Fish and Game

[bassin212]

Not trying to bash them or stir the pot. If the thread gets crazy I’ll just delete it. But just curious has anyone been checked this year? I’ve fished two trap and 6 trap lakes. Derby weekend, weekends, weekdays and nothing. I’ve gone out on foot and the machine. Fished popular areas as well. My buddies haven’t been checked either. I know it was a crappy ice year and they don’t wanna make headlines for the wrong reasons, but I’m a little surprised.

[SALMONEMIA]

Yes my last trip of this season. I didn't know it was my last trip . Had a really good buzz going no breakfast maybe slurred speech. Lol
Snow was deep had to work hard to get out. He approached via snowmobile
I was a little concerned because I sounded like a drunk ice fisherman.  We chatted for a but and he checked my license. This was in the lakes region.  He was cool and admired all the wp I had on the ice. Off he went no issues.

[SALMONEMIA]

I welcome the check proud to  provide my license to them.  I like when they stop by.

[Global Warming in CT]

I fished on Little Squam (two trap lake) the weekend after the Meredith tournament. F&G checked the number of tipups from the road with binoculars, then came out and checked our licenses. All was well. I have also been checked in prior years by F&G on snowmobiles on Little Squam and Squam. Maybe this year with varying ice conditions they were out less on sleds and/or wheelers?

[SALMONEMIA]

Probably lack of snow to drive around easily

[fishingidjit]

I believe they are still short staffed. A few years ago F&G even had the Colonel out on opening day of moose season checking kill sights !

[burgerunh]

I was checked a total of 3 times this winter by 3 different CO's at 3 different lakes in 3 completely different parts of the state. 

I also did less ice fishing than an average winter.  Bottom line is they are out there and show up at unexpected places at unexpected times. 

They are always polite and courteous.  They check my license, we have a quick chat, and they are on their way.

[bassin212]

I knew the ice conditions would play into it for sure. But I’ve fished winni and Squam multiple times on a machine and nothing. And I’ve fished winni on foot and nothing as well so was a bit surprised. And agreed they don’t bother me none. With the price of admission to fish in NH I want them to check my license   

[JIGGIN-]

Generally they stop by to visit. Never a problem, i don't really drink alcohol on the ice, mostly coffee and water.

I always show them my license whether they want to see it or not. They don't need to ask. 
Paid good money for my license, proud of it and it turns out no one else (not even my friends) want to see it. I pretty much bought it for FnG.
 

[jethro]

You guys are paying for a whole lot of snow machine enforcement, believe me! They are as thick as thieves in Pittsburg every weekend and to be honest, they are well needed. The sheer volume of people I see there every weekend is many times more than pre-covid times, it's getting a little bit insane.

[BHardy]

I’ve been checked twice this year

[bassin212]

Good to know, apparently it’s just me!

[DConICE]

I have not been checked this season, but haven't been out much either.  Years past I usually get checked at least once on ice, and open water also when bank fishing , especially during stocking season.  Agree with Jiggin'.... license comes out before I'm even asked. 

Makes sense they are shifting resources up north given what jethro is saying about the sled traffic... can only cover so much I guess.

[Fishin_603]

I’ve been fishing pretty much every weekend this winter and only got checked during the derby. He was more interested in asking questions it didn’t even seem like he wanted to bother checking to see if I had a license. I had my snow dog and didn’t even check to see if it was registered

[TheCrittaC]

I didn't fish nearly as much as I usually do this year, and never got checked. I usually get checked once a year on Sunapee, but I didn't fish there this year.

[fishingidjit]

You guys are paying for a whole lot of snow machine enforcement, believe me! They are as thick as thieves in Pittsburg every weekend and to be honest, they are well needed. The sheer volume of people I see there every weekend is many times more than pre-covid times, it's getting a little bit insane.

We need the F&G up there and through Errol in the summer as the ATV traffic is worse than the sled traffic. 90% are courteous riders but 10% need a good butt kicking.

[fishingidjit]

Generally they stop by to visit. Never a problem, i don't really drink alcohol on the ice, mostly coffee and water.

I always show them my license whether they want to see it or not. They don't need to ask. 
Paid good money for my license, proud of it and it turns out no one else (not even my friends) want to see it. I pretty much bought it for FnG.

 

[Steamtrain]

I get checked quite often on my local big lake. It is patrolled regularly in winter.
3 times this year.
I haven’t been checked on any other bodies of water in winter other than 27 years ago on 1st Connecticut.
Always pleasant interactions.

[WARRIOR_ON_ICE]

The ECO's in your state are celebrities now, some of them anyway, from being on the Northwoods Law series. I used to like watching that show, but from what I remember seeing it was not ice fishermen that they had problems with ,  mostly hunters shooting too close to the road or taking game out of season, and the ATV riders that can't seem to follow the laws there.

[OldTowner]

Appreciate seeing folks here showing support for the C/Os. It's been a busy winter for them, especially up north and on the trails. Lots of time goes into rescues and unfortunately this season, recoveries on some of the mountain trails. I fish with a couple of them, one recently retired and the other active. I see them getting called out at all hours for who knows what. Checking licenses is part of the job but has been mentioned, snow machine enforcement, keeps them busy up north.

[merk42]

We really appreciate our NH F&G Officers. When you think about it, license checking in winter has to be a small part of their job. Given the effort it takes to fish weekly on frozen lakes, not many people fish without licenses...Sitting ducks so to speak!

Them chasing the bigger problems on trails and in mts is smart use of short staff!

[FishingFredrik]

I've fished pretty hard this season and not gotten checked, mostly on Winni. There really shouldn't be a need for them to be license police, but there will always be people not wanting to follow the rules, I suppose.

This morning I called their inland fishery dept. with a question about ice fishing / open water season on Wentworth, and a very helpful staff member returned my call and answered my questions a couple of hours later. If I break down the license fee in cost per hour over the course of the season, I can't think of any form of thrilling entertainment that cost less than 50 cents per hour...probably not even $50/h. 

[merk42]

Hey here is another F&G tidbit to digest... Recently I went online to purchase a HikeSafe Card to support search and rescue efforts. I learned that if you have an active hunting or fishing license you have the same benefits associated with the hike safe card. No need to buy it...again! Thats pretty cool!

[bassin212]

Hey here is another F&G tidbit to digest... Recently I went online to purchase a HikeSafe Card to support search and rescue efforts. I learned that if you have an active hunting or fishing license you have the same benefits associated with the hike safe card. No need to buy it...again! Thats pretty cool!

Huh, good to know!