Walleye poachers, news article with names

[JReed]

Here's the link to the news article from Friday, props to F&W for catching people at a lake thats in a remote location:

http://justice.alberta.ca/jsg/newsroom/blog/FishandWildlifeOfficershookwalleyepoachers.aspx/DispForm.aspx?ID=33

[Lefty-Canuck]

Good catch!

Those boys seem like model citizens.....poaching and vandalizing their way into the court history books.

License suspensions should have been longer IMHO.

LC

[Zip-in-Z]

I'm sure the boys did this before & never got caught .... this time they found justice, however, the penalty should of been stiffer, their vehicles should of been confiscated & sold under proceeds of crime.

You got to wonder if their members ... now their "Infamous" !

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/hi.gif

Zip-Z

[Wild&Free]

sunk a boat and tossed the motor into the lake... should of been fined more, with community service hours attached imo.

[JReed]

sunk a boat and tossed the motor into the lake... should of been fined more, with community service hours attached imo.

I agree, I'm sure there are some enviromental violations that they also could have been slapped with. All in all a pretty weak penalty, they were already breaking the law so whats stopping them from continuing this behaviour at another remote lake, certainly not a $1200 fine and 10 year suspension of license...

[Lefty-Canuck]

I agree, I'm sure there are some enviromental violations that they also could have been slapped with. All in all a pretty weak penalty, they were already breaking the law so whats stopping them from continuing this behaviour at another remote lake, certainly not a $1200 fine and 10 year suspension of license...

I agree....there should be a stronger deterrent message sent. They should have got 10 years each not 10 years between all 5 of them.

LC

[Wild&Free]

well they lowest fine handed out from what i read was over 4k, with gear confiscation... which probably added at least another 200$ to the damages. Not a small sum really, but an extra 2000$ for littering should of been tacked on to the guys who sunk the boat, and another 2k for the motor. The contamination from the gas and oil is small enough that it wouldn't have to be reported to any ministry or board as far as I know, but some environmental laws could of been thrown at them as well.

In instances like this, premeditated poaching, throw the *****ing book at them.

[coppercarbide]

Yeah, it sounds high when you add it all up, but the 10 years and 29k are split between 5 trashy ****-heads.

I have no idea why they didn't pursue criminal charges of theft under 5k for the boat and motor. If someone steals my truck and burns it in a field a mile away, it's still stealing.

For the life of me, I can't figure out the mindset of retards like this who go out and try their best to ensure their kids aren't able to have a fishery or any wilderness experience.

This isn't people who mis-measured or mis-read the limits. They are knowingly screwing over their kids... Just absolute selfish trash people. I really hope sometime we see a judge with some sense to do the right thing. Jail time would be proper, I can't believe these pieces of **** will be fishing again in 3 years.

[Wild&Free]

The fact the boat was left at a remote lake it most likely can be considered salvage therefore no actual theft was involved. If you want to leave something in the bush your choice, but don't consider it yours anymore. Access is 9/10 of possession and possession is 9/10 of the law as the saying goes.

[coppercarbide]

I wonder if that's a poached walleye he's holding.

https://www.facebook.com/shawn.ardron

Certainly no sportsman.

[Wild&Free]

I wonder if that's a poached walleye he's holding.

https://www.facebook.com/shawn.ardron

Certainly no sportsman.

lol, bored at work are we?

[coppercarbide]

Hahaha, touche. Monday morning... procrastinating productivity while I finish my first coffee. I've learned that anything I do in the first 20 minutes of Monday morning without coffee I'm probably going to have to re-do anyway. haha.

[Shmag]

The fact the boat was left at a remote lake it most likely can be considered salvage therefore no actual theft was involved. If you want to leave something in the bush your choice, but don't consider it yours anymore. Access is 9/10 of possession and possession is 9/10 of the law as the saying goes.

