Golf Course Fishing

[Tgreen25]

I live in Arizona and there is a golf course down the street from me. I walk right through a small patch of desert and there is a really nice pond. Go at about 5:30 while there are still some groups finishing up and they don't seem to mind. A worker even saw me once and didn't care. I called one time and asked If I could fish there but they said no. But now I feel it's open game. Anyways there are bass, catfish, and carp. Caught a 1 pound bass on a hula popper and had my lil bro on a hotdog for catfish. He got a few bits but missed em both. Two catfish were constantly swimming right in front of us. The hotdog soaked in vanilla definitely attracted them. One was a channel the other was black bullhead. Anyways I highly recommend golf course fishing. Just go after hours or stay away from the golfers and don't draw too much attention to yourself. Does anyone else have experience/tips about GC fishing?

[MarkH024]

You're setting yourself up for a trip down to county. If you specifically called and they said "NO", then you shouldn't be there. Trespassing is trespassing.  My advice is to find a new spot or you will end up getting caught at some point.

[Tgreen25]

An employee drove right by me and saw me but didn't seem to care at all. If I do get caught I think they'll just ask me to leave. I'm 17. They're not gonna call the cops.

[mtaag3]

Want to bet?

 

17 or not criminal tresspassing is still criminal tresspassing. Just because an employee saw you and didn't kick you off doesn't exhonerate you of guilt. In fact, it plays in the GC's favor by showing you are a chronic offender.

 

I'm not trying to be the bad guy here but having lived on a golf course I've seen police cars drive on the course and "escort" kids who were doing nothing more than taking a short cut. A lot will depend on if it's a private course and how much of an A** the superintendent wants to be.

 

You may want to be careful and not push your luck.

 

Just $.02

[Glenn]

We do NOT condone illegal activity on this site.  Trespassing is illegal.  You properly asked permission (good for you!), didn't like the answer, so you ignored it (shame on you!).  You got lucky once when an employee looked the other way, but don't count on it.  He could get fired for that - perhaps he already has, or has since quit and been replaced with a much stricter employee.

 

When you are caught and are brought up on charges, you'll have nobody to blame but yourself.  So don't even THINK about complaining at that point.

 

Bottom line when fishing golf courses or other private ponds, ask permission. If permission is given, be respectful and don't leave any trash, damage any plants or property, and don't abuse the privilege.  If permission is denied, respect that and move on to another golf course or property owner until you find one who'll give you that "yes" you seek.

 

There's no gray area on this.  You don't have to like the answer, but you must respect it, and abide by it.

[aquaholic]

I fish one of the local golf courses occasionally. I park in the lot, throw my gear on a cart and take off to a pond... but the owner is usually with me .

[FloridaBassDude]

Generally most golf courses (unless they are ridiculously nice) do maintenance 1 day a week. Find out when that day is, call ahead and see if it's alright to fish when they are cutting lawns, etc. They might say yes, then no worries about cops!

[drew4779]

Some of the best fishing I've ever done has been on a golf course. The pond was owned by an ex-tournament fisherman who allowed the golf course to use it as a hazard. He stocked it himself and allowed me even put a jon boat on it with a trolling motor. He decided Ohio winters were no longer for him and sold it to a developer and headed south. The developer was not as kind. I was no longer allowed to fish on his side of the pond. The golf course, being accustomed to me fishing, would let me fish on they're side as long as I would yield to the golfers (no problem). Eventually they cut me off when the economy tanked stating that their new insurance policy raised questions to me fishing. Needless to say I lost my favorite fish'n hole. Caught my PB there.

[Tgreen25]

Went there again last night. I caught two more bass on a hula popper and my brother caught one on a hotdog soaked in vanilla. Didn't get caught again.

[BrettD]

I have always had better luck getting permission at golf courses that are open to the public. The private ones are a little harder to get into. My cousin is local golf pro and it helps having some one vouch for you. 

[Tgreen25]

This one is private. It's half a mile away from my house and it's not too serious of a golf course so I don't think I'll run into any problems

[Tgreen25]

Two of the three bass we caught yesterday

[PABASS]

You can try to call again and ask for a Manager, but if they say NO, I will echo whats been said here don't do it.  Sadly you have incriminated yourself by taking a photo of said location, all it takes is one person to find that photo and the owners to press charges, listen to the warnings fish some where else.

[L a r r y]

Went there again last night. I caught two more bass on a hula popper and my brother caught one on a hotdog soaked in vanilla. Didn't get caught again.

 

 

As the old saying goes..........a hard head makes a soft @$$

[Bladesmith,]

I understand you are young and do not have much life experience. BUT it's called "private property" for a reason.You asked, and was told "no". In my state that denial of permission makes it "criminal trespass" which is a felony. Youth does not exempt you from the law of the land. When you are older and have property of your own that you payed for and have to be responsible for accidents or injuries that occur there, maybe you'll have a better understanding of why it is this way. For now, I recommend you have enough honor for yourself and respect for the property owner to honor his wishes. Who knows when approached in a respectful fashion at a later date, he may grant that permission. HINT; never call. Always approach the man in person, dressed nicely, and be respectful. Sound like your Dad? I am a Dad. Another thing; taking your brother and exposing him to the consequences is not an honorable thing to do in my opinion. Just my .02.

[Glenn]

It appears our friend hasn't been on the site since a few days after his last post. So I guess I can let the cat out of the bag now.

 

Just after his last post, some sleuthing by myself ensued (yes, I'm patting myself on the back here), and I discovered the golf course he was fishing was the McDowell Mountain Golf Club in Scottsdale Arizona.  So I gave them a call and gave them a heads up.  I also found better pictures of our friend, and forwarded it to them, along with a link to this thread, so they could positively identify him.

