Jerk of a Park Officer at the Wab..

viral_override · #1 08-12-2009, 07:30 AM

I have a small vent...and I hope you guys dont take it the wrong way. I ve been buying my licence religiously every year, i crimp my barbs, I keep my smally tiny boat up to par, I dont drink in the boat, so on and so forth.

We went for a couple hours of fishing at Wabamum and when we came back this Park Officer guy there was waiting for us at the dock. He start going on about what we were doing on the lake. I say fishing and then he proceeds very rudely saying, show me your license.

Then he checks EVERY hook in my tackle box to see if they are barbed and hi find one side of a hook that "not crimped enough" and gives me crap for it.

He asks if we caught any fish, I say no, then he checks my cooler where we have snacks and makes me dig around in there.

Then he check our life jackets if they are up to "code" and start lecturing me on that...

WTF??? I tried to be nice to him but it was like he was "searching" for something to bust us on...(he was literally there for 45 mins)

Has anyone else had this experience??

Cal · #2 08-12-2009, 07:54 AM

Yep, once in awhile you get one that seems like he's bitter about not makin the police force or somthing. Maby their just trying to do their jobs but with all the actual poaching going on why do they have to harrass guys who are obviously doing their best to comply with the rules?

viral_override · #3 08-12-2009, 08:04 AM

Yea..I dunno...never had this before..

tonyflyfish · #4 08-12-2009, 08:15 AM

I hiked straight uphill to a lake in the middle of now here and guess who followed me up? He was polite and only asked to see my license. I asked him about the standards for crimping and he said a person should be able to rub a finger over the barb and not get hooked. He caused me no trouble at all. I am extremely outgiong and polite but he had no personality at all which is just fine-he was doing his job and I give him credit for hauling his gluts all the way up that hill.

seahawkfisher · #5 08-12-2009, 08:29 AM

a CO on a power trip who was searching my friend's buddy's boat threatened to shoot my friends dog because he was swimming in the lake in the direction of a moose that was taking a little dip in the water. funny thing is, he's a defence lawyer who doesn't take kindly to threats; guess we'll see what comes of it.

I-Love-Eyes · #6 08-12-2009, 08:47 AM

Then he checks EVERY hook in my tackle box to see if they are barbed and hi find one side of a hook that "not crimped enough" and gives me crap for it.

If I understand the regs, the hooksIN YOUR TACKLE BOX can be barbed. It is the hooks on your fishing rod that must be pinched.
Did you get the guys name? Perhaps a phone call to the "office" about his unprofessional behavior??!!

viral_override · #7 08-12-2009, 08:50 AM

sigh...no I did not get his name. gr...and wow..I can t believe that other story about shooting someones dog....thats just plain ignorant.

bsnyder · #8 08-12-2009, 08:51 AM

I very rarely have problems but there is a young fellow that strys to strut his stuff at Pinehurst.He puffs his chest out till it looks like it hurts and realy playes the power trip.At the last tourny we were all thinking of thrwing him in the lake.The young lady there was realy nice and very reasonable.They do have a tough job, but would make it easier on themselves if they had a personality.

bsnyder · #9 08-12-2009, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by I-Love-Eyes

Then he checks EVERY hook in my tackle box to see if they are barbed and hi find one side of a hook that "not crimped enough" and gives me crap for it.

If I understand the regs, the hooksIN YOUR TACKLE BOX can be barbed. It is the hooks on your fishing rod that must be pinched.
Did you get the guys name? Perhaps a phone call to the "office" about his unprofessional behavior??!!

As long as you dont have a barbed hook in the water there is nothing he can do about it.Sask usess barbs and we travel back and forth so some of our stuff may have barbs.

viral_override · #10 08-12-2009, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bsnyder

I very rarely have problems but there is a young fellow that strys to strut his stuff at Pinehurst.He puffs his chest out till it looks like it hurts and realy playes the power trip.At the last tourny we were all thinking of thrwing him in the lake.The young lady there was realy nice and very reasonable.They do have a tough job, but would make it easier on themselves if they had a personality.

LOL...that was exactly this guy!!!

