The good and the bad of being stopped by the Game Warden
 

What experinces have you had when being stopped by the man hunting are fishing. Me personally they all have been average some good some bad. I will say the couple of tickets I have gotten in my many years of hunting and fishing I deserved. How about everyone else?

So far, all have been good experiences. Most of the time we talk about how the fishing/ hunting has been, and I usually get a few tips and a good report covering the last few days.

Been stopped one time by the Game Warden once and they were real good about things, we had beer on the boat and drinking a few they told us to keep it under control and make sure the driver dont drink checked all our safety equip and on there way they went.
I think its all about how you react and treat them when it all comes down to it, if your courteous and respectful they will be also IMO.
Also had a game warden call me and leave a voicemail while i was fishing, he had parked next to me at Cal. Point and the parish was out there cutting grass and when he came back in he noticed my windshield was cracked and wanted to make sure it was taken care of if it happened there, something i really appreciated didnt expect it to be a good phone call lol his last name was Verret cant remember his first name.

Never have received a ticket in my 30 yrs of being eligible for license. Have been stopped a handful of times by state/Feds with mostly positive feedback. Find that if you act professional they will reciprocate.

I get stopped all the time, I've never got a violation from them, and I am always glad to know that they are out there doing there job! unfortunately there hardly ever there when you see people breaking the law! and I'm not talking about people not wearing there life jackets!

Have gotten one citation and I deserved it. I was ignorant to the law and that is no excuse. The guys were nice and respectful. I have been stopped on time while fishing from the bank. Three of the four were really nice, one of the group was trying to prove his awesomeness so he was a douche. Other than that I say kudos to a really tough job where you know almost every person you come up on is packing heat.

Only have been checked one time while walking back to my truck from duck hunting. He asked what I had, checked for my plug, and for steel shot. I was legal so it was no issues!

Got checked last time I went to White Lake , They slimmed up my boat counting the fish and checked everthing twice, I was informed that inflatable vest if not worn on person cannot be counted as a extra life vest . For the most part all went well with no citations.

if you're on your p's and q's nothing to worry about, plenty of times we ran across wlf beyond blasted (not the driver) and they just told us to be safe.have all safety equipment needed, and go out and have fun, no sense in letting these guys ruin a day/ money spent on the fishing trip. (handle you business dont let your business handle you)

Yall can say,"if your good to them they are good to you." Yea thats b.s.

Started when I was 8. Buddy and I were fishing and got stopped. Warned for the following; Wired crab pot above ICW, Sitting on front deck (needed to be on the floor since under 13), he needed a sound device. No biggie.

Once I turned 10 and could run a boat, it was all down hill. For the most part they were fine, just the usual boaters card, registration, kill switch, life jacket check every week.

If I had a buddy and we were fishing it was bad. One that sticks out the best, 2 15 man limits of trout, 2 man limit of reds. Came through the barrier, seen the gamewarden, so I slowed down since he was writing someone a ticket, didn't want to throw a wake.
Once finished with them he chased me down and stopped me, measured all my reds (all were 18-20 inches by the way) and measured all the trout that looked 12 (all of our specks were 14 inches or greater. Best fishing trip I've had north of I10) after he played capt. ****, he asked us what we caught on and where. pffft



Other day, was on the river on my buds deckboat, ran it all day, cranked it and it wouldn't turn over, about the time we tried GW's rolled up and check us. My bud asks them to tow us to my house and they act like we are troubling them from there lovely stroll on the river. I told my buddy, see that bar on the back, its called a tow bar, they have it for a reason.

Never had any trouble....stay legal and your good to go.

In high school, got busted for shooting geese after legal shooting hours. About 2 years ago, I was given a ticket for operating my go-devil without wearing a life vest. Law they just started with boat under 15' or something. Guy I lease from is a lawyer and wrote a letter to Vermillion Parish DA and got it dropped for me. Been checked probably 10x in my life.

