SANDPOINT -Biologists knew there was something fishy about the bounties Christopher Pluntz was collecting through the Lake Pend Oreille Angler Incentive Program.

Pluntz admitted as much on Wednesday in 1st District Court, having pleaded guilty to a reduced theft charge for defrauding the program by submitting the heads of fish caught elsewhere in the region and claiming he caught them on Lake Pend Oreille.

The incentive program pays anglers a $15 reward for each lake trout and rainbow trout caught in the lake. The program aims to boost trout harvest in order to aid the lake's struggling kokanee population.

Pluntz, a 44-year-old from Coeur d'Alene, drew suspicion from program managers after he submitted 443 rainbow trout heads in 2010. He submitted just 12 heads the previous year.

A closer inspection of the records indicated that Pluntz would enter separate batches of trout covering the same time frame, according to an Idaho Department of Fish and Game conservation officer's report. In some cases, no capture dates were listed.

The trout Pluntz claimed bounties on also had head shapes and spot patterns which were not characteristic of the strain of rainbow trout found in Lake Pend Oreille, court documents indicate.

Idaho Fish and Game officials consulted with their counterparts in Washington state, who determined the rainbows in question were a coastal variety and likely came from Rufus Woods Lake or Lake Roosevelt, both of which are stocked. The fish had flattened faces found on fish reared in net pens or hatchery vessels. They also had stunted pectoral fins not found on wild-reared fish.

Pluntz was charged with felony theft, although it was reduced to a misdemeanor in exchange for a plea of guilt.

Judge Justin Julian sentenced Pluntz to 180 days in jail with 170 days suspended. Pluntz was ordered to serve two days in jail and the remaining days were converted to 64 hours on the sheriff's labor program.

Pluntz was further ordered to pay $6,870 in restitution to the state of Idaho and a $500 fine.