# Hooked on Utah breaking the law



## wyoming2utah

So, I watched "Hooked on Utah" last night and was disgusted to see that Gary Winterton, the host, was televising himself illegally using bait at Minersville Reservoir and showing his audience to do the same. 

I have never been against these types of Utah-based outdoor/fishing shows and really liked Doug Miller's show, but showing people how to use bait at a fishery where bait is not allowed is simply not good. I hope that he is punished to the extent of the law and that KUTV takes some serious measures to punish him as well. Promoting illegal activity is not good for our state or our fisheries.


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## DallanC

I'm sure the DWR will get around to prosecuting this after they get done with the Sportsmans Ram illegally killed on the Nebo a few years ago

/sarcasm 


-DallanC


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## neverdrawn

Amen! I've actually talked with a representative with the DWR and they are taking the appropriate steps to remedy the situation. It's borderline inexcusable for this to happen. I get mistakes are made, but this is on a bit of a grander scale. Someone in editing should have caught it if there wasn't the proper research done in the first place. I hope they step up, admit their mistake, pay an appropriate fine and for the next few weeks reiterate that bait is not allowed there. A few extra days for the DWR spending time at the reservoir educating anglers wouldn't be a bad idea either. (Knowing they are already thin on manpower and budget as it is, making this an even worse situation).


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## PBH

that show ended with Gary telling people to make sure and check the regulations. Know before you go.


I hope they nail him. It's one thing to make a mistake. It's a whole other level to be exploiting our wildlife and making money / sponsorships, all while promoting illegal activities. He wasn't just using bait, he was promoting the use of bait to his viewers. 

I'd like to see his sponsors drop him.

#HookedOnFishingUtahIllegally


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## backcountry

Doesn't look like they have posted it to internet yet so maybe they can edit it before more damage is done.


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## PBH

backcountry said:


> Doesn't look like they have posted it to internet yet so maybe they can edit it before more damage is done.


I doubt you'll ever see that episode posted online.

I fear the repercussions. How many phone calls will the DWR have to answer explaining that "no, bait isn't allowed". How many anglers will heed the advice from the show, and head to Minersville without checking regulations? If any tickets come as a result of the show, I would hope those tickets be re-directed to the host of the show.

That show is not good. The host makes a fool of himself by the way he carry's himself -- and then to top it off, he's fishing using illegal methods...what a buffoon.


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## DallanC

Last time I was at Minersville, I caught a duck that grabbed my topwater rig. Funny as heck, it was flying a big circle around us as I tried to reel it in and release it. It was released moderately unscathed, was hooked right on the edge of its bill. Several boats around us were dying of laughter watching it all go down.


-DallanC


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## wyoming2utah

I just received this response from Gary Winterton: "Thanks for reaching out. Yes, I too was super bummed that I missed the additional regulation of artificial only when I reviewed the proclamation. As soon as i realized my error I self reported to the DNR. I work hard to do the very best that I can to promote Utah outdoors. We don’t always get it right, I’m human, however I will always own up to any mistake I make."


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## mtnrunner260

I once fished on a show with him once. 
I've never watched an episode since interacting with him.
Not having him as an outdoor host wouldn't be a loss.


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## PBH

GaryWinterton said:


> ... I missed the additional regulation of artificial only when I reviewed the proclamation. ...





Utah Fishing 2019 said:


> Minersville Reservoir, Beaver County
> •Limit 1 trout over 22 inches.
> •All trout 22 inches or smaller must be immediately released.
> •Artificial flies and lures only.
> •Cement outlet channel between the damand spillway pond, approximately 5
> feet long, is CLOSED.


There are only 4 bullet points for this fishery.

Guess he was too busy thinking about cliches.

On like donkey kong.
awesome.
5 lber.

#doofus.


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## Vanilla

I remember years ago when this show started bringing up a concern on UTOF about how this guy went about things and particularly how crappy he was at handling fish. I thought if you were going to be putting yourself out on TV for all to watch, shouldn't you pattern good behavior and practices? 

I remember arguing for probably 6 pages with two brothers on that forum about this. One had a name that rhymed with Rhett and the other rhymed with (beef) stew. Pretty good dudes, but man they liked to argue ridiculous points!!! :grin:

He deserves to get a citation, just like anyone else would. I hope they at least do that. I'm not a fan of the show, and haven't watched an episode in years, but I don't necessarily want him to lose his livelihood over this. Cite him. Let him to a public mea culpa. He can pay his fine. He can do a public service announcement about his error, maybe do an episode about the troubles law enforcement have and how we can all do our part by following the law. Take some CO's out on the water for a day of fishing...some good publicity all around, and we can all go back to our lives. If his sponsors want to drop him over it, I guess they have that right to do so. I'm not really in a position to boycott since I'm not supporting his cause anyway.