I get checked ALL the time. Got checked twice one day by the same boat. Only ticket I ever got from wardens was in the gulf. Had 1 snapper over limit. Honest mistake we were catching lots of snapper one got to the bottom of the chest and was missed. $260 ticket. Now on that note. IMO all times checked by the wardens for me are bad. I can't stand being stopped when I'm not breaking the law. They assume you to be a criminal until you prove otherwise. No reasonable doubt to pull you over. Just my opinion. Now if I was doing something wrong or unsafe then I expect to get pulled over and cited. But fishing is not a crime. Sorry guys I just have a sour taste after all the times I've had to deal with them. Nothing personal to the wardens themselves.

Glad Im not the only one..

Biggest beef is the amount of times I have been stopped, twice in one day on two occasions for safety checks... Why cant we just have our boats inspected yearly and be issued a sticker like on your vehicle ???

The Coasties will at least give you a copy of their inspection form which is good for a year (i think)...

Still dont fully understand their "right" to stop and board your vessel without cause, perhaps someone could enlighten me... I tried asking at the fish cop booth during a boat show and got allot of song and dance, I know better than to ask on the water:shaking:

Hydro

WLF are the only LEO's that do not need search warrants. Public safety trumps civil rights, any of you multiple check guys inform them that they had previously looked at you?? I practically ask them to check me on the water and most times they decline,guess it's my honest face! I agree they are usually not around when needed but I have listed the 800 # in my phone for such occasions now.

I bring it up every time they check me on the river... They know me by my name.

A normal check goes like this :

Me: Sh** here they come, they green, mean, and full of steam.
GW: Good evening Brayden
Me: (depends on which one, im working on their names) hey officer *********
GW: Catchin' anything?
Me: When aren't I.
GW: Good point. Now, life jacket and kill switch.
Me: here ya go.
GW: Thanks Lil Wood, good luck
ME: No, thank you. See ya Saturday on the water.
:cry:

Both occasions I politely stated, "you checked us this morning", and both times got the "and I am checking you again this afternoon" reply...

I will say this, since I sold the bayboat and am in a marsh rig now we get checked allot less often...

Had a bass rig before the bay boat when we lived in Stephensville and that thing was a fish cop magnet...

I think it helps that my boat is an old game warden boat. Haven't been checked since I got it, and people are always muggin' me. Guess they think I'm one too. :)

You need to beg,borrow,or steal one their caps!! I am going to try and get one to wear behind the weirs!

When I was 14 we paddled the pirogues behind the house and set up blind.Opening mornin of teal season,it was hot as hell and birds were everywhere.In the mayhem I shot a hen woody,she was small,not in color,and flying around with the teal.I kept her along with our limit of teal.On our way out GW stops us and asked how the mornin went.I told him about the mistake and explained how I didnt want to just waste the bird so it was in the boat also.$400.00 ticket!!!!Judge kept me in court all day b/c he didnt know what to do so when I was the last one in there he said $200 fine and $200 court cost! I could have hid that bird in the decoy sack or stomped it in the mud but instead I chose to be honest and thats what I got for it! Keep in mind I was 14!!! So yea Id say I was rubbed wrong right off the bat! Have never got any tickets since :)

Had a sit down visit in oyster bayou running from thunderstorms w/ Mr. Verret. Really nice guy....heck most of them are....treat as you want to be treated, is the ticket. Don't pull your anchor and try to leave an area where they stop (sure way to get checked)....and if your on fish and you know they are coming to you...pull your anchor and troll over to them, or they will shut down your bite.

Got one on the Northshore over here,doesnt matter how nice you are or how much you kiss is arse he ALWAYS has an attitude!

