Have you ever been busted

[Swimmer]

Me and my brother are pretty straight shooters. We have a bro-in-law thats covered all the bases several times over for our family and most of youse guys too.

[FishermanTim]

Are we talking about past offenses, committed when we were young, or currently committed (recurring) offenses that we commit because we don't practive what we preach?

I'm not innocent by any means, but once I found out what the rules were, I played by them.
Do I keep short fish/poach fish? NEVER!
Do I exceed my limit? NEVER!
Do I fish restricted/posted waters? NO!
Do I fish without a license? NO!
(I may not have it on my person, but I ALWAYS buy a license.)
Do I care what "the other guy does"? Not always, unless what "the other guy" does is illegal, immoral or dangerous!

I wonder just how many replies a post titled "Have you never been busted?" would get?

[JoeBass]

My brother and me in PA fishing for trout out of season when we were 14. We saw the warden and knew we were busted so we just reeled in and waited for him to make his way down to the river. He ran at us with a pistol pointed at us. He was shaking. He calmed down after a while but it was really unnerving. $150 fine each.
Now i teach my son to get a license each year and respect all the laws. Not because of that warden, but because I understand that much of the fees go to stocking, conservation, water clean up etc.

[chrisjoe13]

Originally Posted by Bocephus

got caught fishing a big reservoir is RI a few years back..... snuk right up and bagged me and 2 others quietly. Then says we can fish for another hour while he goes and gets the guys on the other side of the cove, tells us to meet him at our vehicles cuz he is parked there. Gave us a warning and I havent been back since. But MAN, there are some bigguns in there.

I heard that the RI state record largemouth actually came from there (different locale given at weigh in)

[animal]

Originally Posted by Sea Dangles

I wonder how many knowingly break the law and haven't been caught.I know I have.Freshwater license,gaffs in NY,gillnets...the list is long.Temptation is strong.

Busted?Never,however,that is one law I break,regularly,and will continue to do so.I will always gaff a fish I plan to keep,even from the Race,or Valiant.Stupid laws oughtta be changed.

[basenjib123]

Me and a buddy put my canoe into a little pond that my buddy spotted on his way to a job site. So we are out there fishing, talking and I said to him this place does not look like it gets much fishing pressure, he replied, yeah your right it doesnt. So about an hour into fishing I hear someone yelling from the shore...its a guy in some kind of uniform. So we paddle in and he says. What are you guys doing out here? We said..."fishing" to which he says..."there are no boats or fishing allowed on here" He goes on to say this used to be a water supply and they never got around to changing the designation so no boats or fishing are allowed. He was cool though, he kinda laughed and told us to just go find another pond someplace. Later we laughed because we realized that we did not get a single hit while we were there fishing.

[tattoobob]

Only once for not wearing a PFD before may 15th

we saw the game warden waving and yelling to us and we pretended we didn't see him after an hour the battery died so we paddled back the warden was gone or so we thought found out he was waiting in the bushes
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[MotoXcowboy]

poachers shooting decoy deer - Free Hunting Videos - huntvids.com
check out these poachers......................................lol

[vanstaal]

Originally Posted by RIROCKHOUND

Once, but I outsmarted them
I was poaching lobster at a beach. A game warden, his first day on the job saw him and said:
"I'm going to have to arrest you. Poaching is illegal."
"I'm not poaching lobsters, These are my pets. I'm exercising them. I throw them into the sea, then whistle, and they come back."
"Show me," the warden said in disbelief.
I threw the lobsters into the water and started to walk away.
"Wait!" the warden shouted. "Don't you have to whistle to call your lobsters back?"
I looked at the warden, paused, And said, "What lobsters?"

[MAC]

25 or 26 years ago we were down at Bell Rd. (yes alcohol was involved) We weren't catching so decided to try a crab trap off the top of the bridge abuttment (slack). We were shining a flashlight down and see a good lobstah crawling on towards our bait.

