A Windsor Township man is in legal trouble with the Ohio Division of Wildlife.
John Troyer, Huntley Road, has been charged with operating an unlicensed fishing guide service and also for using too many fishing rods.
It is alleged that Troyer operated this service out of Grand River Village.
In Ohio, persons operating a for-hire guide service are required to have an Ohio license while those functioning on Lake Erie must also possess an U.S. Coast Guard license.
And persons are restricted to using no more than two rods at any one time.
It is alleged that Troyer charged $600 for a fishing trip that was taken June 23 by undercover officers with the Wildlife Division.
Under the Ohio Revised Code a matter involving an alleged charter operation without the appropriate license is a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable by up to six months in jail and up to $1,000 fine plus court costs.
The too-many-rod violation is a misdemeanor of the forth degree, punishable by a fine of up to $250 and up to 30 days in jail.
“I have a small stack of complaints that he has been operating a guide service without a license,” said Gino Barna, head of the agency’s Lake Erie Law Enforcement Unit.
Also, says Barna, in 2005 Troyer was charged with displaying an expired guide license sticker on his vessel. The sticker is used to identify a properly licensed guide.
The most recent matter is set to go to trial before Painesville Municipal Court, though the Wildlife Division does not expect that will happen, Barna said.
“We’re not looking for any maximum,” he said.
Barna says it is the Wildlife Division’s contention that Troyer did accept the $600 and which was recovered.
“There’s more that I can’t talk about because it’s still under investigation but the money was recovered,” Barna said.
“If everyone pitches in for gas that’s not a problem; if it’s for profit, that is a different situation,”
Barna said that Troyer did not list a telephone number on the documents he has
- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFRischkorn@News-Herald.com
This is a problem on Lake Champlain as well. One guide service was charged a $6,000 civil penalty but continues to thumb their nose at the Coast Guard and the DEC in NY. It's rampant, there are many unlicensed guides doing it because the rewards outweigh getting caught.
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