Missoula film company Montana Wild acknowledged responsibility for 49 citations related to bull trout fishing and filming permits, but claimed Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks misrepresented a portion of the violations.

In a statement posted on the company’s website Saturday, Montana Wild owners Zack and Travis Boughton claimed that the infractions during a 2013 fishing trip to the Bob Marshall Wilderness were the result of unclear regulations.

Last Thursday, the state wildlife agency announced the company’s owners had been issued 38 citations for intentionally fishing for bull trout in closed waters, keeping the fish out of water too long and failing to properly report their catches.

While limited bull trout fishing is allowed on the main stem of the South Fork of the Flathead River upstream of Hungry Horse Reservoir, the state forbids intentionally fishing for the federally protected species in the river’s tributaries.

“In our minds we did everything legally during this trip. Later when we were approached by FWP, we found out differently as they told us the tributaries are closed to bull trout fishing,” the Boughtons’ statement read. “We simply did not know that their interpretation of the regulations defined the fishery that way.”

Intentionally fishing for bull trout — listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act — is illegal in most of Montana’s waterways.

But the state allows some fishing in Lake Koocanusa, Hungry Horse Reservoir and the South Fork’s main stem.

At the time, bull trout fishing in Swan Lake, Lake Koocanusa and along the South Fork was catch-and-release only, although anglers in Lake Koocanusa may now keep one per year.

The Boughtons stated that all three of the company’s employees who fished during the trip had catch cards in their possession.

They also noted the agency’s regulations pamphlet was updated after the 2013 fishing trip to specify that tributaries to the South Fork’s main stem are off-limits.

However, the 2013 pamphlet refers to the “mainstem South Fork Flathead River upstream from Hungry Horse Reservoir” when explaining the use of catch cards. The agency provides the pamphlets to those issued cards, which have also been updated with language prohibiting tributary fishing.

Additional regulations limit the amount of time fish may be handled after they are caught.

According to the state, film footage recovered from the company’s office showed the anglers handling bull trout for up to 12 minutes at a time and releasing a fish without taking the hook out so it could be filmed and caught a second time.

The Boughtons objected to that account.

“We believe some of our practices could have been handled better during this trip with what we now know, but we believe FWP misrepresented this part of their case in their press release about our handling practices,” the statement read. “Never was a fish out of water for more than a few breaths and then back into the net quickly. We feel strongly that we had no negative effects on the fishery and we never intentionally released a fish to replay it for the camera.”

That’s not the way Fish, Wildlife and Parks Warden Brian Sommers, who investigated the case, viewed the footage.

He said the agency only prosecuted the 14 instances in which fish were handled for at least four minutes.

“There was one that for 70 seconds they held it out of water. That’s pretty much a dead fish,” Sommers said Monday. “We have video of some fish being caught, released and going right to the bottom and just laying there. It’s really tried and stressed out. Whether that fish is going to survive, that’s the question no one can answer.”

Had officials been able to prove three or more fish died as a direct result of the handling, the state could have brought felony charges against them, he added.

The Boughtons also received 11 federal citations for commercial filming on federal land without a permit.

Responding to the federal charges, the Boughtons wrote that the state film commissioner told them they did not need a permit.

“This was our first year filming as a business and naively believed that the Film Office was the best source for this guidance. We later found out that the advice we were given was not true to the law,” they wrote.

Montana Film Commissioner Deny Staggs said Monday that claim in false.

“Our point of view was that if you’re going to do that kind of transaction, you’re going to be considered a commercial entity,” Staggs said. “For someone in this office — and especially me — that would never come out of our mouth. Our job is to tell people, ‘You need a permit.’”

The case against the Boughtons and Anthony Von Ruden, an associate who accompanied them on the trip, was settled in a plea agreement in Powell County Justice Court.

Sommers said the agency dropped the catch-card violations, focusing instead on the overhandling and tributary fishing. They were fined $5,950 on Feb. 11.

The Boughtons did not respond Monday to a request for additional comment.

Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.