Then we hear "hey, whatcha doing?" We all about went swimming after jumping as we never saw him coming. He then told us he was getting a laugh out of watching us and said "glad you didn't catch one as that is illegal". We chit chatted for a little while and decided it was cheaper to just go buy the bugs.

No citation, just a verbal warning.

[striperman36]

Originally Posted by 5/0

Never tried poaching so never got caught,I did get a ticket/fine for fishing illegally in N.H. with a bunch of Buddy's,& I've fractured a few other laws thou

Shootin fish in NH was interestin

[vineyardblues]

Busted in 1978-79 fishing at night @ plum island for weed, 3 guys, just fishing , Fed agents / choppers in the air the whole 10 yards
They checked everything even inside the subs we had to eat......

wrong place at the wrong time the judge said
ps. the funny part was I joined the police K9 the next year for 4 years.. free smokes ..... lol

[Raven]

With my Buddy Matt from Mattapoisett

we are out at Dusk duck hunting IN ROCHESTER
AT SNIPTUIT (SP) and i called in a pair
of what i thought were Mallards so i shot and low and behold
i got both with one shot but i could only see the "ONE" as they
were flying real close together ok...

Turned out they were WOOD Ducks...
a highly Prized trophy and here i get two
with one shot...

This kind of infuriated MATT a wee bit
and as the sun began to sink and it was about time to leave
he fires his shotgun into the water just for the hell of it.

Well that was PLAIN Stupid because that meant
it could have been my ducks that were shot at that
precise moment rendering mine shot illegally when
i had shot them BEFORE sunset.

So .....
Matt was always kidding Around and as we emerged from the bushes
he says quite urgently with a muffled VOICE
"Game Warden" and i fell for it and imediately dropped them.

Well sure enough...just my luck -> we part the BUSHES
and "THERE IS " a Game Warden standing there waiting
for us to emerge....

He checks our I'D's and Hunting Licenses and all that
and then lets us be on our way AFTER A STERN LECTURE ABOUT SHOOTING AFTER SUNSET.

We stalled on packing up and after he left
i ran back and grabbed my
legal WOOD Ducks.

I was gonna give Matt one of them but since
he pulled that dumb shot after suset and almost got me Busted
i said No WAY.

[striperman36]

Raven with guns, no good

[Nebe]

Originally Posted by striperman36

Raven with guns, no good

[SurfCaster413]

Fishing in the ct river above a certain bridge that your not suppose to be above. My buddies first cast hooks up lands the fish, my 3rd cast I hook into a descent fish my buddy comes over helps me land it. Just as he boga's I hear federal wildlife officers please come up here with that fish! They where cool about it we each got citations and kept our gear. Got to release the fish too so we didnt get nailed with a possession charge. Been back a few times but never stayed

[gone fishin]

Maine - I got popped for fishing without a license in front of my camp. I was trying out a new fly line with a piece of yarn tied to it for practice. He was in a canoe and spotted me stretching the line from the water. It took a lot of arguing before he Left me off with a warning. Maine is unbelievable!

Once got stopped scooping smelt at lake Winnesquam NH. I had the hat and license from another guy on and the law recognized the other guys name as he just busted him a few hours before for being over da limit. We were fairly well lit and he made us dump our catch and followed us back to camp. Never wrote me up!

Same trip - It was a father sons weekend smelt fishing and one guy was famous for falling asleep after a hard night. He returned to the dock and just left the boat adrift. No one missed him til we got a call from home. The boat was found and the guy who owned the launch area saw his car and trailer in the lot. He called the law and they had a full out search going on at the lake. They thought he fell overboard. He was sacked out under the porch in a sleeping bag. A trooper came calling and the guy crawled out asking what was happening. Man that trooper was pissed. It actually was reported on the radio. We had to stop the father sons trip when the sons were caught swiping our booze and smoking weed. They were having a better blast than the dads. The sons are now in their 50's and tell some stories that are unreal...

[Raven]

Originally Posted by striperman36

Raven with guns, no good

I have ULTIMATE respect for weaponry actually....

the guy that taught me about guns had Shot his own LEG OFF
with his shot gun accidentilly while Hunting.

