District 1 – Baudette area
Last updated: 2023-02-21
CO Ben Huener (Roseau) assisted with the Greenbush snowmobile safety class. Paperwork was completed and evidence processed from a large overlimit encountered on Lake of the Woods.
CO Tony Hams (Warroad North) spent the week checking area anglers and following up on various complaints. Violations encountered were possessing dressed fillets on the water, possessing an overlimit of walleyes, angling with an extra line, and no shelter license.
CO Coby Fontes (Baudette East) spent the week working with COs Kpachavi and Salzer in the greater metro area. Assistance was provided with checking anglers, responding to TIP calls, and preparing for upcoming training.
CO Jeremy Woinarowicz (Thief River Falls West) taught the law and ethics portion of the snowmobile safety class in Lake Bronson and patrolled area snowmobile trails. Follow up on open cases from the deer season was conducted.
CO Nicholas Prachar (Blackduck North) reports continued success for crappie anglers on Upper Red Lake. Enforcement action was taken for an ATV on a state grant-in-aid snowmobile trail, numerous angling license violations, and possession of fillets on a special regulation lake.
District 2 – Bemidji area
Last updated: 2023-02-21
CO Tom Hutchins (Crookston) reports checking anglers and snowmobile operators. Predator-hunting activity was also worked. Various wildlife-related calls were received.
CO Brice Vollbrecht (Bemidji #1) monitored angling activity on area lakes. Snowmobile and cross-country ski trails were patrolled.
CO Chris Vinton (Perham) reports as fishing has slowed, anglers are beginning to plan ahead for the fish house removal deadline. Anglers are reminded that leaving shelters at a public access is not allowed. Several calls from people with questions about snowmobile-registration issues were taken. Fishing activity TIPs were investigated, and enforcement action was taken for fishing related violations.
CO Jake Swedberg (Detroit Lakes) spent time patrolling area snowmobile trails and lakes this week. Trails were beginning to get rough in some areas before the snowfall over the weekend. Other time was spent attending training put on by the local county attorney?s office and doing annual training online.
CO Steve Chihak (Moorhead) spent the week working sport fishing and snowmobile enforcement. A surprising number of anglers checked over the weekend were unaware of the northern pike possession and size limits for inland waters in the North-Central Zone. Anglers should familiarize themselves with the regulations prior to heading out onto the ice. Time was also spent conducting aeration inspections.
CO Angie Warren (Mahnomen) spent time on snowmobile activity on area lakes and trails. Angling activity was worked, and a fishing tournament was monitored. Questions about fish house removal dates were answered.
CO Bill Landmark (Pelican Rapids) spent the week checking angling activity and patrolling for snowmobile violations in the Pelican Rapids and Detroit Lakes stations. He worked with CO Swedberg and a Becker County sheriff?s deputy for area snowmobile events. One group encountered was stopped by officers two weeks prior for registration and illegal-exhaust violations. The individuals still had not registered their snowmobiles or fixed their snowmobile exhaust and were subsequently cited again for the same violations. The most common violation encountered was illegal exhaust systems installed on snowmobiles. Landmark would like to remind snowmobile operators that any modification to an exhaust system that makes your snowmobile louder than stock is illegal. Enforcement action was taken for modified snowmobile exhaust, trail pass violations, registration violations, light violations, and speed.
CO Brett Fox (Bemidji #2) spent the week focusing on snowmobile and ice angling enforcement. Snowmobile trail conditions are poor.
CO Al Peterson (Osage) worked snowmobile, angling and shelter enforcement. The trails have degraded in the last two weeks, but some trails in the forest areas are still in decent shape. The angling bite was mostly slow.
District 3 – Fergus Falls area
Last updated: 2023-02-21
CO Andrew Goodman (Fergus Falls) reports checking anglers, ATV and snowmobile riders, and fish houses throughout the week. Special attention was given to ice litter and shelter identification with significant snowfall forecasted before the removal deadline. Despite recent rain and warm weather, ice conditions remain in good condition, while snowmobile trails are less than fair. Goodman responded to illegal bowfishing and fish-dumping complaints, in addition to finding multiple unattended lines on area lakes.