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## PBH

My name doesn't rhyme with Rhett. But I did sleep in a Little America.


I'm sure I argued about how to handle a fish. But I wouldn't have supported this guy's show. I can't stand his show.

The only reason i watched it was because I was sitting in a hotel room trying to go to sleep. And it said "fishing Minersville". I'll watch about any fishing show that has Minersville in it.


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## Catherder

wyoming2utah said:


> So, I watched "Hooked on Utah" last night and was disgusted to see that Gary Winterton, the host, was televising himself illegally using bait at Minersville Reservoir and showing his audience to do the same.
> 
> I have never been against these types of Utah-based outdoor/fishing shows and really liked Doug Miller's show, but showing people how to use bait at a fishery where bait is not allowed is simply not good. I hope that he is punished to the extent of the law and that KUTV takes some serious measures to punish him as well. Promoting illegal activity is not good for our state or our fisheries.


:shock:

I always thought that guy was a major buffoon, but that is pretty egregious. As PBH pointed out, the regs are very clear at Minersville.

We were in Alaska all last week, but I think my wife might have the episode recorded somewhere. I'll have to watch it if so.


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## Catherder

PBH said:


> The only reason i watched it was because I was sitting in a hotel room trying to go to sleep. And it said "fishing Minersville". I'll watch about any fishing show that has Minersville in it.


Did Winterton at least get chased off by the snakes?


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## PBH

Catherder said:


> Did Winterton at least get chased off by the snakes?


no. I'm sure all the repeated "it's on like donkey kong!" shouts kept the snakes at bay. Good thing. The way he exaggerates the size of fish, I can only imagine how large the anacondas would have been!


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## Huge29

The last episode I watched was about 8 years ago when a guy was taped clearly taking 4 shots at Canadian Geese, I think he decided to stop doing hunting after that huge fiasco and now this...I think he is a pretty good guy as I know his close relatives and who hasnt made a similar mistake?? I certainly get that he needs to meet a much higher standard in his position, but I dont know that this reaches the seriousness of what you guys are wanting. What would you want your punishment if you did the same ignorantly? This happens regularly and this guy shouldnt have any more serious penalty than you or I IMHO but certainly has the obligation to correct the misinformation that he has distributed.


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## sheepassassin

Huge29 said:


> The last episode I watched was about 8 years ago when a guy was taped clearly taking 4 shots at Canadian Geese, I think he decided to stop doing hunting after that huge fiasco and now this...I think he is a pretty good guy as I know his close relatives and who hasnt made a similar mistake?? I certainly get that he needs to meet a much higher standard in his position, but I dont know that this reaches the seriousness of what you guys are wanting. What would you want your punishment if you did the same ignorantly? This happens regularly and this guy shouldnt have any more serious penalty than you or I IMHO but certainly has the obligation to correct the misinformation that he has distributed.


The moron makes his living off of our wildlife and public resources. For that reason alone, it's a more serious deal than your average Utah sportsman who just went fishing for the weekend to just get away from the stress of life. Because of that, his punishment needs to be more severe


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## Vanilla

Huge29 said:


> The last episode I watched was about 8 years ago when a guy was taped clearly taking 4 shots at Canadian Geese, I think he decided to stop doing hunting after that huge fiasco and now this...I think he is a pretty good guy as I know his close relatives and who hasnt made a similar mistake?? I certainly get that he needs to meet a much higher standard in his position, but I dont know that this reaches the seriousness of what you guys are wanting. What would you want your punishment if you did the same ignorantly? This happens regularly and this guy shouldnt have any more serious penalty than you or I IMHO but certainly has the obligation to correct the misinformation that he has distributed.


I remember that fiasco on the goose hunt now too! I had forgotten about that. I don't think hunting waterfowl without a plug or fishing bait at an artificial only water is just an innocent mistake for someone like this. You're running a TV show, shouldn't you do some homework? If not, then your ignorance is not innocent, it's willful. Funny, a call to say that he is no different than us might have been enough to convince me he needs more of a punishment.

Two times of gross negligence makes you start to think there is a pattern. Maybe?


