Then-Wyoming’s Game and Fish Director Was Caught Fishing Without a License

It’s been almost 30 years, But many people in Wyoming still remember the time the state Game and Fish Department director was caught fishing without a license.

In June 1995, a young game warden was checking fishing licenses on a stream near Rawlins and asked then-director John Talbott for his license.

According to reports at the time, Talbott, then 42, had no such characteristics. He later reportedly tried to cover up his blunder by allegedly using a fake licence.

This led to a scandal that led to his resignation in early 1996, ending his 17-year career with Game and Fish.

Contacted by Cowboy State Daily, Talbott declined to comment on the accusations of being caught without a license and trying to cover up the incident.

The Event Reflected in the ‘Joe Pickett’ Novels

This event inspired famed Wyoming author C.J. Box to reflect this in his highly successful “Joe Pickett” series of novels about the adventures of a fictional Game and Fish warden.

In the first episode of the series, “Open Season,” Pickett gives the governor of Wyoming a ticket for fishing without a license. This incident is also mentioned in later novels of the popular series.

Box told Cowboy State Daily that the real-life guard who ticketed Talbott was Mark Nelson. Nelson still works for Game and Fish at the agency’s headquarters in Cheyenne.

Nelson did not respond to a request for comment.

Talbott went on to study at Oregon State University in Corvallis. He is listed on the university’s website as a member of the College of Agricultural Sciences staff.

However, OSU College of Agricultural Sciences staff told Cowboy State Daily that Talbott has retired from that position.

Moreover, John Talbott should not be confused with another former Wyoming Game and Fish Director, Scott Talbott, who retired honorably in 2019 and has no connection to the fishing license debacle.

Fake License?

Former Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer took office in January 1995 and told Cowboy State Daily he remembered the incident involving John Talbott.

Geringer said it seemed out of character because Talbott had been with Game and Fish for a long time and had an excellent reputation.

“I was really impressed that John somehow got involved in unlicensed fishing because of his integrity and professionalism,” Geringer said.

He initially thinks it was a simple mistake for Talbott to go fishing without making sure he had a licence.

To avoid such a mistake, Geringer said he purchased lifetime fishing and upland bird hunting licenses.

It is unclear whether these lifetime licenses were available at the time Talbott was ticketed.

The integrity violation allegation came later, the Casper Star-Tribune reported at the time.

According to the Star-Tribue, Talbott allegedly examined fishing license receipts at the Game and Fish office, found a license purchased by someone his weight, and tried to pass off this license as his own.

He was later fined $400 in Carbon County Court and had his fishing privileges revoked for a year.

Geringer said the Game and Fish Department is fairly autonomous, so the call for Talbott to resign likely came from the Game and Fish Commission, not his office.

“I had no direct authority” over Talbott, he said.

Still, Geringer said he had “a high standard of professionalism on my part as governor” and supported the decision.

‘The First Mistake Was Very Human’

Mary Kay Hill was Geringer’s policy director at the time.

He too recalls the incident involving Talbott causing shock and disappointment.

“He was a very respected person. “He had risen through the ranks to become a respected wildlife manager,” he said.

He said most people at the time didn’t accuse Talbott of fishing without a license. The real problem came from trying to cover it up later.

“The first mistake was very human,” Hill said. “I think a lot of people can put themselves in his shoes.”

He added that, as far as he could remember, the guard who ticketed Talbott did not know who Talbott was at the time.

“He wasn’t someone who was trying to nail his boss,” Hill said. “This was just an unfortunate human interaction.”

Recently retired Game and Fish director Brian Nesvik told Cowboy State Daily that the incident with Talbott occurred just as Nesvik was starting his career with the agency.

Nesvik said he was not directly involved in the incident, but was proud of how his colleagues handled the matter by not giving Talbott special treatment because he was the agency’s director.

“This showed real integrity on Game and Fish’s part because it showed that we were willing to enforce the law no matter who was involved,” he said.

Mark Heinz can be reached at [email protected].