Behind the Badge - A Rather Unsuccessful Lie
A Rather Unsuccessful Lie
District Game Warden Connor Folkers
In June of this year, I was patrolling Tobacco Gardens Marina to see if fishing was picking up on the west end of Lake Sakakawea.
It was a weekday, so the boat ramp wasn’t too busy when I drove by.
I noticed a couple of vehicles on the north end of the bay, which is an area known for shore fishing.
I drove up to the vehicles and looked over the ledge to see two men fishing.
One man was directly below me and another man was about 100 yards away.
I walked over to the stairs to walk down to the shore and watched one guy at the point throw his hands forward and I watched a fishing rod hit the water. I kept that in my mind as I walked down to talk with the first guy who had been fishing.
I contacted the first male (Jason) who had his fishing rod in his hands and had some crappie on a stringer.
I asked if the other guy down the shore had been fishing and he stated he was unsure, but he did know the guy from work.
I then asked Jason for his fishing license. Jason did not have a fishing license and was unsure where to buy one. I told him he could purchase one on the North Dakota Game and Fish website.
I grabbed his ID and walked down to the other male (Daniel).
As I was walking over to Daniel, who had thrown his rod in the water, I noticed he had his hands in his pockets and was just standing around and observing the lake.
I asked Daniel how fishing was and if he had caught anything.
Daniel stated he wasn’t fishing and that he was just hanging out with his friend.
I noticed there was a small tackle box next to Daniel and a bobber was sticking out of the water approximately 20 feet in front of where he was standing.
I asked him why he threw his rod in the water and he said he didn’t and was not fishing.
I told him the incident was recorded on my body camera and I did in fact see him throw his rod in the water.
Daniel was in disbelief and stated “oh you seen me?” Daniel then stated he threw his rod in the water because it was broken and figured that was a good excuse.
I clarified that he was littering. Daniel denied littering and switched up his story again saying he was fishing.
Daniel was able to retrieve his rod from the water with a stick. The rod was in fact not broken.
Daniel also did not have a fishing license as one can assume for someone who decided to throw their fishing rod in the water once they saw the game warden.
I cited both men for fishing without licenses.
I can say it only took me five years into my career to actively watch someone throw their rod in the water once they saw me.
Usually, people place their rods on the ground and walk away or deny the whole time that they were fishing but this one made me laugh for sure.