More game violations!!??
General Topic
After reading about the huge international poaching ring that Lee Lakosky was the mastermind of, I was wondering how many guys on here have been guilty of any type of hunting or fishing violations that they're willing to share. I'm not interested in one guy on here bashing some body else, rather I'm more interested in if you-yourself has.
In the late 70s, I was ticketed for failure to have my gun cased while transporting it in a vehicle. In Iowa, to transport it, your firearm must be unloaded and inside closed case. We used to do deer drives that originated at my Dad's house and 2 guys would drive a pickup to the far end of his property and set up as standers. The other 3-4 guys would push the deer towards them. We would then all jump in the back of the truck to ride back to the house. Needless to say, the only 2 guys that had cases were the standers. After the push, we pulled up to the top of the hill and the warden was sitting there.
Also, in the early 80s, I shot a turkey with a shotgun in Oklahoma right at the end of legal shooting light as he was heading back to the roost. It just so happened that our local warden was hunting the same property and came over to check things out. He told me that I shot a few minutes after legal light. He, however, failed to take into account the legal sunset time was set for Oklahoma City & you can add 1 minute for every 14 miles west of there to that time. I was probably 100+ miles west of there so I was totally legal. Good thing that bird was hustling to get to the roost or I probably would have gotten the ticket!
I've never gotten a ticket, but only because of the grace of at least one CO.
In 2010 my buddy and I made our second out of state big game hunt. We got lucky and drew NM elk tags. On the 4th day the CO stopped at our camp at midday, and after BSing for a while, kinda grudgingly asked to see our licenses. Apparently, we were supposed to buy a NF stamp, and some other kind of stamp. Like $12 to $15 for two stamps. We had no idea.
Fortunately, this CO used his discretion, and instead of ticketing us, instructed us to buy these stamps the next time we left for town for gas or anything. He didn't even make us go then. He just said whenever we got out to town (town was 1 1/2 hours away). Coincidentally, we needed gas, so we headed out that day and bought the stamps. But he was very cool about it all.
Oklahoma dove hunt. Was ticketed for shooting over a public road. Leaning up against power pole and shooting doves, ostly as they flew in but a few as they were flying out of the field and shot one over the dirt road...Guilty s charged!
"After reading about the huge international poaching ring that Lee Lacosky was the mastermind of" LOLOLOL I have made mistakes, pushed the limits in the heat of the battle, nothing serious, never caught.
A looooonnnnggg time ago. Guilty and paid my dues
Clean record here.
I have had some lengthy "discussions" in the field with CO's. Most frequently with pennsylvania deputy wardens posing as fellow hunters........ unreal!
Had a close call in eastern Colorado. Inadvertently crossed private property while out waterfowl hunting - did not hunt private, merely walked across it to get to our spot. According to the maps we were looking at, we were good. CO stopped us as we walked out after the hunt. Ended up calling the land manager to determine whether a trespassing ticket was warranted. Land Manager said he's had issues all season long, but decided to let us go after realizing we really did make a mistake. We couldn't have been more than 100yds onto private, but boy did I feel silly when he informed us of our wrongdoing. Lesson learned. Great officers.
There's big difference between technical violations vs intentional violations.
Shot a buck with my bow years ago. It was a steep uphill drag to my truck, so I took all my gear back first. Went back and dragged the deer up the hill before I tagged it, which is illegal. I got the deer to my truck and was tagging it when the police pulled up (neighbor saw me and thought I was hunting illegally). I got a ticket for moving the deer before it had a tag on it. 10 seconds later and it would have been tagged and been a non-issue. I had no intention of not tagging the deer, just didn't feel like going back for the tag. I was ok with the ticket, since technically I did not follow the game laws.
I was formally warned a couple years ago about my faded hat not being orange enough. We're required to wear orange in archery during certain season overlaps. Got it 17 years ago when I was 11 years old so you can imagine it's seen better days. Had semi-retired it for awhile, but I wear it more now. I'm a good citizen and respect the boys in blue but I have an anti-authority streak when it comes to dumb laws that don't violate morals, what can I say?
Only other notable incident I can recall is when I shot my bull, the first elk either my dad or I had quartered, we accidentally cut off the pecker and jewels. I knew the law but messed up the cut so we threw that poor fella's sack in a sack and kept it with us. The butcher we took it to said they can and have confiscated meat and antlers for that. Unbelievable.
There was an incident when Johnny Law ran amok when I was younger, a cousin at our camp had a salt block out all summer and removed it well within the required timeframe before bow season. They had recently purchased the land and a jilted hunter reported him to his game warden buddy. He came in and said there was "mineral residue" in the soil and wrote him up for hunting over bait. There are some real outlaws in the area and we are not among them. He really got railroaded, that incident definitely created some trust issues for me. I think by and large the game wardens are good people but there are some bad apples, so I always take the publicized incidents with a grain of salt.
Never have, but could've been ticketed for not wearing the PROPER AMOUNT of orange, while bowhunting during gun seasons.
Turkey hunting with my little brother (he was 12 at the time) during youth season. I called in a group of 6 jakes and he decides to take one. I'm sitting next to him and we are talking about which one he is going to shoot. The time comes and I instruct him to put it on the one to the left that had broken away from the other 5. He says ok and squeezes one off. The bird I'm watching runs off and I instantly think miss. I look over and there are 3 birds flopping. Crap!!!!! We get up and gather the birds and call the CO, I'm prepared to get hammered with fines and such. He shows up, and sees the set up. Talks to both of us and then winks at me. He rode my brother pretty hard and made his point, then cut us some slack. We tagged one, and he took the other two. Great lesson learned.
