Help STOP THE HASSEL, on the water or at the ramp !!!

I'm new the the TFF and not real sure where to post this...Here is the first scenario, after working all week you’re finally out doing some fishing, and as you’re quietly angling down the bank getting closer to that spot where you always catch a fish and you hear the roar of a boat coming at ya…it’s the TPWD patrol and he wants to check safety equipment…AGAIN. This used to happen every weekend down at Choke Canyon Res. and it was always the same dude - always polite, and I would say “you checked me last weekend” and he would reply “I have to check everyone”…CRAZY!!! Scenario number two, your trying to get off the lake and you tie your expensive bass rig to the dock and then while trying to get to your truck-n-trailer to avoid your rig being bashed into the dock by boat wakes from people who don’t understand the term “No Wake”, the TPWD or local law dog suddenly appears and has to check your safety equipment immediately - even though your leaving for the day ! I know I’m not the only one dealing with this type of unnecessary harassment…there is a solution and it’s a simple one, other states have a sticker they give the boater following a safety inspection and the boater places the sticker on their consol so for the rest of the year the water patrol knows you passed the inspection already and don’t need to waste everyone’s time…AGAIN… I have already talked to TPWD in Austin and if more people would call them it could make a difference, otherwise the hassles will continue…nobody likes bureaucracy but in this case it would be good… Any thoughts ???

I for one welcome any and all inspections by TPWD. Their presence on the water only keep the drunks and DumpArses off the water.

If you have everything in order it only takes a couple of minutes and they are off.

As far as I'm concerned, the TPWD can't spend enough time doing inspections.

The next time you are so put out, just remember, a boat inspection may save a child's life.

They are welcome on my boat anytime, anyplace! I, nor anyone, should have a problem with being checked. "what if" they didnt check that ONE person and he/she ended up running thier boat into a bridge pillar while drunk, and caused catastrophic damage killing many people while the bridge collapsed? Just a thought to ponder......

TPWD can check me, my boat or my vehicle any time they so choose.

TPWD can check me, my boat or my vehicle any time they so choose.

Also excellent source for a recent fishing report !!!!

coast guard aux used to do a spot check at some of the places we launched, funny how only me and one other boat got there safety stickers, and an hour later, the rest of the boats all got ticketed for something. Its like the seat belt law, we all griped about it, but now it is habit, so i think we just need to get used to being checked and carrying everything we are supposed to have.

Check me please, the last couple of bigger fish have been in front of Game Wardens.

Along those lines, what are the required things to have in your boat when they check? I have all the stuff in my boat required from before I moved to TX but probably should make sure I have everything you need here...I've never checked.

thanks

I have no problem with being checked. You got nothing to hide you have nothing to hide. I also agree with KCFISH'n's post. I think the sticker is a good idea. We all have to have an inspection sticker on our cars/trucks every year right? Why not one for the boat. A sticker like this would let the officers know that this guy is usually in compliance and my efforts might be better used on other matters or checking other violators.

I for one think it is a good way to maximize the resource, they are spread thin, so we are told, and if this be the case it would make the regular boater/fisherman who frequents the lakes and fisheries less of a target. Is it a big hassle to be checked? IMO, no it is not and I don't mind it, however if a process can be streamlined, why not do it?

Good post KCFISH'n

Here ya go:
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/boat/safety/vessel_requirements/

Check me all you want.............

quick and dirty- USCG approved throw cushion, a life jacket for each person in the boat, a CHARGED/good fire extinguiser, fishing licenses, working horn, good to carry a whistle too- you can get them very cheap at walmart and put them on the boat keychain. darkness- you need a bow and a stern light.

when you see them coming, you can pull all this stuff out so the check only takes 1-2 minutes........

They missed a golden opportunity Sunday morning to generate some income. I was fishing outside Jordan Park at 5:30 AM and saw boat after boat roar out of there in pretty much total darkness without any lights whatsoever. I thought to myself they need to set up there and hassle these rocket scientists before they kill somebody.

Well, as I'm sure you've seen from most of the replies to your post, people here on the TFF do like a bureacracy, as long as it's the TPWD. Remember comrade, if you've got nothing to hide, you've got no reason not to be checked!

Agree with most of the above, but add that more livewell inspections are needed, have seen alot of folks with illegal catches at the ramps, usually in an alum John boat( get the drift). Call the game theft number but they are usuall long gone by the tme anyone shows up. I wish there were more patrol on the waters.

Micropterus makes a good point, don't forget to be watching your neighbors and turning them in when you see any evidence of law breaking!

