Run in with the Va Game Warden? "Conservation Police" Tell your experiences......fishing or hunting......

With the exception of one particular officer, they have all been courteous and very professional.

got drafted by one to help with the Pulaski County Kids Fishing Day. I see him all the time where I fish so when they started this Kids Fishing Day he gave me a call to help out.

I've hunted and fished with a former warden for the last 16 years.  He exemplified professionalism.  I was sad to see him leave that job.  Doing a better job now as a sheriff though.

A good GW is one who enjoys the outdoors as they exhibit a great deal of common sense when dealing with fellow outdoorsmen.  There are an ever-increasing number of CPO's who are only there to be in LE, not protect the state's woods and waters. 

Every conservation officer I have met has, as Burley says, has been a great guy or gal.

I was given a Junior Warden sticker when I had everything required by law on my bass boat when my wife and I were checked on Chick Lake. The two conservation officers were very nice, friendly and professional.

These guys are your friends. You treat them nice and they will treat you nice.

You screw with them and you have B-I-G problems.

Remember, in Virginia the conservation officers have more powers than our State Police and county sheriff departments.

What this means is that they can stop your car, boat or ice chest and search it at anytime and anywhere without any need for the same types of causes or search warrants the State Police or county deputies need.

So get a copy of the boating guidelines and equip your boat correctly; watch your speed; don't drink while in the boat; don't run through wake zones; and be a lady or gentleman and you will not have any problems. 

I've had 3 in the last year or so. Can't say I've enjoyed any of them. The 2 more recent ones went smoothly enough, but the one not as recent was bordering on lunacy. I was fishing the pond here in NoVA across from the Westfields Marriott (now closed to public, but not then) when 2 wardens rolled up. I was the only person fishing, and some dude was just walking around the pond sightseeing. One of the wardens asked me for my license, which I produced, then kept badgering me for some special permit since it was "corporate property". I kept telling him I wasn't aware of any permit, and he kept referencing some sign that didn't exist. Finally he hollered and asked his partner if I needed a special permit, and the partner looked at him like he was nuts and just said "no, he doesn't need anything besides his fishign license."

I was off the hook, but boy did they go after that pedestrian. He wasn't holding a rod or anything, but they asked him for his fishign license and he didn't have one. They looked in the bed of his truck and saw some saltwater boat rods and surf rods, then came over to me again and grilled me about whether or not he was fishing. I repeatedly told them that in the 5 or so minutes he had been there he had not produced a rod (and I was telling the truth) but they kept trying to get me to say this guy had been fishing when they rolled up. And the "crazier" of the 2 wardens kept insisting he saw the guy fishign when they pulled up.

Needless to say, I was very happy when they left.

at least this isn't Maryland. A friend of mine got caught in MD without his MD license, and the DNR agent said he'd let him off the hook with a warning (and no $150 fine) if he abandoned all his gear streamside. This friend happened to be an Orvis pro-staffer with over $1000 worth of Orvis fly gear on him. my friend laughed and said he'd take the fine.

I've had 3 in the last year or so. Can't say I've enjoyed any of them. The 2 more recent ones went smoothly enough, but the one not as recent was bordering on lunacy. I was fishing the pond here in NoVA across from the Westfields Marriott (now closed to public, but not then) when 2 wardens rolled up. I was the only person fishing, and some dude was just walking around the pond sightseeing. One of the wardens asked me for my license, which I produced, then kept badgering me for some special permit since it was "corporate property". I kept telling him I wasn't aware of any permit, and he kept referencing some sign that didn't exist. Finally he hollered and asked his partner if I needed a special permit, and the partner looked at him like he was nuts and just said "no, he doesn't need anything besides his fishign license."

I was off the hook, but boy did they go after that pedestrian. He wasn't holding a rod or anything, but they asked him for his fishign license and he didn't have one. They looked in the bed of his truck and saw some saltwater boat rods and surf rods, then came over to me again and grilled me about whether or not he was fishing. I repeatedly told them that in the 5 or so minutes he had been there he had not produced a rod (and I was telling the truth) but they kept trying to get me to say this guy had been fishing when they rolled up. And the "crazier" of the 2 wardens kept insisting he saw the guy fishign when they pulled up.

Needless to say, I was very happy when they left.

When was this? and any good encounters?

