Northwest Fishing Reports

here's a story I thought you guys might be intersted in reading.first of all I want to thank WDFW for doing an amazing job on tracking these guys down,I just wish it could have been done earlier even though I know stuff like this takes a long time,it's just irritates me how much steelhead and other fish were snagged since 2011 by these idiots!!the link is below,let me know what you guys think.


http://www.heraldnet.com/article/201308 ... /708049963" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I hope all poachers get caught, sooner rather than later.

Let's hope they don't get a lenient judge. Stepchuk, a convicted felon - I wonder what other crimes he has done that he wasn't caught for?

This should read poachers. The snagging is the least of their offenses. Seriously. I'm glad they got 'em though.

natetreat wrote:This should read poachers. The snagging is the least of their offenses. Seriously. I'm glad they got 'em though.

You are absolutely right,so I corrected it:),I hope they weren't US citizens so they can be deported.honestly we don't need people like that here,not only considering the fact that they are poachers,they have past criminal history,you just can't trust people like that and the state doesn't have enough officers to go and waste our money and their time chasing guys like that.

Story was posted over a year ago. I wonder how things turned out.

Interesting to read the comments after the report in the link. It's fun to watch as others do battle over weather it's OK to assume that Igor and Oleg are likely immigrants from what is arguably the same country or area that most of the recently reported poachers are from. Remember back to the stories of the "Gentlemen" arrested for poaching the Lahontan Cutthroats from Lake Lenore, I believe it was, and the whitefish from Banks lake. Judging from their names, they sure sound like they are of the same background and maybe even linked in the same group. Then again, who am I to decide??

AJ dad you are correct or should I say I agree with you. I work with eastern Europeans and have had them tell me stories about filling wash tubs with trout when fishing local stocked lakes for trout. When I try to explain to them that its illegal and unethical they suddenly don't understand English very well. These folks don't understand recreational fisheries and have no respect.

strider43 wrote:AJ dad you are correct or should I say I agree with you. I work with eastern Europeans and have had them tell me stories about filling wash tubs with trout when fishing local stocked lakes for trout. When I try to explain to them that its illegal and unethical they suddenly don't understand English very well. These folks don't understand recreational fisheries and have no respect.

I don't understand...how much fish can people eat? Wild Sea-run Cutthroat Trout are good table fare, but really, the most I can have is MAYBE a fillet once a week (Salmon might be a different story). But stocked trout, I'll only eat a few times a year. I can't imagine what I would do with 30 trout (see the most recent reports), and the mind boggles with thinking about filleting and eating a tub full of any fish. Do they really have enough friends and family to give away all these fish to?

They sell them. Somewhere buys it. I can see 30 trout gone in one meal with a big family. I think it is a cultural difference. Conservation and public resource management aren't the same in some of the poorer countries, and they bring that over here when they immigrate. It does seem to be a recurring theme with these high profile poaching cases.

Mike Carey wrote:Let's hope they don't get a lenient judge. Stepchuk, a convicted felon - I wonder what other crimes he has done that he wasn't caught for?

Well, here's what he was caught for in 1996.
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource. ... ug=2309671" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here's a line from the article.
Stepchuk, who is from Ukraine, was ordered to serve five years and four months in prison. He faces possible deportation.

Looks like that didn't happen.

I suppose there could be more than one Igor Stepchuk but the age of the Igor in this article lines up with the age of the one in the poaching article.
Looks like this character has a blatant disrespect for the law. I vote for deportation!

Nothing will happen to him. This state and country would rather prosecute non violent drug offenders than hard core criminals or poaching which actually impacts citizens outdoor experience and the environment. We are soft on immigrants as well. Do you think Ukraine would be soft on an American tourist breaking their laws? Not likely. We are known softies, that's why there is a flood of folks coming here to sample our wonderful public Assistance etc.

skagit510 wrote:Nothing will happen to him. This state and country would rather prosecute non violent drug offenders than hard core criminals or poaching which actually impacts citizens outdoor experience and the environment. We are soft on immigrants as well. Do you think Ukraine would be soft on an American tourist breaking their laws? Not likely. We are known softies, that's why there is a flood of folks coming here to sample our wonderful public Assistance etc.

Word

Yes like I said it would be wonderful to have him deported.people like that don't know what a fair lifestyle is,don't know what a regular job is,just a trashy immigrant who thinks the government owes him something.im sure he broke other laws that he never got caught for,I just don't see how a person like that can maintain a fair lifestyle.please don't get me wrong-I have nothing against people that come from a different country and start working and try not to break our laws.My parents came to the U.S. in the 80's,I was born shortly after in Seattle,and the government would not give you food coupons,welfare or any other help back then,you simply come to the U.S. start working right away and enjoy life in the best country there is!,if you have great work ethic here you can always find a job and enjoy life and ofcourse get some fishing done...everyday..or try:)

I suppose it's important to choose words carefully, as leaving the wrong public record could one day prove unfortunate. But I will say that if I were to ever come across such activity in person, it wouldn't fish in my freezer the next morning.

skagit510 wrote:Nothing will happen to him. This state and country would rather prosecute non violent drug offenders than hard core criminals or poaching which actually impacts citizens outdoor experience and the environment. We are soft on immigrants as well. Do you think Ukraine would be soft on an American tourist breaking their laws? Not likely. We are known softies, that's why there is a flood of folks coming here to sample our wonderful public Assistance etc.

could not of stated it better myself!