Mass. man nailed for poaching stripers he intended to sell 🐟

If you’re still with us, that means you’ve made it to the middle of yet another week. We’ve added a few more sections to the newsletter as we continue to grow and keep all of you entertained for the best 5 minutes of your Wednesday and Friday mornings.

I hope y’all continue to enjoy what we put out there for you - be sure to let us know by participating in our surveys at the bottom of the email.

With that in mind, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get another mid-week dispatch out the door.

Here's what's worth reading about so far this week:

• Stolen stripers - Mass. man busted after poaching, trying to sell striped bass 🐟

• Colorado needs a new dealer - A new wolf dealer, that is 🐺

• Large-scale poaching ring uncovered - Wisconsin officials are knee deep in a juicy investigation 🕵️

• CWD hits Washington State - Washington becomes the 35th state with a confirmed case 🤢

• Wrong photo - A BC outfitter used the picture of a famous wolf to promote hunting - it didn’t go over well 🙈

• Risk it for the biscuit - Fisherman jumps in, untangles his line from piling and still LANDS THE TARPON 💪

AN ON-GOING PROBLEM
MASSACHUSETTS MAN BUSTED FOR POACHING OVERSIZED STRIPERS HE INTENDED TO SELL

The New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game has had their hands full as of late dealing with an increase in cross-border illegal fishing with commercial vessels from neighboring Massachusetts. 

While New Hampshire prohibits the sale of any striped bass from its waters, Massachusetts does allow a 15-fish quota for commercial vessels to catch and sell striped bass measuring over 35 inches. In an attempt to skirt the rules, a Massachusetts man was caught fishing off the coast of New Hampshire with hopes of importing the fish into his home state and making a quick buck.

The unidentified poacher was promptly caught after a number of local fishing vessels noticed his boat, marked with a Massachusetts hull number, fishing late at night with no running lights. Reporting the suspicious activity to NHFG, the sneaky fisherman tried to give the local fishermen and authorities the slip, but was promptly met at the boat ramp by local police as he attempted to ditch the fish…

Firstly, thank you to everyone who’s downloaded and subscribed to the new pod so far. It’s a work in progress (like everything in my life), so I appreciate the support.

Today’s episode is the first in our Stories from the Field series that we’ll be running every couple of weeks on the show. In the series, I cover fascinating outdoor-oriented characters both past and present. Using biographies and other books recounting these phenomenal tales from the great outdoors, I leave you with a beautifully summarized audio version along with my colorful commentary, where applicable.

In episode #1, I cover the legend of Vince "Trapper" Nelson, a man who hunted, trapped and played Tarzan to bored Palm Beach housewives all while sly developers tried to dismantle his 1,000+ acre real estate holdings along the wild and scenic Loxahatchee River during the 1940s and 50s. His mysterious death in 1968 sent shockwaves through the sleepy South Florida community and was eventually ruled a suicide, despite what many believed to have been a hasty investigation.

I picked up a copy of Life and Death on the Loxahatchee by James D. Snyder to learn more about Trapper and his story. In this episode, I break down the key findings from the book and lay out the amazing story of the "Tarzan of the Loxahatchee," the late Vince "Trapper" Nelson.

I hope you’ll listen along and enjoy his story as much as I did.

-Ryan

Listen now:

🐺 Colorado is in the market for a new wolf provider after Colville Tribe rescinds offer to help. Colorado officials are looking for a new gray wolf supplier after the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington State, reneged on their offer to provide Colorado with wolves for the second phase of their voter-led wolf reintroduction program.

In a meeting held in early June, the Colville tribal council voted unanimously, 10-0, to withdraw from their agreement with the state of Colorado after catching wind that state officials had not involved the Southern Ute Tribe in wolf-related discussions. In a show of solidarity (or a gentle “F--- you” to CPW), the Tribe will not allow CPW to pluck 10-15 wolves for the program from its tribal lands.

“Based on new information regarding the proposed reintroduction project in Colorado, and that we have now learned that the State of Colorado has failed to consult with the Southern Ute Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation cannot agree to the request made by the State of Colorado to provide wolves for this project at this time,” the meeting document reads.

🕵️ Officials are sniffing around a potentially large-scale poaching ring investigation in Wisconsin. Working in tandem with the Fon du Lac County Sheriff’s Office, Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are investigating a group of teens and adults thought to have been poaching dozens of trophy whitetails across multiple counties over the past year. 

According to reports, these poachers cruise roadways at night, blasting deer from inside vehicles using rifles and spotlights. Following a tip from a Fon du Lac resident, the investigation uncovered multiple velvet-antlered bucks rotting in a trash can near a residential neighborhood.

