They Don't Make Many Like This Gent

Former fish and game warden, the late Terry Grosz (left), used to recount a hilarious story from back in the early 1980s. At the time, he was working in Northern California, where they had a monster salmon population. Fishermen were using illegal tactics to pull these massive fish from the Eel River.

By law, you had to stop fishing 30 minutes before sunset, but these guys were fishing well past 2 a.m. They also were fishing in pools where salmon were resting, and they were using these special lures that glowed when hit with the beam of a flashlight. It was like shooting fish in a barrel.

It always was hard to catch these fishermen because they would have spotters sitting on the roads to warn them if the wardens were coming. Terry, however, came up with a crazy idea...crazy, that is, to an outsider looking in.

His idea was to borrow a wet-suit from a friend and to stuff his 6-foot 4-inch, 300-pound frame into it. He then waited until it got late and waded into the water downstream from the spot he knew these guys were fishing illegally.

Terry then swam upstream against the current until he could see their lures and lit cigarettes, and hear them talking. He admitted it was difficult to keep from bursting out laughing, but he remained quiet as he swam ever closer in the pitch black. When one of their lures came close enough, he snagged it with his heavy-duty glove and started fighting against it like a big fish. He could hear them talking about how "this must be the biggest salmon they ever had caught."

Little did they know they were about to get the surprise of their lives.

When Grosz was close enough to shore to get his feet on the stream bed, he walked out of the water as cool as a cucumber and confronted the three men. At that point, he turned on his little three-cell flashlight, shined it in their eyes, and said, "Good morning gentlemen. State fish and game warden. You're all under arrest."

They were so shocked that they didn't say anything. One account, however, reported that one fella was so overcome he passed out. Terry wrote them all citations, then seized their illegal fishing gear, walked back into the river, and quietly swam away.

Whether as a professional in the field of wildlife law enforcement or as a prolific writer, Terry Grosz distinguished himself with passion, dedication, integrity, and professionalism. He began his 32-year career in wildlife law enforcement in 1966, with the California Department of Fish and Game in Eureka. After several years and a transfer to Colusa, he was hired by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, moving into increasing responsibility for conservation and wildlife law enforcement in successively larger geographic regions. In 1998, Grosz retired from the FWS and began a second career as a prolific writer, authoring and publishing more than 20 books before his death in February 2019.