Good game wardens

[Rainier10]

Hoping that this thread can stay positive.  If you have had a bad experience please start another thread.

I have interacted with multiple game wardens over the past 30 years and I would have to say for the most part they have been positive.

I haven't always liked what they had to say or what they could or couldn't enforce but I appreciate their passion for the job they do as thankless as I am sure it can be at times.

I would like to give a big shout out to Officer Brent Scherzinger, Officer Courtney Nasset, Officer Will Smith, Officer Tucker(can't remember his first name) and now retired Officer Grant (I don't recall his last name).

All of these officers have always been friendly and a pleasure to deal with.

[Dan-o]

Have run into quite a few over the years. 

I've never had a bad experience in almost 50 years of hunting   

All have been professional.

Some have been really helpful. 

I'm sure they are not all good....  but the ones I run into are.

[OutHouse]

Few years ago myself and two buddies were up the Yakima River Canyon in the cold for white fish season. We are pulled over and parked/getting ready and a warden pulls up to chat. He gets out and says what's up fellas? My friend Joe jokingly says "Ohhh...just gonna do a bit of hiking officer" (as Joe was putting his rod together). The warden laughs about it and approaches. We offered to get out our licenses and he said no worries I trust you guys. The only thing he wanted to check was that we were using the right sized hooks for whitefish gear.

Told us to tip the fly/hook with a pautzke or a maggot and to release the trout. Told us we may catch some big trout but just to handle them safely and put them back in the river. And off he went. It was a pleasant experience to say the least.

[BD1]

I will echo Dan-O...there was one exception but not a major deal. They have hard, and in my opinion, scary jobs at times. I have a past student that in 4th grade made it his goal...12 years later he is living his dream in Montana. Taggert...if you are on this site, I am so proud of you, I am sure you are amazing at your job!!! 

[Rainier10]

Great to hear so far and boy you aren't lying about a dangerous job at times.  I can't even imagine the stress of walking up on someone that has done something wrong and you know they are armed.

I have always been impressed at how good they are at reading people and getting to the truth.  One warden once said, people want you to know the truth, they just can't help themselves.

[Karl Blanchard]

I've been checked countless times in 8 or 9 states and all have been positive except 1. They are just humans and if you treat them as such, there will seldom be an issue.

One bad experience I had was with a fed gamey down on crab creek like 15 years ago. I ran out into the sage to drop a heater and when I get back to my truck he comes rolling in hot.   Accuses me of throwing lead shells out on the ground. Searches our vehicle and finds nothing. Doesnt believe my story about dropping a deuce and not shells until I walked him out and showed him the evidence 

[Woodchuck]

Ryan John. @rosscrazyelk and I had dealings with him years back. Total pro and went WAY above and beyond the call of duty. 

[NumaJohn]

Wrote this (below) in another, earlier thread, but it seems more appropriate here in this one.

John

"Last Fall, a WDFW warden checked my friend and me while we were driving to hunt deer. My friend had purchased a deer license and had a transport tag but forgot to bring them with him that day. Once the warden confirmed that on his computer, he let my friend go and gave us advice as to where we could go to pay $10 for a replacement. (That allowed us to hunt that day without having to drive all the way home to retrieve his original.)

This past September, while out scouting for Modern Firearm, a WDFW warden was professional about asking me what I was up to, and then was friendly when I asked a few questions about elk activity (or non-activity!) in the area.

And then in the actual deer season, I approached a third WDFW warden and asked for some general information. He was courteous and professional.

So even though I grew up in Montana and have positive memories of encounters with the FWP wardens there, I have nothing negative to offer about my interactions with the WDFW crew in northeast WA. I am aware of how much territory they have to cover, and how stressful it must be to be spread so thin.

John"

[BD1]

Karl...I would agree that my one bad situation was with the feds for me too. It wasn't me but we all caught heat for one ding-dong in the group. The field dump story is so awesome  Wondering if he checked your pile with his magnet 
I'm glad we have our state LEO in the field...nobody is perfect

[Jingles]

Like to give a shout out for retired officer Cal Tresser and current Officer Jason Day, officer Day is always willing to answer question a regardless of the day of the week  as happened yesterday when asked about a particular local lake not only did he answer the questions but provided additional information I did not think about. Can't speak about other officers but these two understand the uniqueness of living and working in a small community.

[HntnFsh]

I'll throw Ryan Johns name out there also. Had a casual interaction with him late September. Treated us very well. Moved on, and several miles down the road looked in my mirror and saw blue lights. Pulled over and it was Ryan again. Myself, my son, and my grandson had several false accusations made against us. Would have cost us our M.H. certifications and being banned from access to timberland. He was again very polite and professional when he talked to us. Fortunately he was able to clear things up with the accuser. A case of mistaken identity. I had Ryans card and called him a couple days later and he filled me in on how he was able to get things squared away. Ryan is a great asset to WDFW!

[trophyhunt]

My favorite is retired officer Bruce Richards, went on a hike with him once looking for a poached bull.  He is a friend of the family and every time we talked he was a big smart azz, but I didn’t mind it. That man has some stories to tell about his 40+ years in the business.  I like Tyler Barnburg as well, met him when he was a rookie, helped us with another poached elk, they had the film crew with him on that adventure. 

[Mfowl]

I sold some decoys once to a warden through the classifieds on here. I didn't know he was a warden until he pulled in to the boat ramp I  met him at. He acted like he was doing a game check at first which ended up being pretty funny in the end. 

[Bill W]

Like to give a shout out for retired officer Cal Tresser and current Officer Jason Day, officer Day is always willing to answer question a regardless of the day of the week  as happened yesterday when asked about a particular local lake not only did he answer the questions but provided additional information I did not think about. Can't speak about other officers but these two understand the uniqueness of living and working in a small community.

I'll throw in a vote for Treser also.  I've known him since 1974 back before his WDFW days.  Also, we have a number of good ones here in the Moses Lake area.

Bill W

[Jason]

Like to give a shout out for retired officer Cal Tresser and current Officer Jason Day, officer Day is always willing to answer question a regardless of the day of the week  as happened yesterday when asked about a particular local lake not only did he answer the questions but provided additional information I did not think about. Can't speak about other officers but these two understand the uniqueness of living and working in a small community.

I'll throw in a vote for Treser also.  I've known him since 1974 back before his WDFW days.  Also, we have a number of good ones here in the Moses Lake area.

Bill W

I met Cal Tresser up on the high hunt. Great guy, lots of good stories and he is a freaking Billy Goat.