Positive Experience on the Lake with the DNR

[Dragonsm]

I appreciate the moments when I can get out on the water with my daughter who is 3. Even if I don't catch a thing or even get a line wet, I definately would take a day like that over a day without her out there.

Today was the first time she ever questioned her PFD on why she had to wear it....(I wear an inflatable) and she was getting a little warm. I told her she had to wear it in case she fell overboard...it would keep her floating.

No sooner than about 15 minutes after my conversation, a boat pulled up with two DNR officials in it and asked to see our licenses, pfds, and throwables. My daughter was on hte floor watching a movie at the time and stood up proud as can be showing them her pfd. They gave her praise for wearing it and even gave her a certificate for a free ice cream cone to dairy queen. (Never knew they did that) It was a nice "touch" on making a point of always wearing a pfd.

After a little chatter, they went on there way. I always read the "negative" comments about them, however they were very nice, down to earth all while doing their job.

Never got their names, but it was on Maple Lake in Wright County. They made a great impression on my daughter in regards to her pfd!

Steve

[reinhard1]

that is awesome to hear. they backed up what you said to her with perfect timing. i have never met a CO that wasn't polite and did his or her job at the same time. i'm so glad you took the time to tell this story to give some praise to those who get a lot of grief at times. thank you very much, and you are a super dad. i just love it when parents take there kids fishing. good luck.

[StillwaterAaron]

Great to hear!

I have had many experiences with CO's and not once has it been negative!

[Rick G]

Good to hear some positive reports about our fine state co's . Good chance it was c.o. Brian Mies, he is the Annandale officer and one heck of a nice guy. Our state wardens have a tough thankless job, I have nothing but the deepest respect for them

[hanson]

I would say like anything "customer service" related, you'll hear about every single negative instance but nobody talks about the positive. In the case of the DNR, a negative experience typically means you were breaking the law and you now have to pay a fine. The negativeness comes from the intentional and knowingly breaking of the law and that person is mad they were caught. And they'll let you know they weren't in the wrong as well!!

Have had plenty of good experiences with all sorts of law enforcement. Couple bad too but that was my fault.

Recent encounter was on Lake Erie during an FLW Walleye Tour tournament. I believe it was Coast Guard in a 30 some foot Zodiak with an enclosed cab and some 500hp in outboards was making a bee line for us as we were running wide open across the lake. My pro, not exactly knowing proper protocol in this situation, stopped the boat so we could talk to them. They just said our lights weren't on so there was no reason to stop but how is the tourney going? Good Luck and away they went. I don't know... there were like 6 SWAT team looking guys on this thing, who on earth is going to keep running? Was no big deal but pretty interesting at the same time.

[Gordie]

Great story and glad to hear it was a positive outting that alone will stick in your daughters mind for along time.

[jmg]

To date, we, too, have had positive encounters with the DNR officers we've encountered. As long as we weren't doing anything wrong, had our licenses, wore our PFDs and didn't have over our limits we had no problems. And, had we been guilty of any of the above mentioned things, I would have been disappointed in them that they weren't doing the job we pay them to do if they hadn't stopped us.

They don't make the laws and I'm sure they'd like to repeal some that are on the books because of the nightmare it is to enforce them. All in all, wish the public would show them more respect. I wouldn't want their jobs. Just my $.02 worth before I headout fishing this morning. Be safe!

[BobT]

I have personally never experienced a bad situation with any peace officer. I have been caught doing some things but even then they treated me with respect and dignity. I personally believe that 99.9% of those who complain about those negative experiences probably brought it upon themselves because they were belligerent, arrogant, uncooperative, or just plain idiots.

When it comes to COs I kind of like having them stop by because they can sometimes offer some helpful tidbits like how the fishing has been and where, what they have been biting on, where the grouse have been producing, etc. It's amazing how much you can learn in a 15-20 minute chit-chat.

[FM_Mike]

Great to hear!

I have had many experiences with CO's and not once has it been negative!

Same for me on all above.

Mike

[vikingmeatwad]

I have always had great experiences with Minnesota DNR CO's. Not so much in Canada though!

[pushbutton]

Great story Dragonsm! I also have never had a bad experience with a CO, granted i am not often skirting the laws. There is one who patrols in one of the areas that i frequent who would give his own Grandma a ticket for a 1/16th under the slot, but, none the less, has always been professional and courteous . The local county sheriff departments should also be commended for the job they do.

[MuleShack]

Great learning experience for your daughter, showing her that law enforcement are the good guys.

[wkngmomof2]

Both our boys got those dairy Queen certificates as well when we were up at Big Sandy

[Kettle]

I have had nothing but good experiences with MN CO's, I work for a small rual ambulance service, have had CO's show up to medical calls and even drug one with me in the back of an ambulance for an extra set of hands, he was out of his realm but was there when I needed him. They are public servants just like deputies and police officers, they generally do the work cause they are passionate about our resources and passionate about people enjoying them. If you ever want to know where the fish are biting and you see a CO they will generally tell you cause they want people to enjoy the outdoors, and with the fading number of youths in fishing and hunting, they love to spend time talking to them! I'm glad you had a good experience!

Kettle

[Ebiz]

Any time I've been checked it's always been a positive experience, some are more friendly than others but I think you find that in any profession. I think a lot of the negative comments I've seen have to do more with the politics and regulation decisions at the higher levels be it with the top level officials or the legislature.