I-Love-Eyes · #11 08-12-2009, 09:16 AM

Bob, if the hook is on your line, in water or out, it is supposed to be pinched. We were at a tournament a couple of years ago where a guy had a barbed hook on his line, and he was DQ'd and fined for barbed hook.He said he simply forgot to pinch the barb when he tied it on but.... I had this discussion with my son--who is studying to be a CO--and the assumption is, if it is on your line, you have had it in the water. This is the very reason that I pinch the barb BEFORE I tie it to the line. It's a bit of a grey area because of being allowed to have barbed hooks in your tackle box, and they are starting to crack down on barbed hooks on your line pretty hard.

#12 08-12-2009, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by viral_override@hotmail.co

I have a small vent...and I hope you guys dont take it the wrong way. I ve been buying my licence religiously every year, i crimp my barbs, I keep my smally tiny boat up to par, I dont drink in the boat, so on and so forth.

We went for a couple hours of fishing at Wabamum and when we came back this Park Officer guy there was waiting for us at the dock. He start going on about what we were doing on the lake. I say fishing and then he proceeds very rudely saying, show me your license.

Then he checks EVERY hook in my tackle box to see if they are barbed and hi find one side of a hook that "not crimped enough" and gives me crap for it.

He asks if we caught any fish, I say no, then he checks my cooler where we have snacks and makes me dig around in there.

Then he check our life jackets if they are up to "code" and start lecturing me on that...

WTF??? I tried to be nice to him but it was like he was "searching" for something to bust us on...(he was literally there for 45 mins)

Has anyone else had this experience??

It dosent sound that bad MAYBE he just though you were A PUCH OVER or didnt like your looks ??? .I dont know i wasnt there good to see there out there Checking.

Cal · #13 08-12-2009, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by river_runner

It dosent sound that bad MAYBE he just though you were A PUCH OVER or didnt like your looks ??? .I dont know i wasnt there good to see there out there Checking.

What would that have to do with anything??? Like I said, these guys deffinatly have better things to do so I dont know why they play games because they think they can get away with it or because they dont like your looks.

floppychicken · #14 08-12-2009, 10:26 AM

I have a LOT of friends and acquaintances who are CPS members and basically they are ALL pretty good guys / gals when it comes to being professional and stuff like that.... I can't really think of anyone that has an 'Attitude'.

Having said that, I've met a couple of BY-LAW officers who were absolute DICKS ! This one guy looked like he was 14 years old and was on a TOTAL EGO trip. I think maybe he watched too many TOP GUN movies or something... Guy was an arsehole.

It's too bad, because for many of us who don't know the good ones (the majority of them), it's hard to identify (in a Positive way) with anyone in uniform and whom carries a gun... This seems to be very typical of F&W officers. Fortunately for me, my experiences with them has been very good.

Cheers,

/FC...

SNAPFisher · #15 08-12-2009, 10:28 AM

And for every jerk there is one who is extremely great. I met a great one up near Grand Cache. He saw me and a couple buds fishing the Muskeg and immediately made a b-line for us. As we approached he was looking us over and you can tell he was making up his mind on what to check for. My buddy Ayr immediately walks up, introduces himself and shakes the guys hand. I believe his name was Mike...but my memory is short. At any rate, we had a 45 minute discussion with Mike about the area, fishing, what was happening, bear spray, ....you name it. Totally professional, helpful and an excellent officer.

Who knows, maybe your demeanor was something to cause suspicion. Maybe take the first step next time and not think defensively or "what the heck does this guy want" or "here we go again". Not saying that you were definsive as I wasn't there but I do find the first step approach to be helpful.

Just my .2 cents for what it is worth.

P.S. Most of these officers know one heck of a lot about the area they patrol. They have great information to share if their willing.

Lotep · #16 08-12-2009, 11:19 AM

My question is would you rather not see them out there at all looking for people poaching?
Yes i agree his demeanour could have been better but the number of people that these individuals deal with on a daily basis is astounding. People go to great lengths to hide things from COs and even people with fishing licences (not saying you) will poach fish. Sorry to hear about your bad experience, did you catch his name?

Wulfespirit · #17 08-12-2009, 11:45 AM

I know we'd all like to expect a higher standard from law enforcement but its just being unrealistic. Like people in any line of work, there are ***holes and there are good guys. The bad ones often ruin the image of the good ones as it takes a lot of good experiences to make up for the one bad one you have.

