GAME WARDEN BLOTTER

attend a kid fish event and volunteer at youth hunts to serve as a mentor and confidant to young hunters.

Reward Paid For Poaching Conviction

On Aug. 31, 2022, the TPWD Dispatch center received a tip via the Operation Game Thief hotline regarding a male subject that had placed a gutted white-tailed deer carcass into the bed of his pick-up truck, in Fischer. A Texas game warden responded to the area and located the subject, who had illegally taken the white-tailed deer during closed season. The subject was ultimately charged and convicted. Due to the caller’s involvement and the subject being convicted in this case, a reward of $600 has been paid out to the caller.

Busy Holiday Weekend For Wardens

Over the Memorial Day weekend, Texas game wardens patrolled Texas lakes and rivers to ensure visitors were recreating responsibly. They noted a decrease in accidents this year but noted an increase in citations issued, warnings and arrests.

Between Friday and Monday, 358 game wardens conducted 12,141 vessel checks across Texas — 19 percent more than in 2022. They

Boating Outreach On Lewisville

At Lewisville Lake, Kim Sorensen, Boating Education manager for TPWD, hosted an educational outreach program for visitors. She was joined by Texas game wardens and Army Corps of Engineers Rangers who completed vessel safety checks and assisted boaters by loaning them missing safety equipment. Other partners, LV Project and Powerline Safety Initiative, assisted with safety outreach and life jacket distribution. “We had a successful event over the weekend,” said Sorensen. “Along with our partners, we reminded boaters to carry the appropriate boating safety equipment including life jackets for all passengers on board, a fire extinguisher, a throwable device, a certificate of number and their boater education card if they born on or after Sept. 1, 1993. Furthermore, we stressed that children under 12 years of age must wear life jackets while on board.” responded to 13 accidents, two boating fatalities and two drownings. The two boating fatalities occurred at Choke Canyon and the Neches River and the two drownings occurred at Toledo Bend and Lake Halbert. In addition to vessel and safety checks on the water, game wardens assisted with many other incidents across the state including Driving While Intoxicated violations, trespassing, pursuing a stolen vehicle, recovering a missing vehicle, assault and recovering and transporting a small alligator.

WARDENS HOST KIDS’ TOURNEY

In Wise County, local game wardens hosted the annual Ronnie Brooks Memorial Kids Fish on Lake Bridgeport. The winners for biggest fish, smallest fish and most fish caught received rod and reel combos. The Sportsman’s Club of Fort Worth handed out 200 fishing rods to the youngsters who participated.

REPORT ILLEGAL HUNTING AND FISHING ACTIVITY FOR