Four men were arrested and charged with poaching in Shelton late Tuesday after the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said caught them with 38 striped bass, all of which were less than the minimum legal limit to keep a striper.
The creel limit for striped bass is one per day per angler. Fish must be at least 28 inches long to be legally kept.
The State Environmental Conservation Police, with the assistance of their K-9 unit, arrested 60-year-old Hydri Cenkoli of Woodbury, 32-year-old Daniel Cenkoli of Waterbury, 57-year-old Bilbil Cenkoli of Waterbury, and 46-year-old Gurali Cenkoli of Woodbury.
Around 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 29, EnCon Police received an anonymous complaint of four anglers fishing in the Housatonic River off of River Road in Shelton, who were in possession of large quantity of undersized striped bass.
EnCon officers responded, located the anglers, and with the help of their trained dog Ruger discovered 38 striped bass that were hidden in bags in the rocks and bushes. Ruger is one of three canines from the EnCon K-9 unit that received special training in fish detection to assist in the detection of fishing violations. The canines have been trained to detect certain species of sport fish that are commonly caught in Connecticut, such as trout and striped bass. The canines were trained to search on vessels, under rocks, along shorelines, and other places illegally taken fish could be hidden.
All four men face misdemeanor charges and are due in state Superior Court in Derby April 12.
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Police say a dog trained to find hidden fish helped catch four men charged with keeping 38 undersized stripers March 29 on the Housatonic River in Shelton — Connecticut DEEP Photo
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