johnsonbeachbum

I am going to say this but not to defend either side, just a thought..........



In the first instance, you pissed him off when you did not have your night owl permit displayed in the windshield. Why was he pissed off?

Because his job is to clear the park when it is closing time at 10p.m.

If you do not display the N.O. permit in your windshield, he has to assume you are a damn tourist that thinks they do not have to be out by 10p.m. Or they just do not know what time it is. Or maybe they are having or are in trouble of some kind.

So any vehicle inside the park after 10p.m. and without a N.O. or campground permit has to be investigated. The persons tracked down and told to leave. If he does not find the vehicle occupants, he might have to call in a search and rescue (not kidding).

Now maybe policy is that if you do not display the permit properly then you must leave at that time and learn to do it right next time.

Or maybe it is that rangers policy, I do not know. Just guessing.



The second instance of being hassled for "camping" is totally bogus (as described) because it would be no different than sleeping on the beach during the day.

fishinstevez

wow!:usaflag

Miami Matt

any update?

Herculined

I heard that, I hate seeing them. It's like they come up with these rules in a moment of spontaneity, that we cannot detect.

Hydro Therapy 2

Thats crazy, right there. I know I won't be going out there anytime soon and I'll warn as many as I can about this crap.

WayLaid

I was born in 63 & have lived here since 1964. I thank god, grew up fishing in the 70's.

I lived on the beach every minute I could, shark fishing with tent , fire and all.

I never left any(plastic,glass,ect...) true trash. Them ashes never hurt anything.

About the time I started beach fishing they had just closed down driving on the beach @ johnson's beach to ft. mcrae. I did take a couple of rides before they did this, in not 4x4's but just 2 wheel drives with deflated tire pressure.

When I won the BIGGS shark tournament for the beach/pier division in 1979 we were able to PARK anywhere along the road. I fished that whole week with tent & all & only seen 1 couple who helped me beach a big Dusky that whole time frame.

I miss the day's like that fishing with Elmo!

Anyway the 80's brought more "rules" but I quit fishing because we couldn't catch but very few big fish. Then the 90's started to bring the big fish back.

Well then the Big Rich dogs started to ruin the beach with their CONDOS & that's when the "Rangers" started getting militant. Late 90's.

The year before & the year up until IVAN hit I was fishing the turning basin & one night before 10 p.m. I got pulled over by some young punk ranger to do a "duck walk".Passed, but not before I was put though the ringer! The idiot went through all the B.S. searching the truck & all but never ask to see my Gag's after I told him I was tired from dragging the boat & gear!

So after that little episode,as much as I love saltwater fishing, decided to just give it up.

Then last year, a good friend & his lady from Baton Rouge came over & ask me to come to beach & show them a good place to eat.(I avoid Pensacola beach & others like the plague!)

I took them to Peg leg's & spent over $100 & got in a dispute because the dang manager made the mistake of giving us the wrong order. When one of the waiter's said they would eat that 1 order part of the bill, that manager MURZIN told me to tell him which one said that & he would fire them. I HATE A RAT!

We payed & left but this punk called the cops. We were chased down by 4 or 5 cops, who were driving around a 100 mph in a 30 mph zone, forced off the road with cars & Q-beams and nothing was done but PISS me & my friends off. Talk about ASSWIPES!



The "Rangers" in their little shorts,packing heat story doesn't surprise me, but it was a good thread to start.



I know we can never return to "Paradise lost" and I know that most of ya'll wont agree with me, but I pray a CAT 5 Hurricane would put that barrier island under about 3 feet of saltwater and then maybe just a little "Paradise" just maybe would be regained!



"Take that Buck Lee & all DIM "Rangers"! :boo[highlight=#ffff11][/highlight]

Alphabet

Hi -



From the park website:



"All fishing regulations within the Seashore correspond to the state fishing regulations. Commercial fishing, including shrimping and crabbing, is prohibited within Seashore waters. In the Perdido Key, Fort Pickens, and Santa Rosa Areas the Seashore boundary extends on the north to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and on the south one mile from the low tide line of the island. At Naval Live Oaks the Seashore boundary extends 100 yards from the low tide line. The Okaloosa Area has no water boundary.



Within the Seashore boundaries are thriving seagrass beds. Threats to these important resources include: degraded water quality, dredge and fill projects, physical impacts from boat groundings, and boat propellers and anchors. Please use caution when fishing and do not walk through seagrass beds. Please do not anchor your boat in these areas."



