are protecting the population.
12:08Because this is one of the few places in the Great Lakes where we actually have
12:12an open season for lake sturgeon during the year.
12:15The population of lake sturgeon in the St. Clair-Detroit river system is stable.
12:19Across the Great Lakes, numbers are slowly getting better.
12:22If you look at lake sturgeon across the Great Lakes basin as a whole,
12:26their populations now are just a fraction of what they were seeing in the early 1800s.
12:34Commercial length is 40.1.
12:38Girth is big.
12:4330.0 on the girth.
12:45The population that we have here is a treasure and they are absolutely awesome to work with.
12:50When you're holding a fish that is older than you or your grandparents,
12:55thinking about what that fish has been through in its life, where it's been in his life,
13:00holding a fish that weighs 100 pounds, I mean, it's just an absolutely awesome experience to have.
13:06The first five days of Michigan's bear hunting season is bait-only hunting.
13:14After that, the use of dogs is allowed.
13:22In District 1, Sergeant Mark Pomeroy is out on the first day you can use dogs.
13:29Congratulations.
13:32Take a look at your tag, do the formal process,
13:35and that's why you buy it, right?
13:36Yep.
13:37All right.
13:40Sergeant Pomeroy checks the hunter's license and finds no issues.
13:45In Michigan, every successful bear hunter must bring their bear to a check station within 72 hours.
13:51At the station, a wildlife biologist takes a tooth from the bear for aging purposes.
13:59We collect a tooth from every bear that comes in
14:02and we can send that tooth with the root intact down to our lab and take a really thin cross section
14:08of it and stain that tooth and then we can count the rings and that'll give us the age of that animal.
14:15There it is.
14:15That's all you need, huh?
14:17Amazing. We turned loose and made a big loop and we killed 127 yards away from the bait where we turned
14:23loose at. Couldn't believe it.
14:25That far ahead?
14:25We went one big loop all the way around.
14:28The tree for you?
14:29Yep.
14:29Even better?
14:30Yeah.
14:30For your first...
14:31Well, as I told him, I said, it's 127 yards off the road.
14:35I said, we could be in here a mile.
14:36Yeah.
14:37And then guess what?
14:38We're doing all day.
14:39Oh, yeah.
14:40I mean, what time is it now?
14:419, 8.30?
14:42Yeah, I took my watch off.
14:42So, yeah, I mean, it's...
14:43You'll be back for breakfast?
14:44Just about.
14:46So, yeah.
14:47The only problem was we thought it was going to stay up in the tree.
14:49Oh, it hung up.
14:50It was going to get hung up in the tree and I'm like, and of course,
14:52the pine tree that you can't get around.
14:53Nice.
14:54Yeah.
14:55Well...
14:56Yep.
14:56Beautiful bear.
14:57Was it a male or female?
14:58Female.
14:58Okay.
14:59Yep.
15:00I'm guessing 150.
15:01I'm guessing some...
15:02You know, maybe a little smaller, but you know, it's hard to jump.
15:04I mean, it was fat.
15:05Let me tell you.
15:05There was a lot of complaint in pulling it out.
15:07Let's put it that way.
15:08They're difficult to drag out.
15:09They're like a bowl of jello.
15:10Yeah.
15:11Dogs get nicked up at all?
15:12Nope.
15:13Nope.
15:13Okay.
15:14By the time we got there, it was almost top of that pine tree.
15:18Yeah.
15:19He was up to it.
15:19Well, it could have just treed right away instead of making all that loop and coming back.
15:23Well, then we wouldn't have gotten any dogs in there, you know?
15:25That wouldn't have been fun either, so...
15:26Yeah.
15:27How was it?
15:28Good experience for you to get out and run?
15:29Yep.
15:30Yep.
15:31Got to see him run across the road.
15:32Nice.
15:33After we missed it the first time going one way and he doubled back, so...
15:34No.
15:35The good part is to get the dogs home before it gets hot.
15:36It's going to get warm out again, so...
15:37They said we're going to get back and get it in the freezer.
15:39Nice.
15:40And all that good stuff, so...
15:45The bear season starts September 10th and runs into late October in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
15:55Baiting for bears can start 31 days prior to the season opening.
15:59Any baits started before that are illegal.
16:02It's also illegal to use metal containers like barrels to bait on state land.
16:12In District 1, officers know of a couple illegal bear baits.
16:17They were started early and used metal barrels.
16:20Using trail cams, they ID'd the hunters setting the baits.
16:23But after sitting on the baits for an entire day, they haven't seen the hunters in person
16:27yet.
