I get stopped quite often while fishing. Never had a ticket or a problem. I had one cut me some slack when I was teaching my girlfriend to cast an open faced reel. She had no license and had never fished before. He let it go and told me not to spill my beer when I took off.
I can count on one hand the times I’ve been checked while hunting. I did get to meet a federal warden September first 2002 and he was one of the biggest pricks I’ve ever been around. He found something to write everyone a ticket for. He even broke the plug in my gun by jamming a third shell into it.

I've had encounters with GWs from Alaska, New Mexico, and Texas. As of yet, all have been positive and enjoyed talking with them. The GW from New Mexico even told me where he's been seeing a few bucks that I might be able to get on. It was good info.

Glad your visit with the GW went well. I have been checked so many times I have lost count, both hunting and fishing. Never have received a ticket as I have always been legal to the best of my knowledge. We got a warning while dove hunting in Red River County as someone in the group decided to clean all of the doves and put them in an ice chest without keeping them separated. The warden could have given each of us a ticket, but he checked the total number (we were way under the limit for 8 people) and he let us off with a verbal warning.

Ive only had one that started negative, but turned positive at the end without so much as a warning issued even though he was in his rights to cite me.

We used to fish Lake Conroe a lot. This was a family thing, darned near every weekend we would set jugs and then rod an reel for cats. It was really fun to hook on a blue cat that would pull jugs underwater and then pop up 10 to 50 yards away.

One night, we decided to jug what we named "Constable's cove" in Lake Conroe. This is where the Precinct 2 Constable and the Game Wardens dock their boats.

Constable's Cove

It got late, so we left the jugs to soak overnight and returned in the morning around 6-ish. Sure 'enuff, there was the Game Warden pulling my jugs out of the water. I idled up to him and I could see the disgusted look on his face and he started chewing me out for putting jugs in his cove. Then he pointed out to me something about my name not on the jugs. I told him I just switched out the foam and honestly forgot to do that requirement. I'm glad I still had all the old foams and they had my name and date, and I showed one to him. Other gripes I recall were that he didnt want line in his prop, I had the whole lake to fish, etc. At this point I'm sure I was still getting a ticket.

Then he started bellyaching about some jackwad who came in the cove drunk and was playing slolum with my jugs. That's when I shot up and asked him if I helped get a BWI off the water. As much as it pained him, he laughed, and gave me my new jugs back.

Shortly after that they put up signs prohibiting fishing in the cove.

I got hassled once by a couple of Mounties on the Boundary Waters 20 years ago. Canadians suck at playing the heavy. It was hard to keep a straight face.

I have ALWAYS had positive encounters with GW's and have always held them in the highest esteem. It is their duty and responsibility to protect our states wonderful wildlife...if not for them, there would be no wildlife for future generations. I've never received a ticket but if I did I'm sure I would deserve it.

The only time I've even been spoken to sternly/domineering by one was when we were fishing on the Welder Ranch near Victoria. The Welders are one of the primary early pioneering ranch families in South Texas and have substantial land holdings. Pat Welder wasn't with us at the time but had given us access and permission to fish. Once the GW had ascertained that, his demeanor totally changed but he never stepped out of line, was just stern and wanted to make sure we were permitted to be there..

I have only had one encounter with a GW here in TX and I initiated it. I watched a lady hit a doe with her truck near Chandler, TX and I called the sheriff about salvaging her. Sheriff's dept called the game warden, fellow named Brandon, and he got ahold of me and asked what happened. I explained it and over the phone he gave me permission to load her up and he when I told him i lived in Athens he said that was where he was and he asked me to meet him at the Walmart parking lot. Met him and he issued me a salvage certificate. Henderson County only allowed you to take does over a 4 day period and this was outside that time frame but the season was still open. The paper he gave me allowed me to take the doe to a processor without a tag. I cut all my own meet so I really didn't need it but it covered me in case someone got nosy about the deer. So, my experience was positive.

However I grew up in CO and out local game warden was a real prick.

I have never had a bad encounter with a game Warden.

I have had many encounters with game wardens. I met one 30 yrs. ago and was somewhat a friend and he was dedicated to his job. I saw him on the river many times where we would talk for an hour or more. Now he is retired ..his kids grown and we still talk when we see one another. GW s are just people friends and neighbors. Some let their power go too far but most I have met are folks that love their job and like people. That is most important...I have never gotten a ticket..I try to follow the laws of the state and the rules of the deer lease. We just have too few of them and need more.

I make sure I'm always following the law and I've never gotten a ticket. My FIL works at a place where several county's GWs have a local hub to store boats and equipment and kind of operate out of. I've ran into many of them when I'm over there fishing or hunting and they've all been stand up guys.

