Can a dock owner tell you to NOT fish around their dock and justifiably be in their rights to do so??! A situation came about last weekend and i'm just curious to know what & how my fellow fishermen feel in regards to scenario... :p
Can a dock owner tell you to NOT fish around their dock and justifiably be in their rights to do so??! A situation came about last weekend and i'm just curious to know what & how my fellow fishermen feel in regards to scenario... :p
don`t know the lwas in your state but in Ga. the land owners land ends at the water line they can build a dock over the water with a permit but they don`t own the water unde it . as long as you don`t git on the dock or tie up to it they can`t say anything about it . i would ask a game warden for sure . the dock is like a boat if some one is fishing off it then be crtious and stay away .
On some game and fish lakes, you can get a permit to build a pier or dock, but you can't restrict public access. I think the game and fish claims 20 feet from the water edge. My wife and I rented a place on the water that had a dock that was a hot fishing spot. There were several guides that fished there, but as long as we were on the dock and fishing they steered clear. My guess is that it's probably legal to fish it, but not worth the hassle. All the fish in the lake will not be under 1 dock.
Depends on the lake your at. I was at Lake Hamilton and was told to stay away from the docks. The land owner owned to the center of the pool. I think it was Hamilton, anyway it was near Hot Springs and was an arkansas power and light lake. I never went back again.
I know on Norfolk, Bull Shoals, a year or two ago, the COE was looking at making a ruling that you could not fish the docks from a boat.
Dock owners were tired of hooks in lines going to the dock. Not sure how it came out but the dock owerns were pushing it hard
I fish docks as well and I've only had a few encounters with dock owners in which they asked me not to fish under their dock. Memorial Day weekend I had a dock owner come down and ask me if I could get any closer to his dock, I kept my mouth shut and kept on fishing. I came back that Monday and the dock owner had lined the outside of his dock with 2 x 6's and lattis. I just laughed and went on to the next dock. I've asked the local game warden and he said as long as I was not on the dock or tied up to the dock, it was legal to fish under the dock. I'm not going to be disrespectful to anyone. If they ask me not to fish under their dock, I will leave but I will be back later. They own the dock but not the water under it.
x2Quote:
Originally Posted by arkdrakehunter
I have a friend that loves for people to fish his dock and boathouse. He runs a 1/2" nylon rope underwater about 18" all around the perimeter. Runs it every other day. He hasn't bought crappie or bass baits in years.
I remember a day on Lake Conway just wearing them out off these folks dock. A lady saw me and come out walking on the dock and started baiting Yo Yo's and fishing around the dock. I just kept fishing and continued to wear them out, right in front of her. Was'nt long after her frustration and anger her husband came down and started fishing and walking all over the dock as to scare fish and run me off. I pulled off the dock about five feet and kept fishing and wearing em out. I looked at em and said WOW thanks you guys scared em right too me. LOL They finally broke down and asked me what I was useing.
Most people think they own the water in AR, even on a private lake, you don't own the water. The water is the propety of the state. This is why the AGFC requires a license to fish, even in pvt ponds. They may not enforce the law on most pvt ponds, but it is still the law.
In closing, fish the docks, but don't get into a fight over it, there are other places to fish on most lakes.
there are two lakes in the US where the owner also owns the lake area I don't know what the names are?? If the lake were to dry up the land is his. I know this to be true..... Never fish a guys property if he is there. you break off and the hooks are just waiting to get some kid or grandkids. Think about that. You got a whole lake to fish
Very true. A person might own the land under the water, but not the water itself. Think about it---if it's YOUR water, and it evaporates, how are you going to get YOUR water back? Or if someone drowns in YOUR water, are you liable?
I'm not for sure, but I think they were talking about commercial docks.Quote:
Originally Posted by WE16
If you fish under my dock the only problem is you may have to talk to me if I see you catching crappie I will definitely try to see how and engage you in a short conversation but I will never try to keep anyone from fishing it they may be my neighbor and I may be under their dock the next day it has happened before.
Noslab.
Arkansas has a law allowing fair access to navigatable waters. This states that if you can get to the water through public access, and navigate the water, you can go anywhere. This means water under the docks. So long as you are not on the docks, tied to the docks, or holding onto the posts, you are not tresspassing, and therefore have all legal rights to fish it. I tell you this from experience, we were talking with a warden one afternoon about some guys duck hunting in a field with us, and since they were coming into our field from the river, there was nothing we could do untill they dropped an anchor, tied to a tree, or got out and walked across the field. As long as they were in a boat floating around, it was perfectly legal.
