Ok, so I'm new to this site, but not new to fishing or the internet. A friend e-mailed this to me and asked what I thought of this thread. Here is the drill, I USED to be an Oregon State Trooper and as I'm sure most everyone who would be interested in this stuff already knows that OSP is charged with the enforcement of all fish and game laws I do not condone, nor advocate violating any laws. In fact, I will be more than willing to report and go on record and even testify in court if necessary when I observe not only a fish or game violation, but any violation of law. However, I feel very strongly just because one elects to hunt or fish then he (or she) should not give up any rights. After all, didn’t we have a revolution to get away from to much government intrusion?

Let me start off with just being on the water with rod in hand or in the field DOES NOT give the police a right to stop and/or detain you because there is not probable cause (PC) that you did anything illegal, and the police need to have PC in order for them to stop you. (The police can’t arbitraily stop you driving down the road just to check your driver’s license can they?) True, there is a law still on the books that they will cite that says in effect they do have the authority to stop and check your license, catch or kill, but it is unconsitutional. The OSP knows this as well as every district attorney (DA) in the state and this is why it is still on the books. They do not want it challenged, which is why the DA if presented with a “shakey search” on constitutional grounds will in every case I have seen drop the case. However, the Trooper has been trained to get the hunter/fisherman to consent to the check. Absense of consent and/or PC the Trooper is trained to back off and if he believes there is anything worth pursuing then to come at it at another angle.

So, here’s what to do if it’s high slack tide and there are folks around you fighting fish and the police pull up alongside your boat and asks if you’ve done any good. You say (very politely) something to the effect, “Sir, am I doing anything wrong?” When he replies no then you politely say, “Then no you cannot check my license, catch, or boat unless you have articulable probable cause to detain me and conduct a search of my person and/or boat.” And add, “You just said I wasn’t doing anything wrong. So please, with all due respect, leave me alone so I can pursue the legal activities I was engaged in.” That will probably throw him back in his boots and if he doesn’t back off (like he should) and comes back citing the above mentioned law then tell him you will cooperate, however you have not consented to anything and are only doing so under protest as no law can be written that allows any government entity to violate the US Constitution and in this case the forth amendment.

There are different kinds of searches but I will save that for another post (if anyone is interested) because this is a pretty long post about what I think is a very simple subject. Just keep in mind that simply being on the water is not probable cause that you did anything wrong so do not give up your rights!