I had a terrible experience with a CO on a goose hunt several years back. Four of us had a couple of willow blinds set up on a pea field. We were about halfway to our limit on Canadas and noticed a CO truck had parked at the edge of the field about 500 yards from us. In any case we kept on going and were in the process of teasing in a big flock from the opposite side of the field. We were honking them closer and closer and finally they got close to us and looked like they were going to commit to land. Just as this happened, the CO entered the (private) field and came flying at us at high speed - spooking the flock before we took our first shot. We were a bit flabbergasted - what a lovely thing to do. At that point, this guy got out and proceeded to check EVERYTHING. Licenses, guns, the contents of our blinds and bags, and each bird we had taken so far. He even hinted at checking our trucks (though never went through with it) - all the while without showing the least bit of courtesy or pleasantness. Not to mention he didn't bother apologizing for interupting the hunt.

He didn't find a thing which seemed to frustrate him. He finally went back to his truck without a word and drove a way.

What was the point of that?

In any case, let me qualify the above by saying the vast majority of the time my experiences with COs is positive. They're mostly pleasant people out doing their job and I'm happy to cooperate and have a conversation with them.

I'd like to see some professional standards adopted by them to try and put a crimp on the bad ones. I can only imagine the impression that my goose CO would've left on any young hunters we might've had with us that day. To them - COs would've undoubtedly looked like the enemy if that was their first experience with one. Unfortunate.

viral_override · #18 08-12-2009, 11:55 AM

Yea in general, pretty much every PO has been great...thats why I was so suprised at this occurrence. Well...must a been my turn for a bad one I guess..better luck next time.

Whiskey Wish · #19 08-12-2009, 12:27 PM

I guess despite being CO's they are human beings as well (j/k) so are subject to the same stresses we are all subject to every day.
Fight with the wife.
Snarl with the boss.
Watch a good "bust" go bad in court.
Hangover.
Last customer was a prize arsehole.
Born with a serious personality defect.

The list goes on and on.....

Yes...they are supposed to be trained professionals but sometimes it is difficult to remain objective.
Many years ago when my Pa was still alive and pushing 70 years old we were out bustin' birds and on our way home stopped by 2 CO's on the roadside. My pa ( for whatever reason ) kept his licence and tags attached inside his hat and it was a bit of a pain digging them out. One of the CO's had stopped my Pa twice in the last 10 days or so already and my Pa complained when he asked to see his licence and tags again. He said "How many times do you need to see my licence before you accept that I have a licence?"
At that point the second CO asked the first officer if he had already seen this fellows licence within the last few days and the first officer said yes he had seen it twice. The second officer asked to be excused and they both returned to their truck and sat inside in what was a VERY obvious chin waggin', finger pointin', dash slappin' ARGUEMENT. We both stood outside our vehicle, licences in our hands, trying not to laugh and wondering where this was all headed. After a few minutes the second CO got out of the truck and walked over, apologized for the delay and said we were free to go and to have a nice day. My Pa said "It sounds like our day is going a whole lot better than yours. You have a nice day too." and we left.
Tough job. Tough conditions. They chose to do the job and I think most would readily agree that they need to hold themselves to a higher standard than a "regular" job.
My two cents.

Keep Your Powder Dry
Dave.

Jayball · #20 08-12-2009, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SNAPFisher

And for every jerk there is one who is extremely great. I met a great one up near Grand Cache. He saw me and a couple buds fishing the Muskeg and immediately made a b-line for us. As we approached he was looking us over and you can tell he was making up his mind on what to check for. My buddy Ayr immediately walks up, introduces himself and shakes the guys hand. I believe his name was Mike...but my memory is short. At any rate, we had a 45 minute discussion with Mike about the area, fishing, what was happening, bear spray, ....you name it. Totally professional, helpful and an excellent officer.

Who knows, maybe your demeanor was something to cause suspicion. Maybe take the first step next time and not think defensively or "what the heck does this guy want" or "here we go again". Not saying that you were definsive as I wasn't there but I do find the first step approach to be helpful.

Just my .2 cents for what it is worth.

P.S. Most of these officers know one heck of a lot about the area they patrol. They have great information to share if their willing.

best response by far on this thread. we all have to co-exist so it helps if we take the first step and be proactivly positive.

Okotokian · #21 08-12-2009, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by floppychicken

I have a LOT of friends and acquaintances who are CPS members and basically they are ALL pretty good guys / gals when it comes to being professional and stuff like that.... I can't really think of anyone that has an 'Attitude'.

