WI: Cuffs and Collars Issue: 24

District 2 – Cumberland area

Wardens Jesse Ashton, of Luck, and Phil Dorn, of Cumberland,
investigated a shining and shooting case. They observed a vehicle
headlighting deer in a field after 10 p.m. and conducted a stop of
the vehicle. The subject did not immediately stop and, upon
contact, the wardens located a .22 rifle in the front seat that was
partially uncased. They located a loaded magazine in the back seat
and were able to determine that the subject had unloaded the .22
when he saw the red and blue lights. Charges have been forwarded to
the Barron County D.A.’s office for shining deer while in
possession of a firearm.

Warden Ashton contacted two waterfowl hunters near Milltown. One
subject was hunting with a 16-gauge single-shot shotgun. The hunter
produced some old paper shells that were made by Sears. He stated
that he was pretty sure they were steel. Ashton said that he was
pretty sure Sears was not making steel shot in the 1960s. A
citation was issued for lead shot.

Warden Jon Hagen, of Spooner, investigated a subject who illegally
shot a trumpeter swan. The suspect thought it was a goose, then hid
the swan in a swamp. Hagen retrieved and seized the swan and the
suspect’s firearm. Citations are pending.

District 5 – Lower St. Croix area

Warden Jim Cleven, of Colfax, observed a duck hunter hunting 35
minutes after hours. Violations included hunting after hours,
operating a boat without lights, no PFDs, no federal duck stamp,
and failure to register a goose. Enforcement action was
taken.

Warden Wayne Flak, of Menomonie, found that a few hunters were
getting free small-game and fishing licenses by claiming to be
active duty military. They had an ID card from an armed forces
support command organization that is classified as a militia group.
Enforcement action was taken.

Warden Bill Wrasse, of Durand, ran into several violations in
October: late duck hunting, possession of lead shot, unplugged gun,
illegally marking state land as private, archery hunting during
youth gun deer hunt without blaze orange, overbag on geese, fail to
validate goose permit, no boat registration, no boat lights, no
small game license, no fishing license, illegal deer hunting, and
hunting ducks with buck shot. He also assisted the sheriff’s
department with a hunter killing a black Lab with an arrow.

District 8 – La Crosse area

Warden Bob Jumbeck, of Alma, assisted a local trapper with
releasing a fisher from a foot-hold trap near Cochrane. Fisher
numbers appear to be on the rise in Buffalo County. Many trail
camera photos and trapped animals have shown up recently.

Warden Dale Hochhausen responded to a call of a large 8-point buck
with its antlers entangled in a woven wire fence. The deer had
gored a bowhunter in the leg who tried to free it. The man had to
go to the hospital to receive stitches for his wounds. Hochhausen
was able to cut the deer free and the deer ran away with a little
wire wrapped on its left antler. The bowhunter left the hospital
that evening and stated he knew what deer he was saving his tag
for.

Warden Ed McCann, of La Crosse, responded to a call of a deer shot
with a .22 rifle. After hours of surveillance, McCann and
Hochhausen arrested four men for hunting deer with a rifle during
the closed season.

District 9 – Black River Falls area

In October, wardens Bill Miller and Wade Romberg, of Adams County,
apprehended two men shining with bow and arrows, two men hunting
over bait without backtags, and another hunter with a crossbow when
he did not have a crossbow permit.

Warden Bill Miller and a Department of Agriculture agent met with a
deer farmer about a fence that was constructed, and deer purchases.
The deer were in a new fence that was not inspected by Miller prior
to putting deer in the enclosure.

Warden Matt Weber, of Necedah, contacted two duck hunters and two
goose hunters who were shooting prior to legal hours on the opening
day. Weber also found the hunters in possession of lead shot and
ducks. Enforcement action was taken.

A Juneau County resident living north of Mauston captured a cougar
on his trail camera. This photo was the first ever taken of a
cougar in Juneau County.

Warden Shaun Deeney, of Black River Falls, responded to a call of a
shiner near a corn field near Taylor, the same location where a
large buck was suspected to have been shined and shot three weeks
prior. Deeney caught up with the vehicle driver at his home and
discovered two compound bows in the back seat. Enforcement action
was taken.

District 11 – Peshtigo area

Warden Dave Oginski, of Wausaukee, received a call of hunter
harassment in the Town of Pembine. Three hunters were tracking a
deer when they were confronted by another hunter who was aggressive
and went after one of the hunters with an arrow that he pulled out
of his quiver. Enforcement action was taken.

Warden Matt Meade, of Crivitz, contacted an archery hunter who
attempted to register a buck with a gun deer license. The archery
hunter stated that his archery license was at home and that the gun
deer license was the only license he had with him. The hunter had
only bought a gun license and not an archery license. Enforcement
action was taken.

