if they try to make conversation
they are looking for something

Could be that he's just an avid fisherman that's considering buying a live scope and wanted to know what you thought of it. The folks who are worried about them "looking" for something when they are making conversation are most likely hiding something that they don't want found and, thus, want to cut the conversation as short as possible.

Disclaimer: This is just my opinion, based on experience.

We got cornered by a GW trying to launch at Naconiche. He blocked us while we were backing the boat in. He was oddly friendly for like 30 minutes just chatting it up. Never checked anything. Just had a million questions about the Yamaha SHO this was all at about 6pm in the summer he was killin our evening bite

He was passing the time while they were writing the ticket. If you had been legal he would have been gone in hot minute.

Maybe he "knows" your wife?

spend more times with the netters,,, keeping everything they catch from the bank on Fayette Lake ,, looking for tilapia,,
tearing up all the perch and bass beds,,

I've never received a warning from a game warden, and I've had a couple over the years. It's always a ticket.

Game wardens are just like everyone else. Some are friendly and others are straight forward and actually seem to hate the job. With the exception of one occasion, every warden I've ever dealt with was super nice. The one that wasn't checked us for everything in the boat. I mean EVERYTHING. Stuff I've never had a warden check. I stay pretty current on all the laws and knew we were good. After he'd basically done a total boat inspection, checked our licenses, etc., he seemed to be even more upset that he hadn't found anything. Just before leaving, he said, "I'm going to give u guys a break today, but there's another warden out here that's not so lenient and, if I were u, I'd go ahead and head out." I asked if there was something we were doing wrong and he never even turned around. Just got in his truck and left.

BTW, he actually flagged us down from the bank like a mad man. I'm talking about yelling, and waving his arms frantically like we might not see him even though we were within 20 feet off the bank and idling. We were in a creek off the Sulphur river scouting some public land for deer and were going under a bridge. I don't know. Maybe we were in his honey hole. Either way, it left a bad taste in my mouth and we never went back to White Oak Creek WMA again.

I'm fortunate in that while stationed at Sheppard AFB, Tx for 4 years, I was never checked for my fishing license. Same thing now in NY - never been checked for either and for good reason: the lakes I fish are way out of the way off backroads; the small river I fish doesn't have a boat launch and I fish way upstream; and the private lake I fish has no public ramp.

Been back in NY for 40 years and have never been checked. Course now I have my lifetime license and don't have to worry about anything except my boat and trailer registration and trailer inspection.

No one in my fish & game club has been checked as far as I know, but recently I just found out about a boat-safety certification all boat owners or drivers with gas or electric motors must have proof of or get a ticket. This supposedly began in Jan. 2020 without warning of any kind. I'd be curious how many got fined or warned and found not to have proof of certification.
The whole thing sounds like B.S. to me and another way for the state to make money. In my mind you either know how to drive a boat safely or you never will. And those that don't give a d.^&*, will still drive like the same a.holes you see all the time driving on roads - safety course or not.

As far as the initial post, I would have asked the warden if I was going to be ticketed - no small talk necessary. If I'm legal, you're wasting my time; if not, get it over with. (BTW, In my opinion, protection should be based on biological surveys to determine a fishery's health. It never happens, so why generalize limits to all waters especially those rarely fished?)

I also found out recently that I was breaking the law by bringing fish from another water to my manmade pond. The law states that no fish will be transported from one water to another - NO EXCEPTIONS. (I stocked the pond 15 years ago via permit and with fishery fish.) The reason for the law: diseased fish from one water will infect fish in another. (How many fish have you caught that ever had any sign of disease? Not me!

If I'm ever asked what I'm going to do with the legal fish in my livewell, no matter how small the pan fish are, I'm going to say. " I'm - not - sure". - We good?!

I received a warning on Fork for a 9-7/8" crappie.
He gave me a lesson how to measure a fish. I just listened and kept my mouth shut. I only kept it because it was bleeding. Just a verbal warning. Wife got a warning on Texoma for registration card minutes after launching. It was in the boat but she had no idea where.

Fond memories fishing Lake Texoma.

Guess it was better for that dying crappe to die of natural causes such as letting it die a slow death rather than make use of it. Of not an issue is keeping bass in a livewell for 5 hours regardless the damage to the slime coat after being mishandled then weighed in in a dry bucket and then released. Guess the state doesn't consider that an issue nor the possibility that a bass virus may be in livewell water kept from another water.
I'm not against tournament fishing (did it for years) but it seems the state's priorities when it comes to protection are a bit misguided and more in line with fines/ tickets than real protection.

It's always all about the Benjamin's. The more money they bring in the faster they advance.

Maybe, just maybe they were doing their jobs.

You don't say?

Well I had a good experience with one of the game wardens there last week... cant remember his name but we talked awhile as it was after dark and one of the last ones still loading up, never asked for my license, just asking about the fishing and mentioned he was going to check me on the water but I was so far back up the creek he didnt bother. Told him that was the only place I was getting bit. I never saw him.