Quincy man cited for getting jump on season with 96 fish

ARCHIVED NEWS RELEASE
This document is provided for archival purposes only. Archived documents do not reflect current WDFW regulations or policy and may contain factual inaccuracies.

News release March 6, 1998

Madonna Luers, (509) 456-4073
QUINCY -- Valentin Babak didn't just get a jump on the fishing season.

He caught 96 rainbow trout in Grant County's Burke Lake the day before the season opener.

Then he got caught himself.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Sergeant Jim Brown cited the 20-year-old Quincy man on Feb. 28 for fishing during closed season and possessing 91 fish over the five-trout daily catch limit.

Babak could face up to $1,000 in fines, including a $9-per-fish-over-the-limit penalty, and/or up to 90 days in jail.

Burke Lake, located south of Quincy and just west of George, is one of about 40 trout-stocked lakes in the Columbia Basin that opened to fishing March 1. It received about 10,000 9 to 10-inch rainbow trout from the Columbia Basin Hatchery before the opener. Fishers checked at Burke on the opener averaged about one trout each.

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