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| EAGLE RIVER, Wis. (AP) - A Vilas County fishing guide is charged with violating regulations aimed at preventing the spread of the VHS deadly fish virus.
Joseph Pestka is also accused of exceeding the catch limit for both the size and number of walleye.
The 40-year-old operates Joe Pestka Guide Service in Woodruff.
A Department of Natural Resources warden cited Pestka with taking water and fish from Chequamegon Bay in Lake Superior.
State law prohibits transporting water and fish away from Lakes Michigan and Superior, the Mississippi River and the Lake Winnebago watershed to prevent the spread of a disease that causes fatal internal bleeding in more than 30 species of fish.
Pestka and three others in his boat are also charged with one count each of exceeding the bag and possession limits. State law allows a daily bag limit of 5 walleye per person, and only one may be larger than 20 inches.
Good Luck
Tyee |
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Location: Menasha, WI | Sounds more like a 'bonus' violation than a crackdown on VHS. The VHS violation will help make for a stiffer penalty. Glad to see the poachers busted. |
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| Sure does, but the real question is how can they legally enforce a rule that is so ambiguous? trasnporting water? Are they going to write tickets to every vessel comming in from the ocean? How can you have a law like this for one user group and not all the others? just a stupid thought I guess! I too am glad he was caught violating our game laws!
Good Luck
Tyee |
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Location: Waukesha Wisconsin | Tyee that is not a stupid thought !!!!! It would be great for then to enforce the ruling to vessel comming in from the ocean.
I agree that it was just a bonus violation than a crackdown on VHS.
And I'm also glad that they caught another poacher.
Hope he looses his fishing license and guide license forever. |
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Location: Menasha, WI | I understand your point about the ambiguity of 'transporting water'. Depending on the wording of the regulation, it could be problematic to enforce in many cases. However, I'm guessing in this case there was little ambiguity -- the violator probably had a livewell full of water and fish. |
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| Now that would be a great thing to watch, the Wisconsin DNR pulling up to a tanker with their 20 foot center console boat.... Hmmmm... the captian says... did you feel that, I think we just ran over something. I was out last year on the inside of a reef on the Bay when the DNR tried to drive across the top of the reef despite my repeted warning that the water was only 1 foot deep. Their response was to tell me that they knew where they were going. Well after they managed to get their boat off the rocks, they just could not seem to muster the energy to come over and check my license because they were missing most of both props. So yes, I would like to see the actual meetig of the DNR boat and a tanker. We'll sell tickets to the show! |
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| It's too bad that someone has to give the guides in Northern Wisconsin a bad name. There are so many "honest" ones up here. Glad to see he finally got what was coming to him - it's been a long time coming! |
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| Perhaps he didn't read the site specific regulations for Chem bay. I did the exact same thing on the same body of water. Didn't read the site specific and went back to camp with extra fish over the restricted size. As a guide you would think he knew that but maybe it was his 1st time there...they didn't say.
I'm sure the DNR rules on the VHS will confine it to the contaminated lakes the same way they kept the Zebra's, Goby's & Asian carp confined. I bet in 5 years we find out VHS has been blown outa proportion... Although rules won't get changed $$$$$ |
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Location: Orland Park, IL | I usually run from the pipe ramp to my place with a full livewell. ( about 1/2 mile south). Guess I should start dumping water if I dont want to get written up. Plus the boat hasnt seen any other water than bago. Then that raises another question. Is 2 inches of water ok? |
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| Komo, the rules say no water, if you pull away from a landing with ANY water in your boat other than a perrier, you could get a ticket. this includes any minnows or leaches in water. I wonder if the DNR is going to be funding ice chests at the landings?
Good Luck
Tyee |
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| Well, I will not trash my minnows and leeches if I am using them on Bago, and plan to be back there next. I usually open the livewell drain when I leave the launch. I never transport live fish. They all get knifed before we make the run to the launch. By the time I get there, they've bled out, and I have nice white filets when I get home. |
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| Shep and others,
If you have minnows in a baitwell on your boat, you had better trash them when you are done. You and I could make a case that the water in the Minnow Cooler is not lake water. The problem is that many folks use bait buckets that they drag around in the lake while fishing and then take off the lake, lake water and all, when they finish. I think the DNR deems it too difficult to discern the difference and would prefer to err on the safe side to prevent the disease spread.
My understanding is that you can keep your leeches in a separate cooler that would not have lake water and be ok.
I think it is a mistake to get huffy about not wasting your minnows:
1. You can get a ticket.
2. You are encouraging others to violate the law.
Sorry pal, thats just how I see it and I would not like to see you get in trouble over this.
Take care,
Jim O
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| I don't have a problem with the minnows. I'll just buy fewer for the day. And glad to hear Leeches can be toted along.
But what I want to see is the DNR not cheecking just angler, but also the wake boats. Those things hold thousands of pounds of water to make the big wakes. Are those owners gonna wait till all that water drains from the bags inside before they leave the launch area?
Jim,
on a side note. I will be in Germantown Saturday and Sunday for a basseball Tourney with Eric. I could drop off that oil. Lemme know.
Edited by Shep 7/26/2007 10:34 AM
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Location: Neenah, WI | I fish quite a bit and always launch at Winn. County Landing. I have yet to see an inspector. |
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| No it's not Joes first trip up there. Hehas been going quite regular to that body of water. |
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| Isn't Lake Superior the same wash tub as Winnebago ? Also the Wake Boat, I asked a DNR Agent that question when he was checking me this past spring at Calument Park. He got a glazed look in the eyes. You can't get all the water out of those blatters. So, lets see them checking that. What a joke! |
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Location: in the boat off the east shore somewhere | look there are sail boats wake boats remote controled boats personal water craft , and with the EAA fly in hundreads of airplains landing on lake winnibago.. from all over the country.. many dont stay in oshkosh they fly out at night to another wisconsin lake that they have friends living on or neer to stay the night ,, some stay at other resourts on a different body of water for the night ... i know we are trying as sportsman to stop the spread of VHS but do you have any clue what kind of air plain traffic hit the water this last weekend ? sit off shore in oshkosh and see for yourself next year. add to the fact that they can land anywhere in the state for the night and then fly home to who knows where in the country or world . minows leaches, ya ill throw them out , ill drain my boat, give it a couple of years and we will have vhs in almost all the lakes in the country. its a smaller world now... people fly home with other countries with a cold, what happens, ok we have a new virus ourselves to deal with. i dont know what our dnr is going to do or how they are going to inforce this when every lake in the state is infected but im sure it wont go away. get used to it as they will enforce this to curb other potential threats. either way. i find that i buy less bait and more ice these days. i always would pick up a dozen leaches . or have some helgrimites or something in water along knowing i could always put them in the fridge at home if i dont use them ,,, now i dont buy them unless i think i will need them to catch fish that day . wile the local bait shop is loosing money on me im sure some are buying more bait. not sure. sounds like a good pole question. |
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VHS crackdown it has begun