Texas Game Warden Field Notes

High Speed Internship
A Mitchell County game warden and a Texas Parks and Wildlife summer intern were on patrol late one evening when they heard radio traffic about a subject in the neighboring county firing shots from his vehicle. Nolan County authorities attempted to pull the subject over, which resulted in a multi-agency pursuit. The subject drove into Mitchell County where the Department of Public Safety set up a spike strip; the game warden and intern were set up about 200 yards away from the spikes. The subject was then taken into custody. After the pursuit, authorities began a search for a pistol that was tossed out of the window by the subject; and found it two days later. Speeds during the pursuit ranged from 45 mph to 110 mph. The incident was a result of a family disturbance.

Size Matters
Game wardens from Freestone and Anderson County were patrolling Cedar Creek Lake in Henderson County for water safety and fishing violations when they saw four people fishing from a boat. When the wardens got closer to the boat, they saw a stringer of catfish in the water, and a couple of them seemed to be undersized. The fisherman said they normally fish on Lake Palestine, which has no minimum length on channel or blue catfish. The wardens informed them that the standard length is 12-inch minimum for channel and blue catfish on Cedar Creek. One citation was issued.

BWI on Lake Austin
Four Travis County game wardens were patrolling Lake Austin when they stopped a vessel for a water safety inspection. During the inspection, one of the wardens noticed that the operator showed signs of being intoxicated, so they instructed him to board the patrol boat. After leading the subject though a series of float tests, the wardens saw that the boat contained several empty beer cans. The operator was transported to the shore for a field sobriety test and then taken to the Travis County jail for boating while intoxicated.

Alcohol and Water Don’t Really Mix
A Sabine County game warden was on patrol on Sam Rayburn Reservoir when he saw a boat moving though a restricted area. The warden made contact with the vessel and conducted a water safety inspection. During the inspection, a strong odor of alcohol was coming from the operator. The operator refused on-the-water tests, but he did agree to go to the bank for a field sobriety test, which he failed. The subject was arrested for boating while intoxicated.

Too Many Catfish

Freestone and Anderson County game wardens were patrolling Cedar Creek Lake in Henderson County when they saw two people fishing on a boat. The wardens approached the vessel and asked how the fish were biting. One of the fisherman said, “Not too good, just a few chicken heads.” One of the wardens began to count and measure the catfish that were in the two coolers onboard and found that one of the coolers held 10 undersized catfish and that they were two fish over the 25-fish bag limit. The other cooler contained three undersize catfish and was 14 over the bag limit. Each individual was issued a citation for undersize catfish and for exceeding the bag limit. One subject also received a citation for no fishing license. The illegal fish were confiscated and donated.

And with the Zebra Mussels conspiracy going on, Texas Parks and Wildlife director has signed an Emergency Order adding the West Fork of the Trinity River to the list of water bodies under special regulations to help control the spread of Zebra Mussels, which includes Lake Bridgport, Eagle Mountain, and Worth. It’s inevitable… the Zebra has made it’s way to North Texas!