FISHING -- The recently resolved Lake Lenore poaching case involving 242 fish illegally gillnetted by four Western Washington men, stood out for the jail time and fines handed down by the Grant County District Court.

However, poaching cases at the many scattered fishing lakes in central Washington are not uncommon.

Here are answers to a few followup questions I posed regarding the case to Patrick Schaff, the deputy prosecutor who worked on the case:

Do you know of any other illegal fishing cases of this magnitude occurring in Grant County?

"This seems to be the only Grant County case of this magnitude in the last several years. We see cases of similar character (i.e. late-night net poaching of rare or semi-rare fish) a couple of times a year, usually from Lake Lenore but occasionally from Banks Lake.  But those cases usually involve a couple dozen fish on average.  This case obviously stands out because of the large number of fish taken."

Is there any information on what the defendants were planning to do with so many fish?

"We don’t know what the defendants intended to do with the fish, but they clearly took more than would be needed for a personal or family supply." 

What is the citizenship of the four men involved in the Lenore illegal fishing case?

"I don’t know the citizenship status of the four men and I would not feel comfortable speculating.  Our office is prohibited by law from considering citizenship or national origin when choosing how to resolve cases." 

A Washington Fish and Wildlife Department enforcement captain offered more insight into the case.

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