Would You take an "unfair" or unethical advantage is the question ?

[Ketchn]

HOA was one of the issues and they tried hard to get a YouTube friend of mine hauled off after I visited there by the law a few days later.
Second was someone I have yet to totally understand. He and I are not on the same page at all.
Last place was the ft worth side of a river and I knew if couldn't be terribly wrong with no nothing to try to stop me from doing it .

[Speckalator]

I don't see unfair or unethical in your pursuit of fish. However I would not step foot on private property, and HOA's are included, without permission. I think respecting the rights of property owners is important, that's me and your mileage may vary.

Cover 19 should not be taken lightly, IMO, as it's quite serious. So if I was invited to be on private property to fish I would fish. But if the invitation was not extended recently I would get clarity before stepping on the property.

I'm blessed to have a boat but it's not always been that way. I use to get permission to fish and made certain I understood the ground rules. If allowed to keep a few fish from private ponds or gained access to water by traveling over private party,, I'd offer a few fillets. And under no circumstance would I leave as much as a gum wrapper on the place.

There's plenty of bank fishing opportunities around Douglas Lake that are open to the public and trash is a problem. so I think an invitation to fish private property is a privilege not to be taken for granted.

Just My thoughts. Agree or not. It's just my opinion.

[BobC]

In Pennsylvania, where some trout, and possibly other species are stocked. If on a river or stream there are places that people own, right up to them, or even possibly into them. So people have to be aware of that. Usually, some post signs of no trespassing, but others don't. So fisher persons beware.

Yes, and this has happened a few times in VA, and most likely PA. some of the old deeds have riparian rights, and the landowner owns the river or creek bottom. This led to some good court battles that the landowner won if he had the proof. Some guys to bust chops then did float trips where they never touched bottom, but then came stream fencing and the beat goes on. Best to check and ask permission.
Bob

[Alphahawk]

You don't say if you're are on public or private land. If it is public I see no problem. If it is private that is another story. If a place is on private land I will alway ask before venturing onto it. As for the post about HOA owning a lake, if it is theirs you have no right to be there. Many HOAs have built some very nice and big lakes....I'm happy for them. I've never seen or heard where an HOA went and took a so called "Natural Resource Lake". Riparian rights are something I have studied greatly in the state of TN. At one time I was an avid bank fisherman...and I kayaked fished for 4 years. In TN we have a law called the "High Water Mark"....and a law referring to "Navigable Waterway". Many will tell you navigable waterway means commercial boat traffic...nothing could be further from the truth. TN goes by the list put out by the Corp of Engineers as to what waters are considered navigable in this state. On that list are tons of creeks...streams...rivers......no wider than 3 or 4 feet at places. The "High Water Mark" is anything that can indicate that water was there at one time or the other...such as driftwood....gravel and sand bars. TN law states if it is a "Navigable Stream" you have the right to be on dry land....not past the "High WaterMark", along that stream even if the land is privately owned...in other words that land is considered part of the stream. Here is where the problems come in. Did you trespass across private land to get to that stream? The next one is if the land owner calls the local sheriff. The sheriff is going to tell you to leave...been there done that. So if all that is the law why leave....well if you refuse to leave the sheriff in all likelihood will take you away and let the judge handle it...and herein lies the problem. The judge you will have to see is a local judge. In talking with several of my attorney friends..and my attorney also....they all told me they don't know of anyone who won what few of these cases show up from time to time. So I gave up on trying to fish many creeks that were teaming with smallmouth. These type incidents happen quite often now with the huge increase in the use of kayaks for fishing. Folks pull over to get out and the landowner happens to come along and now we have a problem. Believe me...I wish the letter of the law was followed on riparian rights....there are tons of great places to fish here but when you run into a landowner who could care less about riparian rights it just is not worth it.


Regards

[Pirogue]

Oh....I thought this was a Livescope question.

[ET Fish]

Oh....I thought this was a Livescope question.

Me too!

[Ketchn]

there was no a live scope present during these adventures ,,,,my disclaimer time

[Ketchn]

The bridge over the river is within 2 city limits , both are public and the off side i rarely use as it typically isnt as good as the side i used to access the walkway . the ft worth side is typical of ft worth in that its the wild wild west and you best be REALLY breaking the law before the ft worth police will want to get involved . the other side of that river is a totally different story though and they might take you to jail and or cite you heavily if there is something they consider somewhat unlawful going on from what i have heard .
that all said i think i was ok most probably and would most certainly leave if asked to do so .
as far as high water marks i have studied that myself and talked with the game warden in depth about the boundaries and such , like the drip line of a boat house kind of thing . many folks use kayaks to get up under docks and insist when confronted they are in the water and its a public waterbody when in FACT once they pass under the drip line of a private dock they are in fact trespassing . but to be sure i dont enforce the law and dont tread on the law and respect authority to keep myself in that not agitated state as much as possible .
one thing for certain though and this goes without saying i am sure you understand , i always tread the ever so slightest when invited to private property as invites are typically not all that easy to come by and it seems to get worse daily .

[Barnacle Bill]

Interesting post.

[Schmoopie]

The HOA didn't take the land; they bought it from the city. They were lakes that were public and the city sold them off (as I understand it). So, yeah, <bleep> those HOAs. Come to Memphis. We have the Mississippi River and the Loosahatchie River and the Wolf River, and all three are on the list of "don't eat fish from these polluted waters".