CO Tricia Plautz (Henning) received complaints about dogs running at large and deer carcasses dumped recently. Plautz assisted a neighboring officer with a large ice fishing derby in Douglas County. She also checked anglers. Snowmobile trails are in rough condition in the area since a recent warm spell, but a few riders were found out exploring.
CO Ryan Brown (Elbow Lake) reports spending most of his time on fishing and snowmobile activity throughout the week. Fishing success has slowly improved over this past week on area waters. Enforcement action this week included fishing with an extra line and unattended lines.
CO Mitch Lawler (Alexandria) continued to monitor ice fishing pressure around the area as winter enters the homestretch. He saw lots of people moving their wheelhouses around. Some folks left the ice altogether in preparation for an upcoming storm. Assistance was given to CO Znajda working the annual ice fishing contest on Smith Lake. Lots of good contacts were made with a few citations issued. Anglers possessing illegal drugs and paraphernalia continues to be one of the most common violations observed this ice fishing season.
CO Shane Osborne (Evansville) checked anglers, ATV and snowmobile riders, and fish houses. Fish house identification remains a problem on area lakes. Please remember to provide the correct identification on the outside of your fish house as required by statute and listed on Page 74 of the 2022 Minnesota Fishing Regulations booklet.
CO Felicia Znajda (Osakis) is continuing to see snowmobiling activity even with the rough trail riding. Znajda and other officers monitored the Smith Lake tournament. Various enforcement action was taken throughout the week, including for too many lines, unattended lines and drug activity.
CO Hanna Wood (Wheaton) spent the week focused on angling and snowmobile enforcement. She worked with CO Cornell and several South Dakota wardens over the weekend on border lakes where, in general, angling success and violation rates were both low. Wood attended meetings, took phone calls, and is working on ongoing investigations.
CO Emily Douvier (Morris) helped with miscellaneous district work and fielded questions.
CO Daniel Baumbarger (Glenwood) reports enforcement efforts for the week were concentrated on checking anglers and snowmobile operators. Additional time was spent following up on deer-feeding complaints and closing out cases from the past deer season.
District 4 – Walker area
Last updated: 2023-02-21
CO Mark Mathy (Cass Lake) primarily checked anglers. Anglers fishing for perch found a good bite for the first time in a while. Mathy took a complaint of a person driving carelessly on the ice of Leech Lake. Enforcement action was taken for many angling violations, including angling with unattended lines, extra lines, and license violations.
CO Michael Cross (Lake George) worked snowmobiling and ice fishing, and followed up on deer-season cases. He also worked a detail involving snowmobile and angling enforcement in the Voyageurs National Park area. Enforcement action was taken for snowmobile, ATV, and angling violations.
CO Corey Sura (Remer) spent time patrolling area trails and lakes. Trails are in very tough condition due lack of fresh snow, recent warm weather and rain, and heavy riding pressure. Anglers on a few area panfish lakes did well over the weekend; not many walleyes or individuals targeting them were checked. A complaint of dogs trespassing and chasing deer was fielded. Violations handled the past week included fishing without a license, fishing with extra lines, expired snowmobile registration, and no shelter license.
CO Adam Seifermann (Staples) attended training in St. Paul.
CO Patrick McGowan (Walker) worked Leech Lake and Cass County snowmobile trails during the week. Snowmobile trail conditions are starting to diminish with the lack of snow and warm weather. Enforcement action was taken for numerous fishing violations on Leech Lake.
CO Jordan Anderson (Wadena) worked angling and snowmobile activity on station lakes as well as Park Rapids station lakes and trails. Snowmobile trails are sparse in spots, but many people were seen out over the weekend riding. Enforcement action over the week consisted of numerous shelter ID and license violations, and a variety of snowmobile and angling related violations.
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