I would fish them until I was asked not to. There are more places to fish than to get in fight over someone elses dock. Now however, I wouldn't fish a dock if it looked like kids used it for swimming, (slide, diving board, or a ladder on the end to get back up). Not saying its wrong, but thats just me. I don't want to think that I took the chance to maybe leave a hook in the water around where kids are swimming. To many places for me to fish for me to do that.
All the wardens I've ever known do the best they can do with rare exception, but they are not always knowledgable about property law. If you own it unflooded, you own it flooded. If it's part of the streambed or below the normal high water mark (where the channel normally is, not where it is when it floods), such as sand bars or gravel bars where there is no aquatic vegetation, you don't own it even if the river is low. Ownership and what you can or cannot keep people off of does not change with the water level in a river though the changing water levels and cuttings such as willow or other trees growing up on a growing sand bar or bluff banks getting cut or sloughing off can change what one owns. The bottom line is that if a person motors out of the river and onto land someone owns, they can run them off or have them arrested for trespass whether or not they drop anchors or decoy lines. Having said that, I sure wouldn't bother someone who was just running across land to get to somewhere they had a right to be and would hope they wouldn't bother me if I was doing the same.Quote:
Originally Posted by dblevens
Also a landowner does own water on his property unless it is "navigable". The water may increase or decrease, just like dirt may wash in or out. It's yours while it's within your property lines.
To go back to the thread, though, a dock on public waters, e.g., a Corps reservoir, a navigable stream or lake, a G & F or state park lake, etc., is something that a person has a right to fish around as long as they don't get on it or grab ahold of it.
I really appreciate the responses/input that was given... I don't feel so bad now knowing that others have ran into the same problems in regards to fishing near or next to someone's dock. Lesson learned, to fish smart not hard(headed) & keep duck feather skin when individuals think they own more than the lumber they put out in the water. :-)
Only place I've heard being illegal to fish around a dock was some commercial docks on the bigger lakes like Bullshoals. I would ask the local WO in your area or call the AGFC HQ in Little Rock.
me and a buddy were catching crappie on lake of the ozarks a few yrs ago wearing them out by a dock and every once in a while i keep hearing somebody saying something but we could not figure out what was being said or where it was coming from this went on for at least a hour and i finally looked up above the dock by the lake house and say a lady standing in the door way she was hollering just leave .me and my buddy still laugh about that even yrs later .some city slicker comes down and buys a lake house and now thinks she owns lake of the ozarks and the fish.
I seen on a bass master episode the other day the pro asked a guy to get off a dock so he don't scare the fish thought that was rude since it was his dock
I seen the same episode this weekend and thought that was pretty tacky. Good thing it wasn't me or might have have gotten pretty tacky with him.
From what I understand you can fish the docks, but if a dock owner asks me not to I move to another one
When a dock owner ask me to take my yo-yo's off their dock, I'll move 'em to another one also...:yikesQuote:
Originally Posted by mdperson
1975 remote area of canada son and i on flyin take boat to corner of lake where there is a summer cabin and start hammering the smallmouths elderly woman comes out and shouts at us to get the hell away from their dock i move off about 20 feet five minutes later her husband comes out with a shotgun we left 37 years later and my son still wants to know if they were crazy
You remember when the B.A.S.S. had a tourney on Beaver 3 or 4 years ago and had all the high water? One fisherman got his boat shot with a high power rifle when he was asked to leave and didnt do so at first chance. A lot of people dont own much but take great care in defending what is rightfully theirs.
Pretty sure it is legal to shoot at b.a.s.s. Tournament fishermen in most states. Did he miss? Did fishermen have to take deduction for lead in boat?
Two words.
Public
Lake
That said, I suspect it's legal for me to shoot holes in my own dock with a pistol, repeatedly.
Game Wardens are scarce. Police are scarcer. Fish are everywhere; common sense is usually not. If turning the other cheek is not in your vocabulary, I 'spect you deserve whatever happens next, if you get yelled at by anyone on the water, a dock, a deck, a boat, or whatever. Start motor, smile, turn, leave, find new spot.
Course, I do agree that some folks are fair game to shoot at, like water bugs (skidoos) and tournament fishermen. :hatchet:
I just got a B'n'M dock shooting rod today... Can't wait to use it... They might own the dock but they don't own the water under it... Or the fish... Start shooting at me and you better not miss!. Cause I wont!
Member, Tri State Crappie Anglers
DOCK!!!! WHA CHU MEAN DOCK!!!! STAY OFFA MY WHOLE LAKE:biggrin
Before I read any of the other posts, Public lakes, assuming you do not step out on their property or damage their property in any way= free to fish. I don't worry about what they think, it's a free lake in most cases.
