Pulled Over

[moknots]

I noticed in another thread some angst being expressed about the "fish cops". It dawned on me that we generally focus only on the inconventient and unpleasant experiences (or just the fear thereof). I know I do. SO, that made me remember that I actually had a couple of good experiences lately. I had my license checked at Odell, and was instructed to keep on trolling, and just hold up everyone's license. They checked us off with binoculars:applause::applause:, and even interupted our digging for licenses to suggest that we "reel in that fish you have on". Later in the season the Sheriff's boat approached me at Wickiup -- when he noticed I was trolling, he said "I'll catch you later, no need to interupt your fishing":D

[fish-on-bend]

Good idea Mike. I was given my safety check this spring on the water at Crescent. We had to reel up but they gave us plenty of time and apologized for the inconvenience. The water was flat and they motored up to my transom and put a foot over the cleat to hold us together while I showed him everything I needed to. My nephew was in his own boat (visiting from CA) and did not have a throw on board. The sheriff let him go with a warning.
On a lighter note, I was with FallRiverGuy when he was given his safety check in the parking lot at Wickiup a few years ago. While we were going through the process a poor guy with an old aluminum boat (probably his 1st trip with it) was having a terrible time trying to back it down the ramp. (We've all been there at one time) Officer Mackey ( who is a very large man) simply told the guy to stop, he walked over, picked up the whole back end of the boat-motor-trailer and straightened him out and said "OK now give it a try and keep it straight." I grin every time I think about it.:D

[Boats]

Hey, great posting guys. We need more positive stuff like this!
And, as one who conducts inspections, it's good to hear your positive experiences.

Tight lines

[haringsjosh]

During sturgeon season this year on the Willamette we got checked. As the officer was pulling up next to us my pole went down hard. I grabbed it and continued with my fish while "kinda" ignoring the officer. After i landed my keeper i thought i would be in trouble for ignoring him. However, he was happy about my fish and didn't mind waiting a few minutes for us to finish getting the fish in. Checked our licenses and was on his way. Nice guy. I like most officers on the water, they are trying to keep sportsman and recreational in check.

[TakeEm]

After boarding hundreds of boats while in the Coast Guard I saw my fair share of cranky fisherman. Every now and then we would run into a few that were very happy to see us and also very thankfull! The ones that were thankfull were the ones that one time or another needed the guards assistance. Keep in mind that these guys dont get up at the crack of dawn and set out just to ruin your fishing trip. If you just do what they ask they will be off your boat in about five mins or less if they even come aboard at all. Just a friendly reminder from an X-coastie! Good kuck and be safe!

[chartreuse moose]

Last May I was at Odell , just as we started to put her in the water, I was asked if they could inspect my boat. The Deputy Sheriff said to the guy that asked me . He is from Calif he does not need the inspection. I told them to go ahead , I am up here more than I am down there. So I now have a blue sticker on the stern of my boat. And am vary proud of it, They need to do the same down here.

fish-on-bend, even here in Calif your nephew is required to have a throw cushion on his boat , Guarantee these officers would not have let him go so easy. Sorry if this comes off wrong, sure do not mean it that way.

[SilverBullets]

Up at Paulina a few years back the sheriff was out cruising the lake and we wanted to get the boat inspected. It seemed he didn't want to interrupt our trolling, so we had to wave him over as we reeled in. We ended up talking for around 20 minutes, and shared some smoked kokanee with him before he had to go.

[Doc_Rhen]

Last May I was at Odell , just as we started to put her in the water, I was asked if they could inspect my boat. The Deputy Sheriff said to the guy that asked me . He is from Calif he does not need the inspection. I told them to go ahead , I am up here more than I am down there. So I now have a blue sticker on the stern of my boat. And am vary proud of it, They need to do the same down here.

fish-on-bend, even here in Calif your nephew is required to have a throw cushion on his boat , Guarantee these officers would not have let him go so easy. Sorry if this comes off wrong, sure do not mean it that way.

