The Largest Walleye Caught in North Dakota

The Game and Fish Investigation Report After Game and Fish published the press release stating, " The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has completed an investigation into the 16-pound, 9-ounce walleye taken April 21 from the Heart River, and based on evidence provided, department officials have concluded the fish was foul-hooked, and therefore cannot be recognized as a state record," they provided the Investigation Report to the media to be published. It can be viewed on the InForum website here:  https://www.inforum.com/sports/outdoors/1022322-McFeely-N.D.-Game-and-Fish-walleye-investigation-included-video-witnesses-that-stripped-angler-of-state-record . How many of you reviewed the Investigation Report by Game and Fish? How many of you really reviewed it? We are going to briefly break down and go through the investigation report together. I will point out some unethical and potentially illegal acts by Game and Fish. Page 1 of the Investigation Report.  Pa

Game and Fish Press Release and Conclusion On May 13th, Game and Fish published a press release outlining their conclusion to their investigation. Below was their press release:  This is the press release by Game and Fish on May 13th. The press release stated, "Big Walleye Does Not Qualify as State Record: The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has completed an investigation into the 16-pound, 9-ounce walleye taken April 21 from the Heart River, and based on evidence provided , department officials have concluded the fish was foul-hooked, and therefore cannot be recognized as a state record. To qualify as a state record, a fish must be harvested in accordance with rules for recreational fishing."  Game and Fish published the statement, "based on evidence provided...department officials concluded..." Knowing what you know now about how I offered my evidence, did Game and Fish really make a conclusion based on the evidence provided? No, they did not.

My First Conversation with the Investigator May 1st, 5:57pm, was the first time Scott Winkelman from Game and Fish contacted me and asked if I would provide a statement. I told him I would have to contact my attorney and ask for advice before I could agree. Scott replied, he only wanted to ask a few "simple" questions. I asked if Gibbs was being charged with a crime. Scott replied, “no.” I replied, “Good. Because all he did was net my fish.” I asked why Game and Fish didn’t do a better job of verifying the walleye when they had exclusive access to it. I also asked why they published a press release announcing the new record if they had concerns. Winkelman stated, “because we didn’t have any reason to believe otherwise.” I stated I would get back to Winkelman about providing an official statement once I heard back from my attorney. On May 1st at 6:04pm, I spoke with my attorney. He reminded me Game and Fish was still looking to press criminal charges and advised me not to

Gibbs's Official Statement On May 1st, against attorney advice and after Game and Fish contacted Gibbs's place of employment a second time, Gibbs provided an official statement. His statement was face-to-face with the investigator. Gibbs's statements on how the walleye fought and was netted. When compared to photo and video evidence, Gibbs accurately explained how my 16 pound 9 ounce walleye fought and was netted. Here is a brief summary of what Gibbs stated: Gibbs stated, "I don't think we foul-hooked any walleye...he (Tom) has pictures."  I provided Game and Fish this image on April 22nd. Here are sound clips of the statements made by Gibbs discussing how the fish was fighting:  https://youtu.be/iYqA1AD5IQ0 . Gibbs stated, “ it (the record walleye) was ripping drag…fighting like a normal fish…you could see the head shakes…never saw where it was hooked in the water…fighting like a normal-hooked walleye the entire time. I had no doubts .”  

Email to My Attorney - Request for Game and Fish to Review My Walleye On April 24th at 9:38pm, after viewing harassing social media posts, I sent an email to my attorney requesting he contact Game and Fish. I wanted Game and Fish to complete an examination of my walleye. See my email below: The email to my attorney stated, "Hey Justin, can you reach out to Game and Fish tomorrow and let them know that I would love it if they came and took the fish for examination . You can't believe all the hate mail and negative comments I'm getting about this fish. Some people are absolutely awful. I want game and fish to have everything they need to investigate where this hook was when the fish was netted. They can take the fish and my rod reel combo with the bait still attached. I want them to settle this one way or another because people suck. And when they're done I would love to have a report that could be published for the public or something. I have no doubt the f

