Running into fishing enforcement on my first day flyfishing...

When I was first getting established in the Gorge I moved back and forth between WA and OR several times. At some point I ended up with OR plates but had a resident WA license. Got checked pulling out on the Klick one Labor Day weekend and they noticed the discrepancy. Got a ticket but when I explained the timeline the judge gave me a pass. Turns out you are supposed to mail in your resident license when you move and get an out of state license.
 
Just remembered that I was checked by an NPS ranger one time while walking back to the road from the Queets River. I asked him what he was doing back here, there being no trail. He said he was looking for me, having seen my car parked off the main road. Then he wanted to look inside my day pack to make sure I hadn't poached a fish. I had to ask him if he was kidding since any fish worth keeping (it was all CNR) would be halfway sticking out the top of my pack. No sense of humor; he wasn't kidding. Guy was hard core as he had to wade across a small creek and wasn't wearing waders of any sort.
 
Salmo_g said:
Just remembered that I was checked by an NPS ranger one time while walking back to the road from the Queets River. I asked him what he was doing back here, there being no trail. He said he was looking for me, having seen my car parked off the main road. Then he wanted to look inside my day pack to make sure I hadn't poached a fish. I had to ask him if he was kidding since any fish worth keeping (it was all CNR) would be halfway sticking out the top of my pack. No sense of humor; he wasn't kidding. Guy was hard core as he had to wade across a small creek and wasn't wearing waders of any sort.
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Well...ya gotta applaud that dedication and taking real ownership of his responsibilities. He wasn't a 'windshield ranger'.

I was always amazed at the number of supervisors and managers of large industrial facilities that never left their offices. It continually led them to make silly-ass stupid decisions that were readily apparent to even new employees actually doing the work.

I tried to be out and about seeing what was going on...it's not about micro-managing employees, but rather learning from them and very often letting them know somebody appreciates their efforts.
 
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Before he recently retired, I was checked while guiding multiple times by our local trooper. He wasn't a "hide in the shrubbery" fella, he was a "fly over in his SuperCub on floats" fella. He'd land at the beach and hike up to us, usually in estuary reaches. Guests would hold up licenses (different colors of paper for different years then), I'd have to dredge out logbooks and outfitter documents...
I didn't mind. It meant that other folks were getting checked, and it also kept the shithead pirate guides to a minimum.
 
krusty said:
I was always amazed at the number of supervisors and managers of large industrial facilities that never left their offices. It continually led them to make silly-ass stupid decisions that were readily apparent to even new employees actually doing the work.
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My grandfather spent his whole career as an engineer at an industrial chemical company, eventually working his way up to VP. They kept trying to promote him further, but he declined each time because he said it would take him into the boardroom and away from the factory floor/engineering offices where the real work got done. I always thought highly of him for that.
 
I've had plenty of encounters w/ enforcement over the years, all of them positive.

When I used to "live" on Pass, I "was" the warden for several years. About half the folks I tried to approach would avoid the confrontation and leave. The rest were friendly since I was approaching them in a respectful way, helping them avoid getting caught. We'd all pretend it was an honest mistake and they'd move on to fish elsewhere - I usually sent them across the bridge to Cranberry where it was legal to throw spinning gear. I was always amazed by the number of folks willing to fish illegally at Pass. I'd say most were aware of the quality/size of those fish and truly believed they could partake without getting caught. Many would come in off the trail, away from the road, thinking they were well hidden from the law. The other surprise was the lack of reaction/speaking up among fly fishers. Bitch yes, confront no. I understand regarding safety, but none of these folks looked dangerous and none of them were.

Ohio is a lot different. You'd have to really want to break the law where fish and game are concerned. The way it's managed, everyone has equal (and very good) opportunity to access and catch fish. I've actually seen the dept cut certain fisheries and move the resources to other ones because not enough folks were using the areas and they don't want those resources to go to waste. They track that stuff every year to make sure allocations are appropriate (and fish we all spent $ on are being caught). The other difference is the parks dept manages much of the fishery since many of the waters are within park boundaries. In a nutshell, there are certainly pros and cons vs. the PNW but I do enjoy some of the pros out here (i.e. I'd tell anyone across the country to skip the west coast for SH and come to the Great Lakes tribs...the difference is laughable).

