I Cant Fish My Lake Anymore? What Can I Do?

[I.rar]

well , today i pull up to my fishing spot which happens to be in a park within a housing community that i dont live in. i hop out and have a quick smoke before i walk down to the water. as im finishing up about to take my things out of the car, a cop drives by slowly , stops then reverses back to where im standing next to my car. he asks if there is anything he could help me with. i told him no and that im going fishing here. he said that i couldnt fish here because its private property. i told him that ive been fishing this lake for years without any issue from anybody and that there is absolutely no signs indicating that this park/lake is on private property. there are two beach areas on the same lake that clearly have giant signs saying anyone who uses those spots should be a resident or accompanied by one. this specific spot and another one that i fist do not have these signs. ive stopped fishing those areas since they put up the signs. he begins to tell me that he is positive that its private and that i must leave the area. while im pretty sure he is wrong , im not the type to argue with the law so i did what he said and left.

now ive seen his car parked at the park before while ive fished there and hes never once said anything until today. ive been there by myself , with my daughter , with friends and even residents who happen to be there. and it really ticks me off because all of the good fishing spots are being surrounded by new houses and this was one of the last good spots to fish at in my area. btw , almost all my outing reports are from this lake. i would really hate to loose this spot because some cop who was probably having a bad day didnt want me to fish there.

what would you guys do?

[J Francho]

Someone probably complained. It probably is private property. You can find out at the tax assessor's office for sure. Up here, that info is available online.

[SoFlaBassAddict]

Unfortunately, if it is private property, there isn't a darn thing you can do about it. You can always keep on fishing it, just be ready to deal with the consequences if you're caught. I feel your pain though, lots of those areas are getting harder and harder to fish.

[Mountain Angler]

You cant do nothing if its private but I would check around and make sure you dont want to lose a fishng spot that is good.

[I.rar]

now that J mentioned someone complaining , im beginning to think someone did. while i always leave the area just as it was when i arrived , other people who fish there do not. ive found trash there on more than one occasion that was left behind.ill see if i can find the communities management number and give them a call.

im jealous of you guys in broward because of how many lakes you have up there. down here , its just houses. it seems if developers had their way down , they would fill the lakes and build houses on top.

looks like i may be doing more canal fishing.

[Ima Bass Ninja]

Try and make friends with a homeowner in the neighborhood. You will be able to fish there as there guest. Or you could talk to the HOA property manager or board of directors of the community. Be courteous and simply ask if you can fish in the pond and that you will help pick up loose trash or other minor jobs when you are fishing. I work for allot of HOA's and they are usually more than willing help people out when it helps there community.

[SoFlaBassAddict]

im jealous of you guys in broward because of how many lakes you have up there. down here , its just houses. it seems if developers had their way down , they would fill the lakes and build houses on top.

looks like i may be doing more canal fishing.

Getting access to most of the good lakes is next to impossible. I've got the one I live on, and one other with a launch ramp that I've been able to get into. Other than that the majority of them are blocked off in one way, shape, or form.

[I.rar]

ah , go figure.

well , it looks to be a county park. http://www.cutlerbay-fl.gov/parks.php towards the bottom of the page. the one i fish is saga lake park. on the saga BAY park map there is a small lot on the top left that is one of the private beaches and is outlined in red along with the other homes. they recently added a baseball field and a small pavilion and there was a mention of a possibility of water sports opportunities in the future.

i dont really want to argue with the guy about it , but he is obviously wrong.

[J Francho]

Print it up, and carry it with you.

[SoFlaBassAddict]

Print it up, and carry it with you.

X2

Carry proof and you'll be fine.

[NCbassmaster4Life]

You could always get a special permit from the city and make a deal with them to do community service.

[NBR]

I'd go to the resident manager of the property. If he says it is okay to fish ask him for a written permission slip on company letterhead. If he says no look for another spot.

[tomustang]

Print it up, and carry it with you.

Do this.

[StinkyBass]

i do the "fish it anyways" (if im by myself) and then do what you did. the whole "im sorry sir, i didnt see any signs" story. but after the first bust, its on you if the same cop busts you again! Sorry to hear about your spot, theres too much private property where i live too!

[ace9213]

Who knows, this may just lead you to a new and better fishing spot in the future! Plus, I get a thrill looking for new spots.

[Gatorbassman]

Print it out and carry it with you.

Here at the Hospital I work at we have a "No Smoking on hospital grounds" rule. Several months ago there was a family member of a patient smoking on the sidewalk just outside of the hospital. A cop pulled up and asked him to step off the property or put the cigarette out. The guy pulled a piece of paper out that he had printed out. It was the tax assessors map of the hospital property that plainly showed that the sidewalk was owned by the county and not the hospital. After the cop picked his jaw up off the ground he decided he need to move on.

[iceintheveins]

Since it's a park it's not private. Just carry that around as proof.

[tugsandpulls]

saw on a post before offer one of the resident a 6 pack or a gift of some kind might work who knows

[CoBass]

I agree with J Francho. Sometimes finding the info online can be difficult, but you could always go to the county tax assessors office in person. They will have detailed maps showing all property lines as well as contact info for the legal owner of each parcel of land. If it is public land, have them print the info for you and keep it on you while you're on the property.

[Stasher1]

I've run into a similar issue while fishing a pond in a county park. A county cop pulled up and tried to tell me that I wasn't allowed to fish in county parks. I said, "That's funny because my fishing license, and the GA DNR say otherwise."

Do your own research and know your laws. Many times the local officers don't.

[TxBankFisherman]

grow a beard and mustache and get a different look.... so if he sees you again he won't recognize you.... make sure his car is not there and maybe even park a ways away and walk in ... then they will probably think you live there.... it seems to be just a case of a cop wanting to push around his authority ... who knows???? I've had the same prob. on a place the owner gave permission....

I tressbass a little and I don't like it... but a bank fisherman like me has limited options....

[BrianinMD]

It amazes me to see the number of people who will makes excuses to justify fishing places they know they should not be. The laws are the laws whether you agree with them or not. Behavior like this, leaving trash, and such are a big reason why more and more places become off limits.

Fortunately the place the original poster is taking about is a park so he should be good. Hopefully he will be.