I wonder if that is why I have not been checked in the past three trips to LBC, my boat still has Washington tags on it. Each time I have had between 1 and 3 sheriff boats cruise by looking and then go inspect the next boat on the lake. I even had one follow me about a mile down the lake (I sorta ran away from him unintentionally) and then when I pulled up to the ramp, I ran up to get the truck and he was there eyeballing my boat and the wife and kids on board when I pulled down the ramp with the truck, but he didn't come over and officially check us. I am with you guys in that when we have been checked in the past it has been a very friendly hold up your jackets, extinguisher, licenses etc and they were on their way. Most of the officers are just decent people doing their jobs.

[Buck]

I noticed in another thread some angst being expressed about the "fish cops". It dawned on me that we generally focus only on the inconventient and unpleasant experiences (or just the fear thereof). I know I do. SO, that made me remember that I actually had a couple of good experiences lately. I had my license checked at Odell, and was instructed to keep on trolling, and just hold up everyone's license. They checked us off with binoculars:applause::applause:, and even interupted our digging for licenses to suggest that we "reel in that fish you have on". Later in the season the Sheriff's boat approached me at Wickiup -- when he noticed I was trolling, he said "I'll catch you later, no need to interupt your fishing":D

Based on the "board meeting" picture of your dad with your fish recently, I'm surprised they found the time to check you when you weren't "reeling in that fish you had on". :D:D:D

I have always found game cops to be very polite. I appreciate having them out there.

[Basshound]

Most the times i have been checked and they ask how we are doing. If i tell them not so good, they usually say "maybe try lake xxxxx if you have time. Its was good there this morning." An on the spot fishing report isnt so bad is it ?

[Brookiebuster]

Talked with a couple patrolling at Elk Lake earlier this year. They just asked how fishing was and never checked a thing on the boat. Very friendly and liked our two 18 inch brookies we had.

[Dan Feller]

We went down to Foster Reservoir last Sunday to camp /fish for a couple days. As I was pulling up to the ramp I was greeted by three sheriff's deputies. Before they even started their inspection one of them started going off about my Zodiac. He had owned one like it a few years back and really loved it. They did a quick inspection and didn't hassle me a bit about not having any tags on my boat (I keep them in my dry-box as the stickers won't adhere to the PVC buoyancy tubes).

I proceeded to back down and launch my boat when I noticed the one deputy following us down the ramp. He just wanted to B.S. some more about taking his 14' Zodiac out of Monterey loaded with himself and six divers! :D

I've been pulled over A LOT. I guess a bright red Zodiac with a big Mercury on the back attracts a little attention... While not all of my experiences have been that great, none have been bad. As long as you have the proper safety gear and know what you're doing on the water, your inspections should turn out well.

I have only had one bad experience with law enforcement on the water, it ended in a $100 ticket. We went fishing out of Garibaldi around the Three Arches. Between May and September (I believe, it's been years) the rocks are off-limits and you are supposed to stay 100 yards away from them. At first he said something about buoys warning to keep away. When we told him there weren't any buoys he just said "Well, I guess they haven't put them out yet" and wrote me a ticket...

Sorry for the derail, I know this thread is supposed to be about good experiences being pulled over. The truth is almost all my meetings with officers on the water have been positive!

[rodholder1]

A few year back I was shad fishing the willy with a cousin his son and mine. We were on the hook so the boys didn't have to have PFD's on but did anyway. We saw the sheriff coming and thought great now what. All they wanted to do is say good job for wearing the PFD's and give the boy's a free treat at DQ.:applause:

[Bigkntry]

I have been checked in Oregon, California, Idaho, Canada...etc and I have had nothing but pleasurable experiences from both inspectors and fish and game officers. I have also gained some valuable local fishing knowledge from them when speaking with them. I welcome these inspections and thank them for doing there job which allows me to catch more fish.
:meme::meme::meme::meme:

[Bird Dog]

I got checked at Merwin last summer. They pulled along side as we trolled, told us to keep under way. Asked about the fishing and then went into the inspection. Everything checked out ok- except I had failed to unlock the compartment with the PFD's in it- I guess they were in a good mood because they just shook their heads and smiled. I did have the throwable ready... Wished us luck and headed off.


