# Ohio intolerant of anglers going hoggish on fish



## jakeo (Sep 14, 2004)

Article published May 07, 2010
Ohio intolerant of anglers going hoggish on fish


Six fishermen from Tennessee and Georgia face the loss of their three bass boats and other gear after being charged with 30 counts of taking over the daily creel limit of smallmouth bass on western Lake Erie. 

"This is the worst case I have ever seen of bass overbagging," stated Gino Barna, Lake Erie law enforcement supervisor for the Ohio Division of Wildlife. The men are charged with illegally taking at least 141 smallmouth over the limit during a recent stay on South Bass Island. 

Smallmouth bass are highly prized for their sporting challenge and most fishermen keep them only rarely if at all, favoring walleye and yellow perch for the table. 

The six men charged include Freelan C. Leffew, 66, of Soddy Daisy, Tenn., his son, Michael Todd Leffew, 38, of Hixson, Tenn.; Freddie Warren, 63, of Wildwood, Ga.; Charles H. Burkhart, 67, of Ringgold, Ga.; Samuel J. Carroll, 65, of Ringgold, and Herbert Samuel Stephens, 58, of Soddy Daisy. 

All six entered guilty pleas on the charges on Monday in Ottawa County Municipal Court before Magistrate Lou Wargo. They are set to be sentenced June 2. 

Each charge is a fourth degree misdemeanor carrying as maximum penalty of 30 days jail and $250 fine. The state also is seeking state-prescribed restitution for the illegally taken bass at $50 a fish, for a total of $7,050, along with forfeiture of the boat rigs and freezers. The men also could lose fishing privileges in Ohio for three years. 

Barna gave this account of the case: State wildlife officers on the lake were running a seasonal surveillance project, watching of over-limit angling and multiple trips, between April 25 and 30, on the eve of the May 1 closing of the bass season on Lake Erie for spawning. 
The six out-of-state anglers arrived on the island by ferry with their trailered bass boats and two freezers. Wildlife lawmen observed three boats making multiple daily trips, as many as three a day. 

"We watched them fish all morning," Barna said at one point of the surveillance. "We knew something was up." 

The arrests were made last Friday. Barna said that lawmen can prove the six men took 141 bass over limit, "but they admitted to more than that." 

The daily legal limit on Erie bass is five, except during the closed season, which is May 1 through June 25 this year. No bass may be kept and only catch-and-release angling is allowed for bass during closing. 

The supervisor said in the arrests officers seized 155 bags of frozen, chunked fish and also seized 20 more bass that had not been frozen. The freezers were seized along with the three boat rigs. 

Barna said a lot of out-of-staters bring along freezers to Lake Erie. 

"There are not a lot of places you can catch so many fish like you can here," he said. 

"The sad thing was in this case, half of their fish were females staging for the spawning season." 

Since Ohio does not have possession limits on fish, it legally is possible to keep, say, seven limits of fish for seven days of fishing. But the six anglers are accused of going far beyond that. 

Barna noted that Ohio law is written such that fish must be kept "in the round" or filleted with the skin attached when "on the water." That includes anyone bringing back fish on a ferry from the islands. 

Cleaning and chunking fish is a method poachers can use to cover up the numbers and species of fish they have taken.


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## Pharmacyguy (Apr 3, 2010)

Can't we carve a big P on their foreheads as well?


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## William H Bonney (Jan 14, 2003)

I'd love to see the judge throw the book at 'em,,, seize the boats and all, then ask them,,, "_Seriously,,, W T F were you thinking,,, how stupid are you??_


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## Zofchak (Jan 10, 2003)

The bad part is this type of thing probably happens dozens of times for every one time they are caught:rant:. Hats off to authorities for busting these POS poachers! I really wish Michigan would dedicate the resources to enforcement that Ohio does. :sad:


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## jakeo (Sep 14, 2004)

I guess if you see FREEZERS in the back of someones truck...It means they were on a mission. I hope the state HANGS THEIR BUTTS!


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## TrekJeff (Sep 7, 2007)

I love it when a post comes in with NO room to think otherwise...these idiots should not only lose thier boats and gear, but if the boats were hooked up to thier vehicles, the vehicles should go too.


