District 18 - Rochester area

Last updated: 2013-05-07

CO Phil George (Rochester) checked anglers and turkey hunters throughout the week. Officer George attended in service training at Camp Ripley and took calls of dogs chasing deer and over limit of crappies. Follow up was done on a trapping issue from the winter.

CO Scott Fritz (LaCrescent) the snow storm made for very tough turkey hunting conditions. Despite the poor weather many birds were harvested. The Mississippi is expected to crest on pool 8 at about 12 feet. That will result in minor flooding. Boating landings are underwater on pool 9. He helped with a special boat detail in the Red Wing area. He attended annual training at Ripley. Enforcement for the week included no burning permit, fail to display valid boat registration, no fishing license in possession, and trespass while shed hunting.

CO Tom Hemker (Winona) attended annual training at Camp Ripley. He checked turkey hunters and found some success while trout fishermen had very good success. The river remains high with the usual spring fishing spots starting to produce fish. He also received spring wildlife complaints and concerns. May snowmobiling in Winona was the unusual sighting of the week.

CO Kevin Prodzinski (Wabasha) reports attending in service training as well as investigating complaints of trespass. A boat and water safety detail was worked on the Mississippi River. The Mississippi is high, fast, and cold and the fishing has been slow. A few snowmobiles were observed enjoying the 13 plus inches of snow received.

CO Joel Heyn (Plainview) worked the Moorhead area in preparation for flooding rivers. The Red River crested a lot lower than expected, so it was a non-event. Heyn also assisted CO McGowan for the St Croix River opener. It was a slower opener with the cold wet weather, but numerous violations were detected.

CO Tyler Quandt (Red Wing) reports spending time last week and weekend checking anglers and boating activity. The river is high and the fishing has been poor. Turkey hunters had a slow week due to the 16 inches of snow we got. Time was also spent on training at Camp Ripley. Some fishing and boating violations were detected.

CO Mitch Boyum (Rushford) reports turkey hunting has slowed with the snow but did pick up a little at the end of the week in the better weather. Trespass complaints were investigated as were dumping cases. Time was spent checking a few anglers but with the snow and high water activity was low.

Rochester #2 - vacant.