16:34Two weeks after the season opened, Sergeant Mark Pomeroy happens to run into them while
16:38out on patrol.
16:39How's it going?
16:40Good, yourself?
16:41Good, you?
16:42Got a bear?
16:43No, nothing today.
16:44Nothing, eh?
16:45Too hot.
16:46Yeah, it is hot, so...
16:47Too hot.
16:48With you?
16:49Okay.
16:50You guys got a kill tag?
16:51Yep.
16:52All right.
16:53I'm sure you got your licenses, but let me check them while I'm here, and if I see
16:57you again, we don't got to check them on you, so...
16:59This group of four contains a father-daughter hunting duo and two guides.
17:03The two guides are the ones Sergeant Pomeroy suspects of baiting early.
17:07Okay, good.
17:08Good.
17:09All right.
17:10We'll get you going.
17:11Yep, you're good to go.
17:12I'm sure you got all your guns cased up and everything, so...
17:14I got one cased, and her rifle's in there, and I got two concealed weapons in the thing.
17:18I don't know if you want my concealed weapons for a minute.
17:20You're fine.
17:21You're fine.
17:22Is this thing from today, then?
17:23No.
17:24No.
17:25Over in the Newberry unit.
17:26Oh, okay.
17:27Sergeant Pomeroy checks the group's licenses and lets them continue on.
17:31He wants to find where they were coming from and see if they were using more illegal bait.
17:35All right?
17:36Yeah.
17:37Okay.
17:38We'll go for this, man.
17:42After a little searching, Sergeant Pomeroy finds another barrel bait.
17:44They put it out earlier this summer, like that one we were sitting on, so this has obviously
17:51been in here probably all summer.
17:53We were able to make contact with the group that we've gathered evidence to show that they're responsible for putting out a string of illegal barrels on public land to aid in their guide service.
18:01So now that we're able to physically put them at one of the locations, we'll be able to close out this case shortly here.
18:10Four days later, Sergeant Pomeroy and Officer Jared Ferguson found the two guides and a third partner.
18:18The trio confessed to using the barrel baits and to putting them out before the legal start date.
18:35What makes them illegal is they're placed out before the August 10th start of baiting for bears, so they're placed out early.
18:41You're also not allowed to have any metal materials, barrels, tires, man-made materials out on public land.
18:48All three were ticketed, and in this case, each paid court-ordered fines of $410.
18:54Also, they weren't allowed to hunt off the illegal baits for the remainder of the season.
19:08Salmon fishing in Michigan is big business.
19:11Each year, more than $4 billion is pumped into the state's economy due to sport fishing,
19:16with salmon fishing a big part of that.
19:18Within the Michigan border, there is more than 20% of the world's available freshwater.
19:23With that many opportunities for anglers,
19:25it requires a lot of attention from Michigan Conservation Officers.
19:29In Michigan's District 4,
19:36Lieutenant Steve Burton, Sergeant Carla Soper, and Officer Casey Varelli are watching anglers on the Manistee River.
19:43In Michigan, foul hooking or snagging is illegal.
19:46It is also illegal to attempt to snag a fish and to keep a snagged fish.
19:50Fish that are inadvertently snagged must be immediately returned to water.
19:55The officers were on the opposite side of the river and observed several people who were,
20:00I believe, retaining foul hooked fish.
20:02One of the fishermen in this group of four was observed to have kept foul hooked fish,
20:07and another one doesn't have his license with him.
20:09You do have a license.
20:10It's in our system, but it is a misdemeanor to not have it in your possession.
20:14You're supposed to have the piece of identification that you purchased the license with,
20:18and then you need to have that actually on you.
20:21In this instance, we were able to check it, so we're going to give you a verbal warning for that, okay?
20:26But you've got to have that on you,
20:27just like your deer tags and your base license when you're out hunting.
20:30Have that fishing license with you.
20:32What we're going to do today is we are going to issue a citation for keeping a foul hooked fish, it's called,
20:40because it was caught near the tail.
20:42We're also going to take the fish and we're going to write you the citation.
20:47He's going to explain how to take care of that, okay, once that's done.
20:50Okay.
20:51What we're not going to do, and we appreciate your service, of course, is we're both vets as well,
20:55and we're not going to take your fishing rod or anything like that tonight, all right?
20:59You can keep fishing if you want.
21:00That's fine.
21:01Nope, I'm done.
21:02Just remember that fish has got to be caught in the mouth to keep.
21:05If not, it's got to go back in the water, okay?
21:07No problem.