James
When I was 17 I was issued a written warning for hunting without a license. My license was sitting 2 miles away in my wallet at home where I forgot it.
Another time (also high school era) my buddy and I were fishing on a public lake in our new high-class fishing boat. Unfortunately, and unknowingly, we were without several required pieces of equipment for the boat. Verbal warning for a couple kids who didn't know any better. I have respect for COs like this, but they aren't all that way. Btw, I think we paid $450 for the whole enchilada; boat, trailer, and motors.
Forgot to sign a federal stamp when I was in school and forgot that I had taken my plug out for spring snows. Used the same gun in the fall without putting it back. dumb on me
I got a speeding ticket driving up to a hunt... does that count?
I'll take the fifth amendment that is Lewis
These are not poaching violations.I doubt any legitimate poachers are going to post on here.
My friend and I had a close call once in CO. My first elk hunt and his 2nd, I had identified a small access point to NF so sure the maps showed what I saw with the exception of it being private. We set up camp spent the night, even got a day of scouting in only to come back to a note. We called the number which basically told the guy when to call the cops. We were pulling out of the property when we met with the sheriff, the owner wanted to press full charges but after showing the officer 2-3 different maps he said to just go on. It was very clear we had no intentions of trespassing and all of our resources said it was public, furthermore not a single posted sign. If a landowner is going to be protective of his property you'd think at minimum a sign would be posted at the entrance.
I've been fishing with my daughter or son a lot of times and let them catch all 8 walleyes of our limit while I caught none. Yes, that is illegal here. Arrest me.
got busted at age 11 for fishing without a permit... Got a ride home from the Poe-Lease:)
Done a few things in my life that I am not proud of and regret... Nothing major, just stupid stuff that I don't feel a need to share. By the Grace of God, I am a different person than I used to be.
God Bless,
Scar.
Back in italy i hunted without a license until i turned 18. Then when I turned 18 I was able to get a legal licence I got chased few times by the Co's but they could not catch me.
Im out of the loop or maybe just missed it...... Can someone fill me in on Lee's poaching ring....
Thsi was the first thread I opened from bowsite today... I just now saw the Locosky thread... sorry
I was a wild child and ran afoul of the law at the age of 8 (1969). Was visiting my Grandparents on the farm where my mother grew up. Couple thousand acres that has about 1/2 mile of lake front coverage on a lake in north Idaho. Me and my brother took couple fishing poles and went down to the lake. I caught a lake trout that was huge to me and I ran the 200 yards up to the highway, then ran across highway to head up the hill to "the house". Well just then, Johnny Law (Idaho CO) saw this kid that apparently looked like a bank robber, terrorist, or something, and decided he better play Barney Fife. Long story short, given I ddn't have a license, he took my fish, through it in his trunk, and left. He did have my brother run up to the house and bring my dad down to discuss.
still have nightmares..................................... but I've managed to stay outa prison.
Here's a copy of the warning ticket from Kansas for exceeding the bag limit. accidental shoot through. Killed two deer with one shot.
Is this the line to the confessional booth?
JTV, I might have done one of those things when younger but I didn't exhale so it's okay.
I have never been ticketed for a game violation. In fact, I have never been arrested and have gotten very few traffic tickets. Now. That is not to say, I did not deserve a few. I have, that I can recall, broken some minor game laws over my 63-years as a hunter. Things like one more dove that I should have, maybe a duck, a fish a tad short and once. I incorrectly tagged an elk. I rectified that as soon as I realized what I had done. I am no saint but I am far too nervous to be much of a criminal. Now, what I am getting at is this. Feller named Jesus, once he got through scribbling in the dirt, allowed as how whoever had not sinned should go right ahead and pitch that rock. Sometimes, I think we are too quick to start tossing rocks without knowing the whole story. I know, I am. But I'm werkin on it.
I got a ticket for deer hunting without a license. I wasn't carrying a weapon of any kind, but I was "actively pursuing deer" which is the legal definition of hunting.
I also got a ticket for having a loaded gun in a vehicle. I walked across a section, got in my friends father in laws truck and drove about 50 feet right into a warden. There was a gun in a case in the backseat. Warden asked me if it was loaded. I said I don't know it isn't mine. It was, and since I was operating the vehicle, it was my baby.
Wrong place, wrong time both instances. No malicious intent either time, but this stuff happens easy.
Flail away old ladies of the interwebs.
I've been hunting for around 4 decades and have never broke a law, never even bent one or accidentally broke one...
I also have some ocean front property here in Colorado for sale.
i got a ticket once for speeding through a no wake zone during a bass tournament once.
Don't ever assume these threads are not being trolled by fish and game!
Not a problem.... pretty sure the statute of limitations has run out on, uh, most of em........
Brodsky you are fine now. But I'm not buying that you LET them out fish you.
Man, I've missed something, what happen to Lakosky?
"Actually where I live in the people's republic of Connecticut it's impossible to hunt without doing something wrong. You practically need an attorney along on the hunt to help interpret all the hundreds of regulations governing hunting in this state."
Sounds like california, might as well buy handcuffs with your hunting license.
Only ticket I ever had was for not having boat cushions on the river fishing. That was like in the late 70s. I had forgotten that my boat cushions had been destroyed in a house fire and I was taking my little boy fishing, the sand bass were running, and I stopped a couple places on the way, but no boat cushions could be found. GW gave me a ticket, checked our catch, and said I could keep on fishing, but be sure and get some cushions before coming back.
