Multistate investigation busts 13 anglers — 1 in Wisconsin — for poaching lake whitefish

Thirteen people who were part of an organized poaching operation have had fish seized from them and their licenses revoked after a yearslong investigation.

Courts issued 29 citations and confiscated 91 lake whitefish from the anglers. Of the 13 violators, one was from Wisconsin, 11 were from Illinois and one from Michigan. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources coordinated its investigation, which began in 2019, with agencies in Illinois and Michigan.

Violators exceeded daily allowed catch limits, hiding extra fish in the woods, under a bridge and even under false floors in their vehicles, said DNR Conservation Warden Jeff Lautenslager.

“I asked one of the fishermen, when did they decide they had enough fish and they were going to go home?” Lautenslager said. “And it was basically until they couldn’t fit any more in their coolers.”

Lake whitefish are bottom-dwelling fish who spend most of their lives deep in Lake Michigan. In the fall, though, they spawn in the relatively shallow water of the Menominee River, which runs through northeast Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. During spawning times, Lautenslager said, the Menominee River is dense with whitefish, and anglers who stand on the Hattie Street Bridge in Peshtigo and shine a light down “can see these fish boiling up all over.”

But the poachers didn’t follow Wisconsin and Michigan fishing rules. Besides exceeding limits on how many whitefish they were allowed to catch, they also used an illegal fishing method called “snagging,” hooking the fish in the side or the tail rather than in its mouth. By law, anglers are required to toss back snagged fish.

Other anglers who wanted to fish for the whitefish reported the poaching to the DNR in 2019. In a release Monday, the DNR said court proceedings for all 13 offenders have recently concluded. Lautenslager said authorities chose to charge the poachers with civil rather than criminal violations, and the 13 violators will pay fines and lose their fishing licenses for about two years each.

Whitefish is used in grilled or fried fish recipes and sometimes served in classic Wisconsin fish fry dinners. It’s also the protein in a Door County fish boil, a popular tourist activity. The species has high fat content and a mild flavor.

Whitefish are also fished commercially in Wisconsin. Lautenslager said the DNR’s investigation did not confirm whether violators were selling fish they had caught illegally.

The DNR is in the midst of listening sessions as it considers changes to commercial fishing rules around lake whitefish, and has also taken public comment on management of the species.

“Too much cheating going on in today’s systems!” read one comment submitted to the DNR in October. “Tighten it up for the general public to be able to enjoy for generations to come!”