Ive only had 3 encounters 2 went fine, and the gw's were professional.  The one time they got me up set, I was fishing and had caught a striper, and for whatever reason decided to keep it.  It was the first day of striper season, so they ask me if i know when the season started and what the legal lenght is, to which I replied didnt it start last week and isnt 18inches the limit.  Well I guess they didn't like that I was a little off, and gave me some attitude, telling me it was the first day of the season, I was right about the lenght they asked if i had a measuring tape, I didnt but knew the fish was good to keep.  Well turns out they didnt have one either, so one hands me his leathermen, which had a 3inch ruler on the outside.  I put it to the fish and it was easily 6 times almost 7, meaning the fish was at least 18inches.  Well that wasn't good enough they wrote me a ticket and took the fish.  I was cursing my self for about half an hour, when the nicer of the two gw returned with my fish and said we measured it at the truck and it was 18inches, it was 20. 

Its probably different everywhere but here in Kentucky it seems 1 in 3 are jerks. I think alot of it has to do with the fact you can get a game warden job here with 2 years law enforcement experiance of any kind. So we get the nutty Barney Fife deputys looking for a better job and those cops that are on power trips. As for other Fish and Wildlife employees most have been curteous and very nice. I think if they looked for people with college degrees in Wildlife or something close to it they would have much nicer Game Wardens.

As far as run ins the most interesting is when I ran into a Alabama Game Warden on Guntersville. He pulled his boat next to ours and checked our livewell when he noticed we were bass fishing. He took every fish out and measured each one. We told him we were releasing them all after pictures anyway but I guess that made us more suspicious. All the fish were legal of course. But I was impressed I wish all game wardens did this and he was really nice.

I have only ran into 1 and he was nice he just came up asked for my fishing license and i showed him and then he left

I've had a few run ins with Game Wardens the most recent being last year on Beaverdam Creek Resevoir in Ashburn.  My buddy and I were out fishing on the resevoir last spring in my gheenoe.  My buddy only fishes once or twice a year so he decided to chance it and not buy a license.  Sure enough, we got checked and he got a ticket.  Otherwise they were really nice guys.  We had a 6-pack of beer which they pointed out is another no-no but they just asked us to keep it hidden so nobody else saw it.  My buddy offered them one, but as you can imagine they declined.

I've had a few run ins with Game Wardens the most recent being last year on Beaverdam Creek Resevoir in Ashburn. My buddy and I were out fishing on the resevoir last spring in my gheenoe. My buddy only fishes once or twice a year so he decided to chance it and not buy a license. Sure enough, we got checked and he got a ticket. Otherwise they were really nice guys. We had a 6-pack of beer which they pointed out is another no-no but they just asked us to keep it hidden so nobody else saw it. My buddy offered them one, but as you can imagine they declined.

that is one place i will never fish without a proper license. it has been heavily patrolled by game wardens since the 80s. but back then they didnt care if you had beer at all, in fact my uncle knew one of them he met there who would sit around and get drunk with my uncle. its the only place ive ever fished that ive seen game wardens checking people, i remember my mom getting a ticket there for not having a license on the church side when i was a kid.

back then the place was cleaned up real nice along the banks and i wish it still was. i remember on the church side to the left of the floating dock thats there now used to have a nice clean bottom with a bunch of small rocks/stones/pebbles on the bottom. we used to wade out into that. its a shame that place is so overgrown now, i must get me some sort of watercraft to get out there and fish it. anyways sorry if i went off topic...

My two cents,

I'm in Woodbridge, Va and fish everything from puddles to lakes to rivers, don't matter to me as long as there is fish.

I've gotten asked twice outside of trout season at Lake Accotink to present my license which is fine because I see people there poaching ALL the time and it gets on my nerves especially when they are good sized bass.  Both times they have been professional about it and did the have a nice day sir as they left.

I've also gotten checked with my dad at Burke Lake.  This one was kinda rude to be honest, new kid just got named warden type deal on a power trip.  Our whole boat passed inspection and we both had a life vest on but because we didn't have a third or a "throw" he said to basically go get one or get off of the lake... seriously?  And it's not like he was even nice about it.

Honestly though, I'm glad these guys are out there doing there jobs and wish there were more of em.  For anyone who fishes around Bull Run or other places on the rez or even out of Occoquan we all know how many people around here poach and how many don't have valid licenses and litter all over the shoreline.  It's actually down right sickening to me.

As bass fishermen we are conservation mindful at all times (or should be) and here we have people disrespecting our waterways by not cleaning up, not taking care of fish properly and taking illegal fish.  I hope once the economy turns around they get more of these guys out at places like I mentioned.

Sorry if it turned into a rant. 

I've never seen any wardens.  Beaverdam Reservoir is one of the few places I fish.

That dock there is gone.  I think it got blown away during the big storm in December.  It ought to be thawed out by now so this next time out there in my kayak I will be searching for it.

Got checked by a warden for the first time today (I've been checked by local LE before, but never a warden). Totally professional. They checked our gear and our licenses, asked us if we'd seen any illegal fish traps and then left after a few jokes.