Now, when I was a kid, we observed no limits, nor many seasons on small game, but I didn't have a father, or any other adult that hunted, to teach me. I was lucky that I was never caught and ticketed, but I really didn't know any better. As I grew into a teenager, I began to understand about seasons and bag limits. I have shot over my limit of doves since growing up, but it was because I miscounted. I learned to dump the birds instead of trying to " feel " them through the vest. Once I was dove hunting, thought I was a couple birds shy of the limit, and just had a " feeling ". I dumped my birds out, counted them, and unloaded my gun just as the warden drove up. If he had seen my gun loaded, I'm certain I would have gotten a ticket. Those days are long gone for me, I'd rather come home empty handed than break a game law.
No game violations but have spent more than one night in the pokee
I grew up around Detroit auto workers of the 60's and 70's. I think "poaching" was part of the union bargaining agreement. A 22 was a very common requirement with the bowhunter of that day. Fred B might have been the only bowhunter in MI without a short stock 22 in his quiver.
"Flail away old ladies of the interwebs." patdel... lol!!
What a basket of deplorables!!!
Bad Hombres.
MANY years ago, when it was still legal to dive for abalone in California, I was diving for abalone. Reds were the prize, and the biggest, but also very rare. Pinks and blacks not so rare. I wasn't really sure how to tell the difference. I picked one off the rocks that measured 1/4" short of a red, which made it well over the min size for pinks and blacks, so I though I was good and proudly displayed it when F and G pulled up alongside. Got a ticket, lost the Red abalone but got a very thorough course on abalone ID.
Again, MANY years ago hunting whitetail with a shotgun in Northwestern PA in freezing weather, I went back to my truck for lunch. My hands were so cold I had trouble opening the door, so I decided to prop my SG against the side of the truck instead of unloading it and putting it in the truck. I am sitting in the cab warming up and reading a book when the Game warden walks up and asks if the gun was loaded. Of course, I told him it was, and he explained that against the vehicle was the same as in the vehicle. We had a polite discussion, I pointed out that it was probably more dangerous to unload with numb hands than to leave it loaded and, and I asked him if I had propped it 48 inches away against a tree there, would I have been OK. He agreed. I pointed out that either way I had to open the door, get out, retrieve the SG before I could try to shoot a deer, so I had no "hunting from a vehicle" advantage over any deer dumb enough to approach the parking area of a state game lands during hunting season. (and PA whitetails are some of the smartest deer I have encountered). He seemed unconvinced but let me off with a verbal warning. Now 40 years later, I am still paranoid about game laws.
"Sounds like california, might as well buy handcuffs with your hunting license."
Yup, they nailed a bowhunter who shot a mountain lion in the chest as it was preparing to pounce on him and they ticketed him for illegally hunting mountain lion even though he had a legal dear tag and immediately reported it because he shot it a 2nd time in the foot and failed to tell them that. A-holes.
Never poached in my life except when my wife and I were first married. Had 15 bucks for food one week and we had just bought our old farmhouse. No insulation, a lousy woodstove, and a baby that slept with us on a mattress on the kitchen floor because that was where the woodstove was. At that time, my teaching check was $75 a week. We live in the boonies and my wife was distraught as to how we could afford food that week. I told her to get the bare necessities and I would take care of the meat. I went up on the ridge behind my house and shot a moose. A friend of mine helped me quarter it and we hung it in our upper barn. That was a brutal winter up here with 3 solid weeks of sub-zero temps and heavy snows. One morning we woke up with 2 feet of new snow and -45 degrees. The dogs water froze in the kitchen and our water froze. A lot of loggers couldn't work in our little village and that moose and a couple others fed a dozen families. That was 45 years ago when everyone here ate wild meat and kept their mouths shut. My 3 kids grew up on venison, moose, and raw milk. Did what we had to do at the time. This very rural area was not food stamp or welfare country, men worked, and if times were hard, they lived off the land. Northern Nfld is still like that for the older generation. That is why I feel at home there.
First time I ever winter fished on the Mississippi I hadn't even thought about the fact that I needed a new fishing license since it was past Jan. 1 until I saw the CO at the boat ramp checking licenses. Felt awful about it but the CO assured me this didn't make me a criminal. Never caught a damn fish, either!
Yep.
Got one from Virginia. WV and VA had always has reciprocal boating laws. So, I went and bought my Va license to do a float trip in VA. The law the previous year for both states was defined as a boat not having a gas powered motor, did not need to have it's license posted on it. However when I purchased my license in Pembroke the evening before, they had no regulations. This was way before the internet too. So, when I was loading up that evening after the float trip, two game wardens came up to me and asked to see my fishing license. I showed them. They then asked where my boat license was. I informed them I didn't think we were supposed to have it on the boat if there was no gas powered motor. They informed me that the law had changed that year to it being mandatory. I replied telling them the store had no regulations and I was unaware of that due to this. We exchanged ideas when I was finally told "This ain't like WV no more. ". Then I got a autographed reminder of that.
Got one in CO from some Barney Fife's for improperly tagging an elk.
Got another in WV for an illegal bear according to the CO. He said the EYE tooth was too short. Regulations was based on weight. Which the bear exceeded that minimum requirement by 26 pounds. Yet, he still give me the ticket. I took him to court and smoked him. Vindication was mine that day because besides being right, the law was on my side.
Had a game warden pull me, my brother, and my bud out of the truck by gun point in Pipestem park one day. About 25 years ago. We were filming strutting gobblers. Got in the truck to leave, drove around the corner, met him. He busted out and got us out, spread eagle, pat down, threw the seat forward, threw everything in the single cab K10 onto the road, went around to the glove box and done the same, then smiled and said he guess we didn't have any turkeys.
