Well after going an entire day without BFC, I was forced to get my bowfishing fix on the lake last night… My throttle cables froze up we were limited to just the outboard for the night. We unloaded and started fishing just around the corner from the ramp, immediately we were on fish, suckers, shad, several commons, and a snapper or two…
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Well after getting way back in the end of the cove, we got stuck on a mud bar… after trying to get off the bar we hopped off the back of the boat and pushed ourselves off, knocking the stern light out in the process. We were cold and wet, and decided to fish it back to the ramp and call it a night. About 50 yards from the ramp I saw the game warden headed towards us with his flashlight…
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He explained that he had a call from a local, that we were throwing nets and catching fish, and that he had been sitting there watching us since we were stuck on the mud bar over an hour ago…He went through the normal stuff, license, registration, insurance, boater’s safety card, life jackets, throw cushion, fire extinguisher, we were good to go! He checked the fish bucket, gave me a run through making sure I knew the game laws on turtles, “which I did”. Then he asked repeatedly if any of us had been drinking, we told him no…no one had had anything to drink all night other than Mt. Dew or water! He then informed me that he was going to write me a citation for no stern light; I explained to him that we had just broken it while pushing the boat out of the mud. He said it didn’t matter, even though we had 4 400 HPS’s on the bow, we were still a hazard and could be mistaken for something else or missed all together! He wrote me a $200 ticket for no stern light, and explained to me several times that I “didn’t have to appear”. I then explained to the “new guy” that I was very good friends with the head lake ranger, and his boss there at the Game and Fish, and that I’d gladly be in court, just to show how stupid he made himself look!
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So we need to keep BFC online…it got me a ticket!!!
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Well after getting way back in the end of the cove, we got stuck on a mud bar… after trying to get off the bar we hopped off the back of the boat and pushed ourselves off, knocking the stern light out in the process. We were cold and wet, and decided to fish it back to the ramp and call it a night. About 50 yards from the ramp I saw the game warden headed towards us with his flashlight…
*
He explained that he had a call from a local, that we were throwing nets and catching fish, and that he had been sitting there watching us since we were stuck on the mud bar over an hour ago…He went through the normal stuff, license, registration, insurance, boater’s safety card, life jackets, throw cushion, fire extinguisher, we were good to go! He checked the fish bucket, gave me a run through making sure I knew the game laws on turtles, “which I did”. Then he asked repeatedly if any of us had been drinking, we told him no…no one had had anything to drink all night other than Mt. Dew or water! He then informed me that he was going to write me a citation for no stern light; I explained to him that we had just broken it while pushing the boat out of the mud. He said it didn’t matter, even though we had 4 400 HPS’s on the bow, we were still a hazard and could be mistaken for something else or missed all together! He wrote me a $200 ticket for no stern light, and explained to me several times that I “didn’t have to appear”. I then explained to the “new guy” that I was very good friends with the head lake ranger, and his boss there at the Game and Fish, and that I’d gladly be in court, just to show how stupid he made himself look!
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So we need to keep BFC online…it got me a ticket!!!