[Stick in Mud]

I've also never had a problem with the DNR....the vast majority of my experiences have been overwhelmingly positive. And like some have said about themselves, I follow the rules, so I've never had anything to worry about. I also imagine they get a ton of flak from folks, so I can't blame them for being crabby every now and then. Heck, I'm crabby all the time, so I can't imagine doing what they do for a living and having to be happy all the time.

[simple1]

Well I think this thread settles it. The DNR is perfect. I would say my experience with them have been annoying a couple of times, but I don't want to seem the criminal that we know anyone who questions them are:)

[Kettle]

I guess to be honest I would like to know how they were annoying? To question someone shouldn't portray any guilt, opinions are a right we all have. I have had fantastic run ins with them have also had a a time I recall where it seemed where they we over the top as well and gun hoe (we were not braking any laws either). I'm neutral just would like to hear the other side of the story in all fairness. If you disagree with them you should not be labeled as someone who breaks or even stretches the laws

Kettle

[simple1]

I only had one annoying experience with them. On the Mississippi with my wife and 2yo they checked our license, made us open the cooler that was clearly filled with Sodas and food. I had to drag my hand through it to prove nothing was under the ice. Then asked me to open the front storage compartment of my boat to see what was in there, and when seeing my extra life jackets in there, they told me to take the store tags off them.

I just do not get why everyone is in love with the DNR. Yes 99% of them do a great job and anyone who carries a weapon for their job deserves respect, it just seems people go out of their way not to criticize the DNR. You can question the DNR without meaning any ill will against the individual officers.

[Knoc]

Ive had all good experiances with DNR's when out in the boat.

Ice fishing has been mostly good experiance but have had a couple dinks. When I was younger me and a buddy would often stay out in the fish house over the weekend. For this whole one winter this same DNR would ALWAYS hassle us. I dont know what he thought we were up to (everytime he whipped the door open we would be sitting there fishing or playing cards). He would whip the door open so fast like he thought he was gonna catch us doing something. Now that Im older Im guessing he thought we were drinking or something, I dunno, but the guy was a real jerk. One night staying out there it got really windy and the door kept opening up and slamming in the wind. So while we were sleeping I had locked the door. About 5:30 am he's beating on the door and window like the place is on fire and threatens to give me a ticket. I told him I was sorry and that the door was flapping in the wind but he didnt seem to care and continued to threaten me with a ticket. (I wouldnt have really cared if I got a ticket, I know its against the law, but c'mon). His attitude and his consistancy of being a dink was what made it bad. Guy was just a jerk.

But that was only one year of many and one DNR of many that I have dealt with and he was the only one who really gave me any problems. Most of the time they are very nice.

[GlassEyeangler]

i too have had positive experiences with the DNR in the past.

it's the experience you (Knoc) described when you were younger that really chaps by a$$. if you weren't doing anything wrong like you stated, there's no reason this CO should have been hassling you. the DNR puts a lot of $ into enforcement, they like to refer to as their best method of education. well...they also spend a lot of $ on advertising to take a kid fishing. if a kid grows up with a poor DNR experience they will never forget it. this is a free country (at least i think it still is...) and CO's do not need to act like big brother looking over your shoulder all the time. you were singled out because you are young...guilty by association. what a, using your words, dink.

i'm not young anymore either, and usually do not get hassled much these days. if i did experience a situation like you...i would get the CO's badge number and politely but with concern report him/her.

this is fishing after all...not some type of government counter intelligence mission.

[BobT]

I only had one annoying experience with them. On the Mississippi with my wife and 2yo they checked our license, made us open the cooler that was clearly filled with Sodas and food. I had to drag my hand through it to prove nothing was under the ice. Then asked me to open the front storage compartment of my boat to see what was in there, and when seeing my extra life jackets in there, they told me to take the store tags off them.

I just do not get why everyone is in love with the DNR. Yes 99% of them do a great job and anyone who carries a weapon for their job deserves respect, it just seems people go out of their way not to criticize the DNR. You can question the DNR without meaning any ill will against the individual officers.

What was so bad about that? Nobody is claiming they are all perfect angels. So they were thorough with you and did a good job of checking to be sure some fisherman (you) was not abusing our resource. How would you react if they checked the boat next to you with two guys and were not as thorough therefore didn't catch them with the 20 walleye buried in their cooler that you were aware of? I'm sure you'd be here telling us about how moronic our CO's are because they do a half-axxed job. Stop complaining and be glad the one(s) who checked your boat did such a thorough job.

[MuleShack]

Look on the bright side, they are hiring 120 more officers in the next year, so there will be more to go around.

Also remember these officers have to have a law enforcement degree to become DNR officers. Just be glad they are as nice as they are.

[Grum]

Glad to hear that you and your daughter had a good experience with meeting the local CO. If I see them, I'm usually the one that approaches the other, as I've found them to be a great resource on the current conditions and game patterns in the area. Even had one save me from getting blown off the lake once. He zoomed up and told me of a fast developing thunderstorm heading my way and wanted to make sure I was aware of it. I barley made it back to shore when it hit.

In the last 28 years of having to buy a license to fish and hunt I have only meet one that I found to be a "disagreeable fellow", shall we say. Which is a far lower percent than that of some of my neighbors over the years.

[2k1stang]

I'm 26, but if I'm wearing my PFD on the water, do I get a free ice cream cone from Dairy Queen too?

That's actually awesome, and I didn't know they did that.