4 Fishermen Attempt to Stash the Bass in the Grass: Report

Hiding 38 striped bass in the rocks and bushes near the Housatonic River in Shelton may have seemed like a good idea at the time to the four fishermen who were arrested by State Environmental Conservation Police, for allegedly catching undersized striped bass.

But what they didn't know was that EnCon has a member on its force that is trained for these exact types of situations. At approximately 10 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, EnCon Police received an anonymous complaint of four anglers fishing in the Housatonic River in Shelton off of River Road.

The complainant reportedly said the anglers were in possession of a large quantity of undersized striped bass, state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's Cyndy Chanaca said in a prepared statement.

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"EnCon officers responded, located the anglers, and with the help of their trained dog, discovered 38 striped bass that were hidden in bags in the rocks and bushes," Chanaca said. "The EnCon dog is specially trained to detect a variety of species of fish to assist in situations like this."

The four people arrested for alleged possession of 38 striped bass, all less than the minimum legal length, and for possession of striped bass over the daily creel limit, were:

• Bilbil Cenkoli, age 57, of Waterbury
• Daniel Cenkoli, age 32, of Waterbury
• Gurali Cenkoli, age 46, of Woodbury
• Hydri Cenkoli, age 60, of Woodbury

All fish were less than the minimum legal length. The daily limit is one fish and the legal length is 28 inches. The charges against the four men are misdemeanors and all were issued an April 12 court date in Derby.

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(Photos: CT DEEP)