WOW !! thanks for all the replies…and I think I may have been misunderstood, I do not have a problem getting checked for safety equipment - once !!!, I think it can and does save lives, I moved here from N.E.Ohio ( and I’m not going back !!!LOL ), and grew up fishing and running my bass boat on Lake Erie, and the safety equipment we were required to carry and I still carry was far more than is required here on the inland lakes…all I’m saying is that it would be beneficial for the angler and would make better use of the officers time if there was a visible sticker that could be checked from a distance while we’re fishing or when trying to load or unload at the ramp, they look see the safety inspection sticker and move on…if the officer has to deal with a already compliant boater they may miss a non-compliant boater…

Sorry I disagree as well,,, I prefer to see the Game Wardens on the lakes checking boats over for safety.

My wife and I have seen too many boats out there over loaded and not a life jacket in sight..

Besides, the last two times I got checked the fishing picked up right after they!!! :-)

Sorry but the sticker is a dumb idea. Just because you have a sticker saying you have all the required equipment at the time of the inspection doesn't mean you won't lose a PFD, or put one in a different boat, or have someone "borrow" one without you knowing and not have enough for everyone on board. Your throwable device could blow out of the boat, the list could go on and on. Your fire extinguisher may be good when it's initally inspected but they don't stay good forever. Someone may die because of that. After that happens the GW's spend countless hours and days dragging the lake for the dead.

The Texas Water Safety Act gives GW's and MSEO's the right to inspect anytime, so deal with it. If you have everything in order you've lost 2-3 minutes out of you day. You can call Austin til your blue in the face but nothing will change.

Sorry but we don't care how Ohio does it, this is Texas...

I agree, I like to see the water cop's keeping the peace on the water too that is not the point, they will still be out there stopping people and upholding the law - they'll just have the ability to leave boaters alone who do keep safety first and get the sticker and keep all the necessary equipment onboard - all the time...it is the responsibility of the "captain" to have everything necessary "by law" for the safety of all he takes on his/her vessel - period !!! I'm a tournament fisherman with 25plus years of experience fishing the Great Lakes, Tidal Rivers up and down the East Coast and all kinds inland lakes and reservoirs, so I have to have all the correct equipment onboard or I can be disqualified or worse get me and my partner killed because my flairs expired and wouldn't work or some other mishap - it doesn't matter what state this is - boater safety is boater safety. All I'm saying is a simple sticker would "reduce" one of the hassles we as anglers have to deal with since as far as I know it's illegal to shoot jetskier's and discourteous boaters - but then again this is Texas...LOL

All your points are well received - thanks for the input.

sticker is not a bad idea but what if you went left something at home like lifejackets and didn't notice till you need them. i've do it more than once. even left the boat key at home once. double check isn't a bad thing

okay, so here we have a dilemma for everyone and the man with the "safety sticker" as there can always be the little "Opp's I forgot something" issue - this question goes out to the guy's who think the safety sticker is a bad idea, let's say for the sake of arguing you passed inspection the last time out and you have the safety sticker and today you forgot a life jacket what would you do ? head out on the lake and know your not going to get checked and risk your friend/family or remedy the situation ? simple if home is too far head to the nearest Wally World located in most towns around most of the lakes in this country to get what was left at home, sunscreen - cold drink - life jacket, etc. come on guy's this is not a hard concept...the idea of the sticker does not mean leave your brain at home - remember having all the correct in working order safety equipment is FOR YOUR PERSONAL SAFETY - having the simple safety sticker would just eliminate a little hassle - and hassle free fishing is good fishing...

I don't mind the "hassle". It keeps me on my toes and makes me make sure everything is in order before I go out. I welcome being checked. There is never more than 2 in my boat, but I carry 5 life jackets and 2 throwables and have 2 fire ext. All papers and license are there so I don't mind.

and that is a good thing that you and a lot of other folks don't mind, and I understand that the time it takes for them to do an inspection is really not that long, and it's nice to see them earning their pay, the "rub" I have is I fish a lot !!! usually several times during the week and usually both weekend day's on many lakes from Dallas to south Texas so by mid year I'm "safety checked" out...

sorry guy's this "dead horse" has been beaten flat as a pancake...

Ok, I'll play.

You have your safety sticker and someone takes(steal, borrows, whatever) all the PFD's out of your boat. You have no idea until you're on the water because most people don't open the hatches to check before they take off. You're not going to leave and go to Wal Mart then, no way, the fish are bitin'. Game Warden passes by and sees "The Sticker", so he passes you by and goes on to unnecessarily harrass someone else(your words). You have a great time, catch fish until your arms hurt and then grandma is ready to go. So you take off across the lake and hit a stump you didn't see. Everyone flies out of the boat, grandma, grandpa and little Johnny and little Sally hit the water unconcious and drown. You were lucky and hang on to the boat until the Game Warden shows up. Aren't you glad you've got "The Sticker", you saved your self a little hassle.