At the age of 40- this is the first time I have ever been checked while fishing!

Bird Dog

[Cannon]

I noticed in another thread some angst being expressed about the "fish cops". It dawned on me that we generally focus only on the inconventient and unpleasant experiences (or just the fear thereof). I know I do. SO, that made me remember that I actually had a couple of good experiences lately. I had my license checked at Odell, and was instructed to keep on trolling, and just hold up everyone's license. They checked us off with binoculars:applause::applause:, and even interupted our digging for licenses to suggest that we "reel in that fish you have on". Later in the season the Sheriff's boat approached me at Wickiup -- when he noticed I was trolling, he said "I'll catch you later, no need to interupt your fishing":D
I have had some of the same experiences. One on the Willamette below Wheatland ferry, couple of state police guys checked our licenses with bino's and asked if we wanted a safety inspection since we were anchored. They checked our fire extinquisher, boaters card, life jackets etc and gave us a sticker by using a pole all without boarding our boat. I had the same experience over at tillamook bay out of Garibaldi. Courteous and didnt make us stop fishing.
At wickiup, I had the same experience with the sheriff's boat. All in all, I have never felt harrassed in a lot of years.
My last bad experience was with Gary Haden (out of Bend) when I lived in Spring River. He was just a jerk and harrased people giving the game cops a bad name. Nobody was sorry to see him go. That was the last time I had a negative experience with a game cop. If you arent breaking the law, chances are you have no reason to feel resentment. I have run accross many who were breaking the law, snaggers and whatnot. It is nice to see them around and I hope they make a bigger dent in the population of snaggers stealing eggs and ruining fisheries!

[mangler]

I usually try and make it a point to take the boat and get it checked at one of the local boat stores when they offer the free checks. I've been stopped a couple times, mainly to make sure the kids had their PFD's on correctly and they've always been really nice, giving the kids free coupons to DQ and congratulating them on their fish. They always seem to get a kick out of the barbie poles on the down riggers for some reason.

[moknots]

My last bad experience was with Gary Haden (out of Bend) when I lived in Spring River. He was just a jerk and harrased people giving the game cops a bad name. Nobody was sorry to see him go.

Wow, that old dog! That goes way back. I heard lots of bad stuff about him, so you aren't the only one with that opinion! In the 1970s as a teenager with an old stationwagon and an older 14' aluminum boat, I covered a lot of ground. I was scared shirtless of him, but I can vouch for at least an ounce of heart in him.

I got checked for a fishing license and had forgotten to take mine fishing. I told Gary ... I mean Mr. Haden, sir, that I bought one and just didn't have it on me. He said he would write me a ticket for failure to purchase a license, instead of failure to carry a license, so if I was telling the truth I could just mail in a copy of my license and the ticket would be canceled.

Another time I was at Prineville Reservoir packing up from a night of camping, catfishing, and ..... trying to kill a pony keg with 3 buddies (all 17-18 years old -- we'd be HUNG for that these days). We were just about done packing up when Gary pulled up. He checked our fishing licenses. As he was doing so, I figured it would be a good time to mention how impressed I was that he held the state record for .... of all things, Bluegill (2.2 pounds I think). That lightened things up, and amazed my companions, but he still asked to see our beer. "What beer" says we. "That keg wrapped in a tarp under all the camping gear in the back of your car" says he! I dug it out. He said, "dump it", and watched me drain it. Then he said "stay out of trouble" and drove off. The guy was notorious for watching with a spotting scope or binos. What got him a bad rap was writing tickets for peeing in the lake (causing those of us in the know to carry a coffee can)!