Warden Meade investigated a shine/shoot case in Athelstane. A
landowner saw a spotlight shining his front yard. As he got up to
look at the vehicle, a shot was fired into the yard at a deer. The
landowner and Meade investigated the shooting and tracked the
wounded deer. The investigation continues.

Warden Joe Paul, of Lakewood, contacted several subjects in the
Oconto Falls area who were found to have shined and shot several
deer from 2009 to 2011. Two rifles were seized. Criminal charges
will be filed.

Warden Mark Schraufnagel, of Shawano, checked waterfowl hunters on
the Wolf River. He contacted hunters who did not have enough PFDs,
had not transferred the boat into their name, and had not reported
their goose harvest.

Warden Jim Horne, of Shawano, followed up on several calls of deer
shot and left lying in the fields, yards or ditches. Most of the
deer were shot with small-caliber firearms.

District 12 – Green Bay area and Northeast Operations Marine
Unit

Warden Chris Kratcha, of Sturgeon Bay, got a call of an in-progress
open-water hunting violation in Little Sturgeon Bay. Two hunters
were observed and contacted. One hunter was cited for failing to
validate his goose permit and warned for the open-water violation.
The second hunter’s gun was seized and the hunter was cited for no
small game license, no state stamp, no exterior goose permit, and
an unplugged gun. The second hunter happened to be the same person
Kratcha had arrested two months previous for several outstanding
warrants and fishing without a license and fraud in obtaining a
license while suspended.

Wardens Kuhn and Neverman checked waterfowlers on Green Bay’s south
shore on opening day. One hunter was cited for not validating his
goose permit. Another was warned for not signing his federal
stamp.

Warden Darren Kuhn, of Kewaunee, contacted field goose hunters –
one person had a single lead shot shell in the bottom of his blind.
He appeared to be surprised that it was there, stating that other
people use his blind to hunt doves. The shell was seized and the
hunter was warned. A second hunter was cited for calling in just
one of the 10 geese he had shot.

Warden Robert Stroess, of Manitowoc, checked a bowhunter near Taus
who was in his stand with an arrow nocked until 23 minutes after
close. Stroess also spoke to him about the numerous bait sites
around his tree. He was cited for the illegal baiting as Manitowoc
County has been a no-bait county for 10 years and he was warned for
late hunting. His own trail camera caught him dumping Buck Jam and
scattering apples.

Warden Stroess issued salmon run citations for keeping foul-hooked
fish and for being over the possession limit of salmon/trout. All
of the defendants were from out-of-state.

District 13 – Oshkosh area

Wardens Jason Higgins, of Oshkosh, and Tom Truman, of Winneconne,
while checking fishing activity in Omro, saw two boat anglers
keeping panfish and sorting fish. When contacted at the landing,
the boat operator saw Higgins and Truman standing there and backed
his boat away from the pier and took a lid from a bucket. Higgins
informed the subject to put the bucket down. The subject complied.
A citation was issued for overbagging on panfish.

Warden Higgins cited a subject for bowhunting for deer over too
much bait.

Warden Higgins checked on a subject duck hunting during the closed
season on Lake Butte des Morts. The subject was observed shooting a
mallard. The subject was cited. The same subject had been cited in
2005 for shooting a couple swans in the same spot.

Warden supervisor April Dombrowski, of Oshkosh, met with the DNR
Sturgeon Advisory Committee, leaders from the Menominee Tribe and
the tribal conservation department for the release of 35 lake
sturgeon below the Keshena Falls dam at Chickeney Creek. This was
part of an effort to restore the sturgeon population north of the
Shawano dam.

Warden Tom Truman, of Winneconne, cited a fisherman in the
Winneconne area for using five fishing poles that had a total of
eight hooks.

Wardens Truman and Higgins saw a duck hunter shoot and wound a
duck. The individual and another hunter went after the duck with a
boat and motor. The individual was seen shooting at the duck with
the motor running. A citation was issued to the hunter for
possessing a loaded firearm on a boat with the motor running.

Warden Michael Disher, of Chilton, worked waterfowl duties in
Calumet County throughout October. He encountered violations
including: hunting geese without a permit, failure to validate a
goose permit, no HIP certification, failure to report goose
harvest, and hunting waterfowl during the closure for the southern
zone split season.

Warden Disher worked deer shiners in Calumet County. He followed a
vehicle and conducted a traffic stop. Inside were a compound bow
and a quiver of arrows. Behind the driver’s seat was an open can of
beer with other full cans of beer on the floor. The driver and
passenger were underage. Disher notified the sheriff’s department
of the alcohol violations. Citations and warnings were issued for
shining after hours, shining wild animals with a bow and arrows,
minor transporting intoxicants, open intoxicants, and an absolute
sobriety violation.

