Chris, how big was that fish and what kind of conversation did you have with these guys?

Steve, the fish was 40 to 42 inches. There was not much of a conversation. They where shaking the fish off the gaff when I got there. The fish went belly up and was bleeding really bad. I asked them what happened and he said he "ripped the gills". I moved in closer to get the fish and turn her over and asked why he killed the fish and the one who hooked the fish said, "what, are you the game warden?" The fish then kicked and swam down and they said "see the fish is fine". They started their motor and I said guys this fish is dead, give it a minute and she will pop back up. Sure enough the fish came up and would not swim back down. They saw the fish come up and then just left. I tried to revive her for the next 30 – 40 minutes, but, she would not swim away. Since this guy told me he ripped the gills and he was using a gaff on a fish that legally needed to be returned to the water unharmed, I called the DNR poaching line and reported them. I usually end up calling the DNR poaching line 4 or 5 times a year, mostly for under sized fish being kept. Unfortanetly, with the lack of conservation officers we have in this state, the current rules and regulations don't seem to mean anything. Some people just do what they want and figure they have never been checked by a CO so why would they get checked this time.