[Cannon]

Wow, that old dog! That goes way back. I heard lots of bad stuff about him, so you aren't the only one with that opinion! In the 1970s as a teenager with an old stationwagon and an older 14' aluminum boat, I covered a lot of ground. I was scared shirtless of him, but I can vouch for at least an ounce of heart in him.

I got checked for a fishing license and had forgotten to take mine fishing. I told Gary ... I mean Mr. Haden, sir, that I bought one and just didn't have it on me. He said he would write me a ticket for failure to purchase a license, instead of failure to carry a license, so if I was telling the truth I could just mail in a copy of my license and the ticket would be canceled. Another time I was at Prineville Reservoir packing up from a night of camping, catfishing, and ..... trying to kill a pony keg with 3 buddies (all 17-18 years old -- we'd be HUNG for that these days). We were just about done packing up when Gary pulled up. He knew me by name and running a coyote line and spending every free moment fishing and hunting he had many oportunities to bug me. He never got me for anything but I am sure he thought that I was guilty none the less. We will have to chat one of these times about the beer, because he always knew when you had it and he always made you dump it out. No ticket for that one so I guess he did have a heart...

[bwild]

The only time I had an unpleasant experience was at LBC. Just got the riggers down to 120 feet deep and were going right through a school of bulls.

However, my last trip to east, they just waved at us a couple times. I saw them bust out the binoculars and I think they noticed we were trolling so they didn't even bother us. In all honesty, I think they were just checking to see if my registration tags were valid.

I know they get to deal with all walks of life so even though if I get stopped, and I know it's inconvenient, I try to take it with a grain of salt because they are just doing there job.

[Here Fishyfishy]

I am pretty sure that most police that are working game enforcement are fisherman/hunters themselves, that's why they apply for the job.

And my personal props to Trooper Schoenborn, he's the cream of the crop.

[Willis]

got cecked on devils lake and the kids got DQ treat coupons for having the vests on, THe next year I had my inspection done early at Hagg and was fishing the coast and could not figure out why every other boat on the lake had been checked but me when I asked at the dock it was due to me allready having my sticker.

[kmk1012]

I only wish that I could get my sticker, I've been hoping to get checked and haven't caught an officer at a convienent time. They always seem to be at another dock, river, lake, etc. I wish I could predict when they would be there so I could take my boat to them.

[Seasick]

The attitude of the person(s) being contacted can really set the tone. After 25 yrs on OSP I had my experiences, good and bad on sportsmen contacts. Keep in mind, I pulled a lot of dead people out of the water, I've had to take my gun belt off and jump in the river to save people more than once. I've pulled people and pets out of the river because of their dumb actions. I really dislike telling wives that their husband is dead, thier kids are dead or whatever because they weren't careful. Maybe the guy who is short with you because you don't have your safety items in place is just tired of the bad results of inattention to safety. You have never drowed, but this guy has had to deal with others who have. When contacted by people checking fish or licenses, get out the license, boat papers, items as requested and it should be a pleasent and short contact.

[carljswede]

That makes a lot of sense. I appreciate getting checked, and am glad to have the sticker on my boat. I have a question re the picture of your boat. I have a Bayliner with the same rounded/curved stern. Had to spend a lot of money to have a special trolling mount to fit the shape of the stern and at the same time be strong enough to support a kicker. I have a new 6 hp Nissan 4 stroke. Seems to do the trick, just curious as to what you did to yours, what kind of kicker you have, and how your mount etc. worked out for you.
Thanks for any info.

[lentz]

I bought my boat earlier this summer and it had not been checked untill friday. I had decided to take my 2 girls out for a couple of hours while mom was at a meeting. The sheriff checked the boat before i unloaded. I apperantly did not put the registration in the boat when it came in the mail and i thought that i was going to get a ticket but he just said to get it in there when i get home.

[SuperxJeff]

as in all things in life. You are going to have the good,the bad, and the ugly.

I suspect that most cops want to have nice pleasant interactions with people who have the required items that the law says they should.