“They have been cutting the heads of the bucks off and leaving the rest of the body lay,” Fond du Lac County Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt told WPR. “If they mistakenly shot a doe, they would just leave the entire doe lay.”

Waldschmidt called the crimes “senseless, reckless, indiscriminate killing of deer” and has prompted many local hunters and farmers to assist with the investigation.

🤢 Chronic wasting disease has officially entered the chat in Washington state. A white tailed doe that was found just north of Spokane tested positive for the deadly disease late last month. Washington now joins the likes of California, Indiana and British Columbia by finding their first case this year. As the disease continues to plague cervids across the country, it can now be found in 35 states and 4 Canadian provinces.

“With the spread of CWD across the country and recent detections in adjacent states and provinces, WDFW has proactively conducted surveillance in this area since 2021,” noted Eric Gardner, WDFW’s Wildlife Program Director. “We detected this case because of the surveillance program, and we are immediately reviewing our Management Plan and the circumstances of this detection. We will announce additional management actions soon.”

Wisconsin DNR announces sharp-tailed grouse hunting closed for sixth straight year: The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced that although the spring population survey results indicate a slight increase, the sharp-tailed grouse hunting season remains closed for 2024. Permits and applications will not be available or accepted this year. Read more at WDNR.

Colorado’s newest state wildlife area will open for hunting in October:  The new 1,860-acre wildlife area is called Collard Ranch and has 5 miles of access to the Tarryall Creek in Park County, adjacent to the existing Cline Ranch State Wildlife Area and other conservation lands. Read more at KDVR.

Wildlife experts still hunting for source of invasive mussels in Colorado River:  Water users in Western Colorado are awaiting results of ramped-up testing efforts to control invasive zebra mussels after they were found in the Colorado River and an irrigation canal near Grand Junction. Read more at KNPR.

Hunting dog depredated in Sawyer County, WI: On Sunday, Aug. 4, USDA-Wildlife Services verified that wolves killed a Walker trailing hound dog in the Town of Winter, Sawyer County. Read more at Spooner Advocate.

More elk hunting opportunities proposed on North Dakota public lands: The newest proposal includes an additional 100,000+ acres of public land at four national wildlife refuges (NWR): J. Clark Salyer NWR, Upper Souris NWR, Lostwood NWR, and Des Lacs NWR. Read more at KXNET.

CONTROVERSY // ^{_{THIS WEEK’S SH*T DISTURBER}}

SOMEONE GOT FIRED
HUNTING OUTFITTER ACCIDENTALLY USES A PHOTO OF SOME FAMOUS WOLF ON HIS NEW WEBSITE AND GETS THREATS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

It’s one thing to use copyrighted material and it’s quite another to use copyrighted material of a damn wolf that bleeding hearts across the globe have adopted as one of their own. And that’s exactly what’s happened to one British Columbia outfitter after a recent website redesign.

While the outfitter has every right to promote wolf hunting, which is completely legal in British Columbia, it sounds as though his web developer simply made a bonehead mistake in selecting the image to promote such hunts. According to reports, the wolf that was depicted on the site captured the attention of millions and was even named by members of the Songhees First Nations from the small island on which it was found back in the 2010s (ya, that long ago).

As it turns out, the wolf known as Takaya, was the only one said to live on the small island, pulling on the heartstrings of wolf lovers everywhere…

VIDEO // ^{_{SOME THINGS JUST HAVE TO BE SEEN}}

😲 Not one piebald, a whole herd of ‘em. It’s crazy enough to come across one piebald deer in your lifetime (hasn’t happened to me yet), but to catch a glimpse of a whole herd of them? That’s something you’ve got to see to believe.

🎣 Fisherman goes to great lengths to land the fish. I love a little grit. It’s what makes men great and this guy has it in spades. Watch as this fishermen bails from his boat to untangle his line from around the piling and still land the dang tarpon! Someone ought to buy this guy a beer.

CAMP TALK // ^{_{BEFORE YOU GO}}

We get a lot of questions and comments on here, and we figure it’s time to repay the favor. As part of our new Camp Talk section, we’re going to ask you, the reader, your opinion on some serious (and not so serious) topics to close out each newsletter.

Last week I asked, lots of talk of lead ammo this week. What are your thoughts?

We seem to have hit a nerve as it was our most popular survey question yet! There were diverse opinions, but here’s how the answers ranked:

1. I use both

2. I already use non-toxic ammo

3. I’ll shoot lead until I die

Here’s today’s question…

Oh, and one more thing…

Feel free to let me know what you loved/hated in the comments.