met one of the wildlife officers this evening

wabi · Post by **wabi** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 11:07 pm

Today the state DNR stocked trout in our local lake (an annual event), and of course my I had to take my son fishing after school. As usual the bite was slow to non-existent on the first few days, but while we were there I heard someone walking up behind us and as they got nearer they asked, "having any luck?". I told them no, and I didn't really expect to with the water being so muddy from recent heavy rain & the trout being freshly released. It was a young gentleman wearing the Wildlife Officer uniform. We discussed the fishing and I told him the local bait shop didn't have my favorite bait (wax worms) in yet, but they were due next Tuesday which should work out well if the weather forecast is close. (very cold with high probability of snow the through the weekend, then warming up) He told us he had found small Mepps to be very effective in the past.
We had a long discussion covering everything from deer hunting to the outlook for spring turkey season this year. As I said, he was a very nice young man, very polite & willing to be helpful. He finally, almost apologetically, said he was checking licenses, and asked if he could see mine. I got it out and handed it to him, and he commented, "Oh, you bought it online!" (they are available online and you just print it off on your printer) That lead to a discussion of the confusion all the deer & turkey check stations seem to have when you check a kill using an online license. The permit you buy in a store has a detachable temporary tag to put on the animal until you get to a check station, but the online permit is to be filled out but not detached. You make your own temporary tag as a landowner would, just a paper with your name, address, and the date and time the animal was killed. Most check stations seem to be unaware of the procedure and get confused when I tell them it was killed on a regular permit. A couple times I ended up leaving the permit with the check station, since I had the metal tag on the animal at that point. I asked the officer about it and what to do. He told me (as he chuckled), "Just do whatever makes the check station people content." He said it doesn't really matter what you give them, the name, address, date & time are all the information he needs, and as long as I have the metal tag number I'm safe.
He finally had to go on, but I had enjoyed talking with him. I noticed most people waited for him to ask to see their license, handed it to him to look at, then stuffed it back into their pocked and resumed fishing without even exchanging a simple courteous conversation with him.
A shame! I picked up some useful information chatting with him, and look forward to seeing if his prediction of a very good spring turkey season holds true. He's predicting a lot of 2 year old toms this spring, and I told him I hope he's right. I'll take a 2 year old over an old longbeard for the oven any day.

Kenton · Post by **Kenton** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 12:12 am

good for you wabi, did you happen to catch his name.

dick195252 · Post by **dick195252** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 3:28 am

I have allways respected the job that the wild life officers do. They are a great source of information!!!

saxman · Post by **saxman** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 6:54 am

Good on ya Wabi
I am on a first name basis with most of the officers around here.
I aided in the arrest of a local poacher a few years back and they remember me and after getting to know them I realized how dangerous their job can be.They can be very helpful if you are legal and trat them with respect and common kindness.

Grizzly Adam · Post by **Grizzly Adam** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:23 am

One of my friends in Indiana is a 20+ year CO ... a very good guy indeed.

It was once a major career interest of mine.

There are some jerks out there, of course, but many if not most wildlife enforcement officers are passionately dedicated to the preservation of wild areas, wildlife, and the resources and sports that we all love so much ... and believe me, they give up vast amounts of their personal time for hunting, fishing and such to protect our right to do so, and the places to do it in, and the fish and game to pursue.

Without them, things would be pitiful.

We owe them a debt of gratitude, in general ... and the few "bad eggs" among them don't change that fact one bit!

curmudgeon · Post by **curmudgeon** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 8:26 am

Thanks for sharing Wabi. I may take up turkey season this year since I'm now retired. Need all the turkey info. I can get. The goal is to get one with my Vixen someday. Don't know nothing about skinning or cooking, share your knowledge. Are two year olds with out beards legal, how can you tell ?

chris4570 · Post by **chris4570** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 6:29 pm

Grizzly Adam wrote:It was once a major career interest of mine.

Mine too. Only thing that held me back was my horrible math skills. I also learned that the chances of becoming a Conservation Officer here in Ontario are about as good as winning the lottery. I have great respect for the guys who are out there.

Wabi, I'm sure your conversation with the officer helped to make his day.

Toast · Post by **Toast** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:10 am

sorry double posted...

Toast · Post by **Toast** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:11 am

Ohio wildlife officers aren't all above the law. There are bad ones:

http://www.whiotv.com/news/15116719/detail.html

In a recient issue of Ohio Outdoor News this was featured along with another officer from a different county who also was facing felony charges.

In my own county of Athens the game warden here quit unexpectedly-no charges have been brought against him... Have only heard gossip. But something was going on there I believe...

Grizzly Adam · Post by **Grizzly Adam** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:18 am

Toast wrote: There are bad ones.

Sure there are, Toast. And, in that case as in everything else, the bad ones tend to get more attention than the good, in general.

By the way, welcome to the forum.

Toast · Post by **Toast** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:28 am

Didn't like him anyway... we had an argument on the phone, some years ago, about the length of the of deer seasons here. He was of the opinion that deer gun season has always been that way...

We now have an extra weekend for statewide youth gun hunt and and extra statewide weekend gun hunt two weeks after "regular gun season." And the muzzleloader season may be a day longer now to...

I hung up my shotgun this season and use a muzzleloader exclusively--which you can use here during the regular shotgun season.

Don't have a bow yet but I've decided I'm going to give it a try for 2008.

Rich · Post by **Rich** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:39 am

Curmudgeon,

Most states I have hunted turkeys have the same rule: Only bearded birds are legal during the spring season (to include bearded hens). Normally a 2 year old bird will have an 8-10 inch beard. My first turkey I killed had about a 2 inch beard that was white and looked as if it had been burned off, I was told it was some sort of beard disease. It was an adult bird weighing 20 lbs. I also love 2 year old birds, when they are hot they come running in like a teenager with a stiffy. Best way I like them cooked is deepfryed with cajun spices injected and rubbed on them. Good luck.

Rich

curmudgeon · Post by **curmudgeon** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 2:15 pm

Thanks Rich.

BigUgly · Post by **BigUgly** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 4:28 pm

I have had some very informorative talks with C/O's over the years. If you are polite and ask the right question they are generally a wealth of info. A lot of people seem to forget they do their job as a love for the outdoors. Most are huunters and are there to protect the animals from poachers not hunters, they want us to be sucessful and will help us out. Great to hear you took the time to talk with him wabi.