A pair of poachers landed in hot water after parking their car next to a Highland police station, a court has heard.
Richard Blackwood and Stephen Donnelly had no permits and were using spinning rods on Loch Garbet Beg and Rhiconich River, where only fly fishing is allowed.
The men, who are both 42, drew the attention of a local police officer when they parked outside the constabulary building, Tain Sheriff Court was told.
After the officer spotted fishing gear in their car he decided to follow, videoing them as they illegally fished for salmon and trout.
Blackwood and Donnelly, who both live in Edinburgh, were not present at Tain as their solicitors entered guilty pleas to charges under the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act on their behalf.
Fiscal depute Shay Treanor gave Sheriff Neil Wilson a prepared narrative that detailed how, at around 4pm on August 28 last year, a constable at Rhiconich Police House had noticed a car pulling up opposite the building.
He watched as Blackwood and Donnelly walked along the river mouth before returning to their vehicle. They then appeared to be watching the police station and nearby hotel for around 20 minutes, before getting back out of the car.
“At the Old Rhiconich Bridge they were seen to look about before walking onto the embankment that would take them to the river,” the prosecutor explained.
Officer spotted fishing rods in car
Suspicious of the pair, the policeman looked into their car and, on spotting fishing rods within, decided to follow them on foot.
When he caught up with them he noted that they were now carrying rods.
Taking to the high ground to remain undetected, the constable saw both men fishing.
After checking with the local hotel and estate to confirm that no fishing permits had been issued, he contacted colleagues and a plan was made to stop the men as they returned to their vehicle.
While the officer watched on, at points taking video footage for evidence, the men were “seen to land at least one fish, kill it and put it in a bag”.
The court was told that there was signage in the area stating that a permit was required to fish.
It was around 7.45pm that the pair were stopped on the way back to their vehicle.
The men were asked if they had been fishing and admitted they had.
A search found a 4lb cock salmon grilse and two small sea trout weighing 12oz.
Poachers ‘stashed’ spinning rods
“Donnelly was asked what had happened to the rods that they had been carrying and they said they had stashed them,” the fiscal depute added.
The spinning rods were later recovered along with a “wooden priest” – a tool used by anglers to kill their catch.
Solicitor David Patterson, for Blackwood, told the court his client was a former military serviceman who suffers from PTSD, anxiety and depression.
He said this had simply been a “fishing trip with a friend” and was “by no means a professional outfit”.
He said Blackwood, of Rannoch Road, Clerwood, had been “tearful and upset” at the prospect of conviction which he considered a “blemish against his name”.
He said: “His friend caught a fish – they did not appreciate that they needed a permit.”
Rory Gowans, defence agent for Donnelly, said his client had broken up with his partner and decided to go north for a camping trip.
He said his client “had not fully appreciated when embarking on a fishing trip that he needed a permit” adding that Donnelly, Harperrig Way, Edinburgh, had noticed others fishing and assumed it was allowed.
Sheriff Neil Wilson said the pair’s behaviour has been “indicative of people who know full well they shouldn’t have been doing what they were doing”.
He fined the men £470 each and ordered that they forfeit their fishing equipment.
