A couple hours later I guess, I had moved on down the lake to the west and was going from boat to boat. I heard a woman holler in glee and turned around to see Mizz I'm Just Looking with a rod and reel in her hand, excitedly reeling in a fish. They had moved down the lake past me at some point and I didn't realize I was coming up toward them again. I could barely keep the smug look off of my face as I putted up to that party barge with her still holding that pole and I said, "Now, I need to see YOUR license, please." She just looked at me and said, "Aw shoot!" I grinned as she handed me her identification and I wrote out that non-resident fishing w/o a license citation.
I had another time when I was in Delta National Forest checking hunters along 715 Road. A truck slowed down and stopped and I walked up to their window to make sure their guns were cased, they had permit cards, etc. In the back of the truck was a nice doe and a decent buck. The two guys in the truck were really excited about the deer. I asked to see their licenses and WMA permits and one of the guys had everything but he quickly explained that his friend was only filming the hunt. He went on to say how he had called the Jackson office and was told by a LE representative there that if he was just filming, he did not need licenses. Then he went on to say that he had killed the doe the evening before and the buck that day. It was cold enough that the deer wouldn't spoil and I was going to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Just about that time he mentioned this tv show he was filming for and I inquired curiously about which tv show it was. He started explaining about some "Poor Boys Outdoors" show and started showing me pictures on his phone. He handed me the phone and was telling me to scroll through the texts of messages he had sent to the producers of the show or something. So, I did. I saw a few cool photos and then I saw a text that immediately caught my attention. He was explaining to someone that he had killed the buck but his "just filming" buddy had killed the doe, but that was hush-hush because Mr. Camera Man didn't have a license. I turned to him and held his phone up and said, "So, tell me about this message." Man, you should've seen the look on his face.
The beans had been spilled and I would've never known had he not handed me that phone. The camera man got a few awards and I went on about my way. I have a couple more but will save those for another day.
