Reverend Tarpones and I had been cutthroat fishing in the salt on Hood Canal and stopped to check out an easily reached spot on the Quilcene for a looksee.
There were several people including fathers with kids snagging. We yelled at them that it was illegal, but they ignored us. We then went back to the Marina to see if the Tribal LE officer could do anything whom we had seen earlier. He was tied up with another illegal fishing situation, but told us that the local WDFW officer there had written so many tickets the day before , was tied down to his computer doing the paperwork on tickets he wrote the day before.

Maybe I have just been fortunate, but I have been checked for my license, life jacktets, etc. by LE officers in several states and provinces and they have always been professional. A couple I have personally known were adept at asking questions that if you answered wrong could get you a citation. One being a time when three of us were Pacific Cod fishing in Port Madison many years ago, cruised up and said,Hi Guys, hows the commercial cod fishing, based on our commercial stickers on the boat for bottomfish jigging.

We gave him a blank stare and in unison, said, it's closed. Another time I was fishing rockfish in Rich Passage when I heard a cheerful voice say, is that your crab pot marker, referring to the yellow dish soap bottle near my boat. My back had been turned away from the approaching enforcement boat and replied, recognizing the voice, no (same officer), that's my rockfish marker. He said, "Oh Hi, and went on his way with another LE officer and their boat.

I have a great deal of respect for LE fish and game officers, they have a tough job done it very professionally in my experiences.

I am sure some folks may have different experiences, that is mine.