21:08He's issued a citation for keeping foul hooked fish, and in this case, the court ordered fine is $345.
21:16That includes a $10 a pound fee for illegally taking this nine pound fish.
21:21But wrong is wrong, and he knew it, and we'll say he did admit it, you know, his wrongdoing.
21:28And he knew he had one coming, and he got it, and he wasn't happy about it, but at least he was respectful.
21:41The next day, conservation officers are watching a group of anglers from the other side of the river.
22:01After watching the group for nearly an hour, the officers think they know what's going on.
22:05Basically, what they're doing is they're standing back on the high banks, watching the fish come up on the gravel beds out in front of them,
22:12casting out, trying to land that spoon just ahead of them, so when they get the line tight,
22:17they can rip sideways and sweep that spoon across, trying to snag into the fish.
22:21They watch for just a little while longer, and then start to make their way across the river.
22:25How you guys doing?
22:52Fall fishing is a popular pastime in Michigan.
23:15The salmon run means you can see fish up close and personal.
23:18It's also a busy time for Michigan conservation officers.
23:24In District 4, there are hundreds of rivers and streams to patrol.
23:31Conservation officers are on the Manistee watching a group they suspect of intentionally snagging salmon.
23:37So, it's a pretty classic example of sight snagging, per se.
23:42It's not the quasi all-out blatant snagging of, you know, cast out into a deep hole, jerk four or five times, random snagging.
23:53This is more of a one, maybe two rips across a gravel bed, specifically targeting one individual fish that is in their strike zone.
24:04After monitoring this group for almost an hour, the officers boat to the other side.
24:16How you doing, guys?
24:17You guys could just back up from the bank for me here.
24:19The reason we're making contact with you guys, we've been watching you guys for 45 minutes, roughly, from the opposite side, okay?
24:33Watching your actions, watching you stand up here on the high banks, watching the fish come up on the gravel, casting out above them, cranking close and ripping sideways, okay?
24:44We observed all that.
24:47We even heard somebody say, you guys better be careful when a boat comes down, you know, you don't want to be seen snagging.
24:52When you're doing that, you're sight fishing, you know, throwing out the fish that you're seeing come up on the gravel, you're ripping at them.
24:58You're not giving them the opportunity to bite.
25:00You're just trying to hook them, plain and simple.
25:02Do you think they really bite?
25:03I mean, do they bite?
25:05Yes.
25:06Oh.
25:07Yes.
25:08I worked late last night.
25:10I probably saw 30 fish landed, and of those 30 fish, probably two-thirds of them were legally hooked right in the mouth with flies, spawn, things like that, okay?
25:25They will bite, plain and simple.
25:28The method you guys were using was snagging, okay?
25:31You guys know it.
25:32You even talked about it.
25:33We could hear the conversation.
25:35You guys knew what you were doing, okay?
25:38Be straight up with me.
25:42That method of fishing, how many of these fish were legally hooked in the mouth?
25:47They went to the side.
25:49I mean, there was no thing we wanted to.
25:50All of them were foul hooked?
25:51Yeah.
25:52Okay.
25:53Who caught them?
25:54I caught one.
25:55You caught one?
25:56Zero.
25:57You got one?
25:58Zero.
25:59How about you?
26:00I got one.
26:01None?
26:02No.
26:03Okay.
26:04How many fish do we have total?
26:05Just three.
26:06Just three?
26:07I thought there was one on a stick.
26:08Does that one get laid down?
26:10Okay.
26:11So you got four.
26:12You got four total.
26:13Okay.
26:14The five anglers are all issued citations.
26:16Three for snagging fish, and two for attempting to snag.
26:20In this case, the court-ordered fines for snagging are $485 each.
26:25The court-ordered fines for attempting to snag are $365 each.
26:29The officers allow the anglers to keep their fishing equipment, and the seized fish are donated to a local food bank.
26:37They've seen it all when it comes to tackle, a lot of times going simple is best.
26:46This here, as simple as it looks, right now is probably one of the most effective things going.
26:52They're just fishing with a trout bead, single point hook.
26:55The single point hook can't exceed a half inch in gap from point to shank.
27:01And as long as they're throwing that, the hook's at the bottom.
27:06The trout bead's within a reasonable distance.
27:09I would usually say three, four inches is reasonable.
27:12Some guys will put it all the way down.
27:14Some guys will be a little bit higher.
27:17Principle of that is the bead's coming through the water, like a, basically like a salmon egg floating down the river.
27:24The fish bites the bead.
27:26You set the hook.
27:27It buries in the corner of the fish's mouth.
