Poachers

[miangus]

Trail cams and the sheriff. If you confront them, take backup. Make sure your backup is not directly with you but has a good range of fire.

 

[urbancase]

Trail cams and the sheriff. If you confront them, take backup. Make sure your backup is not directly with you but has a good range of fire.

yea had that happen to me, 6 guys illegal coon hunting, that acted like they wanted to challenge me , then my 3 sons came out of the shadows with loaded AR's. they left quickly.

 

[rrlund]

I don't have the answers, but it could always be worse. Meth heads cut the hose on my anhydrous applicator to steal anhydrous. I sold it so they had no reason to come back. If you think stealing your fish is bad, a guy went down by my pond, sat down by a tree and shot himself in the head. Perspective I guess.

 

[Texasmark]

Thanks for the replies folks.

 

[the tractior vet]

Trail cams and the sheriff. If you confront them, take backup. Make sure your backup is not directly with you but has a good range of fire.

Well calling the LAW around here you are NOT JUST MIN. away as it is more like HOURS . I live in town i am four small town blocks away from the cop shop . I can see it from the one upstairs bed room . Years back i took our Malamute for his nightly last long walk , a nice warm evening around a little after 11 . We were like five houses away from my place when shots rang out CLOSE. NO COVER other then a power pole and for me that is not much cover and now i don't run well way to much mass to move . So i use my cell and call and tell the cops shots fired and give my location . We are now five blocks from the cop shop , i notice the time on the cell and when the first car arrives it has been 18 min. from when i made the call . The COP cowers in his car not wanting to get out , second car comes and he bails out and runs around the passenger side and ducks down and looks at me and asked where the shots came from and i point to the house across the street . Third cop arrives the Sgt. i have known him from way back . He gets out and walks up to me cold as ice and we chat the one cowering get up and the one still hiding in the car gets out and runs around his car and ducks down behind the right fender . The one asked if they were shooting at me and i said no and get are you sure , yep how do you know they were not shooting at you and i asked if he had ever been shot at and he said NO . Welp i have and i know the sound of them flying objects vary well when they are coming my way. A year later the dog and i were walking the other way when someone opened up again close but not the same house and i call again , this time it only took them 17 min.'s This time when the Sgt. arrived i unformed him,that from now on let it be known i will be carrying and if flying objects come my way i will return the same then i will call . While farming other then that one evening i always had a side arm and my VARMET rifle hanging on the left fender good out to 450 M and could chase a ground hog to it''s hole with 30 rounds and it would hold groups in three shots of 3 inches at range , not perfect but close enough .

 

[MeanGene1]

Well, thanks for the ideas.....as I expected, there isn't a cut and dried solution to this problem.

Soon a few videos on this solution- pretty sure there's nothing wrong with spraying liquid manure at night. Just take a lot of backup with you

 

[the tractior vet]

Soon a few videos on this solution- pretty sure there's nothing wrong with spraying liquid manure at night. Just take a lot of backup with you

I just commented on a post about electric fence chargers . We ran into one back in 1971 that would make you rethink life choices . While mowing gas pipe lines we came across a plain bare wire fence that was tacked to trees and posts with no insulators , NONE and that puppy hit so hard it put you on the ground . Don't know who made it never asked when we found the owner we just needed it TURNED OFF so we could get thru his wire to mow the four lines across his land . This fence was down south of New Philly Ohio . Build a five strand fence with the bottom wire no more then a foot off the ground and the to wire chin high and make all five strands HOT , They can't go under and can't go over and they sure are NOT going to cut it

 

[keith427]

If it was me, I would contact the game warden that patrols your area and let him know what is happening. I will bet he will be happy to help stop them. I would put up a game cam and provide him pictures as well. If he has photo evidence his job is much easier.

 

[1948CaseVAI]

How about putting up ..no parking.. signs and have them towed.

Can't do that on a public road of course.

 

[1948CaseVAI]

Tail cam is a good idea. You can call he Sheriff if you wish but do not count on satisfaction. A lot of ideas here will get you put into prison so beware of the things mentioned here.

 

[ss55]

Seems that a pond on my property has become free domain for poachers. Not only do they steal my fish but they tear up my fence between the road where they park and the pond. In Texas I have satisfied the requirements for a $2,000 fine for encroachment. They only come at night.

