UPDATE: "25 shells at wister" thread from January

[jayhoov]

So for those of you who were keeping up on the excessive shells topic posted by "quacker smacker", here is the update.....

I am the buddy who was along for that particular hunting trip and I too unfortunately received a citation for excessive shells as well. My only excuse is ignorance of the rules due to me being a newly licensed hunter, although I know that's not an acceptable excuse in the eyes of the law. My citation was for 47 shells in excess of the 25 shell limit and I simply forgot that the extra shells were in my bag. The bitch of the whole thing is that I only shot 4 shells that day!

As for the update on the fines....

- My buddy had a parking citation (parked on a closed road) along with 25 extra shells citation with a fine in the amount of $1,875.00

- I had the 47 extra shells citation with a fine in the amount of $1,040.00

If the courts truly break it down to a per shell dollar figure, you're looking at about $22/shell for my citation.
If that's the case, then the parking citation for my buddy is wildly obscene. If it were $22/shell x 25 shells = $550 (shells citation). $1875 (total fine) - $550 (shells citation) = $1325 parking violation. It doesn't really make sense to me that a parking violation and excess shells (half the amount that I had) would be more of a fine than mine. Can someone explain this?

Either way, I'll still be going to the courts on the appointed date and will plead my case with the judge in hopes of having the fine reduced. I'll tell him that I'm completely guilty and should have known better and that it will never happen again and will request that the fine be reduced. I'm not looking to fight it or to be let off the hook because I know that I messed up and hopefully the judge will recognize that and have mercy. I'll be sure to update everyone once that court date happens (March 6th).

 

[ilovesprig]

Unbelievable.........Personally, I would fight it on the grounds of anywhere you hunt there's no limit on shells, even on some wildlife areas. And in fact, you can hunt Wister with more shells during dove season.....You would attempt to justify you having extra by not having enough notice of the number of shells allowed (fine print on back of map) and as usual, there weren't any maps in trays......Some judges will not let you take the....."Guilty with explanation" way out.

If you do your homework, you may get this fine greatly reduced or even get it dropped.....This was an honest mistake.

 

[jayhoov]

Just got word from a 3rd hunting buddy of ours who was with us that day and got a parking citation (parked on a closed road). We called him this afternoon after we found out our fines and strongly urged him to call the Brawley courts to find out his fine amount. Initially we thought his fine would be a typical $70-100 parking ticket that people deal with every day but we were sorely mistaken.....Just for parking on that road they've assessed a fine of $850.00!!!!!

I think at this point trying to assign a "per shell fee" is pointless. I think that it is probably just a rough flat rate.

My fine for 47 shells extra - $1040

quacker smacker fine for 25 shells extra - $1025 (speculation based on new information)
quacker smacker fine for parking violation - $850 (Based on 3rd friend's fine)
quacker smacker total fine combined - $1875

3rd friend's parking violation - $850

Safe to say that I will never hunt Wister again....they sure thinned out my wallet and left a sour taste in my mouth. Again...I know it's our fault for breaking these rules but damn that's a good chunk of change.

 

[Gspman]

this all sucks thats a whole lot of money. whats with the parking on the road though was that not marked or.... i hunt wister for dove in the off season and have been thinking about duck hunting again next season. is the parking confusing or what? i think i may steer clear but if i do hunt it i dont want some stupid ticket for road parking....

 

[ilovesprig]

Am I the only one that's seething over these absurd fines...... :-\......All the kids that got these tickets are fairly new to hunting and in the case of a friends friend. It was his 1st trip to Wister. Talk about knocking the wind out of a potential new hunter!!!!

THIS IS TOTAL BS!........The libs are wanting less hunting and hunters. They're winning by getting away with crap like this (the fine amount).......Have some common F*cking sense about the crime and who your dealing with......These were honest mistakes!!!

PLEASE FIGHT THIS.......There's got to be at least one judge down there that must know or can be explained to how hard it is to find your way at dark-thirty and that the rules at Wister can be very vague.

I need a fuming mad icon........

ps.......I've spent over 40 years at Wister and worked there. I'm also very close with the current management.....I will help in any way I can.

 

[Gspman]

Sprig you seam to be the wister/duck MAN. its awsome you are willing to help these guys out. I also think is crazy the amount of money they are getting foe stuff like this. Ive never hunted wister for ducks but i have researched the rules, but it was very difficult to find all the strange rules for me. One might think the warden may opt to give a pass or right it for less shells or something? anything? let alone maybe just maybe a warning?

 

[wiley]

Wow, that really sucks, I would definitely fight it.....

 

[ilovesprig]

The number of shells over 25 has an argument for the gamey because it is on the back of the map and is posted on the board at the headquarters......The newbies unless they know someone that's hunted Wister or know all the little quirky rules that they ONLY have for waterfowling at refuges and some wildlife areas. You would not know this, since it's not required anywhere else while hunting waterfowl.

The fact that kids were given tickets because they were on the wrong road or parked where they were not supposed to is crazy and just isn't right......I literally put up many of those signs and I know for a fact, that some roads did not have a road closed sign......Just how in the hell are you supposed to know where to park when your trying to find your spot at 3:30 am. Especially, if you've never been there before?

I even provided a map that indicated what parking lot to go with what blinds. I (FOW) also provided signs, so each parking lot would be numbered to correspond with each hunt site.....The current management and myself have tried very hard to make it easier, but it's still not easy......The fact that a few people made a mistake of being slightly off track and getting a fine like these is ludicrous.

 

[Josh Pearson]

I'm pretty upset to hear about this happening as I also have an acquaintance who got an $850 parking ticket at Wister this season. Something needs to be done by fish and game to reduce the fines and help make it easier for hunters to understand the rules. The punishment is absolutely not fitting the crime.

