LETTER: GF&P should change enforcement or rule

Talk about it

To the Editor:

On Sept. 24, Jim Peters and I were boat fishing on Lake Madison for perch. We came in to the dock after catching our limit of 30 perch.

We were approached by game warden Mark Smedsrud and were told that Jim was being ticketed for catching 23 of the 30 fish we had in our live well.

Jim had a court appearance on Oct. 11 and was fined $150 and lost his fishing license for one year.

This is a gross injustice because every fisherman in South Dakota is guilty of doing the same thing that we did. Nobody catches four walleye or 15 perch then stops fishing without helping his partner catch his fish.

Jim Peters is 75 years old and a lifelong resident of South Dakota and a veteran. The Game, Fish and Parks Department should be ashamed for taking his license for one year. Either change the regulation or enforce the rules equally for everyone.

Tags: game fish and parks, opinion, outdoors, updates, letters, fishing, crime