FWC Law Enforcement Report

December 21, 2016

The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during the weekly period ending December 9 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

ESCAMBIA COUNTY

Officer McHenry has been monitoring a baited area in the Perdido River Wildlife Management Area (WMA) for the last couple of weeks. He issued a notice to appear to a subject he found deer hunting over the bait this week.

Officer McHenry and Captain Rondeau worked an area in the Perdido River WMA that has been damaged by people using their vehicles mudding and intentionally damaging the parking areas and roadways. After being in the area a short while, they observed a vehicle enter the area and the driver perform several donuts in one of the main parking areas. They stopped the driver and issued him a notice to appear citation for destruction of state lands. He was also cited for possession of alcohol in a closed area.

SANTA ROSA COUNTY

Officer Hutchinson was patrolling the Blackwater River when he saw a vessel traveling at a high rate of speed in a no wake zone. The vessel pulled up to a dock behind a residence and a female subject disembarked carrying a dip net containing nine speckled trout. After making contact with both subjects and asking about the size of the fish, the female subject made the comment that one of them may be close to the minimum size. After further inspection of the fish, three of the fish were undersized. After questioning both subjects, the female subject admitting to catching and keeping the three undersized fish. She was issued a notice to appear for possession of undersized spotted sea trout. She was issued a written warning for a fishing license violation and the male subject was issued a written warning for the violation of the restricted zone.

FWC officers assisted FWC’s Hunting and Game Management staff in putting together another successful Blackwater Family Hunt. Forty-nine quota permits were used and approximately 64 young people participated in the hunt. Donated prizes from the community were presented to several lucky kids, including tree stands, blinds, and even two youth model shotguns. Great weather provided some exciting hunting opportunities for the families participating. Fifteen deer were taken during the hunt and some of the youth were able to take their first deer.

This report represents some events the FWC handled over the past week; however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement. Information provided by FWC.

Comments

7 Responses to “FWC Law Enforcement Report”

  1. Beulah Mike on December 26th, 2016 10:38 pm

    Glad to see FWC is trying to curb vandalism in the Perdido WMA. Makes me sick to see the destruction that occurs to the roads and parking areas rendering them unusable.

  2. Bullett in Milton on December 24th, 2016 6:42 pm

    I thought the limit on speckled trout was six

  3. chris in Molino on December 24th, 2016 1:37 am

    @Hmmm– i agree. An FWC officer wouldn’t have to go through the trouble of baiting a field if he really wanted to get you. He could just say you were hunting a baited area and you have NO WIN. So always be courteous and respectful in your interactions with FWC. As an avid hunter/fisherman your actions will always be interprative. Remember, history is determined by the winner and FWC always wins.

  4. Hmmm on December 21st, 2016 6:08 pm

    Wormy,
    I didn’t see in any of the reports listed where it said the officer baited the plot. I read it as he was monitoring a baited area, meaning he noticed it was baited (by someone else, NOT the officer) and after a couple of weeks finally caught the hunter that baited the area.

  5. Wormy on December 21st, 2016 4:44 pm

    That’s sneaky. You bait the field then lets see who happens to hunt over it. What if the hunter just puts up a stand and doesn’t see that YOU baited the field because YOU set him up? I often put my climber up before the sun comes up. I never thought to see if a LAW ENFORCEMENT officer was SETTING ME UP! Its one thing to leave a car there and see if anyone steals it (that person obviously has a proclivity to steal) but a corned up field is not always easy to see. How about lets monitor a handicapped spot and hide the sign or lets obfuscate the speed sign with a tree and bust people for speeding. Sounds fair right?

  6. TUMom on December 21st, 2016 8:30 am

    Way to go FWC officers!!

  7. Gman on December 21st, 2016 6:10 am

    FWC officers are awesome.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News