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[unimpressed]Hey Guys, I think I know why our fishing officers are so far anf few between. they spent too much time on other sports, (hunting). after this duck opener I have differant thoughts about our fish cops. they had 5 officers in the south parking lot at farmington bay and 2 other ones ackting like hunters. they were hanging around and talking to us about duck hunting and alot of stuff, and then out of the blue they say, well sence we're here we better check you. I looked at him and said what, He said were officers, we need to check your guns and ducks. (them suckers) just like them to pull somthing like that, hang out with you to see what things they can find on you. Don't get me worng, I don't care if they check me because I know I'm legal, it's just the way they pulled that. so here's 7 fish cops in one area doing what 1 or 2 could do just fine. they do the same thing at the pheasant hunt, these seasons only last a short time and here fishing is a year round sport, you would think they would focus a little more on fishing because it's year round. Oh well, gotta go for now, let me know what you guys think.
later chuck
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There were 6 more that i saw on the between north entrance and the parking lot. I with you i don't mind being checked but there are other places they could be.
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It doesn't suprise me they are doing something like that.When we were at Payson Lakes one of the people we were fishing with had his son with him and then the son left and went up to camp, we didn't think anything about it when all of a sudden a fish cop came walking up and asked about a second pole permit, he said he didn't have one and the fish cop said it wouldn't matter because you can't use a second pole there anyway. The guy said he had forgot about the pole and that the son had left, the fishcop said he knew because he had been watching us from the other side of the lake with binoculars.I felt like the fishcop was trying to get him to say something wrong so he could give him a ticket. Luckily the fishcop just gave him a warning ticket.When I go fishing I ususally go with my son and grandson and I always stress the point of following the rules and to always pack out what you pack in so that we will have these nice areas for generations to come
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The duck hunt is a real big money maker for the DWR in tickets given. We have a bunch of duck hunters here at work and they say the DWR officers sit in the parking lot with binocluars and watch the hunter and when they screw up they get em. They have a captive audience in the hunters because they can sit on the dike and see everythig going on. They know when you go out and wait till you come in.
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What is it about law officers? Do they always have something to prove? I don't mind getting checked for my license but it does seem like they are never in the right place at the right time.
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So true,I think that is their number one creed, I will not be where I am needed.
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It seems pretty simple to me though, a lot of hunters, probably a increased chance that there is some illegal activities going on, provoking some need for law enforcement. I know when I was out for the duck opener I heard shots 10-15 min early. Yep, I think someone should pay for that, thats just not right. If you're not doing anything wrong, much like myself, there is nothing to worry about, right?
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utwalleye -- sounds to me like they were "duck cops", not fish cops!
Icefool -- So you were upset that the DWR officer came and informed your friend he was breaking the law, but only warned him? Sounds like he did you a favor, not an injustice! One thing my dad always taught us as kids is that when we are done fishing, we take our poles with us.
Everyone -- why is it that we all bitch and moan about the lack of law enforcement, until the law enforcement shows up?
utwalleye, I'm sure if you added up the time spent patrolling fishing waters vs. patrolling other hunting activities throughout the year, the fishing time would be the greater. You are exactly right, those sports only last a short time, so there is only a short time to enforce the laws during those hunts. Do you remember when fishing had a season? Opening day was a circus with both fishermen, and law enforcement. When opening days rolls around (pheasant hunt, deer hunt, duck hunt, whatever) you all of a sudden have a big surge in the numbers of people out. Of course the DWR is going to concentrate on those activities. They have the whole rest of the year to concentrate on fishing.
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I wasn't upset that he warned us. I was upset that he tried to trick the person into saying something wrong. His son is 3.We all forgot that he had put his little pole in th water.
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I'm happy to hear that they were checking people out. It seems like you seldom see or hear of any check points any more. Most of the officers are under cover in plain clothes mixing in to catch people breaking the law in areas with crowds of people. They do make their rounds. But with their funding being cut, their work force cut in half and their work loads increased, they are spread pretty out thin. Its a shame their aren't enough to go around.
