Game Warden Field Notes

[Hot4huntin]

Game Warden Field Notes

The following are excerpts from recent Texas Parks and Wildlife Department law enforcement reports.

International poaching: Dec. 4, Zapata County game wardens spotted a Mexican boat heading into Texas waters. Around 6 p.m., the Mexican fishermen approached the brush line where the game wardens were sitting. A pursuit ensued and three subjects were arrested. The boat, the motor, and approximately 3,000 feet of gill net were seized. The three fishermen were charged with fishing with no commercial fishing license, possession of illegal equipment in prohibited waters, insufficient number of PFDs, and failure to display navigational lights.

Bottles, line and — oh yeah — a gill net: It is time for the winter crappie run on White Rock Creek. On the night of Dec. 2, while on patrol along White Rock Creek in Dallas, a Dallas County game warden was checking fishermen. The game warden came across four individuals sitting at the edge of the creek. They stated that they were fishing with bottles and line but had no fishing licenses. IDs were taken and the four were directed to clean up the site of their trash and go to the parking lot. While investigating the creek bank where they had been, the game warden started to pull up what looked like the end of a stringer. What was pulled up was 100 feet of gill net with more than 100 fish; mostly crappie, sand bass and black bass. Multiple cases were filed and are pending.

Kids say the darnedest things: Dec. 1, a Hill County game warden located some illegal duck hunting activity at the Navarro Mills Lake Corps area in Hill County. Since duck season was closed due to a split in the season until Dec. 8, the game warden asked one of the hunters what they were out hunting for, and the hunter stated that they, two other adults and two kids were goose hunting. After checking their guns, the game warden knew that there weren’t any violations since goose season was open; then he asked one of the kids, "So, y’all didn’t shoot any ducks this morning?" The kid then stated that they shot one, but they could not keep it because it was not a good duck. After a brief investigation, one of the subjects admitted to shooting the duck, a Northern Shoveler.

Lousy shot, but at least he didn’t lie: Dec. 1, a Motley County game warden and a Dickens County game warden were exiting a ranch in Motley County when they witnessed a pickup pulled to the edge of the road. When the wardens approached the pickup, two subjects were standing next to the fence, one with a rifle pointed out in the pasture. One of the game wardens asked the subject if he had hit anything, and he replied: "Naw, I missed." Charges were filed.

I only poach at night: Dec. 1, a Hale County game warden was checking a large group of pheasant hunters when he encountered a man he had filed numerous charges on in previous years. The man could not produce a hunting license and stated he did in fact have one because, as he said: "I tagged the mule deer buck I shot last night with a tag from it." That statement started a four-hour investigation that resulted in seizure of three illegal mule deer from three different locations and charges on four individuals for no hunting license, improperly tagged deer, untagged deer, tagging a deer with another person’s tag and hunting without landowner consent.

Busy day on the water: Dec. 1, Chambers County game wardens were patrolling Trinity and Galveston Bays for oyster violations. While stopped to look at oyster boats, an unregistered vessel came up and stopped right next to the patrol boat. Citation was issued. The wardens then began boarding oyster boats. On the first boat, the wardens counted 30 percent undersized cargo; citation issued, 25 sacks returned to the reef. Second boat had 26 percent undersized; citation issued, 17 sacks returned to the reef. On the horizon, one of the game wardens saw a recreational boat coming and the "game warden intuition" kicked-in. After a short ride, the wardens caught the boat and the two occupants had eight undersized red drum, six over the daily bag limit of black drum, and one of the guys had no fishing license. Citations issued. One of the other wardens pointed to another oyster boat and said they needed to check that boat, and the wardens found 46 percent undersized oysters; citation issued and 14 sacks were returned to the reef.

The long memory of the law: A game warden received an Operation Game Thief call about five hunters who came down from California last year to hunt exotics at a local ranch. They had bought the $45 non-resident five-day special hunting license. During their stay at the ranch, they decided to help the ranch with their white-tailed deer management. The five hunters took a total of 11 white-tailed deer- one of them scored 123 Boone & Crockett and another 119 Boone & Crockett. The ranch manager stated he confronted the hunters about getting the appropriate license, but they did not want to spend the unexpected $300. The ranch owner was contacted by the game warden and informed of the violations, and he stated those same hunters will be back this year. The game warden met them at the ranch this season, and although the hunters had the right licenses this year, they were cited for hunting without a valid non-resident hunting license last year. The heads of the two bucks were returned, and restitution will be pending on the 11 deer.

Lots of problems with this trophy: Dec. 1 a Limestone County game warden initiated an investigation into the taking of a 161 5/8 Boone & Crockett whitetail deer that was entered into a local Big Buck Contest. The hunter claimed to have killed the deer at 5:30 p.m., but Austin Communications reported that the hunter’s license wasn’t purchased until 7:30 p.m. on that same day. The game warden also discovered that the deer had been tagged with an antlerless tag and that the hunter did not have the required hunter education. Cases and restitution pending.