Fishy tale ends with criminal citations for 3 Eastern WA anglers

A fishy tale, plus coolers and packs with 50 fish, have three anglers in Eastern Washington in hot water, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police.

Officers were patrolling the W. T. Wooten Wildlife Area east of Dayton recently and checked in with three people fishing the Tucannon River, just downstream from Rainbow Lake in Columbia County.

Officers talked to the two men first, who said they had caught fish earlier in the day from the lake but had not yet caught any fish in the river, according to state Fish and Wildlife Police.

A woman who was farther downstream said she had caught two, the daily limit for the river, and that the men the officers had just talked to had them.

When the officers asked the men to open their packs, they reluctantly pulled out a bag of 14 fish, according to the Fish and Wildlife Police. Another fish was lying on the shoreline.

At the anglers’ truck, officers found a cooler with another 35 fish for a total of 50.

The limit for most trout at Rainbow Lake is five per person per day, and the limit for most trout in the Tucannon River is two per person per day. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife website says the lake is stocked with 10 to 12 inch rainbow trout, plus some larger than 14 inches.

All three anglers were criminally cited for first degree unlawful fishing, which applies when anglers have two or more times the limit of fish, according to Fish and Wildlife Police. It is a gross misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to a $5,000 fine and one year in jail.

The Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife did not release the names of those cited.

This story was originally published August 15, 2025 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Fishy tale ends with criminal citations for 3 Eastern WA anglers."