Strange Fish Detective

As I go here and there in the world I have occasion to hang out with DNR folks including Game Wardens.  I've fished, socialized, tippled with them.  They are good folks who have a hard job and take it seriously.  And I'd like to help.  So when I encounter the scene of a Fish Crime I try to investigate to the best of my Member of the Public capacity.

The Crime Scene, a quiet river bank.

There are not that many fish that get this big in Wisconsin, here's a perspective view:

My fish ID abilities have been flawed in the past, but this sure appears to be a Lake Sturgeon.  It looks to have been filleted on the spot.  Animals will nibble up all the tasty meat, but are rarely this tidy:

Lets see how many ways this is illegal.

1. the sturgeon season runs until 30 September.  This photo was taken 10 October, so this may or may not have been caught in the legal time slot.

2. You are allowed to only catch and keep one of these a year, it has to be a minimum of 60 inches, and you have to buy a special sturgeon tag.  Said tag has to be attached to the carcass if you leave it behind.  Nope, not seeing it.  And doing a rough estimate from the picture with my foot, I don't think this is 60 inches long.  Gracious me, that's five feet although the shark like tail does stretch them a bit.

Who would revel in the capture of such a magnificent fish, then illegally fillet it up for dinner?  I don't think referring to such a person as a Rat Fink would be excessive.  Speaking of which....

I was not exactly looking for clues when I stepped up from the river bank and onto the street.  But when I kicked at an object there I was surprised at its heft.  Hmmm....that felt like lead, and it was just about the right size for the big bottom sinkers you use fishing for sturgeon and the like.  But what an odd bit of tackle:

Rat Fink was, oh heck I guess still is, an ugly cartoon character associated with cars of the Hot Rod variety.  He was somewhat popular when I was a lad back in the1960's.  I was surprised to find him still appearing in merch.

But not a lead fishing sinker, a hood ornament.  Yep, that's him.  Guilty perhaps of bad taste but not fish poaching.