I have a lot of farm equipment that they can screw up big time if they are of a mind to. That has deterred me from doing any more than fix the fence that they tear up.

Interested in any inputs from you folks as to how you handle situations like this.......Is the right thing to do is to do nothing?????

I had a friend that had such a problem and got into it with the poachers.....since he had no equipment on that parcel of land, they just ROTENOINED, or how ever you spell it, his pond and killed all his fish....besides the loss the stink was unbearable.
Appreciate comments.

Tall chain link fence (expensive, may not be effective) or drain the pond to get rid of the attractive nuisance.

 

[ss55]

Trail cam set so you can get license plate numbers.

Then.........decide if it's worth it. Some people will come back, and burn you out. It's a crappy world out there.

I have a 1M insurance policy that covers trespassers getting injured on the property. YEAH, THEY CAN SUE YOU. A pond is an "attractive nuisance", and if somebody drowns, the family can sue you for not providing adequate safety measures. Gotta love lawyers.

All my stuff is parked in the yard, which is fenced, and the pup has free run. We bring our cattle up by the house at night.......put them in dry lot.

I think I've mentioned in other threads...................I'm not a friendly guy. I mostly hate most people because I've seen what they're capable of. We are in an area that's transitioning out of agriculture. It's getting built up around us. It's not pleasant.

Around the Twin Cities it is popular to sell the farm to developers at a huge profit and then buy 5 times as much equivalent land two counties further out. Most farms do not have that kind of lucrative option but would love to have it if it was available.

 

[neverfear]

If it was me, I would contact the game warden that patrols your area and let him know what is happening. I will bet he will be happy to help stop them. I would put up a game cam and provide him pictures as well. If he has photo evidence his job is much easier.

Does anyone know if DNR rules apply on private ponds? Limits, seasons etc? I don't know.

 

[a49deere]

I just commented on a post about electric fence chargers . We ran into one back in 1971 that would make you rethink life choices . While mowing gas pipe lines we came across a plain bare wire fence that was tacked to trees and posts with no insulators , NONE and that puppy hit so hard it put you on the ground . Don't know who made it never asked when we found the owner we just needed it TURNED OFF so we could get thru his wire to mow the four lines across his land . This fence was down south of New Philly Ohio . Build a five strand fence with the bottom wire no more then a foot off the ground and the to wire chin high and make all five strands HOT , They can't go under and can't go over and they sure are NOT going to cut it

Insulated cutters, they can cut it!!

 

[Dingo3]

Does anyone know if DNR rules apply on private ponds? Limits, seasons etc? I don't know.

In my state, ponds/lakes on your land that are fed from under ground water are exempt from the owners needing a license. It it’s fed by a stream they need a license. The seasons, creel and size limits can also be enforced.
DNR has the power to enforce all laws in the field and on the road.
As far as where the OP’s problem is happening. Texas wardens have to cover a huge area but they are very dedicated. The few I know are top notch.

 

[Ed Fulton]

How about a trail cam and then call the sheriff?

Trail cams yield decent quality pictures, you can identify individuals in daylight, but it may be difficult in the dark. You cannot read license numbers day or night

 

[NDIHC]

A few years ago we had a neighbor to some land that is away from the farm who kept trespassing, hunting, kids riding 4 wheelers and dirt bikes and so on. We had pictures of them and their vehicles on game cams. We knew exactly who it was, but we couldn't read the license numbers. The game warden and sheriff deputy said thay couldn't positively identify them but agreed we had the right people. They took the pictures we sent them and said they were going to have a talk with the trespassers. We haven't seen any signs of them on our land since then.

 

[joeysmith]

Anyone suggested filling the pond in?

 

[moresmoke]

Or maybe a bull. Sign optional.

A couple donkeys would be my choice.

 

[john in la]

In my state, ponds/lakes on your land that are fed from under ground water are exempt from the owners needing a license. It it’s fed by a stream they need a license. The seasons, creel and size limits can also be enforced.
DNR has the power to enforce all laws in the field and on the road.
As far as where the OP’s problem is happening. Texas wardens have to cover a huge area but they are very dedicated. The few I know are top notch.

And the rules only apply to you.
Your brother who lives in town or your best friend needs a license.
An exception would be a hired hand not doing sport fishing like a catfish farm pond worker.