It would be nice if they could catch alot more people breaking wildlife laws. On the duck opener we heard 2 groups shooting about ten minutes to early, I hate cheaters! Sooner or later these kind of people "WILL" get caught and pay a heavy price. Good hunting and fishing to everyone!
Hello lindsey
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Right on PHB. I am glad to hear that the fish/duck cops go 'under cover'. I personlly would like to see every single poacher pay for what they did. The story about what happened at Payson Lakes illustrates that they aren't all heartless scavengers. But do you really think so called hunters that are inclined to break the rules will do it in front of a uniform. No way. But the main thing is that we as law abiding outdoormen pay the price when poaching occurs. Those obeying the rules have nothing to worry about. So what's the problem? I too get tired of all the whining when someone is compelled to obey the rules, or even gets checked. Not everything is a conspiracy.
I was at the Lee Kay Center sighting in my rifle last Saturday. They had a trailer there full of mounts of the animals that they had recovered from poachers. There were huge elk and deer and geese and bears, and, and. and.... And the guy told me that all of the deer except for one in that trailer were taken on public land. Those deer were STOLEN from you and I! They were showing a confiscated home video that was used as evidence against a family that had poached several deer and elk. The people(I won't call them hunters) were shamelessly cutting them up on camera with chainsaws and there were little kids running around and playing like this is everyday life. It made me sick. I was fuming mad at the loss and the selfishness displayed by those people.
I am against poachers of all kinds. I am glad when I hear that the DWR is using which ever technique works. They can watch me all they want. I obey the law and have no worries.
m
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Hey UTWalleye, you sure all of them were state boys, or were some of them feds? I've seen the state boys do a pretty good job of going under cover and blending into the rest of the hunters, but the feds are real proes at it.
There are good and bad individuals in virtually any population of humans, including wildlife officers. A couple real world examples of both:
Good: Walks back to camp with you to see the fishing license you accidently left there rather then give you a ticket down at the lake.
Bad: For no reason, decides to strip search you at gun point looking for bait at an artificial only water body.
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I will have to admit in recent years I have seen alot more officers out in the field. This makes me happy to keep everyone safe, and to protect our wildlife future. Most officers I have ran into are great people to talk to, most of the time they will help me on my hunt telling me areas and strategies to hunt. They share the same interests that us as hunters, anglers and conservationist do. I am more than willing to provide them with any information they need to help with conservation. But just like every thing else in life, there are a few bad apples out there on a power trip. I have ran into a few DWR officers that have no reasons to portray the attitudes they possess. In almost all encounters with a conservation officer, they have been pleasant most times informative on stat #. and wildlife trends in the area that officer is designated to.
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RipNlips,
You are exactly right. There are good and bad. I believe most are good, I really do. By the way, they're not just fishcops. They are full peace officers. They put their lives on the line sometimes just like street cops. Why? So that our fishing and hunting experiences are better. They are the good guys.
m
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[size 1]Bad: For no reason, decides to strip search you at gun point looking for bait at an artificial only water body. . . [/size]
[size 1]Hey I'm sorry if this happened to me id really get upset . . .[/size]
[size 1]sm[/size]
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That can be taken in so many bad way!!! [cool][cool][cool]
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I agree with you guys most DWR officers I have encountered have been very pleasant and will let you know what is working for fishing or where to find the deer.I have nothing against them at all. My son wants to be one and yes they are police officers. In order to become one you have to go to the police academy. Done some research for my son on that topic.It is true you have good and bad in everything.
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FYI Get used to the undercover thing. Just so you know, every Division region in the state has a full time investigator conservation officer that is always undercover 24/7. Their entire uniform is regular hunting and outdoor clothes. Their vehicles are all unmarked and they don't even have the EX on the license plate. It's been that way for years, and these guys make some of the biggest poaching cases in the state. They often send in uniformed officers to make the arrest, so the criminal never even knows he met one.
Good Legal Fishing, Kayote
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Cool! I like that. Get them poachers!
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