How often do you get checked?

I’m curious how often you guys get checked by the warden. I rarely get checked while fishing, 2 times in the last 5 years. Now when it comes to Pheasant hunting, always checked opening day and a few times through out the season. There has been times I’ve been checked 2 times a day.
Deer season I’ve been checked 3 times in 15 years. I’m always in check and don’t have any problem with being checked. Just curious how often the rest of you are checked?

BIRDDOG

only once in 15 years i was at the trout streams and he thought i was over 16. never any other time

I been check for fishing once in about 8-9 years and that was by my fathers best friend. For bird hunting once in four years in MN, once every other year on average in Iowa.

Ron

last time i was out fourwheeling we were stoped every stop sign and the same snowmobiling the same guy stoped me so much that we knew each other by name then hunting i have never been checked and fishing i got my boaters licesne and my dad will drop me off at a lake and i will fish and i have seen the warden but never checked (the warden was fishing)
thats just what i have seen

they get more money for ticketing the fourwheelers and snowmobiles than for hunting and fishing so they focuse on the fourwheelers and snowmobiles

I have been checked at least once every year while fishing. Also have been checked 2 times in the last 2 years deer hunting. While duck hunting I have been checked by both local and federal wardens once a year for 2 years. I actually like to be checked. I then know they are out there doing a thankless job. I have never been ticketed, but have had some minor equipment warnings. Of course these were corrected immedietly so they were not a problem in the future. Most of the wardens in our area are decent guys and I have only had a problem with 1 and it was not over a hunting or fishing related check.

Actually, on the Mississippi at least 1-2X yearly. I got checked a week ago Saturday by Wisconsin Wardens while fishing, albeit with their Go-Devil they said they were mostly checking Duck Hunters. Also checked earlier this year while fishing out of Merrick Park. All in all they have been polite and I don’t mind.

Once in 18 years of hunting and a handful of times in the boat for about the past 14 years i would say.

does it count if the warden is fishing in my boat? if thats the case, about 5 times this year……..

atleast once a yr,but this year he just waved

Out in the boat fishing, 2 times in 10 years, duck hunting on the Miss. backwaters, almost every year. Last year was my sons first year duckhunting, and we were checked by two wardens in the boat when we were jumpshooting. They were two of the nicest wardens I have ever come across. They checked everything, and were genuinely interested in how my son was doing. It was really a good experience for him to know these guys aren’t the bad guys who are just looking to write a ticket.

I’ve been checked about once a year while fishing. Mostly if I fish the more populated lakes. About 17 years ago we were checked 10 times in one year on Pool 4. Apparently they were doing a fish study of some type.

I’ve never been out on the days the warden stops my hunting group.

It’s great to see the wardens out checking. They’re almost always nice and great to talk with. Every once in a while though they’re having a bad day just like everyone else.

Once bowhunting, and the guy was a prick. He kept trying to bust me for something, but couldn’t b/c I was 100% legal.

I can’t even count the times fishing it’s been so few. 3 or 4 in my lifetime. I know once this year in a tourney up on 4. Didn’t check fish, just our license…..nice guy.

Once Ice fishing 2 years ago…..Once again I was 100% legal, but I didn’t like the fact he just opened up my Shanty….Is that legal? They just can’t hop in my boat….is there a difference?

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does it count if the warden is fishing in my boat? if thats the case, about 5 times this year……..

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Are you fishing with Dan Perron? Nice guy. He’s checked me several times. He understands I’m guiding and interacts with my clients very nicely. They enjoy their encounters with him.

Slop, not sure if that is legal in WI, but it is in Illinois and Iowa. They do it all the time, just pull the door open and scare the soil out of you!
As for being checked, I fished for 25 years with only one check, then in the last ten years I’ve been checked dozens of times. Never had any problem with any officers. Learned quite a lot from a few, and always thank them for being on the job!

I have probably been checked 6 times this year, with the last time being yesterday when I came in from duck hunting. I have no problem being checked by the wardens.. I am always legit… Glad to see there are still a few out there our license dollar pays for.

