An Alaska angler who believed she was simply wrapping up a day on the Kenai River was surprised to learn that a wildlife trooper had been standing behind her group in the trees, quietly watching and taking notes as several fish were landed and kept in violation of state rules.
The encounter in Soldotna was featured by the bodycam channel WildlifeWarden, whose host explained that Alaska anglers may keep only fish hooked in the mouth. Salmon snagged elsewhere on the body must be released immediately.
By the time the trooper approached the group, he had already documented enough to cite three anglers for illegally retaining snagged salmon, while also discovering that one woman’s fishing license had expired the previous year.
The Trooper Had Been Watching From The Trees
The first angler the trooper approached was identified in the footage as Alicia Phillips, who initially seemed unaware that anything serious had happened.
When the officer asked for her fishing license, Phillips said she had one online and began searching through her phone.
She also told him she had been fishing with her husband and others nearby.
The conversation changed when the trooper mentioned that he had been standing behind the group for a while and had watched them fish.
Phillips initially focused on another confrontation she said had happened on the river, describing a man she believed had cut her fishing line and nearly struck her during an argument.
The trooper listened but eventually brought the conversation back to the fishing rules.
He asked whether she understood that anglers could only keep fish hooked in the mouth.
Phillips said she did.
That was when he told her he had personally watched her keep a salmon hooked in the tail.
“Do You Want Me To Put It Back?”
Phillips immediately recognized which fish the trooper meant and asked whether she could return it to the river.
By then, the fish had already been killed and retained.
“Well, it’s too late now,” the trooper told her.
Phillips then offered an unusual explanation, saying the fish had fought hard, cut her hand and made her angry.
“I just got mad at the fish,” she said, promising she would not do it again.
Later in the encounter, she joked that she had intended to eat the fish to “teach him a lesson.”
The explanation added some humor to the exchange, but the trooper did not treat the violation as accidental because he had seen exactly where the hook landed.
That is what made the encounter different from a routine argument over a fish that may or may not have been legally caught. The officer had observed the event himself and had written down details as it happened.
Her Fishing License Was Also Out Of Date
Phillips then discovered that she had another problem.
She believed her Alaska fishing license was still valid because she thought it ran from the date she bought it until the same time the following year.
The trooper explained that the license was only valid through the end of the calendar year.
Phillips searched through old emails and eventually found documentation showing that her license was from 2023.
“Am I going to get in trouble?” she asked.
She also repeatedly worried aloud that her husband would be upset because she had told him she did not need to renew until August.
The trooper told her he would issue a citation and then speak with the other people who had been fishing with her.
Although the license issue clearly concerned Phillips, the main enforcement action in the video centered on the illegally retained fish rather than the expired license.
Other Anglers Deny Keeping Snagged Fish
The trooper next approached another angler identified as Bob and asked for his fishing license.
Bob said his license was in his car and explained that he did not want to carry his expensive phone near the water.
The trooper then asked whether he understood the same rule about keeping only fish hooked in the mouth.
Bob said he did.
That answer led to another direct confrontation.
The trooper told Bob he had been standing behind the group in the trees and had personally watched him keep a snagged fish.
Bob initially denied it.
“My fish were hooked in the mouth, man,” he said.
The trooper immediately rejected that claim and told him he had taken notes while watching.
Phillips then admitted that she had kept one fish hooked in the tail while continuing to insist that most of the group had been following the rules.
The officer remained calm but firm, repeatedly explaining that he was not guessing about what happened because he had seen the violations himself.
The Notes Made It Hard To Argue
When the trooper later spoke with Phillips’ husband, Tim, the same disagreement surfaced again.
The officer told him he had watched both husband and wife keep at least one salmon each that had been hooked in the tail rather than the mouth.
Tim questioned how the officer could know that.
The answer was simple: he had been standing behind them.
The trooper even referred to specific times and descriptions from his notes, including details about the anglers and the flies they were using.
That level of documentation made the case much harder to dispute.
Rather than arriving after the fact and trying to determine what happened from conflicting stories, the trooper had essentially conducted a quiet surveillance operation from the treeline.
The WildlifeWarden host emphasized that point at the beginning of the video, noting that the anglers had no idea how long they had been observed before contact was made.
Three Anglers Receive $120 Citations
The trooper ultimately told each of the three anglers that they would receive a citation for failing to release a snagged fish.
Each ticket carried a $120 penalty.
The anglers were given 30 days to respond and could either pay the citation, handle the matter by mail or online, or contest it in court.
The officer also made clear that he was not seizing their fishing equipment.
He did, however, need fish as evidence.
Three salmon were taken, one connected to each citation.
The anglers were offered a choice between having the fish held for a possible court proceeding or allowing them to be donated to charity.
They agreed to the donation.
That was a practical resolution because holding fish as evidence for weeks or months would serve little purpose once the anglers accepted that the trooper had documented the catch.
A Lesson In Knowing The Rules
Throughout the encounter, Phillips repeatedly described herself as someone who normally follows rules and said she was still relatively new to Alaska.
She also mentioned being familiar with areas where snagging fish can be legal under different circumstances, which may have contributed to some confusion.
The trooper acknowledged that fishing rules can vary by location, but he kept returning to the same point: on that stretch of the Kenai River, only fish hooked in the mouth could be retained.
The case shows why anglers cannot rely on habits from another fishery or assume that a fish can be kept simply because it was successfully landed.
For Phillips and the other two anglers, the lesson came with a $120 citation each and the loss of three salmon.
More importantly, it came with the realization that while they were debating hooks, lines and fish on the riverbank, a wildlife trooper had already been standing nearby long enough to see exactly what they were doing.
Gary’s love for adventure and preparedness stems from his background as a former Army medic. Having served in remote locations around the world, he knows the importance of being ready for any situation, whether in the wilderness or urban environments. Gary’s practical medical expertise blends with his passion for outdoor survival, making him an expert in both emergency medical care and rugged, off-the-grid living. He writes to equip readers with the skills needed to stay safe and resilient in any scenario.