 

Suffice to say, they were VERY interested, and appreciative of the heads up.  They said they would increase patrols on that particular area of the course, especially after school hours.

 

Our friend, Tyler, logged in a few days later, but didn't post, and hasn't been back since.  As it turns out, bragging about illegal activities on the Internet is a pretty dumb thing to do.  I presume he got caught, which is why he no longer visits here. 

 

Oh...just in case he didn't get caught...I had his mother's phone number handy, and was fully prepared to show her this thread with her son's pictures...bragging about dragging his little brother into his illegal activities.  But, I presume the golf course did that already. 

 

I also know what high school he attends.  It's not something I needed to know, but stumbled across it during our investigation.

 

And no, I will not go into details how we figured it out.  It wasn't easy, but Fluke and I have a combined 27 years of experience doing this kind of stuff, so....we'll leave it at that.

 

The point I'm trying to make is this: We take illegal activity VERY seriously at BassResource, and will report and/or cooperate with the authorities in all cases.  We will NOT tolerate it. It's clearly explained in our Forum Rules and FAQ's, and it played out here. 

 

Glenn

[aquaholic]

well now that you gave us his first name and location its not tough to figure out all that info going off his screen name and using facebook. 

[Sam]

Tgreen, interesting topic.

 

Yes, I fish one golf course pond with a few guys on this Forum but I do not advertise it to anyone else to keep the number of guys down so that we don't have a convention or have leave lots of trash behind.

 

We fish when the course is closed on Mondays, only.

 

No one minds us, even the guys playing golf on a closed golf course.

 

We do not leave any litter and clean up behind the guys who do.

 

And we can find a golf ball or two now and then!!!

 

So fish it but do it so you do not mess up the area and be ready to move as soon as you see a golfer heading your way.

 

One more thing to add: I do fish a private and very prestigious golf club in Maryland. One you see on TV with the PGA and USGA tournaments. In fact, they will be on TV later this month.  I love seeing "my pond" on TV, knowing that no one else is going to fish it that day.

 

I am one of only 7 guys allowed to fish the pond. And talk about fun. Last time out I caught four over three pounds each and lost one. I hate to lose one. Then I went in for an 8:30AM meeting.

 

As soon as I see any golfers on the horizon I head for my car to put everything away.

 

And you would not believe the number of golfers and workers that ask me what I caught.

 

So be a "phantom" and enjoy the ponds for as long as you can.

[Sam]

By the way, we have permission to fish both ponds.

 

Nothing illegal going on.

 

Just want Glen to understand that I am not condoning fishing illegally.

 

Sometimes it depends on the golf course and who you speak with. The pro may not have a problem while another employee will say no.

 

Always ask for permission, first.

 

And never interfere with a golfer. If you see golfers heading your way, go home.

[Jay Ell Gee]

Agreed.

I have permission to fish the pond on the private property of a very large local store. There are signs that clearly state "No Fishing" around the perimeter.

I will only fish from daylight until about 15 minutes before the store opens, or at night.

Mr. Sam raises a great point. Just because you have permission, it doesn't exonerate you from showing courtesy and using common sense. I don't need customers going into the store and telling people "There is someone fishing outside!" just to place them on the spot and explain that I have permission. It's just not right.

I have landed multiple 4+ lb bass from this pond and many times leave the fish biting at 8:45 am. A little common courtesy will keep you welcome on the property. Whether it seems like it or not, getting permission to fish/hunt opens owners to a lot of liability and should be GREATLY appreciated and not taken advantage of. It means a lot to show respect, especially in this day and age.

Besides, it keeps the good (untouched) fishing holes for us gentleman.

[AK-Jax86]

I took some people's advice and asked for permission to fish this one course and they said no problem and I can not thank them enough!!

I pull up to fish lake stayed for about hour and pulled in 6 biggest being 2.3. Then I get to the other lake and I see something I have never seen before.

There were 7 fish biggest being at least 8lbs and 3 more were that size the others were no less than 4lbs. They were about 5 feet from shore I cast my 6" senko next to the group and boom I pull in a 5.12lb bass. I stayed for another hour at that spot and pulled in a bunch of small ones and 3 others that were over 3lbs

[GoneFishi'n]

I took some people's advice and asked for permission to fish this one course and they said no problem and I can not thank them enough!!

I pull up to fish lake stayed for about hour and pulled in 6 biggest being 2.3. Then I get to the other lake and I see something I have never seen before.

There were 7 fish biggest being at least 8lbs and 3 more were that size the others were no less than 4lbs. They were about 5 feet from shore I cast my 6" senko next to the group and boom I pull in a 5.12lb bass. I stayed for another hour at that spot and pulled in a bunch of small ones and 3 others that were over 3lbs

I wouldn't be surprised if you get a 10 pounder from there. Golf courses have some of the biggest bass I have seen. Go catch some pigs.

[BamaBassChaser]

A friend of mine used to work at a golf course. I would meet him in the evenings sometimes when he got off with a cooler full of beer and some rods. He would get us a golf cart and I would fish and he would drink beer. We always had a blast.

[AK-Jax86]

A friend of mine used to work at a golf course. I would meet him in the evenings sometimes when he got off with a cooler full of beer and some rods. He would get us a golf cart and I would fish and he would drink beer. We always had a blast.

That's great!! I need to make a friend who works there that also enjoys fishing. There are numerous lakes throughout the course that you can only get to if u r on the green and a gold cart is the perfect thing

[Broc]

I also live by a golf course.  I golf it occasionally. Ive always thought about packing a colapsing fishing pole in my golf bag and taking a few casts while playing a round.  Im sure they might take it a little differently if i pay to be on property than if i just hopped the fence.  Rumor has it its got big bass.