DEVILS LAKE, N.D. (KFYR) – Devils Lake is one of the busiest waterbodies in our state, and that’s why North Dakota Game and Fish (NDGF) Department game wardens patrol it to make sure everyone is safe and following the letter of the law.

“Today we went out, we started doing some boat ramp checks. We checked some people cleaning fish. They actually had a nice day on the water. They had their 10 walleyes, and they were all set and we hopped in the boat, went around, did some checks on the boat,” said Gage Muench, NDGF district game warden.

Game Warden Drew Johnson decided to take a different approach to check anglers on the water.

“It’s so much easier for me to launch and then load it and then just operation as far as making the contacts with it. And just to be out there on the front lines protecting our natural resources is really fun and enjoyable and rewarding too,” said Johnson.

Warden Johnson also made a young angler’s day on the water.

“We did see a youngster wearing a life jacket. We were able to hand out a Dairy Queen certificate since he was wearing it, but no citations today, so that was a good day. Safety is number one for us and we love to see that compliance,” said Johnson.

Wardens Johnson and Muench checked many anglers fishing from boats and on shore on Devils Lake.

“Everyone was friendly to deal with. Didn’t have any violations anywhere. Everyone had their life jackets, they had their safety equipment, fishing licenses so it’s exactly what we like to see,” said Muench.

Game wardens protect our natural resources by making sure everyone is following regulations while enjoying the outdoors.

“We need to make sure we have them for the future generations to enjoy,” said Johnson.

“We deal with a lot of harsh weather being on the water and being out in the elements, people can get in trouble really quickly and that’s why we enforce those safety regulations. And everything’s done legally and ethically,” said Muench.

And both wardens enjoy having their offices in the outdoors every day.

“We get to talk with the people. We get to be outdoors every day that we’re out patrolling. And it’s just, to me, it’s the most rewarding job there is,” said Johnson.

“I still have fun basically the entire time dealing with people that are out doing exactly what I enjoy,” said Muench.

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