Anglers from California busted for poaching trout in Wyoming

Wyoming’s North Platte River is one of the state’s premier blue-ribbon trout fisheries, in large part because of special regulations and a strong conservation ethic.

So it was undoubtedly shocking for the angling community to discover this week that three anglers from California have been fined and banned from fishing in Wyoming for removing over-limits of brown trout from the North Platte.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department announced that, after an investigation that began last November, the unidentified anglers pleaded guilty to exceeding trout limits and violating size restrictions.

One angler was found ave removed 10 brown trout from the North Platte, including one trout measuring 16-plus inches.

Another angler was found to have removed 15 brown trout and one rainbow trout, including nine brown trout measuring 16-plus inches.

A third angler removed seven brown trout, including five at 16-plus inches.

The daily limit on the North Platte is three trout per angler, with only one trout allowed to exceed 16 inches. At no time can an angler be in possession of more than three trout. (Most anglers release brown trout caught on the North Platte.)

According to the WGFD, the investigation was launched Nov. 12, 2024, when 32 brown trout wrapped in vacuum-sealed packaging were discovered in the freezer of a Saratoga resident.

The anglers apparently were given permission to use the resident’s shop to store and process fish and game meat.

Saratoga-area Game Warden Levi Wood located the anglers, who initially claimed they were confused by the regulations. But “multiple witnesses reported they were  informed of the regulations,” the WGFD stated in a news release.

The anglers were fined a combined total of $1,140 and another $1,500 in restitution. But they also had their fishing privileges revoked in Wyoming and 48 other states for one year.

Bobby Compton, WGFD fisheries supervisor in the Laramie Region, is quoted:

“The current special regulation on North Platte River in Saratoga helps to maintain a thriving wild brown trout population and its blue-ribbon classification. There are only 16 rivers with a blue-ribbon classification in Wyoming.”

Wood added: “This case highlights the importance of understanding and following fishing regulations. Possession limits exist to protect fish populations, and it’s every angler’s responsibility to know the rules.”