Meanwhile the GW and many other GW's from surrounding counties have to go drag for your dead family. They get lucky and hook little Sally, Johnny and Grampa close to where they went down. Granma isn't as lucky, she got wedged under a log and finally popped up two weeks later. The GW's can finally go back to their duties.

I hate to be the one to rain on your sticker fantasy parade but the majority of people in the scenario you just proposed are going to be too lazy or stupid to rectify their problem. They would think Sticker=No check by the GW. People would die and that's a fact.

oh geeeezzzz here we go! LOL To each his own. Just wished they would bust tha jet fleas and people not abiding by tha NO WAKE ZONE. Hacks me off. I was at Meredith a while back and there was like three diff. patrol boats sitting all together talking out right at tha no wake zone and idiots were flyin in and out of tha zone, one a jet flea, tha others no boat drivin folks and they did nothing. I was like what tha heck! CRAZYYYYY

So let's say you go out to the front yard and hop in the car to go to Wally World. About half way there the police pull you over and say, I think I need to do a safety check on your car. The inspection sticker might not be valid and I need to check. Well, Hmm, Okay Osifer....Now on the way home the police pull you over and say, I think I need to do a safety check on your car. The inspection sticker might not be valid and I need to check. Well, Hmm, Okay Osifer....You get the point...The inspection stickers are to identify that you're vehicle has been reviewed and was safe in the last X number of months.

Just like everyone else I'm all for complete and total safety and monitoring, but as far as I know this type of "policing" doesn't happen anywhere else and I'm fairly sure no one would put up with it anywhere else.

Perry

well - first if the clan and grandma didn't put their PFD's on when they left the ramp to go fishing ( that's the time they would have noticed they were missing ) they wouldn't have been wearing them when you hit the stump/log/empty beer keg, etc... you can't stop stupidity - to use your words earlier I'll just have to "deal with it", thanks again

Agree 100% ..................................................
Those are PERIODS if you missed them
TPWD dudes ain't out there to hassel -

Someone tried to start this "sticker on my boat" business here on Canyon Lake. It never got started.... the GW take on is was the particular boat in question might have been "legal" at the time the sticker was recieved, but that was not guarantee that this boat was in compliance on subsequent outings. Makes sense to me. I have seen the GW's on Canyon Lake numerous times and have been checked quite a few times. In fact, I have gotten acquanted with a couple of them and now they just say hello and go on to the next boat.

with all the hypothetical scenarios being thrown around...the point is being missed here - being stopped for the same thing over and over...

Fact = currently all boats that venture out are subject to a safety inspection every single time they use the waterway's here in Texas.

Fact = state law requires all boaters have the required safety equipment on board any time the vessel is on the water - if not your braking the law and endangering all onboard. ( we won't even start talking about all the other rules and regulations that the majority of recreational boaters disregard like no wake zones, keeping a safe distance while waterskiing, being drunk and disorderly, etc..that safety inspections fail to stop!!! .)

Fact = having a sticker that shows the boater has met these requirements at the time of inspection does not mean they will be compliant for the remainder of the season. ( not arguing that at all, not for one second...( see the post from "SATopWater" regarding vehicles - the same consideration should be applied to boating, if you pass the vehicle inspection with the truck and a week later the brakes start fading your gunna get it fixed asap right - well the same mentality needs to be applied to the boat safety check )


Take heart all you guy's that enjoy showing all your safety gear over and over again to Mr. Gamewarden because even if a system was adopted like a "yearly safety inspection sticker" by the TPWD they could still stop by and visit you for licenses and creel information...just not to see your life jacket that should be out anyway !

God Bless and keep us ALL safe, while we enjoy His Great Outdoors !

Yes the point is being missed here...If you don't like the way it is administered go join the Lake Patrol or River Patrol or even better go apply to the Game Warden Academy, and administer it your way and see how it works. If you don't like that then go complain to your local state representative or congressman, being that they are the ones that make the laws and regulations.

You guys are right: No one could ever survive without the government looking over them to make sure they're safe. Besides, it's the law and we should never question or riddicule the laws, they're here for OUR protection. I for one only wish that there were enough government agents to make us all safe, all the time, but unfortunately I'm afraid that's a dream I may never see fulfilled. Until then, be the game warden's eyes and ears for him, call on ANYONE who you suspect of breaking ANY law at ANY time.

I like the sticker idea. I, too, don't like being hassled by the MAN. I compare it to the inspection sticker on your vehicle. What if everytime we went on the road the cops pulled us over for an inspection? I abide by the boater regulations. I don't need the game warden wasting his time and mine checking my boat out.