Private land and fishing

I am just curious about the common feelings around stream fishing in your area. Here in the part of Illinois where I am you risk going to jail for trespassing. It's mostly farm land with narrow wooded areas along the creeks and streams. Sometimes when in the water and always when on the bank you are on private property. I completely understand the rule of asking permission from the owner. The problem with that is a lot of times the owner does not live anywhere close to even know who it is. There are varied opinions around here on whether it's legal as long as your in the water and others say that the land owner owns both sides of the creek so they own the creek too.
What is the common feeling in your area?

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Did you mean to post this here?

Probably best to try and get permission. In some states owners are real fussy about trespassing. Depending on whether the landowner has riparian rights, they may not own the stream-bed, but you still need access to the water. Better to be safe than get into a problem situation.
Bob

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Originally Posted by deathb4disco

Did you mean to post this here?

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I did. Seems like most stream fishing relates to panfish so I figured the most experience with private land would be here.

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Most streams and rivers here are public. I owned property on a lake in South Mississippi. It stated on the deed that I did not own all the way to the water. 20 feet from the water I had access and upkeep but no ownership

In Mississippi you need permission from the landowner. Now in Jack's case somebody else owns the strip between him and the lake. On the big reservoirs that land all the way around the lake is owned by the Corps of Engineers. On a lot of smaller lakes it's owned by the state. Creeks are owned by private land owners. Watershed lakes are built by the government. But the land under the lake is owned by private landowner and you need permission.

Here in Illinois we have borrow pits and the soil is used to build the overpasses. If the state stocks them then the landowner must allow fishing. It would have to be done from a helicopter though since they don't have to let you on their property.

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I have a small creek on my place and let me tell ya, permission is needed.

Each state can be different but many will be similar to TN. I studied the law on this as well as any lawyer….even consulted with my lawyer on it. For 4 years I was heavy into kayak fishing. TN has tons of small streams with tons of fish. I wanted to float all of them I could get to. In TN it has to do with what is considered a navigable waterway. That term does not mean what you may think. If so much as a log could have floated down it that could make it navigable. The state of TN goes by what the Corp of Engineers says is navigable. The Corp has a list…a very long list….of navigable waterways in TN. In the law it speaks of riparian rights…..and high water marks. If you are floating any stream deemed to be navigable by the Corp you can beach your vessel and be on dry land as long as you do not go above the high water mark. The law is very liberal on where the high water mark is. It just needs to be something apparent that water had at one time reached that level….driftwood…..beat down grass. The law…..as written is on the side of the fisherman. But……when the sheriff is called he is going to ask you to leave. If you do not leave you could be arrested. When you go to the local judge he does not have to go by what the law states. According to my research….and the conversations with my lawyer…..at no time ever in the history of the state of TN has anyone who was brought into court on this ever beat it. On the Caney Fork River here this happens every so often. Folks pull over to get out and stretch their legs and the landowner happens to come along. Sometimes the Sheriff is involved and sometimes TWRA is involved. All will advise you to leave. To me I decided even though the law is clear it was not worth the hassle. When you think about it, a man owns property in that county…..he is well known. You are an outsider no one knows…..you’re not going to win with the local judge. So I just gave up on it.

Regards


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navigable waters here as stated and normal water level ,property rights begin at normal pool level and above from what the game warden told me when I asked about it one year .
navigable typically covers waters a big boat can run in best I can tell ya in these parts .

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Originally Posted by Ketchn

navigable waters here as stated and normal water level ,property rights begin at normal pool level and above from what the game warden told me when I asked about it one year .
navigable typically covers waters a big boat can run in best I can tell ya in these parts .

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Not so....Texas law is as muddled as TN law. While the law is worded slightly different it is basically the same. Here is what Texas law says. That word "Navigable" just just does not mean what most folks think it does....most think it mean big boats...barge traffic and so on but that is not the case.
TPWD: If A River Runs Through It, What Law Applies? (Frequently asked Questions: River Navigation)

Regards

it is best to avoid any spot that does not see boat traffic if it crosses private property , trying to estimate the average width of a water body here depends on way to many factors to make it easy to establish . we have major river systems that get so low in the summer time you can drive a truck across them . some of the river systems here only get enough water to float a boat when it rains but are still considered navigable by definition of the law .
one thing for certain ,if you encounter a not happy land owner it might or could go south quickly , my bud who has since passed away had a really beautiful lake he built on a year round wet creek . one day, he noticed a canoe in it and went to see who it was ,thinking it was likely a friend of the family .
the guy in the canoe started to get all mouthy about the law and navigation rights and the ect etc etc you read in the above mentioned text . the answer from a man who rarely got upset by trespassers was just this as he pulled out a colt python nickel plated 357 .....
ALL I KNOW IS I OWN ALL THE PROPERTY AND THE LAKE AND YOU LEAVE NOW ! there were a few other not so kind words thrown at the mister canoe guy . not sure if he would have actually shot at him .but to be sure once you upset a "kind" person it is best to let it go ....
we encountered 2 guys in a boat one time launching at a low water bridge onto his property when we were leaving church on the way home . I said look at that SA , they are going fishing and we are not .....he said as he stopped the truck , thats funny I dont know them folks .....:yikes
it got pretty hilarious shortly there after , he said hello fellas ,going fishing ? they said yes sir .
he said do you know who the property belongs to ?
they said yes sir and we got his permission to fish it ! :yikes
SA gave us permission to fish here .....
He simply said well hmmmm ,thats funny ....I AM SA and i have no clue who you are ! .....:popcorn
you never seen 2 fellas turn as white as ghosts when he said that i tell ya .....:Rofl
said they knew a fella who knew a fella and etc like that one commercial on tv
and in the end it astonished me what he said next .....
tell you what fellas , lets not ruin your day of fishing this time
you can go ahead and fish in between this bridge and the next one downstream ,but don't go any farther than that.
as we drove off I said man SA you are way to kind , I would have sent them packing it back up
he and I just laughed a bit and down the road we went ....

Pretty sticky subject on both sides of it.

This guy seems to have figured it out. He kayaks and wades all over TN.

Creek Fishing Adventures - YouTube

Have a rolling video camera on the kayak doesn't hurt much either

Saw a sign on a dock Saturday morning that said no hunting or fishing within 500 yards of this dock. Ironically that extended into his neighbors property on both side.

I own land on the Duck River. My land plat shows I own out to the middle of the river but as long as you are in a boat you are not required to ask permission to use the river. Permission to beach the boat is.

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Originally Posted by bwilso

I own land on the Duck River. My land plat shows I own out to the middle of the river but as long as you are in a boat you are not required to ask permission to use the river. Permission to beach the boat is.

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Fair enough. Normally would only beach in an emergency

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Originally Posted by bwilso

I own land on the Duck River. My land plat shows I own out to the middle of the river but as long as you are in a boat you are not required to ask permission to use the river. Permission to beach the boat is.

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That sounds riparian…not sure but I think so. I read that in some areas an owner will put fencing across a stream in question so it can’t be floated. Best to leave it alone….
Bob

I have seen fences across smaller streams.....mainly to confine cattle. It would seem to be difficult to fence a floatable waterway. Flood waters would test the strongest of fences I could build. I have tried twice to be generous and let people use my riverbank to fish but both times they left me a mess to clean up but that is a topic better addressed in another thread. If a kayaker wanted to cross my land to put into the river i would not have an issue, just leave me a beer.

it is hard to tell where the middle of a creek or river is , but often times this is the property line here is as well .

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Originally Posted by Ketchn

it is hard to tell where the middle of a creek or river is , but often times this is the property line here is as well .

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Most creeks are always shifting and moving.