Minnesota conservation officer seeks info on fish-carcass dumping

Bemidji, Minn. — Minnesota DNR Conservation Officer Mike Cross, of Lake George, says he’s looking for information from the public about the dumping of a large volume of fish carcasses at the Fern Lake cross country skiing parking lot just south of Bemidji, on Sunday, Jan. 22. 

Cross said he went there that afternoon and found a freshly dumped pile of fish along a wood line. 

“They were all together; they weren’t frozen,” Cross said. “It must’ve been probably like a half hour to an hour before I got there at 3:30 (p.m.) on Sunday.”

The pile consisted of 35 crappies, two walleyes, a package of bacon, and a package of seasoned chicken breasts. Cross said he’s guessing, based on the manner in which the garbage was dumped along the wood line, that it was an overlimit of fish. 

The fillets were poorly cut, and Cross said there were some large crappies in the mix, with the biggest being 13 inches. 

Anyone with information is asked to contact Cross at (612) 240-1620 or the Turn in Poachers (TIP) line at 800-652-9093.