If its a dock selling gas they do not want you to fish around their gas lines which usually run under the dock and if they have signs posted no fishing allowed around dock and shine a light in your face with a pistol its time to leave.In the summer time with lots of folks around not a good time.Empty dock no $50,000 dollar ski rig might not want to fish around unless it's 2:30 in the morning. if they shine a light in yours eyes again its time to leave!!!! All I want to do is fish the water under the dock or brushpile nothing wrong with that!!!!!!
friend told me the same thing recently happened to him, so he got three buddies to come over and fish the same dock with him next day... not really nice, but funny.
Fact is, common sense is sorely missing from most of our society today....and when it comes to "mine....mine...mine", it is a bunch of supposed adults acting live preschoolers.
Next time you get yelled at, suggest they take a timeout, or a nap. Happy and safe 4th to all. I would like to say am going fishing, but w/temp pushing 100, think I will take another nap.
Yeah so many people worry about dock owners doing things when I'm not sure they realize in a court of law they are just as guilty for pointing guns, shooting, ect at boats on a public lake....make one good example out of somebody and it all ends! I won't fish around boats much because I don't wanna risk bouncing a bait off a shiney new boat and most of the time the boats parked out there are from rich folks so they are new and expensive. Some folks think money can buy anything and in this World it just about can but public is still public. They shine a light in my eyes, I got one too! Other night on Hamelton I wante to troll up in a small neck and shine the light for bream beds. Well it was beside a dock and I noticed the owners watching, not a problem there as I wouldn't want someone stepping out on my dock either. They never said anything though, since it was like midnight out there i'm sure they were worried but all I wannted to do was find bream beds while bassin.Quote:
Originally Posted by OLDFISHERMAN
Old River lake in Scott, AR has some possessive owners on it. That was my favorite lake when I lived down there, had various levels of "desires" expressed by owners about their docks and/or nearby brush piles. One old fart starting throwing rocks, not at me, but at the water to scare the fish. Only made me want to fish it more, which I did. Nice little triangle of brush he had out there, nice of him to provide that for us.
I did violate the no touch rule one day, got hung up, broke off, jig was exposed between two slats, noticing kids toys and indicators that young ones played there I eased up to remove the jig, fella came out getting snotty about me be ON his dock. I wasn't on it, but had a hand on it as I leaned in to get the jig. Trying to explain my thoughts didn't help, he told me to stay far away or he'd call the cops. "Good luck with that", is all I had to say.
They own the structure, not the water under it nor anything they've placed on the bottom as fish attractors.
Be respectful, but don't take any crap.
I have never asked anyone to leave my dock at Horseshoe. As long as they are respectful to me and anyone else who walks out on the dock to fish, I have no problem with it. With that being said, if the conversation goes south, it will wind up being miserable for everyone!.
It is not the conversation we have to worry about. It is the behavior. The overwhelming number of people who fish, as well as the overwhelming number of people owning docks, would never disrespect one another. For that small percentage that do, it will not change.
If common sense ruled, we would not need so many unenforcable laws. Have to go. Am trying for some more pre-cooked fish in this heat.
I guess look at it this way. On a public lake where people sink brush all the time these new finders work very well and others can see whats down there all too easy. Does that mean you can't fish their brush, heck no, it's public. We can't very well lease coves in lakes now can we. If they find it, it's because they have done lots of looking and long as they protect the fish there, i.e, don't take too many, weed out the small ones for seed, ect. I don't have any issue with it. Matter of fact as some have mentioned here most guys are cool about it all and they may even sink more along with what you've dropped in the area, helping you as well. Now, I'll tell a guy hey I sunk it so he know's I have every right to fish along side of him there but I'd never say hey you can't fish it. Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you.
In my years of fishing Horseshoe I've had only one person get snotty; he stomped hard on the dock to scare away the fish. The rest either didn't say anything or engaged in polite conversation. I'm the same way with my dock on Bear Creek. Don't mind other people fishing around it & have offered advice about best spots around the dock...fish will come back. However, I sympathize with dock owners being apprehensive about people fishing around their docks at night: they're prob. afraid of theft. One time I had a bass fisherman fish my dock at 3:00 am. I watched him from the cabin and picked up my shotgun just in case.Quote:
Originally Posted by hudnut
I was fishing the local lake trying to catch a bream and a gentleman that owned property and a dock close to where we were fishing came down and visited with us for awhile, then proceeded to give us valuable crappie fishing information that we used the next spring to catch fish. Most people are nice if you are nice to them.
I don't own a dock but It would sure make me nervous if at 3am someone was messing around a dock I owned.