Fishermen vs Lake Home Owners
Posted: Wed Oct 09, 2013 11:16 am
I was reading a post by a fisherman who was confronted by a lake-shore homeowner, the home owner stating that he owned a certain amount of surface water from his dock, and the land below it. And that anyone fishing that area was trespassing. That was on Lake Washington.
To me that was ironic, because in the nearly 40 years I've been bass fishing this situation has only happened to me once. And that was also on Lake Washington. An elderly lady walked out on her dock and very nicely said that she didn't allow any fishermen to fish the waters around her dock. I very nicely replied that I would only be a few minutes and if I caught anything I promised I would release it. But she insisted. Once again I very nicely told her that if she felt I was doing something illegal, by all means, call the police, and I'll stay close by in case they arrive. Not nearly as pleasant as before, she said she would. Needless to say, I didn't see her again.
Incidences such as this usually happen to bass fishermen because bass fishermen do have a tendency to fish shorelines. But most people know that surface water, whether around, or even under a dock is public water and not privately owned. I remember a woman who legally owned the land on both sides of a river, and, yes, even the river bed connecting both sides. She screamed threats at passing drift boat fisherman, saying that they were trespassing. She raised such a stink that it was taken to court.It was ruled that even though the land owner may actually own the property under the water, a person floating over that property is no more trespassing than a pilot flying an airplane over the same private property.
In another incident a home owner actually dug his own private lagoon which was connected by a short channel to the lake. He held a fisherman at gunpoint who floated his boat into that lagoon, saying he was trespassing. The authorities arrived and arrested the land owner for illegal use of a firearm and illegal imprisonment. The law clearly stated that even if a land owner creates his own waters, if those waters are in any way connected to public waters, then said created waters are also open to the public.
Now, on the other hand, I was told by a County Sheriff that if a person snags a lure on private property, in actuality said person is trespassing if he attempts to retrieve the lure. And that is one aspect that I certainly can see as a problem and/or annoyance on the side of the land owner. A one ounce jig banged up against the jell-coat of my boat would irritate me, not to mention a fisherman taking a knife to my anchoring rope to retrieve a lure snagged in it. And then there is, heaven forbid, a hook snagged in a boat's canvas top. And I'm sure there are other irritations fishermen cause land owners that I'm not even aware of. And, as our gracious host of this website said, the realtors who sold said properties most likely made no mention of these daily, sometimes uncaring, off-shore visitors. But we all have to live by the same laws, or lack thereof.
Being a non-confrontational guy, I truly believe if I faced an irate home owner I would simply move on down the shoreline. Depriving myself of fishing one small area, or ruining my day's fishing by spending it mulling over an argument concerning my legal rights, to me is simply not worth the time and trouble. Life is too short, as is my time on the water. But, luckily,these types of home owners are by far the minority.
I always make a point to smile and wave at folks I see outside their homes. They may not own the water I'm fishing, but in their own way they are sharing it with me, and I try to be a gracious guest on their lake. And most are cordial and friendly, waving back and sometimes asking how's the fishing. In fact I can remember one cold and windy March day on Lake St. Claire that a home owner walked down to the dock I was passing and offered a Styrofoam cup of hot coffee to me, saying I bet this would taste pretty good right now. I honestly mean this when I say it. I will never forget the kind gesture of that nameless gentleman.
Bottom line, I cannot remember the last time I heard a fisherman say, "I went fishing on 'my' lake. But a lake-shore home owner always lives on "his" lake. Legal or not, please be gracious guests on "their" lake. Think about it. It really doesn't take much effort....
To me that was ironic, because in the nearly 40 years I've been bass fishing this situation has only happened to me once. And that was also on Lake Washington. An elderly lady walked out on her dock and very nicely said that she didn't allow any fishermen to fish the waters around her dock. I very nicely replied that I would only be a few minutes and if I caught anything I promised I would release it. But she insisted. Once again I very nicely told her that if she felt I was doing something illegal, by all means, call the police, and I'll stay close by in case they arrive. Not nearly as pleasant as before, she said she would. Needless to say, I didn't see her again.
Incidences such as this usually happen to bass fishermen because bass fishermen do have a tendency to fish shorelines. But most people know that surface water, whether around, or even under a dock is public water and not privately owned. I remember a woman who legally owned the land on both sides of a river, and, yes, even the river bed connecting both sides. She screamed threats at passing drift boat fisherman, saying that they were trespassing. She raised such a stink that it was taken to court.It was ruled that even though the land owner may actually own the property under the water, a person floating over that property is no more trespassing than a pilot flying an airplane over the same private property.
In another incident a home owner actually dug his own private lagoon which was connected by a short channel to the lake. He held a fisherman at gunpoint who floated his boat into that lagoon, saying he was trespassing. The authorities arrived and arrested the land owner for illegal use of a firearm and illegal imprisonment. The law clearly stated that even if a land owner creates his own waters, if those waters are in any way connected to public waters, then said created waters are also open to the public.
Now, on the other hand, I was told by a County Sheriff that if a person snags a lure on private property, in actuality said person is trespassing if he attempts to retrieve the lure. And that is one aspect that I certainly can see as a problem and/or annoyance on the side of the land owner. A one ounce jig banged up against the jell-coat of my boat would irritate me, not to mention a fisherman taking a knife to my anchoring rope to retrieve a lure snagged in it. And then there is, heaven forbid, a hook snagged in a boat's canvas top. And I'm sure there are other irritations fishermen cause land owners that I'm not even aware of. And, as our gracious host of this website said, the realtors who sold said properties most likely made no mention of these daily, sometimes uncaring, off-shore visitors. But we all have to live by the same laws, or lack thereof.
Being a non-confrontational guy, I truly believe if I faced an irate home owner I would simply move on down the shoreline. Depriving myself of fishing one small area, or ruining my day's fishing by spending it mulling over an argument concerning my legal rights, to me is simply not worth the time and trouble. Life is too short, as is my time on the water. But, luckily,these types of home owners are by far the minority.
I always make a point to smile and wave at folks I see outside their homes. They may not own the water I'm fishing, but in their own way they are sharing it with me, and I try to be a gracious guest on their lake. And most are cordial and friendly, waving back and sometimes asking how's the fishing. In fact I can remember one cold and windy March day on Lake St. Claire that a home owner walked down to the dock I was passing and offered a Styrofoam cup of hot coffee to me, saying I bet this would taste pretty good right now. I honestly mean this when I say it. I will never forget the kind gesture of that nameless gentleman.
Bottom line, I cannot remember the last time I heard a fisherman say, "I went fishing on 'my' lake. But a lake-shore home owner always lives on "his" lake. Legal or not, please be gracious guests on "their" lake. Think about it. It really doesn't take much effort....