All the while traffic stopped in both lanes watching this. Our junk blocking the road, us blocking the road on our knees, and he never told us what he was doing until he was done. Then walked off and drove around us after telling us to clean the mess up. That is a 100% factual true story too.
I've never had a cross interaction with a police officer. And, I've been on the wrong side in more than a few instances where I could have. Not once though. I respect them and the job they do. Can't say the same for some GW's though. God Bless men
Way back yonder I got a ticket for being a nonresident in possession of a resident fishing licence. The way the Arkansas law read it stated any military personnel stationed in Arkansas was granted resident status for hunting and fishing. I was in the Arkansas National Guard but living in Missouri. One of the possum cops wrote me a ticket while the other one and I told jokes. Had to pay my fine there on the creek bank and since I didn't have the money with me, I had to mail it to the warden.
I showed up in court with a letter from my company commander saying I was stationed in Arkansas. The judge then decided maybe that wasn't good enough. Long story short after another court appearance (where FOUR wardens showed up) and a phone call or two by some friends I had in local politics, about 6 weeks after the last court appearance the judge declared me a "victim of circumstance" and refunded my fine. The court clerk lost her job because in the letter she wrote she made the statement "being merely a member of the National Guard." Some of the county officials were also members of the Guard.
2 years later, the Arkansas law was rewritten to read "active duty military personnel" which did exclude the Guard and Reserve.
Cnelk, I have a friend that was a Fed that took part in that one, he also nailed a bunch out of the Lake of the Woods for over fishing. He retired several yrs ago out of the Turtle River USFD area, small world. He is a stand up gent that cannot stand platen poaching or stupid regulations. Myself was stopped by county sheriff walking across a bean field just after hrs with a bow in my hand and they wonder what I was doing and I told them WTF they think I was doing in army camo and a recurve in 1973; they thought I was out harvesting pot (ditch weed) do to the next place was busted for it the year before, told them I didn't part-take while bowhunting but may after the hunt, I just walk on and was left alone after that after I showed them my tag. Always try to play it straight with the game laws, no offense no foul.
Dang, WV is a thug! No wonder he says "God bless" at the end of his posts.
I've only been nabbed by the bowsite police!
I promise you, I've done a lot of things that I shouldn't have done in life.
While only technically wrong in two of these cases, I took what I was given as that is the way it goes when you are wrong. However, over the bear, I was RIGHT. I KNEW I was right. The CO KNEW I was right. And the COURT found that I not ONLY right but, there has never been a bear on record to come and smile at you before he was shot. :^)
And, I have begged for Gods mercy many times. God Bless brothers
I got a ticket in the 80's as a teenager for fishing without a license. It was in WV and it was the first warm day in March and a bunch of us had cabin fever and skipped school and went to the river. Because we had been in snow and darkness since the end of deer season none of us had bothered to get a license yet. Funny thing was when i joined the Air Force 7 years later, despite all the crazy stuff I had done that was my worst offense in his eyes. All I could think was "man if you knew what I got away with". It was the fur boom of the early 80's and i got 45 bucks for every grey fox and 35 for every decent sized coon. Our property line was the state line so me and my best friend were hunted by two different agencies from both states. It was almost a game. But we weren't poaching deer or anything. Just out all night with flashlights or spotlights shooting whatever we could find with fur on it. Lot's of adventures. And we were teenagers and our dad's were working night shift in the coal mines so we just ran amok. Bottom line is I bought my first truck with fur money. Fast forward 30 years and I'm retired from the Air Force and in between jobs on the base in SD and decide to do a little hobby trapping. It's December and I'm on my way up the road from the house to check some mink and beaver traps and I see a bunch of crows and magpies around a brush pile about 50 yards up a forest service road. So I go check it out and discover that some successful deer hunters had butchered their bucks and dumped the carcasses and there were coyote and bobcat tracks everywhere. So I surrounded the pile with snares(kinda like the annual thread from B.C.). Well, after about 4 days there was nothing but bones and the action was slowing down. As I was driving by to check my other traps one morning there happened to be a fresh roadkill 100 yards up the road so I figured why not just throw it on the pile. Bad move. Otherwise known as possession of a big game animal out of season without a tag. And some of my snares were too close to the "exposed" bait. Law in effect to protect the eagles. Big lesson learned.
Hmmm... did someone mention the fur boom of the early 80s? :)
Not much I remember of the 80s but I do remember that
So, to add to that. I don't consider myself as a poacher. I pretty much did whatever I pleased when I was growing up because I grew up on private land and we figured we knew better than the authorities. Not saying it was right but it was a different time. As I've matured, I've grown out of the killer mentality and just enjoy the fact that I live in a place where I can go for a ride every evening and see deer, coyotes, fox, elk, bighorn sheep, you name it. I enjoy taking other people hunting or fishing and get my enjoyment through them. Every year I buy every license and tag available and don't fill 90% of them. My wife asks me why and I say my tags are "my ticket tot he show, if I make the show last til the last day of the season I got max value out of it. It gave me an excuse to go for a walk in the woods. On the other hand, the limit on trout here is 5. I love to fish. I catch thousands of trout every year on my fly rod within a few miles of my house and let all of them go because they are native browns or brookies. But a couple times a year my neighbors want fish so I go meat fishing. When I do that I have several lakes that are within a few miles of my house that have rainbows stocked. The problem is only one of your 5 can be over 14 inches. 3 out of 4 you catch are 15. I can release a rainbow if I'm using my fly rod but when my dad and uncle come out for a month to hunt and fish and buy an annual license they want to get their money's worth and use powerbait so most times by the time they let the fish go it's going to die anyway. And they don't want to let anything go. My point is, when I purchased my license, (and they theirs) it entitled us to 5 trout per day for 365 days. But if I never keep a trout but one or two days a year and one of them is 15 " and one is 14 1/4" am I a criminal? I take kids and disabled veterans hunting hunting and fishing every year. I could care less if I ever Kill another deer again but if a game warden ever pushed me I would make it a point to maximize my entitlements because I have the ability to do so. What are your thoughts? My license allows me 5 trout a day. If I fish only once every 30 days and come home with 6 because I knew it was going to die anyway am I a poacher???? Sorry so long but I'm in a mood tonight.
