Wildlife & Fisheries Agents: Above The Law?

Our First Encounter:

It was near midnight on a pleasant summer night on the small Louisiana Highway 1 bridge just before Grand Isle at the Jefferson/Lafourche Parish Line. We were fishing and crabbing enjoying the peaceful atmosphere, the roar and hydrocarbon scent of our powerful Coleman Lanterns strategically placed on the concrete railing, and the purring, overmuffled sound of a small imported generator that was powering our fish attracting light suspended to just at water level...........

Then, they had us..... Blinding white light everywhere, my son starts screaming and crying, grasping for him, there are two overlighted vehicles on each end of the short bridge stopped and blocking both lanes of Highway La-1 both ways, we are trapped in the beams and the sound of hurried fast approaching footsteps, click, click, click goes the mag lights: It is The Fish Police! Drop those rods and obey............

Recreational Enforcement, your freedom is gone for fifteen dollars a year. My fishing license is in the tackle box in the van beyond the light? They send an armed agent with me to get the license. They expect me to jump in the truck and flee? He is cautious as I open the box in the dark of night, will I pull out a long razor sharp filet knife instead? I return to my shattered well lit accomplice, we have the proper documents, my net is also checked, and they are gone.

Recreational Enforcement Saved Our Fishery.

Our Second Encounter:

We arrived at the Public Beach about fifteen minutes earlier, I had just put out one rod holder with no rod, Top Gun was late. ( He's in the Air National Guard, hence the name) My Surf Fishing partner (BB2) says: here comes his car! He made it, he got his rod out of his car and not far behind him was the usual Fish Police Vehicle (FPV): Late model, dark, speeding, step side pickup truck. The two agents checked our licenses and asked him to see in his ice chest, he had bait and refreshments he bought for this trip that had not even begun. As usual, we have the proper licenses! They did not ask to see in my ice chest, I am white and Top Gun is not.

Our Third Encounter:

The beach was packed with family holiday anglers and kids, this past weekend was the annual Tarpon Rodeo in Grand Isle, La. A greedy land owner blocked public beach recreation access to the east 7 miles of The Public Beach so the short west side gets really packed with visitors.

And here they come, An illegal 3 wheeler and an illegal 4 wheeler ATV on our beach, didn't they read the big (No ATV's) sign posted at the entrance? They are in plain clothes and were not wearing helmets that were required by law, they are weaving in and out near people and looking for recreational fishing criminals and stick out like a sore thumb! Other regulars were fishing near us and laughing at the "specktacle". Eventually they got to us, me and my son, and just like the midnight bridge raid, the 3 wheeler came in on one end and the 4 wheeler on the other and surrounds us, then the leader actually tries to act like a true casual friend and ask if you are catching any fish! Then he pulls a badge and gold chain quickly out from under his shirt around his neck and Shouts: Wildlife and Fisheries Agents!!! Duhhhhhhhh..........

I asked him if they took their trucks away? He said: You don't think we are doing our job? I told him, and it is Still My Opinion that: Recreational Enforcement does NOTHING to improve our fishery! Yes, I have the new recreational license that expires on June 30th every year so that folks that are just starting fishing in peak fishing season (April-October) have to buy two licenses per year and give them double revenue. I pointed out a bycatch speckled trout on the beach with a smashed head decomposing from the armada of commercial vessels trawling near the beach. We are out there every weekend, all year round, I told this pair of guys about all the awsome fish and reptiles that wash up as bycatch and I had many photos of it. They just sped off to the west, then cut donuts and sped back past us to the east when I got this photo: Speeding, Illegal Vehicles on the beach, and No Helmets that were required!

Fourchon Public Beach

I must also point out that some months every weekend the Fish Police Vehicles (FPV's) are working the easy to check people recreational fishing on the beach and the roadsides between Leeville and Fourchon, usually I see them bent over in ethnic peoples car trunks going through their ice chest! If you ask me, they should give sportsmen with a Speckled Trout they caught in the ditch on the side of the road a Trophy, not a $220.00 dollar per fish fine because they spent time and money to come catch and eat it! An agent told me they get more complaints from that area than anywhere else, no wonder.......

I have nothing against commercial fishermen, I know plenty, and we buy what they catch too! More time should be spent on bycatch reduction and bycatch reduction devices that are efficient and really work to really help our fishery. I read that average bycatch is 25%, this is wholesale slaughter of thousands of fish that we can get fined for. We spend our time and money on supplies, tackle and licenses to catch fish and eat some of them. Thousands of them wash up on the beach dead that would be a 220 buck apiece fine for recreational anglers and it is OK.

Close Encounter of the Fourth Kind!

Fourchon Public Beach Yep, They checked my license again, still good 35 days later! These two did not give their names but were in Real Uniforms and I must say, were the friendliest two I ever met. Still sick of our beach escape interuptions though! BB-1

Years of My Personal Contributions To:

The Wildlife & Fishery "Recreational Enforcement"

3 more years of licenses below at 15 bucks each (2001-2003) and they are on trash green credit card machine paper now:

Mr. Tank Top is still at it:

Thanks goodness these two bullet proof vested fish police check for "criminals" fishing at leisure in the ditch on the side of the road. Usually the plain clothes guy (tank top right) shows up first asking about the fishing and sincerely acts like your friend.

Fish & Mammal Bycatch Photos: Click Here!

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