Bass Poachers Hide Fish and Face Tickets - Ulster County
On April 26, ECO Jason Smith was on patrol at the Ashokan Reservoir when he observed three men fishing from a rowboat without wearing personal floatation devices (PFDs). ECO Smith walked the shoreline and observed all three catch and keep smallmouth bass. ECO Smith contacted ECO Lucas Palmateer for assistance and the officers observed more bass being caught and placed on a long stringer outside the boat. As darkness fell, the officers made their way out of the woods and located the vehicles associated with the anglers. Inside one of the vehicles, which was registered to a retail fish market in Brooklyn, the officers found a large cooler. ECO Palmateer noticed the boat making its way back to the access area. The three anglers returned to the vehicle and spotted the ECOs. The subjects told the officers they had been targeting sunfish but didn't keep any. The officers did not locate any fish with the men nor on their boat, but eventually located a 15-foot long stringer tied to a rock several feet offshore. A total of 35 smallmouth bass were alive on the stringer, the same stringer that had been tied to the boat earlier in the day. The men were issued a total of 13 tickets for failing to wear a PFD, trespassing, fishing without a license, taking black bass out of season, and illegally taking black bass for commercial sale. All three men also had their NYC Department of Environmental Protection access permits for the reservoir revoked and their boat permit revoked. The 35 bass were successfully released back to the water and the tickets are returnable to the Town of Hurley Court.