Warden Al Erickson, of Fond du Lac, investigated a case of shining
in the Township of Lamartine. He stopped a pickup after seeing the
passenger shining wild animals at 11:36 p.m. No firearms were
located in the vehicle. Enforcement action was taken for
shining.

Warden Erickson investigated a case of pre-season deer baiting
after a local subject shot a trophy buck. Erickson received
multiple calls about trail camera photographs that had been posted
on the Internet with the same buck in velvet standing over a pile
of apples at the end of August.

Warden Kyle Kosin, of Campbellsport, and the Fond du Lac Sheriff’s
Department investigated waterfowl hunters trespassing in Oakfield.
The subjects were hunting on the closed Horicon refuge.

Wardens Kosin and Erickson checked a group of goose hunters – five
out of six hunters were hunting the Horicon Zone with Exterior Zone
tags. One hunter with the Horicon tags failed to attach or validate
tags to geese upon harvest. Eleven geese were seized and citations
were issued.

Warden Ryan Propson, of Appleton, received a call from the Appleton
Police Department about hundreds of fish trapped in a small pool of
water on the Fox River. The fish had become trapped after a
drawdown for work on a hydroelectric plant. Propson worked with
other DNR staff and the business to relocate fish to the main
channel of the Fox River. More than 300 game fish and 500 rough
fish died before being rescued. Enforcement action is
pending.

Warden Propson contacted a bowhunter with an illegal bait pile.
Propson learned the bait was placed by a family member several
weeks earlier. Enforcement action was taken.

District 14 – Sheboygan area

No report available.

District 15 – Milwaukee area

Warden Zeihen contacted a man in possession of three deer and four
geese. The suspect had shot into a flock of geese that was feeding
in a field and killed seven geese with one shot (three flew off and
died about 300 yards away). The suspect was trespassing and
neglected to validate his goose tag with any of the four geese that
he kept. No effort was made to retrieve the geese that flew. No
issues were identified with the deer. Enforcement action was
taken.

The month of October proved to be very busy in Milwaukee due to the
fish run on the Milwaukee, Kinnikinnic, and Menomonee rivers. Warm
weather and perfect water levels brought in a steady amount of
fish, which resulted in increased enforcement. Warden Myles
arrested several subjects using cultivators, nets, and hands to
catch salmon. Several fly rods were seized due to failure to
release foul-hooked fish. Most netting and spearing violations
occurred at night.

Wardens Sanidas and Drake contacted an individual who was hunting
before legal hours in Vernon Marsh. The man was hunting with an
unplugged gun, hunting without a federal stamp, hunting geese
without a permit, and transporting an uncased firearm in his
vehicle. Enforcement action was taken.

Warden Matt Groppi, of Sussex, worked fishing and boating
enforcement on Pine Lake. He contacted one angler who was in
possession of two undersized bass. Groppi issued one citation for
possession of an illegal sized fish, and one warning.

Warden Ben Mott, of Milwaukee, received a call of an individual
chasing fish with sticks and such in the Kinnikinik River. Deputy
warden Justin Menzia met up with Mott and they observed a man
walking along the Kinnikinik while using a pole to attempt to hit
salmon. The man later used a shopping cart, orange construction
fencing, and old siding pieces to attempt to trap fish in the
fencing that had been tied together as a net. Upon making contact,
warden Nick Blankenhiem assisted to get the man restrained as the
man attempted to go into his home a few times. The individual was
cited for attempting to take fish by means other than hook and
line.

Warden Reed was working near Miller Park when he saw two men trying
to corral salmon in a shallow areas where they could be caught by
hand. The men tried for almost 30 minutes and were unable to hold
onto a salmon. Another male was walking the shore and saw what was
happening. He smiled at the two men, dropped his backpack, waded
into the water, and within 30 seconds had grabbed a salmon. The man
was walking away with salmon in hand when Reed contacted the three
fishermen. Enforcement action was taken with all three
individuals.

District 16 – Racine, Kenosha area

Wardens Randy Dunkel and Walz worked fish run enforcement at the
Horlick dam. They saw a fisherman walking away from the wardens
quickly. Dunkel tried to make contact, but the person threw his
pole and net to the ground and began to run. Dunkel pursued the man
and apprehended him. The man was arrested for resisting and was
issued a citations for fishing without a license and for fishing
without a salmon stamp. All equipment was confiscated.

Wardens Mac Hannon and Dilley worked the fish run on the Root River
in Racine. It was found that in a four-hour period three
individuals illegally snagged and kept 15 salmon. After they each
caught their limits, they continued to fish. The wardens issued
three citations for failure to release foul-hooked fish and were
issued warnings for snagging. All evidence was seized for
court.

Wardens Hannon, Walz, Cork, Deeney, Hirschboeck, and Dunkel worked
a fish run saturation enforcement on the Root River. They found a
group of anglers fishing the river at 2 a.m. and keeping
foul-hooked fish, taking fish by hand, and netting fish. Citations
were issued. All fishing poles used in the violation were seized as
evidence.