The only negative I've had was with a Dallas County warden several years ago - we were hunting dove at one of the public dove only places in Rockwall County - he wanted to argue that hunter orange is required for hunting dove on public - which it is very clear that it is not required not only in the outdoor annual, but also the APH booklet on the dove only APH places. He may have been new at the time - he was with several other wardens and they pulled him to the side and he never admitted he was wrong - but he also didn't give a ticket or warning. I had hunted 100s of times out there since I was 16 - been checked probably 30-40 times by LeRoy and never had a problem. Been checked since then by other wardens there and also have never had a problem. He was hard up to write a ticket I guess. That's my only negative experience.

In the 80s I had some property west of Weatherford and they had an old game warden that would check me every time he knew I was dove hunting. 6 times in one season on my property. He was an old guy and not pleasant.
Since then I have never had anything but great experiences with game wardens. There are several that I consider friends.
They are some of the most versatile and important LEO people in the state.

Erath Warden is Michael Hummert. Met him a few times checking guys at our lease in Erath. Pleasant and professional. They were in our camp opening morning and he had a warden from Tarrant County with him. Nice guy as well. I have his cell # as well as Operation Game Thief saved to my phone just in case. Never know when you might need their services, report a knucklehead that thinks they are above the law with wildlife resources or just have a general question of clarification with TPWD rules. Game Warden Phone; HUMMERT, MICHAEL: 254-485-1520

About 20 years ago ,my boss and I were crow calling and shooting on a property owned by another friend, the new game warden stopped and checked us, all good. That night him and his captain came to my house and said they had found a dead hawk where we were shooting. I called BS but got a ticket. I told them we would meet in court to settle this. They said if I fought them they would bring in Feds because of a agreement with Mexico and ravens. Ticket cost me 480 and cost them 20 years of me buying $100 worth of Texas license. The older wardens were for the most good guys and I was close friends with a few but the new ones are badge heavy a$$holes. Everybody they meet is guilty even if you never violated any laws. My 2cents worth

Had many good encounters, one weekend of awful ones over 30 years ago. Landowner and the GW had some sort of feud going and the GW took it out on us by basically checking us multiple times per day we hunted. He would hit every blind between 7-8:30 am, come back around noon, then again between 4:30pm and dark. Then one more in the evening. I’ll never forget it.

On the same ranch years later had one get pretty mad at us for how many aoudad we were taking but the landowner wanted them all gone. We killed over 50 that weekend.

Was one incredible place with more animals than I’ve ever seen on a low fenced place. A divorce in that family lost me any access about 20 years ago and I still miss it very much.

All of my local GW’s have been great resources and friends. As someone else said, there’s nothing to worry about if you’re not doing anything wrong. The laws aren’t that hard to follow and are very fair in my opinion....well, other than AR’s. AR’s have ruined my deer herd.

Our game wardens have a gate code to enter the ranch at any time. I don't lease any properties, but on the main ranch they like to get up on several hills during deer season to look for spot lighters on back roads miles away. They work in tandem. I am told one spots them, one stops them. Another nice thing, it is worth it to have law enforcement presence at any time way out in the boonies.

I had the good fortune to become friends with a man named Lawson (Buddy) Turner who worked his way up the ladder (Lt. Commander Warden) at TPWD before he retired. Operation Game Thief was his baby. The man is a straight shooter with integrity and a great sense of humor. He started in 1971 and retired around 2008. He rotated around various districts North, South, East, and West so some of you may have encountered him if you are old enough.

The stories that he told me over a 10 year period really educated me on what they have to deal with.

Marc

Most game wardens are pretty good guys. Most I have ran across were just doing their job.

I think a lot depends on what part of the state. When I lived in South Texas from late 70's to early 90's the game wardens I ran across could piss off a dead person. I think a lot of that had to do with all the big ranches and poaching that went on back then in South Texas. Some of the game wardens were not treated well by many of the locals back then.

Getting stopped by a game warden back then hunting in South Texas or bass fishining on Choke Canyon or Lake Corpus Chrisit was not pleasent. I had one check me fishing a bass tournament on Lake Corpus Christi and insisted he had to measue an 18 inch fish and dropped it back in the lake and tried make it out like an accident. Cost me a check in a tournament. He was full blooded prick. Same for getting checked while dove hunting. It didnt take me long to figure out when I took my birds out of my bag I better make sure they were away from the other guys when the game warden started counting, better not line them all up in a row next to your buddy, go figure.