If they intimidate you, or give you a hard time.. just keep it in mind these guys have a tough job.. the guys that are usually excessively nice are the ones trying to hide something from them. I cooperate fully when they come to check me out.. makes their life easier, my life easier.. and it usually simplifies the next meeting with the same warden.

The warden yesterday was new. I gave him some points on where to look for violaters on the body of water I was hunting.. He was very grateful and didnt know how to access the area people were at(shooting late and not trying to retrieve birds).. I hope he gets a few of those guys that screw up the hunting for everyone else.. especially the guys that start popping off rounds at swans later in the season.

If there were more enforcement individuals out there.. it would not be as invasive when we did get checked… the fact is, most everyone is rarely checked.. so more people are prone to try to stretch the rules.

For those of you that never think your getting checked.. quite often the wardens will watch you from a distance with good optics and see if your doing anything wrong.. if your not, they will not waste their time most of the time.

I had a warden check me out on Tonka a couple years back that stated directly to me.. * I know your not doing anything wrong, I have been watching you and your wife from shore for 20 minutes. I only came out because the name on that ice house didnt match the numbers on the license.* .. this surprised me.. shore was at least 1/4 mile away.

Wardens are like the rest of us, some are jerks, some are nice guys…Unfortunately, I have been checked about 20 times over the past 25 years (since I was 16) only met 2 who were nice. One was a Lady Fed CO when I was 17 while I was out trapping, the other was a guy two years ago here in pool 9 Both were polite and didn’t act like they needed an excuse to write a ticket.

great question- I have been checked many times fishing, duck hunting and trapping. But I was thinking of a time when I got checked gun deer hunting, been doing it for 35 years and I have never been checked, didn’t even think about it until this post. I will say, the times I have been checked, the wardens have been very nice to work with, but then I have never had anything to hide.-John

ya, it’s dan. he is a nice guy, even though he was a state trooper for 10 years before he went green…..i was checked by luke croate(sp) out on the flats twice last winter. he was just out doing his job. the second time he checked me was march 1st, the day you need a new license here in minnesota. he said that he found 3 folks that forgot and it was only 0900. i almost forgot too, i picked up a buddy that lives by liberty beach and he said we need to go to the malmo store and get a new license. i gould have been #4. i for 1 are glad to have them out there doing their job.

Once every two – three years fishing. Usually at Everts. Sometimes by the sheriff on the water.

Once when i was a kid hunting about 35 years ago, haven’t seen one since. Thanks to them theres not alot of poaching like it would be otherwise and things are pretty much in balance.

I am generally checked about twice a year bird hunting, but rarely fishing and never deer hunting. Not to barge into the post with a new question….BUT

HOW IS THE DNR GOING TO INFORCE THE NEW REFUGE PROPOSAL ONCE IT GOES THRU? IT SEEMS TO ME THEY DON’T HAVE THE WORK FORCE TO DO IT, OR THE $$ TO HIRE MORE. THOUGHTS

Back in high school, I got checked all the time, but it became more of a conversation then getting checked. Scott Fritz was the warden in my area and I knew him from wrestling and school. Great guy doing a thankless job. Then I moved away and did not get checked often until last year deer hunting. I got checked 8 times over the course of 3 days before they finally got me. Remember to always tag a deer with those paper tags that fall off before dragging a gutted deer from the woods-even if it is just to the bottom of the hill. He got me as I was putting the tag (on another guys deer) that I had dragged out. Where we hunt we can’t keep the paper tags on until you are out of the woods, so we drag to the edge and then tag. He was a huge jerk, took my knife from my hand and threw it, then wrote me up . I realize I was in the wrong, but those paper tags tear off during dragging. We tried for the rest of the weekend to tag in the woods and lost 4 tags, 1 that we could not find again. Explain that logic to me???

Too all the good wardens (most) To that jack ,

I’ve been checked twice while ice fishing on Bald Ealge by the lovely young lady that patrols that area. I was going to offer myself for a strip check until I saw the iron she was packing.