I never minded the GW until a really bad experience last winter. It was a Monday morning, I was mid lake, it was about 50 degrees outside, and the sky looked ugly. Well the trout bite was extremely good so of course we left at the last possible second before the sky opened up. I had the hammer down heading north back to Cal Point and we were getting pelted by a heavy rain. There literally may have been 3 rigs in the parking lot that day, including myself, and hadn't even seen another boat on the water that morning. Well after i cut through Turner's Bay and got back into the channel, I spotted a GW boat right off the side of the channel, just hanging out, and I thought to myself, "I'm gonna lose it if he stops me in this freezing, pouring down rain...all i want to do is get warm and dry in my truck". Well I'm going as fast as my boat will let me, and the GW starts nudging my way. My buddy turns to me and says "I think he wants you to pull over to him". I looked over and told him "Not in this weather man, If he wants to stop me in freezing, pouring down rain on a Monday morning in December, then he can come get me". Just as expected as I passed the GW boat, they turned on the lights and started coming after me.....so i pulled over. The two guys were young 20 something year olds that apparently had just started working as game wardens. I am friends with some of the GWs who are salty veterans and I know that they would have shown a little more savvy considering the miserable conditions. I was cold, wet, and ticked off, and seeing that they were about the same age as me, I let them have it. While idling over to their boat I asked "Don't you guys have something better to do on a Monday in the freezing rain?" They replied, "pull out your safety equipment and lay it on the deck, and do you have any fish on board?"....so I pulled out all my safety equipment, not only soaking the equipment itself, but everything else in my decks got soaked bc it was pissing rain. Then they proceeded to count all thirty of my trout, one by one, and it took all of my patience to keep my temper. So after i put all my fish back in the ice chest, and all my soaking wet gear back in my soaking wet deck storage, they told me to "have a nice day". I know that they were just doing their jobs, but come on....isn't that a bit too much considering the situation?

As a game warden in 2 states, no matter what you do you receive little to no thanks. Those who are breaking the law despise you, those who are legal hate the inconvenience of being checked. Yet the vast majority of sportsman complain when there are numerous violations and no game warden. It is a thankless, underappreciated, and dangerous job. We are in the field working when we would rather be hunting/fishing ourselves. Are we going to have bad attitudes - sometimes - who wouldn't when everyone you deal with is potentially armed? Do you honestly expect us to be happy all of the time? If you are law abiding 90% of the time, what are you the other 10%? How are we going to catch the crooks without checking those that aren't? I have checked the same guys two times in the past, no problems polite good guys, turns out the third time I checked them I found the hidden compartment with the slot fish and the rest of the fish above their limit. Do the right thing, know the laws, show us the patience/respect that you expect from us.*

That's why I always carry donuts with me, works every time.
BHB, think you can get me a LaWLF cap???

I just find it amusing that they are all over the landings checking jackets, papers and fish but, when ya call in somethin...Say a gill net that's loaded with dead fish, they never even drive by to look at it! Called it in two days in a row and never heard back and they never even came to pull the net up!

buncha cowboys

Got checked a lot duck hunting. Never got a ticket.
Been checked a few times on the water. Never got a ticket.
Last month in Grand Isle, they stopped me and brudinlaw, asked for registration only.
We told them we were not fishing, just going to fill up the boat.
We then got in brudinlaws boat to go fill it up and when they went to stop us, they
recognized us from my boat and turned around. Didn't make us stop.

Had a pair of GW's roll up on us at Sam Rayburn last summer, while letting the kids perch fish. After seeing everyone had a life jacket and two perch in the box, one of the GW's opens up their ice chest and pulls out an illegal size bass(small) and proceeds to offer it to us. I spoke up and said, "that is an illegal size bass, I do not want that". The GW laughed and informed me they had taken it off another boat earlier and did not want it to go to waste. He assured me that it was OK to take the illegal bass. I said," I hear what you are saying but that is you saying it, if I get stopped by another GW boat on the way back to the dock then what?" He laughed harder at my reaction and gave me one of his signed GW business cards for proof that he gave it to me. They were young but respectful throughout the check.

Had a agent give us a ice chest full of undersized redfish at my previous job. Best redfish I ever ate,no blood line. :D

Called OGT twice in a 6 hour span on a saturday to report guys kkeping undersize and over the limit of reds on the road side in G.I.
No one showed. Why Bother?

I've never had an issue with em. Been stopped a couple of times, but they just asked for licenses. They always asked bout the catch and go about their own merry way.