Warden Dilley cited a subject on the Root River near Lincoln Park
for snagging salmon, failure to release foul hooked fish, littering
beer cans, no fishing license, and no Great Lakes salmon stamp. Six
salmon and fishing gear was seized from the man and his fishing
partner, who was also fishing without a license. Citations totaled
more than $1,000.

Wardens Gomez and Roberts contacted a hunter at the Hafs Road
public hunting grounds who was hunting for geese during the closed
season. The hunter was cited for hunting waterfowl during the
closed season and warned for transporting an uncased gun and bow,
hunting with an unplugged gun, and hunting without a federal duck
stamp.

District 17 – Madison area

Warden Mike Dieckhoff, of Janesville, and supervisor Jeremy Plautz
investigated a subject hunting in camo with a bow during the
four-day October antlerless hunt.

Wardens Boyd Richter, of Janesville, and Dieckhoff located two
archery deer hunters on the Lima public hunting grounds using
screw-in tree steps, leaving their stands up overnight, cutting
trees for shooting lanes, and leaving trail cameras on state land.
Citations were issued to each hunter for leaving tree stands on
state property and warnings were given for the other
violations.

Warden Richter investigated a call of hunters shooting ducks along
the Rock River within 100 yards of several homes. Richter found the
hunters were within 100 yards of two different homes and did not
have permission from the landowners to discharge firearms. The
hunters had proper licenses, but one of them had not reported seven
out of 13 geese that he had shot earlier in the season. Richter
warned the hunters for shooting too close to the homes and cited
the one hunter for the goose-harvest reporting violation.

Warden Richter responded to a call of a subject in possession of
undersized bass on the Rock River below the Monterey dam. Richter
located the fisherman and his family and found they were in
possession of five undersized smallmouth and largemouth bass. One
citation was issued to the individual who admitted to catching the
bass.

Warden Nathan Kroeplin, of Madison, and deputy warden Kanable
responded to a call of a hunter shooting a pheasant off the road at
the Goose Lake Public Hunting Grounds. It was eventually discovered
that the man did shoot a pheasant 37 feet from the center line of
Hwy. BB. The individual was issued one citation and the pheasant
was seized.

District 18 – Poynette area

Warden John Buss, of Sauk City, got a call about a subject who shot
a deer from within 50 feet of the centerline with a bow.

Warden Heather Gottschalk, of Beaver Dam, learned of a subject who
was gun deer hunting in a closed area. The suspect was gone, but
the area was checked again later that day and the next morning.
Gottschalk did locate a man and his girlfriend hunting in Unit 68B.
The subject stated he thought it was OK to hunt in Unit 68B, where
they had shot a deer. The deer was seized and citations
issued.

Warden Michael Green, of the Dells, issued two citations to two
anglers who kept multiple undersized saugers on the Lower
Dells.

Warden Paul Nadolski, of Portage, worked a shine and shoot
complaint and two subjects admitted to using vehicle headlights to
shine and shoot an antlerless deer with a firearm at night.
Enforcement action was taken.

Wardens Paul Nell, of Horicon, and David Walz, of Watertown, were
working on the Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area on the opening of
the duck season when they saw a group of hunters hunting near the
main ditch. One of the hunters stated that his grandfather who used
to duck hunt in the 1980s gave him a lot of shotgun shells to use.
The wardens determined that the shells were lead. A citation was
issued.

Warden supervisor David Holmes, of Portage, was working duck
hunters in Dodge County when he saw three hunters shoot at a goose
that was flying past. They missed the goose. Holmes then checked
the hunters for goose permits. One of the hunters did not have
goose permits and two of the others did not have federal duck
stamps. Citations were issued.

District 19 – Dodgeville area

Wardens Mike Nice, of Richland Center, and Cody Adams, of Crawford
County, located a hunter who had driven past a “no vehicle” sign
and was driving along a field in an attempt to locate a deer.

Warden Joe Frost, of Dodgeville, received a call of trapping during
the closed season. The trapper was contacted checking traps for
muskrat and raccoon on state land. A citation was issued.

Warden Jeff King, of Darlington, assisted a Lafayette County deputy
with a traffic stop of two subjects who had been shining while in
possession of firearms. The passenger was hunting without a
license, transporting a loaded rifle, shining while in possession
of a firearm, and hunting from the road. The driver was also
shining while in possession of a rifle. Both received
citations.

Warden Rick DeWitte, of Cassville, was checking waterfowlers on the
Lower Wisconsin River when he contacted three individuals hunting
on an island. One hunter’s firearm was loaded with three lead shot
shells, and he was also in possession of 22 other lead shot shells.
Enforcement action was taken.