The Tortise and the Hare

By SGW Wendall Smalling

A few years back, several wardens in 3rd district decided to team up and work shockers on the lower Kiamichi and Red Rivers. As most local folks know, the equipment that we had to work with in those days was to say the least, a bit modest. But just like most dedicated game wardens everywhere, we had the will; so it follows; we had to find a way.

At certain times of the spring, summer and fall," when the water is right", a particular element of unscrupulous fishermen will load up long handled dip nets, shocking devices, wire leads, chain drops, batteries and head to the river with their boats. In recent years, technology and ingenuity has been used by some of these outlaw fishermen to disguise their criminal activity. Usually there are ice chests, tool boxes, or other containers in the boat to conceal the equipment. Some poaching boats are rigged with shocking devices built in the hull and quick connect wiring so that it can be thrown overboard if a threat is perceived.

On one particular occasion, we (game wardens) had three small unmarked jon boat on the lower Kiamichi and Red River. Each boat carried a couple of wardens dressed in the 'good ole boy attire. Our strategy was to get as close to any suspect boat on the water as we could, without giving away our identity till the last moment. Our watercraft was fitted with a 15 hp outboard that started sometimes on the third or fourth pull of the cord. We carried with us a hand held radio that had a very short range. We had an ice chest with food, snacks and drinks and basic provisions to spend the day on the water. Basically, our boats were scattered out a few miles apart hoping that one of us would 'get lucky' and stumble upon a shocker.

As luck would have it, game warden David Robertson and I rounded a bend in the river and saw ahead of us a larger fiberglass boat sporting a 70 hp outboard engine. The larger boat was slowing moving along a rock outcropping along the river bank. Said boat was occupied
three male subjects, two of which were standing upright near the front of the boat holding two long handled dip nets. This is a dead give away to a shocking operation in progress! Since we in our smaller boat, dressed in our "fishin" clothes didn't look like much of a threat, we were able to get almost within arms reach of the aspect boat before they "smelled a rat". David and I could see inside the suspect boat and observed lead wires running over the side of the boat down into the water. At this point we identified ourselves as Oklahoma State Game Wardens. By this time the two suspects in front of the boat had already laid down the long handled dip nets. Just before we could grasp the side of the suspect boat, the driver accelerated and turned sharply into the side of our boat almost capsizing us. Again, we identified ourselves and ordered them to stop. This only hastened their escape efforts. We immediately gave chase and we could see lead wires being thrown overboard on the fleeing boat.

We attempted to contact the other game wardens that were on the river, but our radio signal would not reach any of them. David and I were pursuing full throttle in our small boat but kept falling farther behind the larger boat. We were able, however, to advise the Choctaw Co. SO that we were in pursuit of a yellow boat with a 70 hp outboard engine. Our hope was that we could catch up to them before they could get their boat loaded at the boat ramp about a mile upstream. We knew that if they passed by the boat ramp and continued up stream, they would eventually run out of river, since the Hugo dam was six or seven miles upstream. Also, we knew that two more game wardens were on the water in their boat somewhere between us and the Hugo dam. David and I continued our pursuit, only seeing our suspect boat from an ever increasing distance and only on long straight stretches of water. With our throttle "maxed out" we just kept chugging along continuing our effort to make radio contact with the other two game wardens ahead of us. After pursuing the yellow boat for over a mile, it was far enough ahead of us, that it turned into the river bank just long enough for two of the suspects to jump out and disappear into dense brush. They carried with them what later was determined to be the shocking device.

With adrenaline now enhanced, David and I elected to continue our chase and focus on the boat and driver. At =past until we could notify other wardens of our situation. We are now three or four miles into the pursuit.

With our radio battery now even weaker than ever, we heard a faint response from the other team of wardens upstream, Larry Luman and Todd Toby. They had heard our pursuit and suspect boat description and were ready for the speeding yellow boat. But they had a dilemma of their own.

The problem was; how do you stop a speeding Arrow Glass ski boat when you are sitting in a small jon boat in plain clothes? Count on a game warden to figure it out!
Instead of joining a futile chase, why not let the big boat stop on its own terms?
When wardens Luman and Toby saw the approaching Yellow boat, they became "good ole boy" fishermen and fained a mechanical problem with their small boat. As the bigger boat neared them it slowed down and the driver yelled that two guys who said they were game wardens were chasing him. Both officers pretended to have difficulty hearing what the suspect boat driver had stated and asked him to repeat his information. Not suspecting another pair of wardens on the same river, the suspect stopped and repeated his statement. Again Luman bought Some time while inching toward the bigger boat by asking more questions. The suspect stated that even though he didn't see any uniforms on the two guys down stream in the small Jon boat, he believed they were game wardens because he saw their guns. The two boats are now along side each other and the trap is set!

What exactly goes through a game violator's mind the moment he realizes he has just been duped? It must have been difficult to accept when the yellow boat driver saw ANOTHER plain clothes GAME WARDEN grab the side of his boat and in the same instant jump inside it with him. While the reality of his situation is starting to set in with the yellow boat driver, David and I are closing the gap. By the time we catch up to the suspect boat, Todd and Larry have things pretty well wrapped up. Enough evidence remained in the suspect boat to make seizure possible and the driver was jailed.

A little investigative effort on our part and a written statement from the violator was
sufficient to identify the other two subjects who bailed out of the boat onto the river bank and fled. Warrants were issued and subjects were later cited for their involvement in this incident.
Bigger is not always better, or is it speed verses cunning?