Text and Picture to Game and Fish
On the night I caught my walleye, Mike Anderson with Game and Fish requested more information about how it was caught to write an article for a publication. At 9:20am on April 22nd, I sent him the following text message and attached a picture of my son holding up a walleye. |
| Text message sent to Mike Anderson with Game and Fish with an attached image. |
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| Attached image to Anderson of my son holding up a walleye hooked in the mouth with Gibbs in the white hat and Witness Knuth in red. |
Nearly everything I stated in my text message could be proven true with direct evidence. For example,
- My jig and Moxi bait appeared in several photos taken throughout the day.
- I did feel the bite of the fish and lost the tail off of my bait.
- In the video my wife recorded, the walleye did fight for a long time (over 4 minutes).
- My wife's video also documented how the walleye fought under the water, conducted head shakes and the head remained upstream pointing towards me.
- We did catch a lot of nice walleye - all hooked in the mouth as documented by images.
- Even my kids caught walleye as documented in the photos.
- As you can hear in the videos, Gibbs expressed no concerns about how my walleye was caught and even asked me several times if I was going to get the fish mounted.
Anderson Replied to My Text
On April 22nd, 11:34am, Anderson replied to my text message, "Thanks Tom - I forwarded it on to Greg Power!" My text along with the attached picture was later forwarded to the investigator, Winkelman.
Potential changes
I spoke on behalf of Gibbs in my text message to Game and Fish (and later to the media). This was wrong of me to do. I was the one who believed (and still believe) my walleye got wrapped in the string as it fought, and I spoke about that and posted about it several times. I am the one who believed (and still believe) my walleye was hooked in the mouth where the fresh tear/hole was. I believed at the time, Gibbs was more specific about where he believed my walleye was hooked and how it could have been wrapped in the string. Lesson learned. I will not speak for anyone again. I put Gibbs and me in a bad spot by speaking on his behalf. From now on, I will let others speak for themselves. I will try to state the facts and only the facts. If there is something I believe, I will make that clear. Gibbs is a good guy and an honest one. I made us look bad, and I'm sorry for that.
It was not my intention to mislead anyone with my text message and statements.
The facts are (which we will learn more about in future posts), if you listen to both my wife's video and the Witness Video, you can hear Gibbs's reaction to the fish being caught. Gibbs asked several times if I was going to get the fish mounted and stated, "you got to get this mounted." In Gibbs's official statement, he stated we "didn't foul-hook any walleye." And stated, the big walleye fought "normal the entire time" and that he "had no doubts." He stated the fish "was staying under" and you "could see the head-shakes." It was "ripping drag" and "fighting like a normal-hooked walleye." He stated the fish was netted with the "head upstream" and that he "never saw it coming in tail first" again repeating it was fighting "like a normal-hooked walleye." He stated, he "didn't see the hook in the fish anywhere as it fought or when it was netted" because he "wasn't looking for the hook." He was just trying to "make his way back to the shore without falling" and had the "net over his shoulder." He said he didn't have to "unwind" any string but also stated he "couldn't see the string because it was dark string." He stated there was a "huge hole in the mouth of the fish" and asked why Game and Fish "didn't do a better job of inspecting it" when they had it. He stated, "Tom's saving the fish for you guys. He wants this to be legit."
From now on, I will let others speak for themselves and will try harder to clarify my statements.
Back to my text message to Game and Fish, I was willing and did provide more information and evidence to Game and Fish when asked. I even wrote, "Let me know if you have any questions or want more information." I provided Game and Fish with the image of my son holding up a walleye with the hook still in its mouth with Knuth in the background.
The investigator could have used the image I provided to prove Knuth's statements false.My image could have specifically proven these statements made by Knuth as false, “I seen him unhook a couple fish…he let his kids reel in a couple little fish…and they bring in the fish…and the hook would be in the back fin…or center of the fish…I seen em pull two fish in before that...and they both had the hook in the top fin...”
During an investigation, Game and Fish must do a better job of reviewing evidence.Maybe Game and Fish should have reached out to me for more information before making the statement about how "Gibbs was witness to the violation." I was being sincere in my text to Game and Fish when I wrote, "Let me know if you have any questions or want more information."
I was providing evidence and information prior to the investigator's statements he made about a "violation."It wasn't until after the investigator stated my walleye was "under investigation" and Gibbs was "witness to the violation" did I make the decision to seek legal advice. The words used by the investigator felt threatening, especially since the current regulation pertaining to a foul-hooked fish is criminal with potential jail time.
#northdakotaslargestwalleye #volkswalleye #justiceforthelargestwalleye
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