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## Shaft546 (Jan 25, 2010)

NEVER mess with the DNR!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## mcfish (Jan 24, 2010)

I was on the islands fishing the third week in april. There was a group there from cincinatti and they were filling 5 gallon pails with large hen smallies. It made me ill then and this story makes me ill now. I applaud the state of ohio and the job they do with lake erie. I hope word of this bust really gets out.


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## big_phish (Jan 1, 2009)

I will gladly take their boats off their hands. Btw, is this one of those "if you prepare it right, bass will taste great stories?" Must be an acquired taste.


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## frenchriver1 (Jul 5, 2005)

Would like to be there to hear their excuses/defense.


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## mcanes1 (Jan 22, 2003)

Why are they even allowed to get a license again? Let alone in 3 years. Those who blatantly abuse the laws of possesion, should either have no fishing priviledges again, in any state. Or at least have to buy a special license and an obscene cost. 
Who monitors the license purchases to make sure that these 3 year probations last the whole 3 years? Is there a system in place that monitors the convicted poachers, like for example people on "Sex offenders list"?

Just curios.


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## Just_One_More (Dec 29, 2006)

jakeo said:


> Since Ohio does not have possession limits on fish, it legally is possible to keep, say, seven limits of fish for seven days of fishing. But the six anglers are accused of going far beyond that.
> 
> Barna noted that Ohio law is written such that fish must be kept "in the round" or filleted with the skin attached when "on the water." That includes anyone bringing back fish on a ferry from the islands.


Would be nice to know how many days these guys were there because there is no possession limit so if the guys weren't on the island which they consider still the water these guys could've been legal and are getting all there stuff taken because they filleted them wrong because the islands are still consider being on the water and the fish needed to be filleted with skin attached. So for that i think taking there boats would be a little excessive.


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## Kelly Johnson (May 22, 2005)

Just_One_More said:


> Would be nice to know how many days these guys were there because there is no possession limit so if the guys weren't on the island which they consider still the water these guys could've been legal and are getting all there stuff taken because they filleted them wrong because the islands are still consider being on the water and the fish needed to be filleted with skin attached. So for that i think taking there boats would be a little excessive.


The arrests were made last Friday. Barna said that lawmen can prove the six men took 141 bass over limit, *"but they admitted to more than that." *


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## sullyxlh (Oct 28, 2004)

William H Bonney said:


> I'd love to see the judge throw the book at 'em,,, seize the boats and all, then ask them,,, "_Seriously,,, W T F were you thinking,,, how stupid are you??_


But this is the US legal system so the judge will apologize, give them their boats back, reimburse them for lost time and wages and say _seriously w t f were we thinking_......


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## walleyehawger (Feb 5, 2009)

I have not had time to read through he whole thread yet. What these idiots have done is inexcusable! I was under the impression that out of staters were no longer allowed an infinite possession limit?? I though that non residents were only allowed the daily bag limit in their possession. Any truth to this?

Thanks


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## bobcolenso (Sep 11, 2003)

Zofchak said:


> The bad part is this type of thing probably happens dozens of times for every one time they are caught:rant:. Hats off to authorities for busting these POS poachers! I really wish Michigan would dedicate the resources to enforcement that Ohio does. :sad:


OT just a bit, but with Michigan's 70 MPH speed limit I set the cruise as 74,5,6. But when in Ohio with their 65 MPH speed limit I set the cruise at 64.


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## frenchriver1 (Jul 5, 2005)

Someone with access to the Ohio Rules book should be able to answer that, but I doubt if out staters ever could rape the fishery in any State...


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## atlrus (Mar 23, 2010)

Their boats should be taken simply on account of them being retarded. Why come all the way from GA to poach bass?!? That's just dumb.:coco:



> OT just a bit, but with Michigan's 70 MPH speed limit I set the cruise as 74,5,6. But when in Ohio with their 65 MPH speed limit I set the cruise at 64.


Hehe, it's not that bad, though. I always cruise @ 73 in Ohio and 78 in MI and never been pulled over. They are much more about presence than actually pulling you over for little speeding.


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