Expired Fishing Licenses and a Guy Drinking Coffee
With the talk of the new MNR Fishing Regulations, I was reminded of an ice fishing excursion a few years ago.
Dad and I managed to pick a bright crisp, sunny day to head out to Vernon Lake to fish from Kyle’s ice hut.
It was situated in a bay not far from the Big East River and we could drive-up and park to within 200 yards of it. We exited the truck, grabbed our gear and started our walk out to the hut. Before we stepped on to the ice, we passed a guy sitting in a truck having some coffee.
He waved.
We waved back and continued our trek.
About 25 yards from the shack, I got that “I better check my fishing license expiry date” feeling. As fate would have it – it was expired. Now, we were in that dilemma of being so close – and yet so far to a great day of fishing.
Dad and I looked at each other and I said,
“What are the chances the CO (Conservation Officer) would be around this icy bay today?”
We knew the chances were small, but I did not want to have to be worried about it for the remainder of the day. We turned around and headed back to our parked truck to make the trip to the license store. I know dad was dropping subtle hints (his body language and head shaking said it all) that this was something I should have taken care of before we got to the lake.
He was right.
The parked coffee drinker waved.
We waved back – again.
I think one of us said, “Friendly guy, eh?”.
To shorten this story, we returned from town and began fishing without incident. This time the guy’s truck was empty.
After a couple hours we answered a knock on our hut’s door. It was the guy who we had passed in the truck earlier in that day. We invited him in and we talked fishing for awhile. He wondered how the fishing was and what we were using. We all told some jokes. It was all un-assuming.
When the guy reached for the door to leave he said,
“Well I guess I came all the way out here I better check your fishing licenses.”
There was an awkward pause and then dad and I handed the ‘plain-clothed’ CO our licenses. He checked the date on my temporary license and grinned. Dad and I told him the rest of the story and fortunately we all got a good chuckle over the incident.
It could have been a horrible afternoon. I believe a CO can confiscate your truck and equipment if you are fishing illegally. That would have been what I was doing had I not made that trip to town to buy a valid license.
Morale of the story,
check your license expiry date and beware the friendly guy drinking coffee in his truck beside the lake.”
In case you currently hold and expired license – you can renew online by visiting this link.
Wow. That is a great story and I’m glad you went back and got the proper license and ended up chuckling with the officer rather than paying the fine, or worse losing priveleges! Great story though.
That’s a good story, and a good thing to remember. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
It’s not enforced much in ON or here in the U.S. but most states allow CO’s/Warden’s to confiscate your boat truck or any instruments used in the process of unlawfully taking game. It’s more likely to happen with American’s in Canada since once they leave the country, enforcement is a trickier situation.
My cousin Luke was fishing a tournament on Lake Erie and was kind of complaining about the fact that he went and bought an Ontario license when no one he talked to had ever been checked on the water. Truth is, I haven’t either but it’s not worth losing my boat and gear – even for a time – to push it.