Ethics in hunting, the story of my once in a lifetime Buck....

[fwafwow]

Most people will never understand the emotional destruction that comes with having a magnificent specimen stolen from out from under you. This hunters courage to come forward with most of his half of the story has given me the courage to share most of mine. I had been afraid to come forward because of the shame until today.

It was a hot august day in 1973 on a limited entry lake and I was fishing for keeper perch. I left my bail open as I reached for another Busch latte. When I got back to my rod there was a gigantic tug. At first I thought I had snagged a scuba diver, but this was much bigger. I yelled to by 2 buddies who where there to get the net. Alas they had spent so much on the boat they couldn't afford a net. As I got the largest walleye I had ever seen along side, Egard reached in to bare hand him into the boat. The walleye hit the gunnel, flipped twice and back into the drink. I vowed to return the next morning or atleast later in the week to claim my prize.

Well it wasn't three days later I see a picture of some dude holding up my fish on the on the front page of the paper. I ordered an immediate investigation which confirmed the lip meat from my hook was an exact 50 percent match with the fish from the paper. Well before I could get my confront the guy, this dude leaves the county to go back to his dentist practice in Upstate New York. To say I was crushed is to put to put it mildly. That 5 1/2 pound walleye slipped right out of my life.

 

[Doghed]

Most people will never understand the emotional destruction that comes with having a magnificent specimen stolen from out from under you. This hunters courage to come forward with most of his half of the story has given me the courage to share most of mine. I had been afraid to come forward because of the shame until today.

It was a hot august day in 1973 on a limited entry lake and I was fishing for keeper perch. I left my bail open as I reached for another Busch latte. When I got back to my rod there was a gigantic tug. At first I thought I had snagged a scuba diver, but this was much bigger. I yelled to by 2 buddies who where there to get the net. Alas they had spent so much on the boat they couldn't afford a net. As I got the largest walleye I had ever seen along side, Egard reached in to bare hand him into the boat. The walleye hit the gunnel, flipped twice and back into the drink. I vowed to return the next morning or atleast later in the week to claim my prize.

Well it wasn't three days later I see a picture of some dude holding up my fish on the on the front page of the paper. I ordered an immediate investigation which confirmed the lip meat from my hook was an exact 50 percent match with the fish from the paper. Well before I could get my confront the guy, this dude leaves the county to go back to his dentist practice in Upstate New York. To say I was crushed is to put to put it mildly. That 5 1/2 pound walleye slipped right out of my life.

The story sounded legit until you said there was Busch Latte back in '73.

Busted!

 

[Cynoscion]

Pretty sure he meant Pearl latte

 

[Mike Islander]

l

 

[OG DramaLlama]

@Maverick1 "the head and the cape were taken" is correct

@Rob5589 There are several code violations, F&G has a vested interest

@Traveler Yes, I agree not all people post on Social Media. Thought of that just after I posted. Still think a buck of this caliber would make the rounds and someone would have heard the other hunters story if taken legally.

@Customweld I filled my tag so I did not continue to hunt. I did not ask IDFG for any concession nor do I expect this to occur.

@Ucsdryder I shot buck at 8:06, stayed at shot location until sunset (8:43). I stayed on the mountain until after legal shooting light, 9 :13. Buck was found next morning in a small timber patch that I was watching. My decision was to not pursue due to the heavy timber and brush, didn't want to risk pushing deer and losing everything.

It has been 3 days since I first posted this.....My mother is still fine.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

There are several code violations, F&G has a vested interest

Such as?

 

[Gunnersdad49]

Most people will never understand the emotional destruction that comes with having a magnificent specimen stolen from out from under you. This hunters courage to come forward with most of his half of the story has given me the courage to share most of mine. I had been afraid to come forward because of the shame until today.

It was a hot august day in 1973 on a limited entry lake and I was fishing for keeper perch. I left my bail open as I reached for another Busch latte. When I got back to my rod there was a gigantic tug. At first I thought I had snagged a scuba diver, but this was much bigger. I yelled to by 2 buddies who where there to get the net. Alas they had spent so much on the boat they couldn't afford a net. As I got the largest walleye I had ever seen along side, Egard reached in to bare hand him into the boat. The walleye hit the gunnel, flipped twice and back into the drink. I vowed to return the next morning or atleast later in the week to claim my prize.

Well it wasn't three days later I see a picture of some dude holding up my fish on the on the front page of the paper. I ordered an immediate investigation which confirmed the lip meat from my hook was an exact 50 percent match with the fish from the paper. Well before I could get my confront the guy, this dude leaves the county to go back to his dentist practice in Upstate New York. To say I was crushed is to put to put it mildly. That 5 1/2 pound walleye slipped right out of my life.

Listen, I quit my dental practice to steal walleye full time. Which one was yours again?

 

[bojangles808]

Such as?

I think sometimes depending on the state with poached big bucks they tack on hefty restitution based on trophy size. Perhaps that's why IDGAF would have a more vested interest of it's a hard to draw tag and trophy animal? Not familiar w/ ID though, just speculating

 

[WeiserBucks]

I think sometimes depending on the state with poached big bucks they tack on hefty restitution based on trophy size. Perhaps that's why IDGAF would have a more vested interest? Not familiar w/ ID though

Not the case with deer/elk/bear/antelope in ID. Sheep/moose/goat IDFG will come down like a ton of bricks regardless of trophy size.