I heard this story last summer...they KNEW it was the wardens boat. The wardens checked them one day and knew something wasn't right. So the wardens left their boat on shore for the night with the intentions to quad back in the next day. From what I heard the guys started the boat and put it in gear sending it across the lake. Wardens came and left to get another boat to retrieve their original one. They retreived their boat and set it up on shore again, but this time they hid in the bushes with a camera. Sure enough it wasn't long before the guys came back and towed the boat to the middle and tossed the motor overboard and left the boat. Heard it was all caught on tape...I believe they let them fish the day away and then went into their camp that late afternoon and they were filleting all the walleye....BUSTED !!!

Just the story I heard...

[coppercarbide]

The fact the boat was left at a remote lake it most likely can be considered salvage therefore no actual theft was involved. If you want to leave something in the bush your choice, but don't consider it yours anymore. Access is 9/10 of possession and possession is 9/10 of the law as the saying goes.

That sounds like a reasonable argument.

I'm wondering though, if I leave my truck on a county road, someone breaks the window and hot-wires it, it's still stealing. I think this would be the same, unless there's different provision on crown land or something.

[Wild&Free]

same here, but, I get my paperwork done first thing and let the office in Edmonton figure it out when they get in.

[chriscosta]

i bet it is what a bunch of weasels and to sink a mans boat ooooh they shoulda been shot on the spot

[Hunter Trav]

Vandersteen used to be a awesome walleye lake, to bad **** heads like them figure they can go and take whatever they want from it whenever they feel like it. Sadly they aren't the only ones, and that isn't the only lake it happens on...

[Wild&Free]

I heard this story last summer...they KNEW it was the wardens boat. The wardens checked them one day and knew something wasn't right. So the wardens left their boat on shore for the night with the intentions to quad back in the next day. From what I heard the guys started the boat and put it in gear sending it across the lake. Wardens came and left to get another boat to retrieve their original one. They retreived their boat and set it up on shore again, but this time they hid in the bushes with a camera. Sure enough it wasn't long before the guys came back and towed the boat to the middle and tossed the motor overboard and left the boat. Heard it was all caught on tape...I believe they let them fish the day away and then went into their camp that late afternoon and they were filleting all the walleye....BUSTED !!!

Just the story I heard...

Information I was not privy to before now. Much thanks for enlightening me.

So ya, if that's the case, then it's still vandalism. They never took the property into their possession, they just destroyed it.

The article also says they were stopped as they were leaving the lake and the filet's were found hidden in clothing and gear.

That sounds like a reasonable argument.

I'm wondering though, if I leave my truck on a county road, someone breaks the window and hot-wires it, it's still stealing. I think this would be the same, unless there's different provision on crown land or something.

It would depend on the amount of time the truck had been on the country road. I'm not sure what the time frame is before something can be considered abandoned, but I don't see it being any more then 30 days. Don't quote me on that as I'm just making an assumption.

[Winch101]

Was this in any other papers .....

The antis should have been all over this ..

[Shmag]

The article also says they were stopped as they were leaving the lake and the filet's were found hidden in clothing and gear.


Ya, not sure about that but pic showing no fillets, just all the carcasses...so still thinking it was at camp. Either way BUSTED, and wish the fine's were set higher as well...

[Wild&Free]

Ya, not sure about that but pic showing no fillets, just all the carcasses...so still thinking it was at camp. Either way BUSTED, and wish the fine's were set higher as well...

yup

[BGSH]

I heard this story last summer...they KNEW it was the wardens boat. The wardens checked them one day and knew something wasn't right. So the wardens left their boat on shore for the night with the intentions to quad back in the next day. From what I heard the guys started the boat and put it in gear sending it across the lake. Wardens came and left to get another boat to retrieve their original one. They retreived their boat and set it up on shore again, but this time they hid in the bushes with a camera. Sure enough it wasn't long before the guys came back and towed the boat to the middle and tossed the motor overboard and left the boat. Heard it was all caught on tape...I believe they let them fish the day away and then went into their camp that late afternoon and they were filleting all the walleye....BUSTED !!!