27:30In District 3, Sergeant Mark Depew is headed to the Boyne River.
27:45We got a complaint from RAP, Report All Poaching Hotline, that there was somebody snagging down at the Boyne River.
27:53Once he gets there, he finds a spot on the opposite side of the river, so he can monitor the suspect.
27:59Just a couple of minutes after setting up, Sergeant Depew observes the suspect reel in a foul hooked fish.
28:12See how it comes in backwards?
28:14It's hooked in the tail.
28:18See it hooked in the tail?
28:19So he's keeping it.
28:24And then watch where they put it.
28:29Find turtles.
28:39Come.
28:40Find turtles.
28:41In an effort to track and study the eastern box turtle, the Michigan DNR uses Boykin spaniels to help find them.
28:48You find a turtle?
28:49Because the dogs are way more effective at finding box turtles than humans are.
28:53It usually takes between 50, 30 and 50 hours for a human to find a turtle, just in surveying.
28:59And the dogs take, depending on where we take them, sometimes they'll find a turtle every half hour.
29:06It is very similar to hunting upland game birds with these flushing dogs.
29:11They're not pointers, they're flushers.
29:13And yeah, they trail a turtle the same as they would a pheasant or a cottontail rabbit.
29:19Once found, researchers notch the turtle's shell, take pictures, weigh and measure the turtle, and in some instances attach a small transmitter so they can track the locale.
29:29So that we can see what type of habitats are they using, what is their regular behavior habitat use, and how does that vary throughout the year.
29:38So we can apply certain techniques to areas that they're not during times of year.
29:44We know not to use fire and grass during June because that's when they're all here nesting.
29:49The DNR also tracks the eastern box turtle because the loss of one adult can be significant to the population.
29:56It can take box turtles, you know, their entire lifetime, which can be, you know, 80 plus years sometimes, just to replace themselves, let alone keep the population going.
30:06Good girl, Meek.
30:07Yeah, big one.
30:09When a dog gets birdie on a turtle, the tails begin to wag furiously and the pace of the hunt picks up dramatically.
30:19John Rucker's dogs are extra gentle when picking up a turtle, which is something he trains them to do.
30:25Of course, the shell of a box turtle does not harden until the turtle is about seven or eight years old.
30:34And so a tooth could easily puncture a turtle shell when they're young.
30:40And so they're trained to be very, very soft mouth, just like a bird dog.
30:45Rucker and his dogs have been hunting turtles for various research projects for more than a decade.
30:50And he's glad to have a hand in helping preserve the eastern box turtle.
30:54Turtles are actually older than dinosaurs.
30:57The crocodilians and the turtles predate dinosaurs.
31:01So you really are dealing with a relic.
31:11The north and south branches of the Boyne River combined for approximately 22 miles of mainstream.
31:17Located in Michigan's District 3, it's named after the River Boyne in Ireland.
31:25Sergeant Mark Depew is set up on the bank of the Boyne River watching this fisherman.
31:29He had gotten the tip from the state's Report All Poaching hotline that the angler was snagging salmon.
31:35Snagging and attempting to snag are illegal in Michigan.
31:39Sergeant Depew observes the suspects snag a salmon near the tail.
31:46And then watch where they put it.
31:48The guy in the white caught it and it was hooked in the tail.
32:04Now we'll see if he puts it back.
32:09Huh? Well good for him.
32:10But the suspect lets the fish go.
32:13Shortly after, the suspects hook up another salmon.
32:30And again the suspect releases the fish.
32:33Sergeant Depew notices the angler is younger and decides to talk to him about his technique.
32:38That's not how you fish, okay?
32:41You're supposed to throw it out there like your dad is right now.
32:44But I've been watching you.
32:45You're throwing it out there over the fish and then reefing back.
32:48And you caught how many?
32:49Eight, nine.
32:50That's why, right?
32:52You are in fact snagging, okay?
32:54Right.
32:55And you're 15 and it's got to be a learning experience for you.
32:57I could write you a ticket, write your dad a ticket.
32:59I'm not going to do that.
33:00Because you seem like a nice kid and you seem like you're not going to do that again, okay?
33:03You've got to do it the way that your dad's doing it.
33:06Because you're doing it in all kinds.
33:07And someone called on you.
33:09Someone reported you.
33:10So everybody's watching.
33:12Just because a game warden isn't here doesn't mean we're not here.
33:15All of these people out here are game wardens too and they're watching.
33:18And they text it.
33:19They texted it to actually a video of you doing what you're doing.
33:23Well like, what am I exactly doing wrong?
33:26You're throwing it out there.