 

[jayhoov]

To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't have any problem nor would I have posted something probably if the fine was a more appropriate amount of let's say $500..... To me, that is reasonable. The $1,040 fine for shells though is about 10 bucks shy of my monthly rent for a small 1 bedroom condo I live in!!! That's what really gets my blood boiling. Trust me sprig, this has been eating at me for a month now. The worry and distress that this has caused me from fretting over the fear of the unknown fine feels like punishment as it is. I guess I'll just push back a couple months my wedding date to my new fiancé if my fighting of this ticket doesn't work out.

 

[Huntndogs]

Anyone care to ID this so called Warden? Who is collecting the fine? Fish and Fur or Brawley court? Can you find where in the regs it states no parking? Fight the ticket tooth and nail...

 

[MJB]

That's about the right cost of fines, fees & penalties.......

Get a public defender just show up to court early and fill out a form showing your experiences & income just make sure you expenses out weigh your income. Then before you see the judge the PD will talk with you and the DA and they will come up with a lesser fine & charge.

Mine went from 3k to 175 disturbing the peace

Everything they teach in school how the law works for us citizens is BS

I always say the legal profession is just another industry that wants to make money......they don't care who's right or wrong just as long as someone's paying their bill! And don't forget they feed on the young and misinformed

I was once married to a law family.......wife lawyer, FIL a judge & MIL a high end divorce attorney so I got schooled by the best.....

 

[nicapopolis]

Re: UPDATE: "25 shells at wister" thread from January

That blows. I stand behind everything Steve has stating. Parking is definitely not easy. I hunted Wister quite a bit this season. I always checked with the regulars to verify the lots before going out. Sometimes no one knows which lot it should be. Lol

 

[KID CREOLE]

OK so a few laws were broken, I agree especially at Wister about the parking and the inconsitant signeage on the refuge.

The titcket for too many shells was avoidable, that one is on the hunters and the warden shouldn't be singled out as the problem.

The state is out of money and every citation is a way to increase revenues.

Learn the rules before you hunt

 

[Whodini]

Unbelievable.........Personally, I would fight it on the grounds of anywhere you hunt there's no limit on shells, even on some wildlife areas. And in fact, you can hunt Wister with more shells during dove season.....You would attempt to justify you having extra by not having enough notice of the number of shells allowed (fine print on back of map) and as usual, there weren't any maps in trays......Some judges will not let you take the....."Guilty with explanation" way out.

If you do your homework, you may get this fine greatly reducedor even get it dropped.....This was an honest mistake.

Why are you giving these guys advice to fight this? These are the kind of newbs that blow through 4 boxes of shells out of ignorance in the first hour of the day and screw up everyone elses hunts. I knew there was a 25 shell limit at Wister the first time I hunted there as a newb. No excuse for the shells, no excuse to park on a closed road.

Enjoy your fine, hopefully you learned something

 

[jayhoov]

I totally get where you're coming from Whodini and I know what you're talking about. I do however know about respecting other people's hunt and not sky-busting. I only shot 4 times that day because either the ducks were too high and too far out. It was a simple mistake of forgetting that the extra shells were in my bag in the bushes. But oh well, lesson learned.

 

[ilovesprig]

The kids that I know made an honest mistake on a unsigned road......I just know that when the shells went from lead to steel I was given a break......I guess when I made an honest attempt to retrieve a bird that sailed into an unmarked close zone, I was given a break......And I was no newbie.

But good enough.............Pay it.


ps......I want to make it perfectly clear, I'm not against game wardens or for guys that break the rules, shoot early, and skyscrape.....We need wardens badly and there's a lot of good ones out there.....It's as much as about the cost of the fines and using common sense on who the perpetrator is.

 

[Aeon]

People are saying fight it to get the fine reduced to a resonable level. No one is saying fight it to get off.

post up some of your duck kills whodini let's see it

This thread will save someone the pain of getting busted next year so there is value here. Thanks to jayhoov for posting this

 

[Josh Pearson]

Apparently Whodini never makes mistakes! Nice first post! Lol

 

[TRICER]

Unbelievable.........Personally, I would fight it on the grounds of anywhere you hunt there's no limit on shells, even on some wildlife areas. And in fact, you can hunt Wister with more shells during dove season.....You would attempt to justify you having extra by not having enough notice of the number of shells allowed (fine print on back of map) and as usual, there weren't any maps in trays......Some judges will not let you take the....."Guilty with explanation" way out.

If you do your homework, you may get this fine greatly reducedor even get it dropped.....This was an honest mistake.

Why are you giving these guys advice to fight this? These are the kind of newbs that blow through 4 boxes of shells out of ignorance in the first hour of the day and screw up everyone elses hunts. I knew there was a 25 shell limit at Wister the first time I hunted there as a newb. No excuse for the shells, no excuse to park on a closed road.

Enjoy your fine, hopefully you learned something

No offense man but are there holes in your hands? Nobody is perfect and these guys made some big mistakes. This thread is great and informative. The biggest outrage is that this state is putting such a huge fine for such a small mistake. They are increasing these fines because most of them hate hunters and the more they can do oppress us the more hunting will slowly fade away like they want. There is strength in numbers but if we divide we get conquered. would you rather there be no "Newbs" and we could watch our pastime die out? The fine stinks and they screwed up but I don't rejoice in there consequences that is stupid.
I say go to court plead your case be honest and see what happens. I have never hunted Wister but when I do in the future I now know to be very aware of the rules. Thank you for your honesty and your post.