Just the story I heard...
Shouldnt you try to stop a crime before it happens? Why would fish and wildlife let these dummies take a boat out throw the motor over board and sink it again. Fish n wildlife should have the right to charge these people with the same charge when they came on shore to see the boat. As soon as they started to drag the boat out they should have been stopped. But instead they had the chance to throw a motor filled with fluids in the bottom of the lake.

[wildman]

awesome that they were caught.
fines shoulda been double or triple.
happy to hear their licenses were suspended too.

[Wild&Free]

Shouldnt you try to stop a crime before it happens? Why would fish and wildlife let these dummies take a boat out throw the motor over board and sink it again. Fish n wildlife should have the right to charge these people with the same charge when they came on shore to see the boat. As soon as they started to drag the boat out they should have been stopped. But instead they had the chance to throw a motor filled with fluids in the bottom of the lake.

Catching them after they have done the act provides far more evidence towards a conviction then just stopping them from messing with the boat, then no charges could of been filed against them. These are policy enforcement agents for the most part, and wait for you to break the rules so they can do their jobs enforcing them. They could of done the right thing and said hey guys, let all those fish go and leave the boat alone and gtfo and if we see you again it's the book's coming at you. Despite the litter in the lake, I think the officers did the right thing by letting these young men do what they did and saying okay, you had your fun now it's time to pay the price. Hopefully the fun they had wasn't worth the cost and they smarten the hell up.

[jacenbeers]

Douchebags like these 5 guys should get jailtime.

[BeeGuy]

big fines, longer suspensions, and a severe beating with a rolled up copy of the fishery act.

[Wild&Free]

big fines, longer suspensions, and a severe beating with a rolled up copy of the fishery act.

federal or provincial? I think you might be onto something.

[Sooner]

Vandersteen used to be a awesome walleye lake, to bad **** heads like them figure they can go and take whatever they want from it whenever they feel like it. Sadly they aren't the only ones, and that isn't the only lake it happens on...

When I fished Graham lake every long weekend in may(before wife and kids came along), that was 20 yrs ago, Vandersteen was do able with a plane or go up the river. I assume the quads and 4x4's have found their way in. Is that how a walleye filled backwoods lake becomes collapsed? Weekend warriors or is the lake getting netted too? Glad the poachers and vandals got caught. I hope their lawyer fees were big too.

[Wild&Free]

When I fished Graham lake every long weekend in may(before wife and kids came along), that was 20 yrs ago, Vandersteen was do able with a plane or go up the river. I assume the quads and 4x4's have found their way in. Is that how a walleye filled backwoods lake becomes collapsed? Weekend warriors or is the lake getting netted too? Glad the poachers and vandals got caught. I hope their lawyer fees were big too.

I'm assuming it would be a combination of weekend warriors and successive winter kills.

[Shmag]

When I fished Graham lake every long weekend in may(before wife and kids came along), that was 20 yrs ago, Vandersteen was do able with a plane or go up the river. I assume the quads and 4x4's have found their way in. Is that how a walleye filled backwoods lake becomes collapsed? Weekend warriors or is the lake getting netted too? Glad the poachers and vandals got caught. I hope their lawyer fees were big too.

All the creeks dried up which was their main spawning grounds which really declined the spawning numbers. That and the bigstone band was awarded 400 mil and a huge land claim from an 1800 dispute with the government, their first order of business was to get vander shut down for walleye to preserve fishing for future generations

Sorry to stray from the Org Topic...

[the local angler]

the thing i am surprized about is the age of those guys.

[Pikey]

Shoud have confiscated the vehicles they used to get in there.

Glad they post names, let everyone see what a true loser looks like.

[mach123]

It's a joke these fines, nothing is gonna change with small peanut fines and stuff like this. Again only in canada you can get away with this, put in jail for a yr and 5000 fine each and 300hrs comunity sevice work, then will see what they try next time.........

[BeeGuy]

federal or provincial? I think you might be onto something.

both

one at a time though

[WhitefishLady]

Thanks for sharing! Glad they got caught but wish the penalties were greater too. Makes it so hard for walleye fisheries to recover with poaching :(

[Hunter Trav]

When I fished Graham lake every long weekend in may(before wife and kids came along), that was 20 yrs ago, Vandersteen was do able with a plane or go up the river. I assume the quads and 4x4's have found their way in. Is that how a walleye filled backwoods lake becomes collapsed? Weekend warriors or is the lake getting netted too? Glad the poachers and vandals got caught. I hope their lawyer fees were big too.

