CO Sean Williams (Ely #1) reports that fishing activity continued to slow over the week and weekend. Although some success was seen on several lakes, overall most reports were poor. Snowmobiling activity was high over the weekend and trail conditions were good, although falling snow made for low visibility. Violations included angling without a license in possession, failure to display current snowmobile registration, and no state trail sticker.

CO John Velsvaag (Ely #2) checked anglers and snowmobilers this past week. Slush continues to be a problem on many area lakes. Velsvaag found several spots with litter from fish houses. Velsvaag took several calls about the pike regulations.

CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Grand Marais) spent time in the BWCAW checking anglers on remote trout lakes. He attended a meeting at Camp Ripley to prepare for the firearms training for the upcoming CO Academy. Enforcement action was taken for angling and snowmobile violations. 

CO Mary Manning (Hovland) checked area anglers, fish houses and snowmobile operators. She followed up on snowmobile complaints and of a dog off-leash in the state park that was harassing skiers. Dog owners are reminded there is no "free run zone" in the state parks. Dogs must be leashed at all times for the safety of other park visitors, deer, and the dogs themselves.

CO Anthony Bermel (Babbitt) worked primarily snowmobile and angling enforcement throughout the week. Limited success was observed for anglers. Enforcement action was taken for expired snowmobile registrations, no snowmobile trail sticker, failure to transfer ownership, and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

CO David Schottenbauer (Silver Bay) continued checking anglers on area lakes this week. Snowmobile activity was very high as well with Schottenbauer finding many lost snowmobile riders in the woods.

CO Kylan Hill (Tofte) reports hitting the snowmobile trails and lakes throughout the week. High snowmobile traffic was seen on Friday, with the snowstorm slowing things down on Saturday. Hill received numerous reports of loud exhausts and operators cutting corners on the trail. In one instance, Hill had to come to a complete stop on a corner to avoid being hit. The operator was stopped and enforcement action was taken for careless operation and a few registration issues to boot. Please slow down and stay on your side of the trail. Fishing appears to be so-so and a few anglers were spoken to about shelter licenses. Continued work was done on a background investigation.