Enforcement

[Bman]

I've used the old cell phone call trick several times and it's worked more times than not.

I have used the cell phone trick as well, but I'm really trying to reach law enforcement. If the call goes through it's all the better. I always have a waterproof camera on me and use it for fish pics all the time, but cameras are great for game & fish violations.

The following is from an earlier post from an agent. http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=14098

In addition, if you can't get cell phone reception take pictures! If you know what the suspected violator(s) is driving take pics of their car and license plate. A while back I saw a man floating the Meramec Trophy Trout area using bait and filling a stringer up will Smallies and trout. Then he cleaned them keeping only the fillets. A long story short. I took lots of pics, and emailed them to the MDC. Several agents tracked the guy down to his house and knocked on his door. Imagine the surprised look on this poachers face. I will just bet that next time he goes fishing he just might respect the law in a different manner.

I voted yes. MDC needs more agents. Some popular fishing counties have NO agent, or maybe 1. That ain't enough.

[ness]

I think the situation could be improved with the agents they already have. Sure, I'd love to have more agents out there scaring people straight, but it seems to me a little cage-rattling could get them to focus on areas where we see the problems.

Does anybody know what kinda hours CAs work? I would think that if they put in 40-hour weeks they could cover an awful lot of ground. I'm certain I could hit every major stream access in a county multiple times in a week.

And, they could do a lot of good just parking at a popular access for one Saturday a month checking licenses and creels all day. Hit another one the next Saturday. Word will get out and people will be more likely to follow the rules. Hell, just parking a truck at the access would do some good. I've never thought the hiding in the bushes technique sounded very effective.

I fished the 11 Point last fall, and was stunned by the fact I could call home from a 1-lane gravel road just up from the stream. Same old phone, same old service (Verizon). Maybe they're covering more areas or maybe I was lucky. Any way, it's worth a shot.

I firmly believe the best things people like us can do are report what we see, and better yet, get a dialog going with the local CAs, express our concerns and try to convince them to pay a little more attention the the problems we see.

[Al Agnew]

c'mon you really pull your phone out and act like you are calling..where I usually fish there is no cell service and everyone knows that.

As said before there is plenty of money for enforcement it just needs to be used for that. My county of 15000 some odd folks(well not all are odd) has 2 MDC agents. While I spend a lot of time out I just do not see that many violations, but do seem to get checked alot.

Actually, I do try to call, not just pretend, but if I don't have reception I act like I'm talking anyway. And like somebody else said above, you are often surprised at where you have reception on a lot of streams. For instance, the Meramec from Maramec Spring on down is never more than 5 or 10 miles from I-44, and although it's hit and miss, I've gotten reception just about everywhere along it at times. And one time I was on a 3 day solo float on the upper Jacks Fork, out in the REAL middle of nowhere at 7 PM, sitting on a log at my campsite eating cold fried chicken, when I was scared half to death by a sudden buzzing vibration in my pants pocket. I'd thrown my cell phone, set on vibration, in it at the last minute that morning and forgotten about it totally! It was my copyright attorney from Washington DC calling me. So you never know when some quirk of atmosphere and reflections will give you cell reception.

There's one agent in my county, and he has several small streams to cover along with lakes and the Mississippi on one side, along with doing all the other stuff that agents do. That includes a lot more public relations and landowner visiting and going to schools and driving halfway across the state to help other agents and paperwork. And anytime from September 1 when dove season starts to at least January 15 when bow season ends, and the spring turkey season, he's probably going to be spending about all his enforcement time on hunting, not fishing. And population doesn't matter much, it's land area that matters. One agent ain't enough. By the way, my agent knows me, but he has shown up twice above the same creek access and waded up the creek and through the brush to check me--and then was bummed that he didn't recognize my vehicle or he wouldn't have bothered. Next time I get a new vehicle I'm going to give him the description and license number so he doesn't have to fight his way up the creek. He's a good guy and works hard, as most of them do. There just aren't enough of them.

[Gatorjet]

I have used the cell phone trick as well, but I'm really trying to reach law enforcement. If the call goes through it's all the better. I always have a waterproof camera on me and use it for fish pics all the time, but cameras are great for game & fish violations.

The following is from an earlier post from an agent. http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=14098

Hey Bman, thought you said cameras are bad luck! Bad luck for the bad guys is good!!

[ness]

There's one agent in my county, and he has several small streams to cover along with lakes and the Mississippi on one side, along with doing all the other stuff that agents do. That includes a lot more public relations and landowner visiting and going to schools and driving halfway across the state to help other agents and paperwork. And anytime from September 1 when dove season starts to at least January 15 when bow season ends, and the spring turkey season, he's probably going to be spending about all his enforcement time on hunting, not fishing. And population doesn't matter much, it's land area that matters. One agent ain't enough.

I wonder how much of the stuff they do is 'because that's the way we've always done it' and how important it really is compared to some of the other things they could be working on. My tummy tells me they've got some latitude in what they do, when they do it and where they go. PR? Kill two birds with one stone and do a little PR and write tickets at the same time.

I'd wouldn't write them off 9/1 to 1/15, just because it's hunting season. Gawd forbid somebody kills a deer without a tag.

[taxidermist]

These DWI checkpoints really piss me off, and I kinda like not having Big Brother breathing down my neck while I'm doing what I enjoy the most.