A Witness Statement After posting on Facebook asking for witnesses, I was provided with an image of a post made by "Clam Man." This post made by Clam Man stated, "Caught right across from me. Congrats...Looked like it was hooked in the mouth. Not snagged." Here is a screenshot of the statement: Post made by a witness stating, "Looked like it was hooked in the mouth. Not snaged." This was a wonderful post to see! I reached out via Facebook to the person who made the post asking if they would be willing to provide an official statement.  Game and Fish should have been able to find this statement made by a witness and could have reached out for a statement. Why didn't they? Additional Support More people started sending me information which included links, posts and additional comments. Below are some of them:  This post stated,  "I was there yesterday, the walleye that were caught all bit. The fish coming in sideways are carp

Here is another very important post. Please take your time and go through all of the information provided.  The Witness Video As we learned earlier in POST 14, there was a short 12-second video clip making its way around on social media. The short clip taken by a witness and was just a few seconds of a much longer video. When the 12-second video was pulled out of context, it did not provide the full picture of events. Once you watch the entire video, I believe it supported my walleye was hooked legally. Let me explain... After making my post on Facebook asking for witnesses, I had several people reach out to me. One of the responses was from K.L. He knew Witness #1 who recorded the Witness Video, and at 8:20am on April 24th, K.L. provided me the full recording. This was the same video Game and Fish had in their possession which they received from Arnez. As stated earlier, the Witness Video was recorded by Witness #1. He was a younger man who started fishing next to me, downstr

Reaching Out for Witnesses After my face-to-face consultation with the attorney, I posted on Facebook looking for witnesses. The time was 6:37pm. There were several witnesses at the Heart River and not one of them expressed any concerns as to how my walleye was caught. Considering this, I was hoping someone would come forward and provide a statement. Below is an image of my post.  Not only did I post on Facebook asking for witnesses, I sent personal messages to people who were posting comments about my record walleye. I was looking for anyone who appeared to have more information or could provide a statement.  Changes Reaching out to the public asking for witnesses was something Game and Fish should have done - not me. There were a lot of people making public posts and comments about my walleye who could have been a potential witness. These potential witnesses could have provided valuable information.  One witness posted, "It was caught right across from m

Attorney Consultation Face-to-Face At 5pm on April 23rd, I had a face-to-face attorney consultation which Gibbs attended. In the consultation, both Gibbs and I provided our series of events and asked questions. I provided the attorney with images and videos. The attorney was confident no violation occurred. The evidence supported the walleye was hooked in the mouth and because Game and Fish opened the investigation, they would have to provide "direct evidence" proving the walleye was foul-hooked beyond reasonable doubt at the time it was caught or prior to that. What direct evidence did Game and Fish provide that would prove beyond reasonable doubt my walleye was foul-hooked at the time it was caught and netted?  I still had questions about the investigation and requested the attorney contact Game and Fish to ask what specifically was being investigated. The attorney agreed that would be the next logical step. He stated he would contact Game and Fish in the morning an

The Second Recorded Walleye Inspection Prior to the consultation with the attorney, I wanted to document the condition of the walleye and more specifically, the location of the hole in the mouth. I wanted all my evidence recorded so it could be reviewed. I again took the walleye out of the freezer and began to thaw it in the bathtub. The time was 2:20pm.  When my wife walked into the bathroom, there was a huge, frozen fish wrapped in towels floating in the bathtub for a second time. I thought my wife was going to be upset. Instead, she asked, "What can I do to help?" She understood what I was going through and was just as upset as I was about the investigation. You have to remember, she was a witness to everything and didn't have any concerns. She was in just as much disbelief as I was about the investigation and potential for criminal charges.  My wife expressed anger about how Game and Fish had the walleye in their possession for nearly two hours and could have