I also suspect that some cops enjoy giving some people tickets. If I had some half drunk jerk smack talking me for no reason I would enjoy giving the guy a ticket and I work in a hospital!

a couple of years ago some drunken buffoon ( seemed like he must have been anyway) was going through a bunch of boats on the Siuslaw at wide open throttle. Up and down the guy kept doing it. I looked down river and I could see the coast guard raft/type boat sideways in the river. I thought to myself Ha- Ha-ha... lets see you go past that guy acting like that.

He did and the next thing we heard was sirens. When we next saw our drunk he looked pretty sober and the coast guard was onboard his boat and had been there for almost an hour at that point. We clapped as we trolled past and a bunch of other guys did as well.

I wasn't going to confront the drunk crazy man and neither was anybody else. The Coast Guard/ Sheriff did. It was their job and they did it to help keep the boaters safe.

I don't like people bugging me when I am fishing or hunting but they have a job to do and as long as your boat is outfitted as it should be and you obey the game laws it normally doesn't last more then 5 minutes unless you get to talking! Thanks to the men who do it, because I sure as heck wouldn't do it. That job requires more patience then this fisherman has.

[shorthair]

Like everybody else most cops of any persuasion are pretty good folks, about the same % of jerks in that line of work as in any other group we just don't remember the good ones as readily as the bad one. :whistle:

[deeptrout]

I really do remember the good ones, and there have been plenty. Bad ones are kind of like being exposed to a virus, it takes awhile to get it worked out of your system, and you do your best to avoid getting the bug again.
I will never forget the encounters that escalated WAAY beyond what was necessary for the encounter. I know enough to just hand over the stuff and not ask questions or offer any information until asked or the cop shows me he is on OUR side, not on some mission to create and harass angry fishermen.
In all fairness, the problems I have seen and been an unfortunate party to have all involved volunteers. I think they love that boat, they love the power, they like showing up back at the office with a stack of citations and saying "look how many law breakers I ticketed".
Thats fine, the laws the law, and I have never been ticketed. But man, the stories I could tell. Enough with the negative waves...all vented now.

[gottafish]

Well I grew up in Michigan and there there is a hiarchey it goes in order
1.DNR
2.God
3 state cop
4 sheriff
5 local
If you got checked by the DNR you were going to get a ticket for something it didnt matter if you were all leagle you would get a ticket and they were as pleasent as a rattle snake. now Ive hunted all over the west and I have found the CO's here to be much better

[Kokanee_hub]

I have always been treated professionally and with respect when being pulled over by either the county or state troopers. I did have one incident (no citation) with the Coast Guard in the Columbia River where the guy was a total jerk. I even took it to a meeting with the commander at Swan Island and the crew that pulled me over. Turns out the CG that boarded my boat was a "weekender". Really ticked me off because he didn't come to the meeting as he was going to school that day. We worked it out.

As far as getting the boat checked out, the county offers inspection prior to the trout opener at the local fire station. Works great for me and don't need to worry much about being checked on the water or at the launches.

Just got back from Diamond Lake a couple of weeks ago. Sure would be nice if they had more presence there. I even saw in one of the threads where someone (an ifisher) said they had been pulled over there for going 20 mph. Duh!!!! There are signs at every launch stating the 10 mph limit.

[chummer]

Years back, I had decided to take a week and fish a few of the central Orygun high lakes. My 1 and only trip to Crane Prairie resulted in a ticket for violating the 10 mph rule which I was unaware of. The officer informed me that it was posted at the ramp and sure enough it was! Right above the regulation banning waterskiing after dark, Waahh!?! Later it dawned on me why everyone was giving me the eyeball as I cruised around Paulina lake at 25 mph.:whistle:In my letter to the court (along with my check) I questioned the counties rules regarding Crane Prairie. They seemed a little contradictry. The judge agreed that those regulations did contradict each other and dismissed the fine and added that he would investigate these rules further. I have never been back, so I have no idea whether anything was ever done.