Cali Poacher Busted After Wardens Recognize Trophy Rack in Taxidermy Shop 🧐

As we continue to slowly inch towards the weekend, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get into what this beautiful Tuesday has to offer.

Here's what's worth reading about so far this week:

DON’T BE THAT GUY
CALIFORNIA POACHER BUSTED AFTER WARDENS RECOGNIZE UNIQUE RACK IN TAXIDERMY SHOP

It was the kind of buck that makes grown men whisper. The kind that features a pair of light-brown antlers still in velvet sprouting from a pair of heavy bases that swept wide enough to cast their own shadow. The animal's headgear was unique to say the least.  Despite not having the traditional 10-point+ crown, his expansive spread was enough to capture the attention of both local residents and one man who couldn’t resist an easy shot.

In the high country of Inyo County, California, a tag for a deer like that is a once-in-a-decade lottery ticket. In the manicured cul-de-sacs of Yosemite Lakes Park—a gated golf community an hour south of Yosemite National Park—deer like that are said to simply wander onto the 7th fairway at dawn.

It is within the contrast of these two very different locations in which this story takes place…

🙏 Body of YouTube Fishing Star Mikey Rijavec Recovered After Baja Kayak Tragedy. The search for Mikey Rijavec, a 32-year-old San Diego-based extreme kayak angler and popular fishing influencer with over 100,000 YouTube subscribers on his channel "SD Fish and Sips," ended tragically yesterday when his body was recovered from the Pacific Ocean near San Cristobal, Mexico—five days after he vanished during a solo fishing trip off Baja California's coast. Rijavec, known for his adventurous content blending hardcore angling with craft beer reviews, had launched his 14-foot Solo Skiff from San Roque near Bahía Asunción on November 11. Around 3 p.m., while 8 miles offshore, he radioed a mayday to local anglers reporting engine failure on his 6-horsepower outboard motor. The call cut off abruptly; his brother Gregory later detailed that Rijavec tried to repair it, but the motor detached, capsizing the vessel. He righted the skiff and began paddling, but it took on water, and no further contact was made.

A massive, multi-agency response kicked off immediately, involving the U.S. Coast Guard, Mexican Navy, local fishermen, volunteers, helicopters, and fixed-wing aircraft scouring the rugged Baja coastline and surrounding waters. The overturned skiff without its motor was spotted drifting northward 25 hours later, carried by strong currents, but initial sweeps of beaches and debris fields yielded nothing. The operation persisted amid harsh conditions until Rijavec's body was found, prompting officials to suspend the search. In a heartfelt GoFundMe update, Gregory Rijavec expressed profound gratitude for the "selfless" efforts, writing, “It is time for the countless people involved in the search for Mikey to finally rest and begin to find peace,” while acknowledging lingering questions about the final moments.

🦬 Colorado Grants Full Protection to Utah’s Book Cliffs Bison. On Friday, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission made a landmark decision to officially classify migrating bison from Utah’s Book Cliffs herd as wildlife, effective January 1, 2026. This follows legislation passed by the Colorado Legislature earlier in the year, granting the bison a unique dual status: treated as livestock when captive but as protected wildlife when free-roaming across the state line. The move places these animals under the direct jurisdiction of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, empowering the agency to investigate and prosecute poaching incidents, something that was previously impossible without formal recognition. The Book Cliffs herd, numbering around 1,300 wild bison across three Utah locations, has been crossing into northwest Colorado for years, prompting calls for protection to preserve this genetically pure population that has never tested positive for brucellosis.

This designation addresses long-standing concerns from Colorado ranchers about disease risks to cattle while advancing broader conservation goals for a species native to the region. By safeguarding these migrations, the policy not only curbs illegal killings but also fosters cross-state collaboration on habitat connectivity, ensuring the bison’s future in the American West without the legal ambiguities that once left them vulnerable.

🕵️‍♀️ Four Brazen Poaching Cases in One Week: Montana FWP Seeks Tips on Wasted Elk Herd and Trophy Ram. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is investigating four brazen poaching cases reported in early November, where hunters illegally killed elk, mule deer, and bighorn sheep across the state—only to abandon the carcasses without taking meat, hides, or trophies. The incidents include a mule deer doe shot on state land near Elk Creek Road southwest of Augusta over the November 16-17 weekend; a mature bighorn sheep ram discovered on November 10 along Highway 200 east of Thompson Falls, left intact amid a visible herd; a cow elk and her two calves gunned down on November 11 in the Sun River Wildlife Management Area near Augusta, and a mule deer buck killed on November 9 in Great Falls' Black Eagle Park, dragged from a pavilion to nearby baseball fields.

FWP is turning to the public for leads, as tipsters have cracked similar cases before, with anonymous reports potentially earning up to $1,000 in rewards. The agency highlighted the disrespect to Montana's outdoor heritage and the ripple effects on herds already under pressure. Anyone with information is urged to submit tips online at tipmont.mt.gov or contact local game wardens directly—no details on suspect descriptions or vehicles were released, but the proximity to roads and public areas suggests opportunistic offenders.

😳 The moment you realize you brought the wrong rod. This kind of stuff happens to us down here in Florida all the time. It’s just not usually by Great Whites.

Sounds like these dudes were having the time of their lives…

Oh, and one more thing…