I've only had one encounter with enforcement in Ohio. No license check, he was mainly curious of my float tube since they don't exist out here. We talked about PFD's, I established they weren't required for float tubes, or there was no law in Ohio that said I had to use one. He didn't argue that, but said he'd like me to start using one for my own safety. So I did.
 
Like many here, I have fished since the late 70s and have only been checked a couple times. Several years in the 80s & 90s with 50-100 days on the water. Not checked once in Washington. Only once in Oregon. By OSP on the Deschutes. They were floating down in a raft. Nice guy & gal.

I actually interviewed to be a fish cop (back before the Game & Fish merged) right out of college. I didn't have any law enforcement experience, but it was an entry level position and I assume they were desperate. Anyway, 3 uniformed officers in the interview. Pretty damn intimidating for a young guy.
I remember the moment I wasn't going to get the job, which was also the moment I realized I didn't WANT the job-
Question from the ranking officer- "You're on a river at a well known salmon poaching spot. It's near dark when you pull up and you see 3 guys scrambling to stow gear and then 2 of them run into the bushes. What do you do?"
Me- "Uh, call backup."
Him- "You have no backup."
Me- "Question the one that stayed with the truck."
Him- "Ok, thanks"
Haha! He then goes on to tell me that I should pursue one, or both, of the suspects since they were acting very guilty.
Sounded like a great way to get beat up or shot so I knew then it was not for me. Sounded like a pretty stupid procedure to me.
So mad respect for the people that do!

Just wish there were more of them.
 
I must look suspicious...get checked about 1 time a year on average.
Last time I was checked it was on the OP, at a hike in spot on an upper stretch of a river.
Came out of the water after finishing the run, and there was a gamie.
When I asked why he walked so far in, he pointed out there was a much easier way to get to where I was fishing...but he saw my rig and figured I was in that spot, so drove up to check.
😂
 
Mossback said:
I must look suspicious...get checked about 1 time a year on average.
Last time I was checked it was on the OP, at a hike in spot on an upper stretch of a river.
Came out of the water after finishing the run, and there was a gamie.
When I asked why he walked so far in, he pointed out there was a much easier way to get to where I was fishing...but he saw my rig and figured I was in that spot, so drove up to check.
😂
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suspicious? I must look really bad. I've been checked on the D more times than I count. Several times over the years by the same officer. The last time I was just getting back to camp when he drove in. After displaying my license I offered him a beer. He declined saying he was on the clock to which I said hell, we've spent so much time together we're getting to be old friends. That time he said he'd just ticketed a guy with no license and in his car with an open container. I forgot to tell him I'd been sipping a cold one all the way back to camp. On two occasions I've been checked twice on the same day. At the launch and again at my boat in camp and on one of those occasions by the same guy. Again? I said and he says oh yeah I've already seen yours, sorry. I posted a story a while back, maybe on the other forum, about have two officers in a little blue raft that stopped to check me and my buddy on a steelhead run. He pulled in right between us not thinking I was working my down through the run. I thanked him like I always do for the fine work they did, but then explained about river ettiquette.(sp?) and that he should have pulled in above and then walked down to check us. My buddy was pissed too but didn't say anything. When I got home I sent an email to the Ore. St. Police, thanking them for the fine work they do (it never hurts) but it might be a good idea to let trainees know about not sailing through the water an angler is fishing in. Got a reply, surprised me, and it said it would be discussed among officers. The next year I was on the river and I heard a yell, looked upriver and here comes that little blue raft and the guy says he wants to check licenses but wants to be sure he didn't go in water we were fishing in. This was an occasion when I smiled, said thanks but not another word. In fact, I smiled the whole rest of the day.
 
I've been "checked" "hassled" "searched" whatever you want to call it .....70 miles offshore in inclement weather... by a very high dollar F&G boat with nothing better to do. No possibility for any kind of poaching. Dangerous as hell for them to even board our boat, and completely unnecessary..... A few days later I watched CA F&G use their 4WD trucks, heavily armed officers (with bullet proof vests) to apprehend a 14 year old kid fishing for bass off the rocks of Shelter Island. I appreciate enforcement of fishery laws... but I have seen some messed up situations.
 