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## PBH

Vanilla said:


> I don't think hunting waterfowl without a plug or fishing bait at an artificial only water is just an innocent mistake for someone like this.


using a plug to hunt waterfowl is a Federal law that applies everywhere. That is certainly not an innocent mistake.

fishing with bait at Minersville has been a hot topic since the 90's. The crazy thing is that this guy filmed it and put it on TV. For those who did not see the episode: he mentioned on two different occasions during the episode that he was tipping his rig (wedding ring) with a small piece of nightcrawler. He then cut to a portion showing him set up near the boat ramp with a table with the rig he was using, explaining how they were fishing for the day and to "remember to tip it with a nightcrawler".

Innocent mistake? Yes! i think there is no doubt that he honestly did not know the regulations on this body of water. _But that's why this is so bad!_ To conclude the episode he mentions that Minersville has a special "slot limit" (which it doesn't - it has a minimum size restriction) and that anglers should check the regulations and "know before you go".

How ironic.

The issue here isn't whether he made an honest mistake or not. The issue is that he didn't even bother to look and see what kind of regulations this lake had at all. He knew that there was some kind of rule to restrict harvest. My opinion was that since he didn't plan on keeping any fish anyway, why bother look up the rules to see what those size restrictions were? He was lazy. And, not only lazy, but _arrogant_ too. Which fits perfectly with his past infraction of not plugging his gun. Vanilla is correct - these mistakes are not "innocent" for a person like this. He does what he wants, because he has a TV show - out of arrogance. Unfortunately for him he keeps digging his own hole deeper and deeper. He should stop filming himself breaking the law.

I wouldn't mind seeing a follow-up episode. Maybe one at Minersville again, which features a local CO issuing him a citation in the episode, and then focusing on why special regulations are put in place on certain waters, particularly on places like Minersville. Make it educational and meaningful -- instead of his usual "me, me, me" episode that focuses on how wonderful he is. Feature the sport. Feature the wildlife. Feature the conservation.

We all know that won't happen.


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## Critter

He should at the very least start out a show telling what he did wrong along with why it was wrong.

I agree that with him being the host of a outdoor show that he should be placed on a higher platform than the rest of us. His shows are what some people will go to for information about where and how to fish.

Just as a fyi, I Google his show and there is one there about fishing Minersville that was filmed this last June.

Sent from my SM-J737V using Tapatalk


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## Vanilla

PBH said:


> I wouldn't mind seeing a follow-up episode. Maybe one at Minersville again, which features a local CO issuing him a citation in the episode, and then focusing on why special regulations are put in place on certain waters, particularly on places like Minersville. Make it educational and meaningful -- instead of his usual "me, me, me" episode that focuses on how wonderful he is. Feature the sport. Feature the wildlife. Feature the conservation.


This would be a great idea, and I'd gain a lot of respect for him if he did so. I might even watch the episode.

Maybe...


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## backcountry

Critter said:


> Just as a fyi, I Google his show and there is one there about fishing Minersville that was filmed this last June.
> 
> Sent from my SM-J737V using Tapatalk


Do you mind linking it? I can only find one from June 2015.


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## backcountry

I agree with others, the infraction carries more severity when you:

1) Run a commercial enterprise based on public resources
2) Use that digital platform to encourage said behavior
3) Represent Utah sportsman on a media platform

His legal consequence should reflect the impact of his behavior and those elements.


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## Critter

backcountry said:


> Do you mind linking it? I can only find one from June 2015.


It was on his FB page yesterday but it is gone now

Sent from my SM-J737V using Tapatalk


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## Catherder

It was indeed recorded and it took me about 15 minutes to watch since I TIVO'ed out the commercials. In regards to the above comments; 

The "innocent" mistake he made was using senkos when bass fishing. (which he admitted to in the beginning of the program in his "how to" segment and are illegal due to the salt in them)

Busting out the garden hackle and tipping wedding rings and hoochies was a blunder of major proportions and deserves all the criticism it is getting.


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## Amy

We realize the latest Hooked on Utah episode upset many anglers, and we wanted to follow up with you. Our officers have met with the show's host, and he has been cited for the infraction.

On this week's show, he plans to address what happened at Minersville and will correct last week's misinformation.

Just as a reminder to anyone who's been reading this discussion, the special regulations at Minersville are as follows:

*Minersville Reservoir, Beaver County*

Limit 1 trout over 22 inches.
All trout 22 inches or smaller must be immediately released.
Artificial flies and lures only.
Cement outlet channel between the dam and spillway pond, approximately 55 feet long, is CLOSED.