Not all of the game wardens in South Texas were on the up and up. We had one that was fired for poaching a deer on the king ranch. It didnt help his wifes Taxidermy business, his wife had a Taxidermy shop in Kingsville. A guy at the plant I worked with n Corpus was a GW that was fired, but not for poaching. He was fired for getting caught having sex on the beach while working (padre island), which didnt go over well with his wife to say the least. He was not the only one, the GW with him was fired too, they haf a foursome going on and Padre beach patrol drove up, saw was going on and reported them. Probably jeolous he didn't get any!!!

most of my encounters have been well received ...

dove hunting outside of San Angelo, 110° and I was out in the middle of an old cut milo field but the other 6-7 hunters in my group were all up along a mesquite tree line trying to get some shade. GWs came strolling thru the group checking licenses and game bags, telling each that don't shoot in the west direction, there are homes over there and they were getting complaints about pellets in their yards. Everyone in our group (minus me) said they weren't shooting in that direction, to which the GWs said yeah, we know, we've been watching ya'll for about an hour with binoculars. The last one along the tree line asked the GW aren't you gonna go check our other person out there (pointing to me) to which the GW said "heck no, we aren't gonna walk out in the middle of that field in 110° heat and we know he only has about 6 birds so far".

I’ve probably had 30+ encounters over the years. Most go well, but there’s no denying a few are just flat out jerks just like in any other profession. Our old lease wasn’t far from the academy and you could count on a newbie doing a ride along/first field run. Typically the older mentor was polite and respectful while the new mr green jeans would ransack our coolers , bags, truck beds trying to find his first ticket opportunity. I’ve also had a run in with a federal GW and that’s just a different breed. Other than a warning for fishing without a license on the morning of my 17th birthday, I’ve never had a ticket, but I’ve learned to just be polite, answer yes sir and no sir and let them go on their way.

Only had a few encounters and no issues except the one that scared the life out of me and a friend. We were up at out family place in Bosque Co on the late 80's. I was only 20. A friend and I were up there in out cabin playing video games around midnight in December. Warden pulled in quietly with n lights and started banging on our door. Our place was miles from a road so we couldn't imagine who it was. He said had been reports of spotlighters in the area and he was checking all the camps. He checked our truck to see if it was warm from driving around and looked around for any deer. He stayed about 15 mins asked if we had seen/heard anything and left.Was super nice once he didnt think we were up to no good. Scared the crap out of both of us but no harm done. Had to be kind of scary for the warden knocking on random places late at night.Ill never forget that night though lol

Someone mentioned Fed. GW. I guess it was 1973-74 I was about 17-18, was hunting with a friend and his father on public land what I thought was state land in Oklahoma, but some of it must have been Fed. too. Mid morning we were waiting at the truck on a dirt road for his father to make it back to the truck. So we could go to town and eat. My gun was in the truck, my orange we had to wear etc. was in the truck. I was standing in the road by the truck. Fed GW came skidding in, jumped out and started chewing my arse for not having orange on. I said we are about to leave, just waiting on one more to make it back to the truck. This Fed GW was pissed and rasing all kinds of hell about me not having my orange on and said he was going to write me a ticket for a fedral violation I was polite but said, we aren't in the field hunting. We are about to drive off and leave. About that time my friends dad comes out of the brush and says whats the problem, who just happened to be a preacher. This pissed off Fed GW starts in on him for letting us walk around with no orange on. He laid in to that Fed GW, I thought we were all going to get a ticket. He told him, you write us all a ticket for setting on a country road in the truck about to drive off. See if you can make that stick and watch you lauguage around these boys I am a man of God and will not tolorate it or your behavior. So, Fed GW starts to walk off, preacher man say, no no buddy. I want to know who your supervisior is and what office your work out of. Your not going to come up here and use profanity in front of these boys just because you can. I don't think the fedral government maintains this county road. Fed GW jumped in his car and drove off. I guess he figured it wouldnt look real good for a baptist preacher to walk into his bosses office and complain. Its been a long time ago, but I remember that guy was a piece of work.

I bet there’s more than just me that miss Vance Flowers in Mills Co.

The current warden in Comanche county is a great guy. Shout out Kirk Hornsby.

Hamilton county warden is an Aggie, Whoop!

But I’ve got a friend with an A&M degree that has applied 4 times and never got into the academy. Real shame too because I believe he would be an excellent warden. I’m one of his references and go through the questionnaire with a warden every time he applies. He was in the same classes with Wei Wei....yet she’s a Lonestar Law celebrity and he can’t even get into the academy. Never have been able to figure that out.

I’ve ridden alongside a warden several nights. I highly recommend a ride-along if the opportunity presents itself. At times I was handed a flashlight and went in right behind him in the dark - if it was public property. Also was right alongside him and all other county law enforcement while looking for a missing person/possible overdose. The warden I rode with is no longer a warden. He dealt with some wild stuff - some was warden stuff and some personal. That’s all I have to say about that.

Have encountered them a number of times. They were friendly, professional and then went on their way.

Me too

After 50+ years hunting, I’ve seen both