I have to look back through this thread...... I didn't see anybody from AZ or NM post yet??? Is that even possible?
heheheheh.....
Back when I used to hunt rifle in Wisc., came out of the woods at mid-day for a break and leaned my rifle against the truck. Big no no. Got a ticket for that from the CO.
"Back when I used to hunt rifle in Wisc., came out of the woods at mid-day for a break and leaned my rifle against the truck. Big no no. Got a ticket for that from the CO."
Wow, whats the reasoning behind this citation?
My dad had an incident in Colorado a while back. He applied for a license, got it in the mail, drove out to Colorado to hunt. On one of the first days a CO stopped by and asked for my dad's license and he proceeded to tell my dad that his license was for a different season. He had saved all of his application information so he showed that to the CO and in fact he did apply for the correct season for the dates he was in Colorado, but they had sent him the wrong license. Unfortunately they didn't cut him a break and he had to drive home without hunting at all.
It was interesting because the CO called the licensing office and they kept telling the CO to give my dad a ticket for hunting without a valid license, but the CO was nice enough and didn't, because he saw the application information, he knew my dad didn't have any bad intentions.
Man I can't even touch this thread....lol
Have you ever been picked up by the fuzz? :)
i put 2014 tag on this year bull ,,just grabbed the wrong one out of the ashtray didnt notive until i picked it up at the butcher shop, notched and everything....DUH! and last year me first fish and game violation was for unattended fishing rod...all i did was walk back to the camper 50 yrds away to grab a cup of coffee ,that cup of joe cost my 150 bucks...but it was worth it to watch the gamey do a face plant outta the boat in 2 feet of water because they hit the bottom MikeC
Guess I should just change my handle to Goody-Two-Shoes!
One time in grad school, I had a badger working over one of my field sites; hard to do long-term monitoring of individual gophers when the ear tags kept showing up in the badgerscat... But I had a 7Mag and a high-powered spotlight, and I spent one evening on the roof of my car hoping the Villain would make an appearance.
The next day, it occurred to me to wonder what a CO would have to say about me being camped out in the moonlight with a high-powered rifle and a spotlight in an area that was pretty well populated with Mulies and Pronghorns... so I didn't do it again.
And I ate some jackrabbit while I was out there. Made up my own recipe for it cooked real slow with a vidalia onion, some raisins and sour cream... Don't recall if a small game license was actually required for them at that time or not; some states require a license even for varmints, and I confess that I didn't even look into it.
But I hear what Pat's saying about CT... One day I showed up at my deer stand with my rifle season deer tag and realized that I hadn't bought a firearms hunting license to go with it.
And no offense to Lawdy, because he's one of the guys I think I might really enjoy spending a few days with, out in the woods... But I've never been able to accept the notion that poaching is an acceptable or preferable alternative to asking for assistance when it is honestly needed. I don't see it as being all that different from cutting your own firewood (or Christmas tree) in a city park, or stealing someone else's property because , well, after all, they've got insurance for that kind of thing....
I pay plenty enough in taxes to provide assistance for folks who have hit hard times; I have no desire to pay for some "proud" man's room and board at the county jail while his family makes do without the benefit of having him around.
GF, in my defense, that was 45 years ago, moose were protected even though we were overrun with them. One summer, 26 were hit by trucks and cars in our village and at the time you were not allowed roadkills. Also, in our state, if you own a house plus another property such as a little hunting camp, you are not eligible for assistance unless you sell one of them. Nothing was ever wasted. Would I do it again? Maybe, depends how bad things are. This country comes unglued and attitudes could change as stores are emptied overnight and city people flee to the country. Within a month, deer would be gone or so skittish that no one could find one. We would all be squirrel poachers, or vegans.
I've never actually been ticketed for anything (even speeding, knock wood).
But, here (MA) you used to have to get a special "stamp" for archery and primitive firearms hunting. You were supposed to sign the face of it. One time while hunting, a warden drove by as I was prepping to go into the woods during primitive firearms. He stopped, we chatted, he asked to check my license, I handed it over, it was fine, but he handed it back with a pen and asked me to sign, noting that if he saw me without a signed stamp again I'd get a fine.
lawdy, I applaud your story and your candor. Unfortunately in today's society it is all too common to expect the government to provide for you instead of being responsible for one's self and family in times of dire need. I'm betting you didn't waste a scrap of that moose either.
"Have you ever been picked up by the fuzz?"
No, but I've been spun around by the tits before!
I had to pay a fine once when my dog got out and caught by the dog catcher. Dogs running lose all over town, sucks to have one you can catch. Never had a speeding ticket or a game violation though.
When I was much younger I had a friend whose brother was on hard times, he was sick in the hospital and his wife was having a hard time putting food on the table. My friend gave me his brothers unpunched deer tag and asked if I could help and if I would shoot a deer for the family. I obliged and shot them a deer. We tagged it and hung it in his garage to age for a couple days and we were going to butcher it. I got a call from him a couple days later saying that he had called the game warden on me because he felt guilty for what HE did. I went by and talked with the warden and she said "don't do that again, and for the record I'm putting you on probation". In other words - get out of here and don't do that again! I was fortunate that the warden was beyond reasonable and I learned a very valuable lesson that day!