Understaffed, underpaid, underappreciated, but we are the first to get our budget cut and still expected to meet the over expectations of the public

I was stopped the first Friday of Contraband days... news crew was in the boat with the wardens. Couldnt find my fire extinguisher for about 10 min. Gave me the hot nasties.... needless to say my pic was taken and posted on KPLC TV. Made me look like i had broken laws. Everything was clear in my boat. No tickets.

You chose your profession and you could find another job if its that bad!!
I dont have a problem being stopped and checked I just feel like they should have a respectful attitude when doing so! As far as doing your job,Im sure it is tough to find someone to run out and chk every time you get a call about a violation but I speak from experience when I say I called lots of times and they never seemed to care and nobody ever showed! Its no different than the cops,if you call about a violation they are more worried about what your doin than who your callin about!

I put in at Rockefeller one morning. Started the boat, let it warm up and loaded the family in. Hit the gas and it died. Unloaded the family and took cowl off. Messed with it for 45 minutes just floating out in the middle. Itbwould start fine, but put it in gear and it would die. Tried giving it alot of gas and it would still die. GW is sitting in his truck watching me try to fix my boat for 45 minutes. Finally found the busted plug wires! Changed one, started boat, hit the gas and it died. Getting aggregated at this point and tried it again. Nothing. Fixed another plug wire from scratch and put it on. Started the boat, and gave it alot of gas. The nose shot up!! I had the motor trimed up pretty high........well, wouldn't you know it. Lights lite up and He's started yelling at me thru the bullhorn to pull over.......gave me a no wake zone ticket!! $ 175.50........I've never put in there again........what an A$$

On the other hand in grand isle. The line was long at the Marina so as we left I tried to renew my fishin license online using my phone......it wouldn't work. Tried the 800 number, nothing. Tried the 225 and 504 numbers. Nothing. Sure enough, GW's roll up. I told them the problems I was having w their website. I showed him my phone and he said it didn't work sometimes. Told me to keep Fishin and get it in person when I could. He then ran over my anchor rope and got it all tangled in his prop.......

I have been stopped by GW plenty of times. I don't like being pulled over just as much as the next guy. But it is there job to do this so I don't let it get to me. I have never gotten a ticket. I have had a few bad experiences with attitudes but I look at it this way. How many times have you gone to a convenience store or any place of bussiness and the clerk was in a bad mood. Everyone has bad days even the GW. So next time you get one that is rude or overbearing just let it go. Because if you are in a bind they will be the first person you will call. And the only thing I would like to see changed is them pulling out in front of you while you are running in a canal to stop you. Cant they get some sort of light like a cop?

Thats one way of lookin at it but I think its more like this.I am self employed and deal with lots of cutomers.If one customer ruins my day does that mean I have a right to have an attitude with the rest of them!!I dont think I would keep them very long! I dont give two sh$@# who pissed them off before they pulled me over!I didnt do it and I help pay their salary!

Dink if I was you Id run like hell when I see GW!

Tried that once.....their boats are quick!!

I got stopped by a GW with lights once

I have another job.....19+ years in the Army (all active duty) and counting, 5+ deployments, and I still worked as a Military Police (strike two? lol) game warden. It is frustrating not being able to go to all the calls, and there are those officers out there who should not be holding badges. But saying they didn't care or never showed is a little unfair. I responded several times to illegal trapping at night after leaving the traps in place and caught the offenders checking them...and that was 12-14 hours after the call was placed during daylight hours. At our substation we had so many calls that we had to prioritize them by evidentiary value, impact on the community, and various other factors - to include all the animal control/nuicance calls we got (stray dogs, cats, bites ....etc).

I'm so proud of the few wonderful MPs I've met in my life. :)

Hmmmmmm......A little biased are we? :D

Maybe just a lot. :) my daddy is a great guy, what can I say?

AGREED!!!!!

Yes, one of the best I have had the pleasure to serve with.

Thanks buddy. I'm awfully proud of my daddy. Can't wait for him to get home.