I wish the game wardens would do something about the morons at Burke Lake.  last Labor day the mexicanos had the nerve to zoom around with their outboard, and no park employees did anything.  They also set up lawn chairs on Vesper Island (illegal) and drank Coronas (also illegal).  In all fairness, the wardens probably had the day off (holiday) so the punk kids that worked there should have done something.

I've also gotten checked with my dad at Burke Lake. This one was kinda rude to be honest, new kid just got named warden type deal on a power trip. Our whole boat passed inspection and we both had a life vest on but because we didn't have a third or a "throw" he said to basically go get one or get off of the lake... seriously? And it's not like he was even nice about it.

It's the law.  Be glad he didn't write you a ticket.  You didn't have a leg to stand on.

In all fairness, the wardens probably had the day off (holiday) so the punk kids that worked there should have done something.

CPO's rarely have a holiday off, especially during the summer.  Two of the CPO's I know/knew would hit 3-4 lakes on every holiday.

had several run-ins with VA game wardens. Most involved hunting and for the most part they were as courteous as can be. One incident involved some dog hunting . I shot a deer on a property line and some guy who was still-hunting went crazy on me and said i was poaching and stuff.. heck i was 12 and i didn't know the word poaching ! but the guy continued and ended up calling the warden. Heres the best part... when the warden showed he saw how crazy this guy was and how bad he was treating a 12 year old that he called the suffolk police and they came and took the guy to jail for harassment! i couldn't have lauged any harder!!!!!

I've also gotten checked with my dad at Burke Lake. This one was kinda rude to be honest, new kid just got named warden type deal on a power trip. Our whole boat passed inspection and we both had a life vest on but because we didn't have a third or a "throw" he said to basically go get one or get off of the lake... seriously? And it's not like he was even nice about it.

It's the law. Be glad he didn't write you a ticket. You didn't have a leg to stand on.

I was trying to remember the regulation for that today. If the vessel is over 16' you need a throw, correct?

I've also gotten checked with my dad at Burke Lake. This one was kinda rude to be honest, new kid just got named warden type deal on a power trip. Our whole boat passed inspection and we both had a life vest on but because we didn't have a third or a "throw" he said to basically go get one or get off of the lake... seriously? And it's not like he was even nice about it.

It's the law. Be glad he didn't write you a ticket. You didn't have a leg to stand on.

I agree with Burley.  You're lucky you didn't get a ticket.  I'm not saying I agree with the law, but that's another story...

I've never seen any wardens. Beaverdam Reservoir is one of the few places I fish.

That dock there is gone. I think it got blown away during the big storm in December. It ought to be thawed out by now so this next time out there in my kayak I will be searching for it.

haha, i know it was there this past summer and it was chained down. it wasnt very good anyways. that dock was probably more of a hazard than anything, it wasnt very stable. im surprised you havent ever seen a warden out there though

that dock really was sketchy.

I've also gotten checked with my dad at Burke Lake. This one was kinda rude to be honest, new kid just got named warden type deal on a power trip. Our whole boat passed inspection and we both had a life vest on but because we didn't have a third or a "throw" he said to basically go get one or get off of the lake... seriously? And it's not like he was even nice about it.

It's the law. Be glad he didn't write you a ticket. You didn't have a leg to stand on.

I was trying to remember the regulation for that today. If the vessel is over 16' you need a throw, correct?

There are very few exceptions.  I know of tickets being given to boat owners who's boat was 12'-14'. 

The Type IV (throwable PFD) must be immediately available (i.e. lying on top of a seat, not stowed in a compartment).

I've also gotten checked with my dad at Burke Lake. This one was kinda rude to be honest, new kid just got named warden type deal on a power trip. Our whole boat passed inspection and we both had a life vest on but because we didn't have a third or a "throw" he said to basically go get one or get off of the lake... seriously? And it's not like he was even nice about it.

It's the law. Be glad he didn't write you a ticket. You didn't have a leg to stand on.

I was trying to remember the regulation for that today. If the vessel is over 16' you need a throw, correct?

There are very few exceptions. I know of tickets being given to boat owners who's boat was 12'-14'.

The Type IV (throwable PFD) must be immediately available (i.e. lying on top of a seat, not stowed in a compartment).

This is correct, i currently store mine underneath the console and its an ok place to have it only because most wardens will let you go but some will say its not immidiately available even though it is.  also some of the wardens will try and pull stupid stuff on you and either tell you that you have to have it strung to something and this is 100% wrong.  if they say this to you just take your ticket and goto court and show them the exact rule to the judge saying that it dosnt.  just trying to help from my own experiences.