--Mitch
No violations but it could have been close. I was young and inexperienced and hunting opening day rifle in PA. I got in my treestand in a laurel thicket well before dark. As I settled in waiting for light, the line of flashlights started parading in the woods. It was my first year and I didn't realize it was going to be like this. A hunting camp down the road decided to line hunters along state game lands and the leader must have told everyone to get 75 to 100 yards apart. So needless to say I had a guy setup less than 50 yards from me even as I was shining my flashlight to let him know that I was there. I didn't even know how he was even going to see a deer it was so thick. Well a small buck walks right to him and he decides to unload his gun. The deer jumped at the first shot and kept walking. After his last shot and I ended up taking the deer. No issues there, but I was so scared with the amount of hunters in the woods that I zipped that deer open to gut it and dragged it back to the cabin as fast as I could. I then hung it up and realized I forgot to tag it so I tagged the deer. About an hour later an officer comes up to the cabin to check the deer and there were no issues. He said that he had gotten a complaint from someone that I hadn't tagged the deer. Seemed the leader of the hunting camp had a hair across his ass, he was a miserable SOB. The guy near me was nice, but that was a close call and one which I will never do again, especially being older now. It was an innocent mistake that could have gone bad.
Couple times. When I was a dumb high school kid, I got a ticket for fishing steelhead on a section of stream that wasn't open yet. Didn't know.
Another time I was fishing the Rainy River between MN and ON. Apparently you have to be aware of where the middle of the river is because when you cross the centerline, you need to meet a bunch of requirements. We had MN fishing licenses, so made the time to cross into Canada to get Canadian licenses so we could fish both sides of the river. Had a great time catching many walleyes. Toward the end of the second day, we got approached by a Canadian conservation officer. He checked our licenses and all was good. Then he asked where we got our minnows. We said on the MN side. Wrong answer. You cannot bring live minnows across the center of the river. Tickets for us. To this day I'm trying to figure out how to get around this. Can't drive to Canada to get minnows and come back because it is illegal to bring minnows from Canada to MN. Lesson is it's almost impossible. Just stay on your side of the river, or use artificial lures.
I've broken laws before sure.
I got a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt when I hit a deer with my truck on the way home from deer hunting
When we were in junior high and high school we fished all over the place around the valley we lived in, posted or not. We figured we weren't keeping fish so there was no real harm. The vineyards and golf course had epic nighttime bass fishing. We'd buy those cheap inflatable pool rafts and float the river (tiny river, non-navigable) through the private ranches looking for whatever steelhead still came up there. More than once we had to ditch the raft and hike home through the brush when the owners came after us. The only warden who managed to catch us gave us a fake 3rd degree and then smiled and told us he did the same thing when he was our age, and I don't think we was even much older than we were. Scared us pretty good at first, but he ended up being great guy to know.
Ohiohunter,
My faith is restored in Bowsite. I was concerned whether anyone would pick up on that or not. :)
In Newfy I was fishing Bakers Brook for searun trout. I was alone except for two old gentlemen fishing in hippers. The tide was coming in and they couldn't wade out too far. I was into the the fish with my fly rod and throwing them all back. Another older guy came down and stood there watching me. I can smell a warden and when he came over I expected to get checked out. He commented on my fishing and said, "you see those two old guys over there? They love seatrout but just can't handle this current anymore." I told him that I would give them fish but it was probably illegal. He replied, "I am going home and I am not coming back, have a good evening." Those two old guys left the river with hearty limits smiling. I bet that everyone on this site has poached. Let an arrow go at a deer 1 minute past legal shooting time and you are a poacher. We all have done it because our bows don't go boom, and if you trap like I do, forget it. You need a law book in your back pocket.
Surf bow I used to sneak in a reservoir closed for fishing at night time. When light came we walked out and saw an old timer cop doing road detail by the entrance. He looked at us and asked if we caught anything. We said a few and he told us his son caught a monster bass out of there. Back in the day.
An incident I had forgotten.....I killed a spike buck ( probably twenty-five years ago ), and tied the tag on its antler, threw it in the truck, and headed home. Stopped up the road about ten miles for a snack. On the way back to my truck, I glanced at the deer and ....no frickin tag ! My butt was puckered all the way home ! The moral of this story is if you kill a buck, make sure his antlers are big enough to hold a tag ! :)
Honestly here in CT, our game wardens are spread so thin that I have never even met one in the field. Only time I've ever had a run in was fishing in NY. I came walking back through the woods after a day of fishing and ran into 4 well armed ny dec officers carrying AR's. They had reports that someone was illegally hunting there. They saw I only had fishing equipment and proper license and watershed permit and all was good. The officers had to escort me back to my vehicle as my truck was boxed in.
I've received a ticket for not having life jackets in my boat and not having the bow properly lit while I was on a strip pit in Kansas.
I also received a minor citation and warning last year for having my tag off the carcass of my mule deer while in camp. I was processing quarters and had it within a couple of feet of me but by law it wasn't on the animal. Learned from both of those instances.
I got a $60 ticket/fine one time. I went down to Missouri to turkey hunt by a Marine Corps buddy of mine. The last day of the hunt I gave up on my bow and borrowed his shot gun. The warden stopped and checked my license. I didn't have it on me. I left the shot gun with him and walked back to the house for my license. When I returned he checked the license and then ticketed me for having the wrong size load in the shot gun.