You can drive a pickup in there now, trail has been there for years. Lots of people didn't know about it, but I guess word got out...:sign0161:

[Kokanee9]

sunk a boat and tossed the motor into the lake... should of been fined more, with community service hours attached imo.

I like the community service idea.

Lawn cutting, tank scrubbing and window cleaning duties at a fish hatchery would seem appropriate.

[Wild&Free]

I like the community service idea.

Lawn cutting, tank scrubbing and window cleaning duties at a fish hatchery would seem appropriate.

EXACTLY, make reparations to what you damage. Should of put them cleaning F&W offices and grounds, cleaning up lake camp sites, clearing trails, working with fisheries biologists in the muck and scum of some stagnant bodies of water. Have them put back into what they took from. Instead of just writing a cheque and carrying on.

[SCHOOCH]

Glad to see that F & W caught these morons, i would really like to see a huge fine for the destruction of someone elses property and a enviromental charge for putting gas/oil to the bottom of the lake.........their fines are a slap on the wrist and their ban from fishing for 2 years each should have been 10 years each at a minimum.

[Wild&Free]

Glad to see that F & W caught these morons, i would really like to see a huge fine for the destruction of someone elses property and a enviromental charge for putting gas/oil to the bottom of the lake.........their fines are a slap on the wrist and their ban from fishing for 2 years each should have been 10 years each at a minimum.

If you look into some of the fines handed out for environmental damages caused you'll see they are an even bigger joke.

[mach123]

I agree, they always talk about these huge fines for distruction of land,lakes fish and private property, but always get reduced or the lower end of the scale. No wounder people keep doing things like this,hmmmmmmm

[huntsfurfish]

This is nuts!

perspective?

They got plenty for what they did.(IMO).

A speeder going 30 over and puts others at risk and gets a $200.00 ticket?

Sounds to me like their fines were large enough.

[Wild&Free]

This is nuts!

perspective?

They got plenty for what they did.(IMO).

A speeder going 30 over and puts others at risk and gets a $200.00 ticket?

Sounds to me like their fines were large enough.

I think the fines were sufficient. That is a fair chunk of change for a man in his early 20s. I'd just like to see the punishment fit the crime. They took something from nature (and the other 800'000 license holders in the province) and don't have to return very much back to it. Those 20 fish represent another many thousands of fry next spawn, and tens of thousands more for every successful generation afterwards.

Just like that punk kid who spray paints graffiti on a shop window. He gets probation and/or community service, but that community service is not cleaning the window he defaced, no that's up to the shop owner to fix. Our legal system as all about who gets paid (the lawyers), not righting the wrongs someone committed.

[sniderscott]

I hope these guys got spammed on facebook. I know i did!

[AppleJax]

I hope these guys got spammed on facebook. I know i did!

Care to elaborate???:thinking-006:

[coppercarbide]

I hope these guys got spammed on facebook. I know i did!

*EDIT* Deleted information. If someone wants to find these guys on FB, get their addresses, etc, it's pretty easy to do, no need for me to post personal information. *EDIT*

Regardless of the difference in opinion above about whether 4k is enough of a penalty, it's very sad that these guys will be back on the water in a couple seasons.

Who knows, maybe even the small penalty they have will turn one or two of them around and get them to show some respect for the land and respect for the next generation (and other people in this generation). Maybe some of them have decent parents that'll have a real chat with em, that's exactly what these boys need.

[ReayMan]

You can drive a pickup in there now, trail has been there for years. Lots of people didn't know about it, but I guess word got out...:sign0161:

i would like to see a truck get in there.....

[Lambo]

I'm just glad those guys weren't asian! The asian haters would have a hay day with this info!

We should organize a vigilante mob and lynch these mofos! jk.:)