33:28It drops.
33:29Look, watch me.
33:30We're throwing it out there.
33:31It drops.
33:32And you rip it.
33:33And you rip it at an angle parallel to the ground.
33:36And what that does is, is that pulls that hook next to the fish and it catches the fish
33:41wherever it is.
33:42And that's called snagging.
33:43You have to catch the fish in the mouth.
33:45But if it is caught in the mouth, then you're legal to keep the fish.
33:48Right?
33:49Uh huh.
33:50Do you have any questions on what you did wrong?
33:52Not no more.
33:53Okay.
33:54So exactly what your dad's doing, do exactly what he does.
33:58He decides to give the young angler a warning and hopes his talk is a learning experience.
34:03I remember when I was 15, I sometimes didn't make all the right decisions.
34:06So I talked to him about that and he agreed that he was doing what he was doing.
34:12And then we talked to dad and dad confirmed that, you know, his son was doing that and
34:16he was trying to correct him.
34:17But as we know, sometimes they don't listen.
34:20Um, so dad was on board with what we did and we just gave him a verbal warning and let him
34:26go and hopefully he learned his lesson.
34:29Turn him around without writing him a big fine.
34:32Not all rivers and tributaries are open to salmon fishing year round in Michigan.
34:45Some close for portions of the year in order to help natural reproduction.
34:49In District 4, the Betsy River has been closed for over a week when CO's sponsor vehicle parked
35:00near the river.
35:02Yeah, basically I'm just looking for, um, indicators of whether they might be fishing or hiking or, um, anything
35:12that might clue me into the direction they went or other violations to potentially watch for.
35:19Um, numbers, looking at the positioning of gear, um, trying to figure out how many people I might be, uh, looking for
35:28and or encountering this situation.
35:31The passenger seat is slid forward, folded.
35:34There's nothing on the seat in the back seat on this side.
35:36There's a box of, uh, waiter box there.
35:39I think we're probably looking for three people, most likely fishing.
35:45Before he can leave the parking lot, he spots three people fishing the closed river.
35:49Basically, these guys are just standing here waiting for fish to move up the river.
35:55Instead of actively going and seeking fish, they're just standing on one spot,
35:59probably waiting for them to come across a shallow spot.
36:02I can see there's three poles in that.
36:04I haven't been able to make out anything as far as, uh, their tackle yet.
36:08All of them have the rod tips laying in the water, which a lot of times to me is an indicator
36:13of some potential illegal gear.
36:16He tries to set up to watch the anglers, but they opt to leave this spot
36:20and start walking back to their vehicle.
36:22How's it going?
36:23Good, how you guys doing?
36:25Oh, not too bad.
36:26How's the fishing?
36:28Uh, I haven't really caught anything yet.
36:30We've seen a couple of nice things rolling through.
36:33You haven't caught anything, eh?
36:35Nope.
36:36Alright.
36:37The CO walks the three back to the vehicle to check licenses and gear.
36:41You guys pay attention to the fish regulations pretty good?
36:44Pretty recently.
36:45Okay.
36:46I saw you got the sign over there posted up to you.
36:48Which sign is that?
36:49Uh, there's a little sign on the bridge stable to the bridge.
36:53Okay, did you read that?
36:54Yep.
36:55Okay.
36:56So what'd that say?
36:57It said you can have a three-eighths treble with an artificial body.
37:01Correct.
37:02So, what that's meaning is if you look at it more thoroughly, it says you're not allowed
37:11to fish with a treble hook unless it is attached to a body or a lure of some sort.
37:21Meaning a spinner, spoon, or stick bait.
37:24So this setup that you guys have here, I mean, plain and simply guys, I've been doing this
37:31a long time.
37:32I know what you're doing with this.
37:34You're not trying to throw it out there and retrieve it and have the fish hit it.
37:37You're just trying to hook fish.
37:39I'm not going there with you guys.
37:41Okay?
37:42Because we've got other violations.
37:45One, you guys are fishing with treble hooks.
37:48Can't do it.
37:49That's no longer allowed.
37:50Unless it's on a spinner, spoon, or stick bait.
37:54Secondly, this portion of the Betsy River is closed to fishing right now.
37:59Oh, is it?
38:00Yeah.
38:01It closed on September 30th.
38:03Okay.
38:04All three are issued citations for fishing closed waters and using the wrong gear.
38:09Fortunately for them, they didn't have any fish because then the price of the violation
38:13goes up significantly and we start tacking on restitution at $10 a pound for the fish.
38:18In this case, the court ordered fine is $660 each.
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