My father in law got a fine for fishing without a license. He and I took my boys fishing on my flat bottom Jon boat in 2012. My boys were 8yrs and 5yrs at the time. Fishing eagles nest lake NM, and they were reeling in yellow perch one after another. I was on the 5hp outboard while grandpa was helping my boys with bait and unhooking fish. A CO pulls up passenger on a unmarked fishing boat. Ask to see license in which my father in law didn't have. The CO was very unprofessional and cited him saying he saw the pole his hand. Only time he had the pole was trying to get the hook unstuck in the rock bottom. We tried explaining the only 2 Mickey mouse poles in the boat were being used by the kids which is the honest truth. Didn't matter. Got cited and my boys got intimidated and didn't want to fish the rest of the weekend. Which was sad to see. Grandpa was very bothered about his fine and the ticket is framed and on his office wall to this day. Lol
In the Gila, during the crazy wildfires, roads were closed to traffic. I hike in along the roads a few miles and shoot a nice 5x6 bull. I quarter it and pack it to the road. I hike back to the truck and proceed to drive in to my elk. On my way out here comes the GW. We bs, he admires my bull and tells me I am breaking the law because I'm on the road. He says, luckily for you I only write citations out to hunters but since you're tagged out you are now just a civilian. I got it, thanked him and he followed me out!
"Unfortunately in today's society it is all too common to expect the government to provide for you instead of being responsible for one's self and family in times of dire need. "
That's not Pride, it's Arrogance.
When committing a felony is considered the "responsible" course of action, we're in deep shit.
And when we got flooded out in the big hurricane... and our living expenses increased to the tune of $2500/month that I wasn't making ... and FEMA told us we didn't qualify for any form of rental assistance.... We worked it out without breaking any laws.
We accepted the help that we couldn't get by without and I'll be paying for the rest for quite a while yet, but my kids are learning gratitude and to be charitable towards others - NOT that you just take whatever you think you need, whether there are laws against it or not.
For all the preaching that goes on around here, you'd think there would be a little less "pride" and a lot more humility....
We fell asleep in the ice shack one Sunday AFTERNOON (after enjoying quite a bit of Southern Comfort since Friday night). "Unattended lines" cost the 2 of us $108.80 each.
When I was about 17 a friend and I spent an hour one night spotlighting some fields.
We did not have any weapons and were not there to poach, we just enjoyed seeing deer and we're curious about numbers.
On the drive home I got lit up with blue lights and it turned out to be a game warden. He started giving me the lecture and pulled out his ticket pad when I interrupted and told him I hadn't broken any laws. He said spotlighting was illegal, I responded that in the county where I had been spotlighting it was legal to do so until 11pm as long as you were not in possession of a weapon.
He argued but finally went back to his car where he confirmed I was correct about the law.
Then he spent 30 minutes plundering my truck looking for weapons. At one point he tried to claim a pneumatic frame nailer counted as a "gun".
I ran out of the limited patience my 17 year old self had at that point and harsh words were exchanged, but eventually he had to acknowledge I was in the right and let me go.
Any game violations?
Nothing to brag about.
Ohiohunter, reasoning for that was uncased firearm in or on a vehicle.
Man I thought I was the ONLY one to EVER get a game violation!!
Just not good enough at fishing or hunting to get in trouble. Unfortunately.
I was stopped by a warden once who told me that my truck had been reported 2 miles back in a wilderness area. I was able to talk him out of a ticket because I still had the boned out deer on my back after a mile hike. My truck had no residual heat and icicles hanging down the sides so that also helped my case. We talked for 1/2 hour and I am not sure if the person who called my (or a) vehicle in was malicious or simply saw another black truck?
It is hard to prove a negative when the guy is asking you to.
ben yehuda: When pneumatic frame nailers are outlawed, only outlaws will have pneumatic frame nailers! :)
The first time I hunted in Oregon I was driving around in an area closed due to fire danger. (I didn't see any signs, but I guess it was something that all the locals knew about because it was a seasonal thing.) A USFS employee (also a bowhunter) was nice enough to give me a heads-up about it, and I got out of there as fast as I could.
I once had the Son of Moses give me a warning for a fish less than 1/2" under size. Thankfully his apprentice talked some sense into him not writing me a ticket.
I was 21 yo and at college. I was fishing the Snake River and had a nice brown in my creel. I had measured the fish earlier in the day and had put him away. He was well over an inch over the limit. When the CO came over I showed them my fish. They measured it and said it was short. Puzzled I said that's not possible because he was an inch over when I measured.
Well the creel had a tape on it and when you put measured him he was legal. However. what I didn't know is the creel tape was off by an inch. It was obvious I had no idea as I was really surprised.
The old timer said, "You should have measured the creel."
Bewildered I apologized and made my case. The Son of Moses wasn't phased and said he would have to take my fish and ticket me. This is when the Young Gun stepped in and pulled him away for a few minutes.
When they came back he said they would give me a warning but next time I would rot in jail (ok maybe not that harsh but he wasn't pleased that his apprentice talked some sense into him).
Moral to the story - measure your tape and your fish..
I have never been cited by a game warden. Have always hunted alone and hunted deep.
Of all law officers I found cpos in general to be the rudest and most trivial of all. Many experiences personal and professional and almost all bad from all perspectives.
Pete,
That is interesting... my experience has been that when I have done nothing wrong the cops and wardens have always been very cool and nice to me.
Scar.
GF give it a break. The man fed his family and wasted nothing. When I was growing up, I knew a few families that lived on deer and did not waste a crumb. They were poor and their kids got fed. The warden looked the other way because they only took what they needed. Some don't depend on handouts they provide to their families. I get sick of some city boy preaching to and judging others.
So you're saying that it's more admirable to break the laws of your choosing when it's convenient than to accept whatever assistance you have to when it's necessary....
