fishing without license in north carolina, what kind of violation

[KTurner]

Maybe the officer is ****** reborn, tracked them for three hours, waited for them to make a tiny slip and then swooped in for the kill. But, even if all that is true. He did not make them go to the fishing hole, with fishing equipment and no license. Really, what good can come from going to the fishing hole, with equipment, and no license? Either way, trying to blame the officer is not going to help your friends. Even if he did something wrong, is a jerk, etc, etc.

Realistically, your friend is much better off seeking legal advice somewhere other than a bunch of rednecks on the rural living forum Tell her to call a lawyer from that area. The judge may see hiring a lawyer, traveling back to NC, things like that as her taking this seriously and may be more forgiving. Oh yea, no "I went to NC on vacation and all I got was this @#$@ ticket" t-shirts on court day.

Keith

 

[Soundguy]

she's not seeking help from us.. I merely posted about it asking a quesiton after hearing of her plight.. getting the consensus of the membership at the brain trust here...

 

[1bush2hog]

Talk about in the wrong place at the wrong time... NC DNR deals with many poachers, not to imply your friends were poaching, but seriously - they have heard it all. Yes the officer could have been a bit more discerning, but most law enforcement officers today are not - who knows what happened with this officer prior to the incident with your friends. If you are in violation, you are charged. Not sure what the beef was with the husband, but maybe the officer did not like his comments - don't know, but what I do know is the game wardens are serious and will use all kinds of tactics to do their job effectively. They have a very dangerous job, often working alone in remote and dangerous areas.

Many streams in WNC are 'trout only' streams and many of these streams have additional regulations pertaining to them, ie. catch and release only, barbless hooks, artificial lures only, etc.

Bottom Line is It's your job to know the law and theirs to enforce it.