The daily limits at Minersville are as follows:

Smallmouth and/or largemouth bass: A combined total of 6.
Wiper: Limit 6.
And please remember to check the current fishing regulations before fishing at any Utah waterbody. Thanks!


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## LOAH

Yeesh. That's no good. I don't watch TV at all anymore, but the last time I recall catching any of that show was when he was catching "Eastern Utah Steelheads".

I saw all I needed then.


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## RandomElk16

DallanC said:


> I'm sure the DWR will get around to prosecuting this after they get done with the Sportsmans Ram illegally killed on the Nebo a few years ago
> 
> /sarcasm
> 
> -DallanC


This still pisses me off.


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## Blkout

This sure reminds me of why I don’t like fishermen and that I don’t want to hang out with you. A bunch of nit picky do gooders. The guy broke a stupid law and makes a bad show and everyone is ready to burn him to the ground.


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## CPAjeff

Blkout said:


> This sure reminds me of why I don't like fishermen and that I don't want to hang out with you. A bunch of nit picky do gooders. The guy broke a stupid law and makes a bad show and everyone is ready to burn him to the ground.


Incredible insight - thanks for contributing.

So we shouldn't hold people in a public position to a higher standard or any standard at all? If that's the case, all the news outlets would close their doors overnight ....


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## wyoming2utah

Blkout said:


> This sure reminds me of why I don't like fishermen and that I don't want to hang out with you. A bunch of nit picky do gooders. The guy broke a stupid law and makes a bad show and everyone is ready to burn him to the ground.


Funny. That's what poachers say about shooting deer or elk out of season.

I'd rather be a "nit picky do gooder" than an ignorant law breaking scumbag..


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## Vanilla

wyoming2utah said:


> Funny. That's what poachers say about shooting deer or elk out of season.
> 
> I'd rather be a "nit picky do gooder" than an ignorant law breaking scumbag..


My thoughts exactly.


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## HighNDry

Blkout said:


> This sure reminds me of why I don't like fishermen and that I don't want to hang out with you. A bunch of nit picky do gooders. The guy broke a stupid law and makes a bad show and everyone is ready to burn him to the ground.


Well...hateful people are hateful people, I guess. Judge much?
We want to report law breakers and poachers and you want to condemn us. I wonder which attitude is worse?


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## backcountry

Huh, it would be tiring disliking millions of people.


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## callofthewild

backcountry said:


> Huh, it would be tiring disliking millions of people.


it really isn't that hard!:shock:


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## backcountry

callofthewild said:


> backcountry said:
> 
> 
> 
> Huh, it would be tiring disliking millions of people.
> 
> 
> 
> it really isn't that hard!
Click to expand...

I get tired from disliking one or two people in my life. Having a grudge against an entire group of sportsman just sounds pointless and counterproductive.

Back on topic....sounds like the outcome for his actions is appropriate. Will be interesting to see if he shows the humility and contrition that's warranted.


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## TPrawitt91

He should have to go to jail like I did!! I mistakenly took a cutthroat out of strawberry 10 years ago as a young man, 18yo. And they made me do a book and release at the jail in Heber!!


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## Catherder

backcountry said:


> sounds like the outcome for his actions is appropriate. Will be interesting to see if he shows the humility and contrition that's warranted.


I agree. Assuming he puts in a good effort to educate his viewers about the previous misinformation and infractions, I would consider this case satisfactorily closed as far as I'm concerned. I suppose his sponsors and the suits at KUTV could have more to say.

Just out of curiosity, I am left wondering what folks like "blkout" and others like him feel is an appropriate response and outcome if what did happen was so offensive to them?


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## sheepassassin

KUTV doesn’t care, their star anchor got nailed for a DUI a couple years back, she still has a job. I laugh every time she gets up there and does a report on DUIs and roasting people who got caught. Funny, I never saw her incident show up on their news channel the day after. ABC4, KSL5 and fox13 picked up the slack and reported on it though


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## BPturkeys

Thank you Amy for your report. Sounds to me like you guys took the appropriator action. Even though we on the forum sometimes forget...once again, thanks Amy.


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## callofthewild

backcountry said:


> I get tired from disliking one or two people in my life. Having a grudge against an entire group of sportsman just sounds pointless and counterproductive.
> 
> Back on topic....sounds like the outcome for his actions is appropriate. Will be interesting to see if he shows the humility and contrition that's warranted.


just some sarcasm!!!


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