a couple of buddys of mine were stopped on the water last week around baffin bay and checked by the game warding. they had 2 keeper reds and 14 legal trout. the boat was all legal. game warding checked everything on the boat and all coolers. my buddys felt as if they had done something wrong their self. i guess they felt like they were criminals by the way they were treated. so my question is,what rights do TPWD have?

The game wardens are one of the most powerful law enforcement agencies out there. Most LEO's will need probable cause to search your belongings, but a GW does not. He can search your entire boat and come onto your property without a warrant. They not only look for illegal game, but also to make sure your safety gear is up to par. They perform a needed service to make sure everyone is following the laws so that we will have many years of nature to enjoy. I have been checked several times by the wardens and it is just part of hunting and fishing.

i've been checked a couple of time myself with no problems. it's no big deal too me. i told my buddys the same thing you just said and they though i was crazy????? thanks

Game wardens perform a very valuable service for the State of Texas. Their dedication to duty is to be commended and when we see them we should all thank them for the job they are doing.

If it were not for them, our lakes and bays would be overrun with all sorts of people doing all sorts of things they shouldn't be doing.

It's a dangerous job and one that deserves all sorts of appreciation and thank yous! Do what the State says you need to do to be on the water, do not try to take more game or fish than what the book says and you have nothing to worry about.

Just be glad they are there, and next time you see one of them, tell them you appreciate the job they are doing.

iridered, you're buddies should be happy that the game wardens check out their boat. I'm always happy to see them in my area, and always welcome them on board. I offer sodas to any warden/rangers that I come into contact with. They are there for US. Without them, your buddies would not have 2 keeper reds, and 14 trout on board. They protect what we fish for, and have to deal with angry fishermen that think they are pests all day long.

Be safe, be legal, and catch the fish they are providing us with.

TB

I say they do a great job ,in most places..The outdoors could not survive without them...
Just like policemen on the highways.. If they weren't there ,
no one but a fool would drive a car Or Boat..
We really need more of them..some to check the drunks at LL and one in every parking lot on every lake...

your right about the drunks. yesterday,me and my son rode the bikes too the local boat ramp and there were 3 guys putting their boat in the water and all 3 were drunker then all hell! that would have been a good one for the GW! i understand this very well. my wife lost a friend many years ago in a boating accident. i know someone that almost lost a arm to a prop!lucky man, if you ask me!! thanks guys for the replys

I was visited by a Warden yesterday (Sunday) while Kayaking. He stopped by to tell me the lake was under a wind and lightning advisory and to stay close to shore so I could get to saftey quickly if the weather turned bad. I thought that was cool.

Man, yall really have a mancrush on the wardens. Sure they do a necessary job and I applaud that, but any way you cut it they are legally getting around the constitution and the whole illegal search and seizure....I think it's pretty sad that they can board your boat, look in everything/everywhere they want to and you have no rights within the law.

Your buddies felt as they had done something wrong because they were treated like criminals.

Again, I respect the vast majority of the job that they do, but if you have run across as many of them as I have (never been cited or ticketed) and get the criminal treatment, it gets kind of old...

They have alot of power. Give them a bad attitude and your going to get a worse one back. I have been checked many times, no tickets. Glad they are there. After the check I/we offer a DR Pepper or bottled water and then ask for a fishing report. NO problems ever.

Remember Operation Gamethief. It works for drunks also. 1-800-792-4263. I have no problem getting those fools off the water before they kill themselves or someone else.

I think the legal explanation to this is that when you fish or hunt in public, you are impliedly consenting to search because wild game belongs to the State Of Texas. The State has every legal right to regulate it's property. Where game is concerned, the State giveth, and the State taketh away!

Think about it...just by fishing or hunting, there IS a sort of probable cause. It is very different than other search and seizure situations.

Just a thought...

Texian,
I see what you are saying, and I understand your logic (property of the state) but the pure fact is the whole consitiution wasn't written with the clause "unless you are a gamewarden"...thats all I am saying.

Some of you guys on here are a little over the top on this..."put a game warden at every ramp?", "the outdoors couldn't survive without them" what are you thinking? That has to be one of the funniest things I have read on the internet, period, not to mention a fishing forum...

Give me game wardens over lake idiots any day. It's the only option other than carrying a rifle on the boat.

BTW: Before you start griping about search and seizure may I suggest a little research on the topic? I'm not busting your chops, but you are approaching this from a flawed perspective.

What game wardens do is quite constitutional. Check the WSA. Texas Penal code/Procedures would also be a good place to look.

game wardens are just as bad as the rest of the laws. they do not care about you or me, they only care about making money for themselves, and spending every dime of taxpayers money. just think of it this way, they work with every other law department inorder to "get arround" warrents and envading privicy. furthermore, it is an easy relaxing job that many people want b/c it has no skill requirements, there is nothing that i hate worse than public servents abusing their power and making the rest of us feel inferior, because we do not carry badges and guns to work. law is important, however, to quote ben franklin, "those who would sacrifice their freedoms inorder to gain security diserve neithor" p.s. the patriot act is the worst thing that you generation x-ers ever allowed to happen to this country, so you brought it on yourselves... and the fishing is better in mexico