Reporting Illegally Kept muskies?

[swanezy]

Anyway you can go about reporting people for keeping muskies that aren't legal or not in season.. i was actually randomly searching on a site and found some guy bragging about how he kept a 34 and 38 incher on an inland lake in kent county that he caught last monday.. and kept and ate them.. reading this whole thread on this other site just pisses me off.. some idiot posting about why would the dnr plant them in our lake if they didnt want us to eat them..

Some ignorant people like this is what i hate and why fisheries get destroyed.

FYI this guy all has his full name posted on the site etc.. too even though prob cant do much without catching these people red handed.

[hemichemi]

Unless you witnessed it first hand, there's nothing you can do. Chances are he's just trying to stir up trouble and get people all wound up over nothing anyway.

[Deadduck1]

Call the local DNR. See what they can do.

[swanezy]

Well here is the thread its older, didnt notice the date so they were still in season but the guy mentions keeping fish 34, and 38,

[Jim tenHaaf]

Well here is the thread its older, didnt notice the date so they were still in season but the guy mentions keeping fish 34, and 38,

The post was made April 24, 2009. Not only was is NOT the season, but the fish were sublegal. I hope the DNR will be able to track him down. It looks like Bo Jingles or whatever gay name he calls himself lives only about 4 miles from Murray. Maybe our member "county mounty" can do some recon and find this guy in the system....

[swanezy]

Well not just that guy, i saw the post with the fish he caught, but didnt see the size.. but the other guy John Jacob, he posted in the fishing images too with a fish he caught in the grand river that was maybe 20 inches.. and he put something like lot of bones, but sure are a good eat or something stupid like that. Then the thing your talking about jim he posted that he caught them earlier last wk the 35 and 38 inch fish that they said they ate.

[swanezy]

It just pisses me off knowing that we definitely don't have the musky fishing opportunities that states around us like Minn, Wisc have and it really blows seeing people who obviously don't know anything about musky fishing killing them. Sucks that ignorant people feel the need to keep these fish to EAT them of all things

[Lureless]

Tonight as I was putting in a group trolling from a pontoon told me they caught one friday and if I catch one to make sure and keep it cause they are "eating my bass." Can anything be done in this situation?

[swanezy]

the level of ignorance of some people, just wow..

I would hope there is something we could do.. that guy trying to make it sound like they are a junk fish..

[SUDLABNIVEK]

this is always the debate, and it will never change. But hopefully the bass guys will not kill the muskie when they catch them.

[brandon]

i have this number programed in my phone its the michigan dnr poching hotline 1 (800)292-7800. or you could just keep a baseball bat in the boat!(just kidding, but thats how i feel though).i have seen people taking species undersized and/or out of season other than muskellunge and polietly and breifly explained what they were doing wrong and why.90% of the time people just dont know and want to comply with the rules once explained that the rules dnr set are to angler benefit.

[Cyberlunge]

Guys it is also important to remember that half these stories are complete BS made up by frustrated non musky anglers solely for the purpose of starting SHizen- dont get sucked in. Offer info and if they dont take it sleep well knowing you tried.

KK

[swanezy]

cyber, most of these people have posted pics with under sized pics of muskies saying how they ate them, also mentioning how they kept them out of season and ate them just to eat them.. cause the topic was about cooking musky.. and obviously these people are too ignorant to follow rules and regulations.. i dont know about you, but i wouldnt spend my time on forum making up stuff about keeping undersized and illegal musky just cause.

[Steve Horton]

Kevin is right. Don't get over the top on it Swanzey, we know you mean well. However, some of these situations can be truly happening. Whats even more disturbing is think about how many times this has happened and no one posted it anywhere. I've watched it happen, too many times to count. Yes, I've called the DNR rap line with info. That is the best thing you can do. I've found out that most times, the people in question A. don't even know its a muskie, or B. know its a muskie but at 36" it seems so huge to them that they never even question the size limit. This is why I've spent so much time and energy in posting the KTD signs, with the help of other members, the DNR and the Forest Service. What really P's me off, gentlemen, is when I've posted the color copied laminated signs in certain areas where I know this is a problem, then a week later, the signs have been removed. Those are the guys I want to "bump" into. I can't guarantee the situation will be pretty but we must use common sense (yes, it still exists), stay the course and be true to your convictions, but do it in way thats respectful, proactive, and makes a positive impression thats worthy of our cause. This is one thing that took me sometime to learn and it wasn't easy, trust me. A shining example is how Kingfisher handled his recent situation. Thats how its done.

[Cyberlunge]

I know it happens and these idiots are out there. Just dont be brought to their level we (as a group) have argued with these guys and every time it is in the public eye, we lose. We get labeled as elitist etc... and it consolidates a whole lot of ignorance toward us. Be patient, state the rules, educate when you can and keep trying. It is working but we are ten years of conservation versus thousands of years of kill and eat, it takes time.
Kevin