How convenient for you.
So really, all that venison that gets donated to food banks is just hastening the downfall of society, right? Instead of "asking for hand-outs", those people should show some gumption and get out there and poach their own damn deer...
That surprises me that some of you guys have had no brushes with the law whatsoever. I've had way more than I care to admit, but none have been more than a fine. One I did have to show up in court and then pay a fine.
As far as game goes, I did kill a few extra deer when I was in college because hamburger helper needs....., well hamburger. I also hit a deer with my truck once and I illegally took it home and butchered it. I still feel bad about breaking the law and doing the right thing on that one. It cost me around $100 to fix the truck, but it was around $400 in processing equipment to buy a grinder and some other tools. I even fed it to some neighbors in spaghetti and didn't tell them it was a deer.....that I hit with my truck.
All the game wardens I've encountered have been really nice and professional. I have yet to encounter that with the police. I'm sure there are good guys, but all that I've met, I would not consider them "law enforcers", I'd say they are more like BS, bureaucratic fine issuers. If you ever need them though, the'll come by to write a report and take pictures, and give you a fine because your dog isn't licensed properly, but they don't care about the 10 illegal immigrant families enjoying a nice day littering at the park. Tomorrow I need to drive home from our cabin and my trailer lights are not working all that great. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if I get a ticket which has nothing to do with safety, because I'm going during daylight and the trailer is 2' thinner than the truck anyway, you can clearly see the truck lights, but hey it's a law, so I owe someone some money.
For those of you that are "perfect", read Three Felonies a Day and you'll be surprised how many laws you break. Not that I think you should be penalized for them, but there are tons of laws; we're all criminals. If you think you are clean, you don't know enough about the laws.
Got fined once for not exiting a local refuge before "official" sunset. I was fishing that evening at the lake furthest from the automatic gate....and watched it slam shut right in front of my truck. Missed it by a few seconds!
GF, I drive past those receiving taxpayer assistance every morning headed for work. They are on a corner along the river we call welfare corner. They move up here and go on SSI. The winter weather and being 35 miles from a Walmart sends them back to the cities. I used to fish with an old man in Newfy who passed away 3 years ago. He was a Pentacostal and preached to me constantly while we fished. At least it enabled me to fish scheduled rivers. One day I heard him screaming "dip" upriver. I looked and he had a huge salmon on. I grabbed his dipnet and waded in to net the fish. It was too big to fit in the net and flopped out. That was when I heard our Lord's name spoken in vain. I finally managed to get the head and half the body in the net and flung it on the bank. John, my friend, landed on that fish like a cat. He looked up at me and said, "24 inches, maybe 5 pounds, boy?" I said, John, that fish is over 30 inches and at least 25 pounds. In Newfy, only grilse are legal, 25 or less inches. That old man who had been preaching about Jesus and sin to me looked all around and said, "f% $# the government, lets go." He had me walk ahead all the way out, threw that salmon into a box in his pickup that had a false bottom, and we were gone. Good tasting fish. You don't have any relatives in Newfy do you GF?
Nope!
But I do enjoy an amicable disagreement now and again... ;)
I was ice fishing in the late 1980s, 3 tipups or lines per angler is the rule in Wisconsin. I was fishing with 3 tipups baited with 3"Golden Shiners for bait. One tipup was getting tripped every 5 minutes or so but it never took any line out. I looked down the hole and there was a 12" perch 5 feet down trying to eat my shiner. Remember now, the ice was 2 feet thick, I pull the tipup line so the shiner is 6" from the top of the hole, I don't pull it all the way out because at -20 degrees it will freeze solid in seconds.. I walk to my truck and grab a jigpole with a waxworm, put the bait down the hole to catch the pesky perch and I hear a snowmobile coming across the lake to me. Gave me a ticket for $84 faster than you could say Fish fry for having too many lines in the water.
Ohiohunter you wrote (Ohio I know is light on poachers.)
Have you seen the poaching laws they implemented about 3 or 4 years ago? Poaching a buck over 115 inches now gets you a $12,500.00 fine I believe a turkey is now $1,000.00?
Trapper....
I was icefishing an Indiana lake with a 2-line rule many years ago. I had 2 tip-ups set and I was sitting in a windbreak shelter fiddling with a jigging rod...prepping it for later use. I noticed a fisherman (who was fishing) watching me from at least a hundred yards away. He didn't stare but he was keeping a sideways eye on me and it was bugging me. I figured him for IDNR, which was fine except why was he locked in on me? I walked over to a tip-up and casually pulled it up to check the bait. I knelt down and spun all the line back onto the tip-up reel and placed the device so to look like it was in use. I walked back to the shelter and began jigging. This guy did a double-take. He dropped his rod on the ice and walked directly to me without even blinking. He immediately started with the lecture on 2 lines and asked for my license. I was polite and gave him my license to view. I allowed him to examine my shelter and fish bag. When he mentioned me having 3 lines in use it was all I could do to not smile as I walked him to the unused tip-up. I swear I saw his neck get red, but he kept his composure and explained his need to come check on me. I resisted the strong urge to give him a dig and we parted.
A day later the owner of the bait shop a mile away had heard the story (from the officer) and told me to be careful. He explained the officer lived along the lake and commonly watched fishermen through a spotting scope. I remember fishing that day and wishing I knew which house to wave at.
The dates for turkey season hadn't changed for years. I shot a bird on the " last day " and checked it out by phone . A couple days later my sister tells me the dates had changed and I was about a week past the close when I took the bird . I called the game warden to turn myself in . He decided to just give me a stern verbal warning and said he knew I was being honest cause no one is dumb enough to poach a bird then check it .