Having said that, I've met a couple of BY-LAW officers who were absolute DICKS ! This one guy looked like he was 14 years old and was on a TOTAL EGO trip. I think maybe he watched too many TOP GUN movies or something... Guy was an arsehole.

/FC...

That is exactly how it is in Okotoks, and I'm not alone in my opinion. All our friends agree that the local RCMP are great and the bylaw guys are total *&#^#. RCMP will often let you off with a warning that leaves you red-faced but repentant. Bylaw guys will throw everything they can at you. They also choose the easy stuff... speed traps, harassing dog owners, but rarely patrol at night for vandals, etc.

My theory is that the bylaw guys are just frustrated "wanna-be" cops who couldn't get in. The town has indulged them by giving them cars and uniforms that are almost indistiguishable from the RCMP. Just no guns... thank god.

savagencounter · #22 08-12-2009, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by viral_override@hotmail.co

Yea in general, pretty much every PO has been great...thats why I was so suprised at this occurrence. Well...must a been my turn for a bad one I guess..better luck next time.

Ive had nothing but good experiences with co here in alberta, last year i saw them pull a u turn when i was coming back with my deer on the trailer and was politely asked for my tags, some small chit chat and that was it, another officer pointed us out some good deer and bear areas he had seen some eairlier in the day which helped us bag a deer, my ol lady last week forgot her fishing licence in the truck and the officer phoned it in no complaints, after he chatted for 10 mins before asking for the licence, ( appartly she made an impression because he tryed adding her too facebook

) funny how he remebered her name lol must be why she didnt get a fine for having a barb as she had just changed hooks. But we all have a bad day but what im thinking is someone had phoned in a poacher or something and you were in the wrong place at the wrong time, or just like everyone else when you have a ****ty day it helps to **** someone else off too lol. beware of the co who remebers you wifes name lol

viral_override · #23 08-12-2009, 02:20 PM

Thanks everyone for all your responses....at least Im not the only one...I ve never had a bad run it with any one of them until this time...

wildman · #24 08-12-2009, 02:37 PM

ive had run ins with rabid nazi fish cops at wab too.
and NO you do NOT need to crimp every hook in the box...JUST the one you are using.
in thier defence...they DO deal with a TON of *&%#$s at wab regularly so they are calloused by it...

ctd · #25 08-12-2009, 03:29 PM

As it states in the regulations it is illegal to fish with a barbed hook. Untill that hook touches the water you are not legally fishing. So they can fine you all they want but a simple day in court will have it thrown out.

As for a person threatening to shoot my dog, I would have asked him how he would feel with a broken knee and smashed hands. Then I would have told him to get the f off my boat.

I agree though most CO's are great guys and do an awesome job of what they are suppose to do. They usually are a wealth of information about the area.

#26 08-12-2009, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cal

Like I said, these guys deffinatly have better things to do .

like what

Cal · #27 08-12-2009, 04:01 PM

Like bust actual poachers rather than harrass guys with licences, legal fish, and crimped barbs who are obviously doing their best to comply with the rules.

#28 08-12-2009, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Okotokian

That is exactly how it is in Okotoks, and I'm not alone in my opinion. All our friends agree that the local RCMP are great and the bylaw guys are total *&#^#. RCMP will often let you off with a warning that leaves you red-faced but repentant. Bylaw guys will throw everything they can at you. They also choose the easy stuff... speed traps, harassing dog owners, but rarely patrol at night for vandals, etc.

My theory is that the bylaw guys are just frustrated "wanna-be" cops who couldn't get in. The town has indulged them by giving them cars and uniforms that are almost indistiguishable from the RCMP. Just no guns... thank god.

LOL...all bylaw cops are like that! The majority of Park Rangers that I've met too. Seems the F&W officers are pretty good eggs though....but I'm sure there are a few exceptions.

#29 08-12-2009, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cal

Like bust actual poachers rather than harrass guys with licences, legal fish, and crimped barbs who are obviously doing their best to comply with the rules.

WELL OK THEN

But i will leave you with this that Officer dosent know Joe blow from o hole in the ground and if he is complying with the rules as you put it unless he or she checks you out.

man Its dam if you do and dam if you dont .You cant please everyone I hope they do more check's out there its well needed. Have a good day CAL

Curly Bill · #30 08-12-2009, 05:03 PM

I Guess some guys were meant to be F&W, RCMP, By-Law and some were'nt or maybe they just have bad days but i wish they would'nt take it out on us who are compliant and reasonable.