 

[bojangles808]

Not the case with deer/elk/bear/antelope in ID. Sheep/moose/goat IDFG will come down like a ton of bricks regardless of trophy size.

Thenn I am wrong and stand corrected, thanks for clarifying

 

[Ucsdryder]

@Maverick1 "the head and the cape were taken" is correct

@Rob5589 There are several code violations, F&G has a vested interest

@Traveler Yes, I agree not all people post on Social Media. Thought of that just after I posted. Still think a buck of this caliber would make the rounds and someone would have heard the other hunters story if taken legally.

@Customweld I filled my tag so I did not continue to hunt. I did not ask IDFG for any concession nor do I expect this to occur.

@Ucsdryder I shot buck at 8:06, stayed at shot location until sunset (8:43). I stayed on the mountain until after legal shooting light, 9 :13. Buck was found next morning in a small timber patch that I was watching. My decision was to not pursue due to the heavy timber and brush, didn't want to risk pushing deer and losing everything.

It has been 3 days since I first posted this.....My mother is still fine.

So you stayed until 913 then hiked out. Which probably took 30 min to an hour or more. Assuming nobody came in while you hiked out that means someone came in after 11pm, found the blood trail, then found your buck, all in the dark.


Or there were other people in the area hunting. Maybe camped back in there? Did anybody see you shoot it that wasnt in your group?

I’d love to see a picture of the animal as you found it the next day. I assume you took pictures.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Thenn I am wrong and stand corrected, thanks for clarifying

A local guy near me poached a bull elk in a draw zone, on private property and left the whole thing to waste. He was caught and prosecuted. He pleaded guilty and received a giant fine of $500, lost his hunting license for 9 months and got to keep the rifle he used in the crime. IDFG talks a big show but in the end, the courts let the poachers off with a slap on the wrist 99% of the time.

 

[WeiserBucks]

So you stayed until 913 then hiked out. Which probably took 30 min to an hour or more. Assuming nobody came in while you hiked out that means someone came in after 11pm, found the blood trail, then found your buck, all in the dark.


Or there were other people in the area hunting. Maybe camped back in there? Did anybody see you shoot it that wasnt in your group?

I’d love to see a picture of the animal as you found it the next day. I assume you took pictures.

I'd bet a dollar that someone else saw the deer go down from a vantage point unknown to OP and snagged the rack after dark. The odds of someone randomly finding a freshly killed deer in the dark are incredibly low.

 

[Ucsdryder]

I'd bet a dollar that someone else saw the deer go down from a vantage point unknown to OP and snagged the rack after dark. The odds of someone randomly finding a freshly killed deer in the dark are incredibly low.

Yeah that’s the only real explanation. If it was a heavily hunted area. If it’s one of those spots where nobody was in the parking lot when he got back to the truck then it just seems crazy bizarre.

 

[Customweld]

@jlhois, I appreciate the response.

 

[WeiserBucks]

I'm also curious why this whole thing is so secretive? If I felt that I was wronged I'd be posting every last detail of the whole situation in hopes that somebody, somewhere saw something that may be useful. Somebody who knows a guy that knows a guy who met a guy knows where that deer head is.

160+ days and IDFG hasn't charged anyone with a crime? That tells me they have nothing to move forward with or they're completely incompetent. Either scenario is 100% believable.

 

[sneaky]

...

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[HuntHarder]

Sounds like another guy was in the timber patch huh?

 

[orionsbrother]

Cue the seen from Jaws where Quint and Hooper compare scars...

I can feel your pain jlhois... but... “I got that beat”

Somewhere around 1946 days ago I was hunting a muley on a friend’s family’s property that was the biggest mule deer I have ever seen. I stalked that deer for the better part of the day. He bedded in a small copse of trees surrounded by sage flat. A really small copse of trees. Head up. No way that I could work my way in. I sat, glassed and waited. And waited.

After a couple of hours, he got up and of course, headed the wrong way for me.

I waited til he created the ridge and sprinted after him, looking to cut him off. I slowly peaked over the top... and discovered that he had angled off in a different direction. When he got behind some cover, I sprinted after him. He was headed toward the fence line.

I hustled as fast as possible, as quietly as possible as he fed with his head down. I was there! As I settled in to take the shot, he caught me and went over the fence onto a neighbor’s property.

Two days later, I watched through my binoculars as the neighbor killed that buck on my friend’s family’s property, hopped the fence and pulled the buck onto his side.

BUT... I was on a wilderness canoe trip with a buddy and was working to position the canoe to put him on some lake trout. He was impatient. Took a moment to get where I wanted to be.

He sent his jig down and gave it a hop. His rod slammed down and the line snapped. His eyes were like pie plates.

I grabbed my lightweight rod and sent a jig down. BAM!! I was hooked up. He was furiously tying on a new jig and was done before I had even gained on my fish.

Then he got impatient again because I was struggling to gain on this fish with my light tackle. “Just land it already! I want to get back to fishing!”

“Hold your horses. I’m busy.”

It took a bit, but my six pound test held up. I landed a laker better than 20 pounds.

“Hey!!! It’s got my jig!!!”

“Ha!!!” I replied, “My fish. My jig!!”

So... I got that going for me.

 

[2ski]

The less detailed the story, the less likely I'm believing this whole thing. Major violations happened but no detail as to those violations specifically. I'm sure he lost the deer but I'm starting to wonder if he's leaving out some details that show this to not have went down as blatant stealing an animal.