Sturgeon Reward Increased

The heat is on. The reward offered in the case of the poached Snake River sturgeon has been increased to $1500 thanks to an avid sturgeon angler angered by the poaching incident. Off Road Specialty in Garden City added $500 to the Citizens Against Poaching (CAP) reward of $1000. "The owner of this business is an avid sturgeon angler himself," Fish and Game regional conservation officer Jeff Wolfe said. "And like many people we've heard from, he's quite upset that this big fish was stolen from the public." Persons with information regarding this incident are encouraged to call the CAP hotline at 1-800-632-5999. Callers can remain anonymous. Since the poaching incident was publicized, a number of calls have come in. "We've heard from several people who provided us with some good information," Wolfe noted. "We intend to follow up on each of those tips just as quickly as we can." Two men poached the nine-foot fish from the Snake River below Swan Falls Dam on Sunday, April 11, at about 4:00pm. The two men loaded the huge fish into a mid-1970s blue Ford pickup truck and drove away. The suspects are Caucasian and both in the early thirties. One man is described as more than six feet tall, heavy set with short hair. The other suspect is described as about five feet, eight inches tall with a dark tan.