# Rangers or Game wardens



## redman (Apr 14, 2004)

Has anybody had any problems yet this year with the wannabe police?
A few of the people that I have talked to said they havent even seen any. I just wanted to get any input about what to expect.


----------



## Big Daddy (Apr 6, 2004)

I haven't heard anything that bad. I had a mild run-in with a watercraft guy out at West Branch while getting my boat checked. More annoying than anything else. Seemed to be trying to pull me into a confrontation. I didn't give him the pleasure. I guess all my dealings on here and a former site of being baited into a conflict prepared me for it.   

Carl


----------



## Mr. Creosote (Apr 6, 2004)

I've never had any problems other than a bit of a verbal hitch one time with one of the metro prks rangers. After saying I sounded like an old woman for complaining about the lack of enforcement regarding the littering problem, he emphasized that he was well aware of what was going on as he was a graduate of Tri-C. I took exception to the old woman remark, even though it may have been accurate, and asked him if Tri-C was actually accredited. That got the "perfesser" ticked off. Good thing I had my license.
Whenever I have an encounter with any law enforcement it's, "Yes sir, no sir,". That always works.


----------



## Onion (Apr 10, 2004)

Just a quick thought..

Most game wardens are invested with significant police powers and are not "wannabe" police. They ARE police officers for all intents and purposes.

Sometimes attitude can get you a long way, if you go into a meeting with a ranger or game warden with the attitude that they are "wannabe police" they will probably read the disrespect and treat you the same way.

I have had contact with many game wardens and rangers throughout Ohio, Minnesota, Tennessee, Florida and Kentucky and have never had an issue with any of them. Even when I didn't strictly follow the rules (like not having enough PFDs).


----------



## ShoreBoundOne (Apr 6, 2004)

Good point Onion.....just so most of you know...its WAY easier to get a job as a cop than it is to land one with the DNR.

Mitch


----------



## Fishman (Apr 5, 2004)

Ya redman, not sure what your talking about there.......


----------



## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

I've seen a couple of instances of park rangers being rather assertive over the years, but have never had any issues with any game wardens or Div. of watercraft officers, even the time I was checked 5 times in one day on erie!

In the park rangers defense, if I had to deal with the greneral public everyday, I might lose it occasionally also. I wouldn't make a good park ranger, especially id someone called me a "wanna-be-cop".

Kim


----------



## flathunter (Apr 5, 2004)

I had a problem only once with a warden..I was levaing my fishing area and it was a hot day, he asked to see my drink container..I then opened up my small cooler and showed him the emptys..He told me good thing I had them or he would have assumed I left them behind somewhere and sighted me for litering.


----------



## TIGHTLINER (Apr 7, 2004)

Here's my two cents... They are never around to catch the bad guys that we see fishing the spillways everyday, but they seem to always be up for harassing the good guys on a regular basis.


----------



## flathunter (Apr 5, 2004)

I have to agree with you on that TIGHTLINER!


----------



## redman (Apr 14, 2004)

I also agree with tightliner, I didnt mean that they are all jack**** But there are a few out there that all they wanna do is be a jerk to someone, It seems like they are never around when you need them and when you do they are nowhere to be found or 6 out of ten times they are harassing ya


----------



## Dave_E (Apr 6, 2004)

I witnessed 2 Rangers checking every person they saw with a rod for a fishing license, including me. They were very polite and explained what they were doing. They never held up anyone for longer than a minute and let them get right back to fishing.


On the other side, an A-hole is going to be an A-hole regardless of what job he chooses.


----------



## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

I have never met a ranger that was anything but polite and doing his job to the best of his ability. I don't feel they are wannabe police or are out to simply give recreation minded people a hard time. My boat has been inspected several times for equipment compliance as well as being creel checked and never had problems with the rangers. Once, I had unknowingly taken some beer onto a lake where it was prohibited. The Officer gave me a choice of tossing it in the dumpster or receiving a citation. That was a pretty decent thing to do.


----------



## baby bass (Apr 11, 2004)

i've been checked several times and have never had any trouble. i have only
been treated with respect each time i was checked.i'am not saying you won't
find a bad apple sometime,because theirs good and bad in all occupations.