Lighting sometimes strikes twice. I went almost 40 years without having my license checked in Washington an then I was stopped and checked twice in two weeks by the same WDFW agent on the Skykomish. He was very cagey the first time - sneaking up quietly while I was spey casting. The next week he saw me and I saw him and we had a good chuckle. Told him I'm thrilled to see him doing his job.
 
You always gotta find out what they're payin, babyahhh. Gotta find out how MUCH it is!!! Ahhh just find out what they're PAYIN so you can step beside the law with EASE!!!!
 
Just a friendly reminder that pot is not legal on National Forest or BLM land, and a fed in a bad mood could ruin your day, if you roll that way.
 
Mossback said:
I must look suspicious...get checked about 1 time a year on average.
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Maybe if you didnt look like a cross between a weasle and Fidel Castro...

;)
 
This one took a few brain reboots to come up with a license check in the wilds. One for sure I recall was within the first 15 minutes of fishing the Crowsnest river in SW Alberta 30 years ago. Had just arrived after a zigzag 3 state, 2 province day trip and had a fresh 3-day non resident license. Pleasant exchange.
Another one that comes to mind goes back even further to my teens and being checked by a park ranger on the upper Quinault for a steelhead punch card I guess as being park it was license-free fishing in park waters.
I am drawing a blank trying to come up with a single license check anywhere else. I do recall as a grade schooler getting in trouble from an officer for keeping a bunch of sand dollars at the coast as about a 7- year old tagging along with family for an always bone-chilling clam digging trip to the coast. Did I get ahold of lots of live ones somehow? Maybe?
We put them back.
Add one more. I guess I have been checked in WA. In college in Eastern WA, I often would borrow my gf's car to go fishing since my VW bug was often on the IR for one mechanical issue or another. Her car was a Mazda RX-7 with Alaska plates. Not your typical car one would see on a rough gravel road to a semi-remote scabland lake. I was checked in the "lot" and not harrassed for the odd out of state fishing rig with my in state ID.
 
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During the Great Depression my grandfather worked as a game warden for a few years.

He said it was common practice for wardens to ignore violations when they knew that the poaching was obviously a matter of desperate subsistence harvesting...essentially some poor soul trying to feed their family.

He was always strongly of the opinion that nobody had any business killing anything if you weren't going to eat it (except for varmints!).
 
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krusty said:
During the Great Depression my grandfather worked as a game warden for a few years.

He said it was common practice for wardens to ignore violations when they knew that the poaching was obviously a matter of desperate subsistence harvesting...essentially some poor soul trying to feed their family.

He was always strongly of the opinion that nobody had any business killing anything if you weren't going to eat it (except for varmints!).
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I mean, there is an argument that playing with your food and not eating it is foolish and perhaps cruel.

But I think that sort of thing changes with the times. Depression era is different from conservation era. Who knows, we might be back there again someday.
 
Thirty some years ago, I had just moved back to Wash st. I had a memory of someone saying the upper reach of the North Fork of the Tieton River above Clear Lake was great fishing for native cutthroats. Well, I saddled up my truck, put my fly stuff in the cab and headed out. I drove over White Pass, wound up the rode above Clear Lake, dismounted and rigged up. I hiked up the “River” and started fishing back to my rig. When I got there a DFWC Officer was waiting we chatted for moment then he mentioned I was fishing “closed waters”. I told him I researched the complex litany of fishing rigs and was SURE this stretch of water was open. I asked for copy of the regs but he didn’t have any, having given his last copy away. Well, he wrote me my ticket, very pleasant and professional. He said I could come to Yakima for court or just send $50 bucks in with the ticket. Just then, a family group of four came along fishing. The officer then engaged them.

I drove back to Seattle, got my regs out and saw I was correct. I struggled over the weekend debating taking a day from work to plead the facts or say “to hell with it” and pay the fine.

The phone rang.

The officer called me to say he was in error and to disregard the ticket. He then asked, “By any chance did I have the phone number for the other folks” he cited. He admitted the State regrets were complex and confusing to him AND the public!
 
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