I have been checked once in the last 43 years. I was Bird hunting on public land a couple years ago the week after WI gun deer season. I don’t deer hunt so I asked a co- worker about seasons and the area we were hunting. No zone “T”, we wern’t in the eradication zone, gun season was closed the Sunday before (it was a Thursday)so I was safe to be in the fields. The C.O. approached and asked how we were doing. We had our dogs and had shot a rooster about 15 minutes prior, so we said the day looked promising. He said “you know muzzel loader season opens today”? I said no and thanked him because even with the orange hat and gloves I was wearing I had a white sweatshirt hood hanging out of the top of my brown hunting jacket and would defenitly need to change that! I also said with all the different deer seasons and different extended zones it was hard to keep track of if you wern’t a deer hunter! I would need to check the entire DEER REGS to make sure I was safe Pheasant hunting! After checking my licence, and running my name for warrents he handed me a citation for $105 for “failure to ware at lest 50% blaze orange”. I told him it wasn’t necessary to write me as it was an honest mistake rather than a blatent purposful violation and just by telling me there was a gun season going on served as deterant to me hunting the rest of the day, but I guess I had “earned it” for not checking the entire reg book. What burned me was he stopped just up the road and checked two other bird hunters. I said to my buddy “I guess we arent the only ones who didn’t know about the muzzel loader season” Because they had less orange on than me! We went to a small bar and grill for lunch on our way out of town and while we were there, the two guys who were checked after me walked in. They were saying that it was a good thing the CO let them off for no blaze ! Did I get cited because I was from a different county and the chance of me coming back to contest it was slim? Wow, my first encounter in the field with a CO and this is the impression I get. And they wounder why they get a bad rap! Please don’t get me wrong. I am glad they are out there and I know they have a dangerous and tough job. But I think this was a situaton where there were no game or fire arm violations just a “clothing” violation that only put myself at risk. A verbal warning would have been more than sufficiant!

John

I was checked 2 times while ice fishing, 8 or 9 times on the st croix, and once on pool 2 this year. If you fish the croix you will see your fair share of DNR and water patrols. Too bad they aren’t around more often on the lakes. I think most are pretty good about not bothering people fishing, they seem to pay attention more to boat issues like stickers and life jackets than fish. Glad to see them out there enforcing the laws even though they are short-handed.

I usually get checked 3-4 times a year. Not sure why, but it doesn’t really bother me. They’ve always been polite. Plus it gives me an opportunity to tell them which idiots I think they really should be talking to and why. And on a couple of occassions they’ve even given me some tips on what I should be doing to catch fish.

I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been checked fishing. Once in MN about 25yrs ago, my wife and I were fishing on opener and a CO pulled himself up to our boat and asked for licenses. I think there have been 2 times in IA, both along trout streams. I will say, they have always been friendly, and professional, although you can see I have very limited experience. I too, am glad to see they are doing their job.

dave

LAST SUMMER FISHING I WAS CHECKED TWICE IN ONE DAY BY THE SAME GUYS IN POOL 7 SORT OF FUNNY, ONCE I TOLD THEM, THEY REMEMBERED THE DOG

I THINK THEY DO A GOOD JOB OUT THERE AND WE NEED MORE OF THEM AROUND (THE GOOD ONES ANYWAY)

BEFORE THAT I GOT CHECKED OUT DUCK HUNTING ABOUT 20 YR’S AGO, THIS D-HEAD FLEW (DROVE)RIGHT THROUGH MY DECOYS AND GAVE ME THE FULL CHECK INCLUDING THE, “WHAT KIND OF DUCK IS THIS” QUIZ. MY BUDDY WAS IN THE REFUGE TRYING TO RETRIVE A DOWNED DUCK AND LUCKLY HE ONLY HAD ONE SHELL IN HIS GUN WITH ME IN THE BLIND (I SHOOT A OVER AND UNDER 2+1=3), THAT RULE HAS CHANGED I BELIVE SINCE THIS HAPPENED,

In the five years I have been fishing, I have checked about 11 or so times. Mostly out in Waukesha County – only once so far on the Mississippi River thou.