"5. No spear fishing is permitted from 200 feet east of the Fort Pickens fishing pier, to 300 feet west of the last rock jetty in Pensacola Pass. Spear fishing is prohibited in the Perdido Key jetties and in the vicinity of swimming beaches. Explosive or power heads are prohibited"

"Spear Fishing



Spearing is defined as "the catching of a fish by bow hunting, gigging, spear fishing, or any device used to capture a fish by piercing its body". The use of powerheads, bangsticks, and rebreathers remains prohibited. The following is a list of species which are prohibited for harvest by spearing.



Billfish (all species

African pompano

Weakfish

Snook

Bonefish

Sturgeon

Tripletail

Spotted Sea Trout

Nassau grouper

Jewfish

Sharks

Tarpon

Pompano

Red drum

Blue crab

Manta ray

Spotted Eagle Ray

Permit

Stone crab

Lobster

Families of ornamental reef fish (surgeonfish, trumpetfish, angelfish, butterflyfish, porcupinefish, cornetfish, squirrelfish, trunkfish, damselfish, parrotfish, pipefish, seahorse, puffers).



Any other species not listed which are managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and those not managed by the Commission are allowed to be harvested by spearing."



http://www.nps.gov/guis/planyourvisi...in-florida.htm

http://www.nps.gov/guis/planyourvisi...lf-islands.htm

Alphabet

Hello!



I am an employee at Gulf Islands National Seashore. Part of my job is to assist the public by providing information, so that is what I will attempt here, simply to be factual. I am not speaking for the park, or venturing my personal opinions on any of the issues being discussed ? I merely have information that may be useful in furthering the discussion in this thread.



Another part of my job is issuing Night Owl Permits, so if you have one, then you may very well have gotten it from me, or one of 15 or so others that perform my job. When I issue you a NOP, I document your contact and ID/DL information, and have you sign a form stating that you agree to abide by the regulations of the permit. If you have purchased a permit, then you have signed that form, and I as the employee issuing the pass am required to sign it as well.



The Night Owl Permit is not a tiny wallet card. It is about 4 inches tall and 8 inches across. The newer ones are lime green, so the black text on the back shows up very nicely, and is quite easy to read.

The regulations are on the back of the pass. If you own one, then you can read them, and hopefully, you already have.

For those that do not own a pass, here is what they say on the reverse:



Night Owl Regulations



---The Night Owl Permit authorizes the permit owner (as signed) and any accompanying passengers in a single, private, non-commercial vehicle to remain beyond the Fort Pickens and Perdido Key area gates after they are secured.



---The Fort Pickens gate is locked at 10:00 p.m. and the Perdido Key gate is locked at sunset. Upon entering these areas, ensure that entry gates are secured behind you. During compliance checks, Night Owl Permit holders and any accompanying guests may be asked to provide identification.



---(The next block is all about how and when to obtain the gate codes each month - sorry, but more than I want to type right now.)



---Display the NOP face up on the driver side dashboard. For the permit to be valid, the permit owner must have a valid (. . . yadda yadda various annual or lifetime park pass. . .) that bears their signature. A valid NOP holder must accompany the vehicle utilizing the permit.



---Overnight sleeping or camping is not permitted. Park in designated areas only. No fires on the beach. Entry into other locked areas (fortifications, closed roads, etc.) is prohibited. Please keep all gate codes confidential.



Hope that helps!

Papa Z

DAMN IT !!! :hoppingmad Cant even fish now day's!!! :hoppingmad I thought we lived in America ! :usaflag I guess for the money all we can get is a bunch of Barney Phyff's! I want 1 of them to to check me !!:hoppingmad I might go to jall But i fought the state of Florida and wone !! I've lived here all my life and im pissed off that U cant find any public beaches anymore!!! Now the Commie's take over our fishing right's!!! :banghead Well im mad now so best i sighn off befor i realy say what's on my mind!!! Tight lines and Cold Beer to All!! If ya find a place to use them! :usaflag :usaflag :usaflag :usaflag

johnsonbeachbum

Thanks for responding here Alphabet, and welcome.



So I guess the reason for the original poster of this thread getting kicked out the first time is because he did not have his night owl permit displayed in his windshield?



And the second time he was run thru the wringer was because he might have been sleeping?