He was stepping over a barbed wire fence got tripped
and he fell down and the safety was off unfortunately.

He'd go Squirrel hunting ( he'd eat them) and often times
he'd get stuck in a tree trying to fetch one down and then he'd
be up there Stuck until someone came along to help get him down. LOL.

[The Dad Fisherman]

Looks like Maine has a Reputation

[Rmarsh]

I'm 54 years old and never been arrested. Not saying I haven't broken any laws, just haven't been caught. There is still time I suppose.

Maine takes their fish and game laws more seriously than MA or RI for sure. And they don't take kindly to people who litter either. Even ordinary citizens will let you know that, when they see you drinking your coffee from a styrofoam DD cup.
And the licsense actually shows the exact hour and minute they expire too!

[Raven]

what the Legality is of fishing with just a bobber
and say NO HOOK at all?

because you have a fishing rod in your hand
is that where they draw the LINE?

When is it not fishing.... is my question?

can ya walk down the beach with a rod over your shoulder
without even a reel on your pole?

[The Dad Fisherman]

Originally Posted by Raven

When is it not fishing.... is my question?

You can cast...you just can't retrieve...at least that was the BS line they gave me.

[shadow]

I moved back to ct. from RI a few months ago and have not changed my address yet. Not wanting to pay $80 bucks for a fresh water lic to fish in the upper hussy for hold overs.I headed out to a discret spot only to get pinched. got off easy with a $77 fine should of fight it because I really was not fishing when he saw me I was walking back to my truck.But I paid it I was in the wrong no dubt .wish I was still in rhody.

[thortum]

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

Poachers should be taken out into the blue water and pushed overboard while tied to a cinderblock-style PFD.

I agree.
Didn't realize that I was surrounded by sooooo many criminals.
Baaad, baaad. baaad!
Like someone said: would never want to be embarassed by having children see dad in cuffs or worst.

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by thortum

Like someone said: would never want to be embarassed by having children see dad in cuffs or worst.

No doubt. One's propensity to take a risk hopefully lessens when there is much to be lost.

Nowadays, I wouldn't think of doing half the stuff I did in my teens and twenties.

However, I thought doing whatever/whenever in the name of catching more striped bass was a noble endeavor at the time. I'm lucky to have lived through some of my boating mishaps...

[piemma]

Originally Posted by Rmarsh

I'm 54 years old and never been arrested. Not saying I haven't broken any laws, just haven't been caught. There is still time I suppose.

Maine takes their fish and game laws more seriously than MA or RI for sure. And they don't take kindly to people who litter either. Even ordinary citizens will let you know that, when they see you drinking your coffee from a styrofoam DD cup.
And the licsense actually shows the exact hour and minute they expire too!

I got caught in ME for being 10 minutes over. I was fishing just South of Ripogenus Dam and this warden appears out of nowhere. We we going home that morning and I figured one more shot at some landlocked salmon. It was 1970 and the fine was $35.00. That was half a weeks pay in 1970.

[Backbeach Jake]

I was fined 50$ for fishing without a license in Maine. I was watching a friend icefish in the spring with 4 inches of water on the ice. My feet were freezing. When he started to pack it in, I helped. That's when the Warden showed and asked for licenses. I said that I wasn't fishing, just helping pack up, been standing with my hands in my pockets all day. He said if there had been a big trout on one of those tilts he thought I would keep it and handed me a ticket. His partner was sympathetic but said pay it if you don't there'll be a warrant for you next time you visit. I wrote it up to tuition in the School of Hard Knocks. My friend was fined for fishing a closed pond. .

[Raven]

to many Horror stories for me to waste my time f-em all to hell

[striperman36]

come on Rav, how about Some Watering Hole IV stories.

[Joe]

Originally Posted by Rmarsh

And they don't take kindly to people who litter either. Even ordinary citizens will let you know that, when they see you drinking your coffee from a styrofoam DD cup.

Confront the wrong person drinking from a DD cup and you'll eventually get some stained flannel and a fd up face.