----------



## PAYARA (Apr 7, 2004)

i find the Division of Wildlife guys to be the coolest
of them all.you don't ussually see them very often
(at least i dont)but when i do they are ALWAYS 
cool and will bs with you for awhile.i dont have much
problems with the state park guys,most are cool,but 
there is one MAJOR out there roaming the Portage
Lakes area,iam sure you know who he is.the really over-weight,middle aged, red haired guy  hes a real
buster.as far as the metro parks ''rangers'',they 
are really sad.i cant believe they are allowed to carry
guns,seriously.and they seem to lack proper fish id skills.


----------



## AndroDoug (Apr 12, 2004)

Unbelievably, I have never been checked. I have only seen one a couple times ever. I have done a lot of fishing at Mogadore, but I guess they don't hang around the southern end. Practically all my other fishing time has been at Congress and Wingfoot, and they obviously do not patrol those.

And you know what's funny, I never was totally legal till this past year...since I have discovered these forums and talked to everyone. I always had proper registration, life jackets and a license, but I never had a "distress flag" or extinguisher or flares...till today! I took a trip up to Gander mountain and splurged. Bought a new IM-7 rod (10 bucks off of 50) and a bunch of Power bait worms and lizards. IF ANYONE WANTS TO KNOW, POWER BAIT IS ON SALE FOR 1.50-3.29 A PACK. ALL STYLES. I bought the ribbon tail worms in gr pump, pump seed, and june bug colors. Great deals right now.


----------



## Mr. Creosote (Apr 6, 2004)

Your right about the DOW lawmen. They are good dudes. That one at Portage lakes is needed out there. The place is over run the boozer/cruiser, pontoonbilly types.


----------



## fishfinder668 (Apr 14, 2004)

I am amazed at the number of so called sportsmen who have bad attitudes toward DOW officers and the people who are trying to protect the natural resources of this state. I get checked quite often and am glad. I have also watched as people have been busted for keeping more than their limits of fish (i.e.-- the Canadian guy who was hiding steelhead in his car two at a time and going back for more--repeatedly--he had over 20 when he got caught up at the Chagrin River!!!!), the snaggers at Maumee and Sandusky Rivers, guys trespassing while deer hunting--a couple of which did not even have hunting licenses, and a couple of guys who refused to wear blazed orange while gun hunting for deer (retarded if you ask me). To me, the inconvenience of being checked a few times a year is worth it to get these fools out of action. The outdoor sports are like everything else---a few idiots can make things bad on everyone involved! And more often than not--these are the idiots who bad mouth the "wanna-be" law enforcement officers. These guys are doing their best to do their jobs--which, by the way, is to uphold the law. I do not always like the laws--but can usually see the necessity of them when being honest in their evaluation. The next time a warden asks you for your license, try being respectful and polite and you'll probably get the same in return. The reason so many offenses can go unpunished is the ratio of millions of outdoor sportsmen compared to how many officers? Then, there are the guys who want to give these officers a hard time and hold them up, rather than complying with what is requested and allowing them to move on and catch the people who are really breaking the laws!!!


----------



## redman (Apr 14, 2004)

Lets get this issue straight. I DID NOT say all d.o.w officers were wanna-be's. I have the utmost respect for 99% of them. I have never bad mouthed or shown disrespect when I have been asked for my license.
I Was asking about the jerks who try to make life unpleasureable for the heck of it just because they have the power to.
Granted, some of them do have bad days just like the rest of us but, then there are some who treat everybody like they are lower than them.
I am sorry that I did not clearly state this for whomever has not run across a ranger with a permenant attitude.


----------



## catking (Apr 5, 2004)

Come on guys, lets not blow this thread into something it was not meant to be.I know what redman was trying to say. For the most part, the wardens are great people who will go out of their way to help you out. Then there are a few who just seem to enjoy using their powers to make you look the fool. I've had it happen a few times, and it was uncalled for. But you get this in all walks of life, not just game protectors. CATKING.


----------



## Mr. Creosote (Apr 6, 2004)

The DOW seems to be much more concientious than the watershed/park ranger types. Case in point, I was fishing the Mog dock some years ago, the fishing was good and it was crowded. Two moms were there with a pile of kids. One of them was talking to the ranger while she was munching a bag of chips and drinking a can of pop. She finishes the pop and sets the can on the dock railing, the empty chip bag by her chair. The first gust of wind blows both into the water, the trash barrel is maybe 20 feet away. She and the ranger both ignore the litter. I don't know who was the biggest slob, her or him-neither had any buisiness being out there.


