Cheatham dam fish poacher trial results

[rodholder]

DOUG MARKUM NOTE: TWRA release issued minutes ago.

Four Nashville men agreed Wednesday to plead guilty to two counts of keeping fish over their daily creel limit and all must pay $2,097 in court costs, fines, and restitution for their actions last winter. They also must wait three years before they f...ish in Tennessee again.
The four men were originally charged with six counts of keeping creel limits of white bass over the allowed 15 per day. They agreed to plead to two counts to avoid a trial date in Cheatham County General Sessions Court in Ashland City.
Brad Bagwell, an officer for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, charged Nashville residents Phay Souksavong, 78, Khamnovan Keomanyychanh, 60, Kongham Pheneyongsa, 68, and So Akhom, 70, with keeping a total of 360 white bass over the limit (90 each) on March 20. The charges came after he checked various compartments in their boat.
The four had been fishing on the tailrace waters below Cheatham Dam near Ashland City and were about to leave the river when Bagwell stopped them.
“This was the first offense for them, but the case was so severe they got hit pretty hard,” said Bagwell. “They lost their fishing privileges for three years, will pay almost $8,400 in total penalties, had 10 rods and reels confiscated from them, and no telling how much they paid in legal fees.”
“I hope this will help send the message that we are serious about enforcing creel limits on our fish,” said Bagwell. “They are in place to allow more anglers to catch fish and also to provide protection to fish populations.”
While Bagwell just happened to be patrolling the ramp below Cheatham Dam last March, he had been given earlier information from local anglers that this group was possibly over fishing.
“I was fortunate to catch these four at the right time, but in weeks prior to catching them there was some really good information that gave me an idea of what to look for,” said Bagwell. “In this case, those sportsmen’s tips ultimately paid off.”

[ditz1]

IMO they got off easy. They should have been hit much harder.

[jaysouth]

I am glad to see this. When I was living in Virginia in the late 70s, newly arrived Vietnamese would keep fish without regard to size or creel limits. Game wardens and courts shrugged it off by saying "they don't understand our laws". They wiped out smallmouths in the lower Shenandoah for a decade.

[Fish Whisperer]

Thats a slap on the wrist and a disgrace to those of us that follow the rules and regulations...

[Reel Tune]

I'm glad something was done, but I believe it was not harsh enough. Maybe the judicial system took it easy on them because they are old????

Jeremy

[Farley]

Not enough punishment in my opionion but what it may do is make the public aware of the problem. I have callled the TWRA from the lake before complaining about this problem. Now that there are more people aware of it and the TWRA knows we are aware of it I think it will be handled better. We have to be the eyes for the TWRA because they can't do it alone. If you see an issue call it in and hopefully the TWRA will be more likely to respond. There was another bust last week on Priest and it was because someone saw what was going on and notified the TWRA. Before the publicity of this case either the fisherman wouldn't have called it in or the TWRA would have blown it off. A big thanks to Doug Markham and Mike Organ of the Tennessean for keeping the case in the forefront.

[jad2t]

Not allowed to fish for three years huh? I bet they went fishing this morning, they obviously don't care about rules. I'd like to see their confiscated gear be donated to children wanting to get into the sport but don't have money to buy gear.

[Jmmiller33]

Originally Posted by MidTNKayakAngler

I'm glad something was done, but I believe it was not harsh enough. Maybe the judicial system took it easy on them because they are old????

Jeremy

I work in the system myself. And unfortunately this is just how it goes. A man who commits 4 or 5 burglaries can plea out to only two of them and get probation sometimes. It all depends on the facts, officers, and attorneys on both sides. I'm also glad that at least SOMETHING happened. Hopefully this issue will spread the word a bit to the decent folks and show them that they can and should report things and also spread to those with less respect for the land and the law and discourage them.

[jaystaler88]

I was hoping for a little stiffer penalty for these guys, but lets just all be thankful that they were even caught at all. Thanks, TWRA for all you do. At least they still aren't on the loose, selling white bass to sushi restaurants and calling it "yellowtail snapper"

This is a win!

[jad2t]

Originally Posted by jaystaler88

I was hoping for a little stiffer penalty for these guys, but lets just all be thankful that they were even caught at all. Thanks, TWRA for all you do. At least they still aren't on the loose, selling white bass to sushi restaurants and calling it "yellowtail snapper"

This is a win!

That was my theory the second I heard about them attempting to keep 400+ white bass. I bet it happens more than we like to think about when we eat sushi. Oh well, I still love the stuff!

[Pookie]

While this was an egregious offense, at the end of the day, it's only fish we are talking about. In my opinion, TWRA dropped the ball here. Had they thoroughly investigated this case, and determined (with proof) that these men were selling the fish (which we all know was the case), there might have been a possibility that jail time would have come into play. As it is, the court just looked at it as a bunch of old men who caught over the limit of fish.

When burglars are getting probation, and robbers are getting community service, I didn't hold any hope that these guys would be going to jail. It's just the way our justice system works.

[Cornbread]

Im sure we all would agree they are still fishin

[tacklemake]

Just think about all the fish they got a way with years before this time...........woody

[wormdunker]

Pretty light sentence IMO. I think they knew exactly what they were doing, and were selling the fish. Is there a "poaching hotline" number to call for folks who might suspect some illegal harvesting is going on?

[blink]

http://www.tn.gov/twra/contact.html