Illinois man caught fishing illegally in Ontario waters

Not knowing the name of the mayor of Mississauga, Ontario, proved to be the downfall of an Illinois man who was posing as a Canadian while fishing illegally in northwestern Ontario.

A justice of the peace in Kenora, Ontario fined the American man a total of $5,000 after he was caught fishing illegally on Lac Seul, near Ear Falls, on Aug. 20.

When a Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officer asked the man for his fishing license, he handed over an Ontario resident's Outdoors Card and fishing tag. The man said he lived in Mississauga. But when officer, Tim Neidenbach asked the angler who was the mayor of Mississauga he couldn't answer.

Neidenbach told the media the man's failure to identify Hazel McCallion as the mayor of the city proved he wasn't really from Mississauga. A true Mississaugan, Neidenbach said, would not only have known that McCallion is the mayor, but also that she is a keen angler.

It turned out the man was actually from Illinois and had been fishing illegally in Ontario waters since 1993 — 15 years after McCallion first became the mayor of Mississauga.

Wojciech Rzepka was fined $3,300 for three counts of possessing a bogus fishing license. He was also fined $850 for fishing without a licence and $850 for making a false statement to a Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officer.

How's fishing?

Fox River: Interesting conditions now, especially with walleye and smallmouth bass. Fish seem to be congregating near bridges and outlet pipes. Live bait works well for both species.

Fox Chain: Look for a very active crappie bite on Petite Lake. White bass and a few muskies seen and caught on Bluff Lake while the muskie action on Lake Catherine has slowed.

Lake Michigan: What started and was described as a decent push from perch has now slowed to a crawl, especially at Chicago locations. In Racine, Wis., brown trout action remains very good.

• Mike Jackson can be reached via e-mail at: angler88@att.net Mike's radio program is heard Sunday mornings 6-7 a.m., on WSBC, AM-1240.