----------



## PAYARA (Apr 7, 2004)

heres one for you reguarding the really over weight,middle
aged,red haired ''ranger'' working for the state parks and
is (i guess based) in portage lakes over at Turkeyfoot.
anyway,this guys is so lazy,if you will he wont get out of
his car to check licences.iam sitting over at north res one
day,on the state mill side,iam the only person there,
he pulls up parks dead in the middle of the parking lot.
iam still over at the bank,a good 60yds from his car.
his,fat,lazy butt,yells over to me,''hey,let me see your license,bring it over''i was shocked.i of course brought it
too him,as i know hes the kind of guy that if i would have
said something to him,he would have made something
bad for me somehow,you know?my word against his kind
of deal.i sure as hell would not have walked over to his
car,60yds,to show his lazy self my licesnse if somebody
else was there.of course the whole thing would not ahve happend if anyone else was there anyway.because he is
too lazy to get out of the car.the best part of the whole
deal is when you get to his car,its messy looking,he
had cups of coffe laying around,ect.then he writes
your name down like your some kind of criminal.
''iam going to check this out''he said.hes a butt.
and the bad thing is he checked me no more than 
a week earlier,also did not get out of the car that time
either.he told me once when i was 15,that there was no way i was 15,was going to ''handle me''he said for
no licence,iam 15 i said.he eventually called my school
and found out for sure.i hate that guy


----------



## Mr. Creosote (Apr 6, 2004)

Try not to take it to hard Payara. Hating this guy hurts you a lot more than it does him. They can get a bit ouchy like the one who implied I was a grumpy old woman for complaining about the litterbugs. Not much one can do. If he thinks you have an attitude he'll make it even worse.


----------



## PAYARA (Apr 7, 2004)

i do whatever they say.but if they are going to check your
license they should come to you at least.not sit in the
vehicle with their gut wedged tight to the wheel.i know
he could make things bad for me,when iam alone like that
day.there is no telling what he could have done if i said
''no,how about you come to me''or just held my licsense
up.iam just some punk kid and it would be his word against
mine.he could say i was doing things i didnt,no one would
know the truth because there was nobody around but
me and him.believe me hes the type that would do something like that.but if i were with people the day this
happened i would have just held my licesnse up and told him to come check it or just acted like i never heard him.
let him come to me,iam not dropping what i am doing 
to make his job easier.i would fight him in court as
long as it took if he tried to pull something.


----------



## redman (Apr 14, 2004)

Them are the types I am talking about. I don't disrespect anybody unless they disrespect me first. The way the warden acted in PAYARA' s post is, was and always will be totally uncalled for.


----------



## marauder1999 (Apr 29, 2004)

Hey Payara,,the next time that fat ranger bugs you and wont get out of his car,,just tell him you have a box of twinkies. Hell surely come to you then.


----------



## Froggy (Apr 6, 2004)

The only time I've ever been checked was only after I had INSISTED that he check me for my license....I just bought the license 4 or 5 years earlier and just wanted to get my money's worth


----------



## PAYARA (Apr 7, 2004)

yeah,thats what iam talking about,totally uncalled for.
if anybody fancies a meeting with this guy  just spend
sometime over at Old State Park or one of the Nimmi
lots or ramps,(somewhere in the PL region thats easy for him to pull up to you  )in all the years i have been seeing
this guy i cant recall him getting out of that car once.
i dont understand how people like this are employed to
''protect and serve''the parks.its a joke!


----------



## saugeyesam (Apr 20, 2004)

my father and i had a run in with a game warden down at beach city public hunting area a few years ago i was bow hunting and my father was squirrel hunting / probably napping . anyway we meet back at the truck just before dark and this guy pulls up he gets out and tells my father that his shot gun is illegaly stored in the truck which it wasnt it was unloaded with the action open on a clear chamber laying in a hardsided gun case that dad was just closing when he stopped us then he demands to search my truck for "illegal" shotgun ammo so with nothing to hide i told him to search away then after making a mess in my truck and finding nothing he proceeds to tell me it is unlawfull to drive deer to a bowhunter which we werent doing since i was on one side of sugarcreek while my father crossed over a small bridge and hunted the other side then he says that you cant transport a shotgun in your vehicle if your bowhunting he tells us next time to drive seperate vehicles and finally the topping on the cake he tells us its unlawful to hunt deer after dark says we are poaching and threatens to cite us confiscate my vehicles and hunting equipment and haul our "asses of to jail" at which point i took out my cell phone and was in the process of calling the another game warden when this guy really changed his tune and said he was letting us of with a warning and he left. i phoned the dow the next day and it took me a while but i lodged my compaint and was surrprised to find out that this wasnt the first complaint filed from hunters or fisherman from the beach city area so from now on when i plan on hunting there i make sure im to the book on everything.


----------



## rockbass (Apr 16, 2004)

I have had only a few "run ins" with rangers. One at Clendening, just asked for my liscense. I had a bite on a pole ( was cattin) so I gave my wallet to my girlfriend and she got the liscense out and showed them. They said thanks and good luck and went on. Another was at Salt Fork. Was fishing by the caves with a buddy. there were prob 20 other people within 100 yrds of me. Well here comes the ranger. Gets out and asks us for our liscense. No prob, but he never asked anybody else. I fiigure it is because we were the youngest people there. once at piedmont, my uncle and myself were in his 12 foot jon boat with only a trolling motor. Personally, if I were a ranger, I would have stopped and checked out our boat. Well he just used a megaphone and while staying about 50 yards away he asked if he could see some lifejackets. no prob again! Then while we were fishing a strip pond near piedmont, just as we were getting ready to take the baot out of the pond and haul it up the hill, 2 officers pull up behind my uncles truck and start down the hill. Then my uncle realized he did not have his wallet. Well they asked for our liscense and my uncle said his was in the truck. Where he thought he left his wallet. They started up the hill and the other officer stayed with me at the boat to check my liscense. I showed him and he asked about how we did. I showed him the 2 16 inch crappie I caught and he complimented me on them and helped me pull the boat out of the water. Hell of a nice guy! Well down comes my uncle after a few minutes and the officer headed up the hill and they left. Well turned out my uncle left his wallet at home. Sat it on his dresser when he changed into his shorts. They just gave him some paper and gave him 10 or 15 days to send a copy of the liscense to the office. Nice guys since they could have been peckers!


----------



## johnboy111711 (Apr 7, 2004)

i got checked twice in my life, and both in the same week. once was in pa, we were in a boat and the officer asked us to hold our licenses up and the other time me and lureboy were at Nimi getting ready to catfish. He had mentioned he forgot his while we were driving there and sure enough, right at dark a younger ranger walked up and asked for my license, I gave it to him and he never asked for lureboy's. He said he looked way to young to need a license.


----------



## husky hooker (Apr 6, 2004)

i ran into the same butt at nimi this winter, we were gonna get out to the spot to ice fish from the campground, then he comes along and says its for the campers only! and as you guys know i can get a little ornry so i says to him ..where do i pay to put my tent? then he s says theres nobody camping now so you cant pay but u will have to leave!! but i said...i wanna camp!!! THEN HE GOT OUT OF THE CAR! he told me to go to north lake for it has easy access too. oh well i lost but/// he got out....ha


----------



## TIGHTLINER (Apr 7, 2004)

"I Wanna Camp" Nice...Way to go husky!


----------



## PAYARA (Apr 7, 2004)

thats got to be a first for that guy,lol.

BTW-i too am sickend to the fact that you must be camping
to fish back there in the camp ground area.there is excelent
bank accsess back there.they act as if the campground is 
something special,that has got to be one of the poorest
examples of a campground in the state IMO.it sucks!


----------



## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

I agree with Payara on the Nimi guy. Met him twice and he made me come to his car(what a slob!). His car was a mess and he wouldn't leave it. 
But personal hygiene is not a job qualification.
All other encounters with DOW guys have been pleasant or officially business.
If you happen to run into a bad apple, report it to his superior.

By the way, the Nimi guy is now writing speeding tickets on Christman road.
Not me, my barber.
Now people should be ticketed for flying at 50mph in a 35mph zone especially with the trucks and boats pulling out of the C-6 parking lot, but isn't that the Summit County Sheriff's duty? It's the city of Green's road. Not a state park road.


----------

