Anyone Ever Gotten In Trouble Or Aske To Leave A Pond?

[F14A-B]

The only place I ever have a problem is whenever I am sent to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida to work. I always carry a fishing rod or two with me there.

I mean, who goes to Walt Disney World with a fishing rod and an intention to fish? I'd say 99.999% of the people who go there do not carry a fishing pole and are going to see Mickey and his magic kingdom- which I could care less about.

Old Walt Disney drained some swamp lands back in the late 1960's and early 1970's and built a massive canal system there that is today loaded with bass that have never seen a lure.

And just about every single place I am sent out there has a nice canal or lake or pond nearby. As soon as I get off of work I grab the fishing pole and find me some place to fish where I can also hide from the view of security.

I have never had any problem with them other than being told to pack it in, even though it is not posted out there with any signs saying you can't fish, they just frown on it out there. I am usually asked if I throw them back and of course I always tell them I do- which is true. So security has been pretty laid back and cool with me over the many years I have fished out there and will continue to do so. It is just too good to resist and pass up!

Kind of cool fishing in view of Epcot, space mountain, the contemporary, and other classic Disney locations. Been doing it now for about 15 years out there and these days I am much more careful to not get caught- which is easy out there once you know the good locations!

B.A.S.S. is now running bass fishing at Walt Disney on some of the main lakes- which I avoid. Here is a link to their guided fishing:

http://www.floridabassfishing.com/disney-fishing/

***Fishing at Walt Disney World in Orlando is not illegal. I am a licensed Florida fisherman and the lakes belong to the state of Florida and the tax payers of this state by law for any body of water over a certain size which Disney does have surrounded by their private property. And, I have never seen a "no fishing" sign any where on Disney property ever. So if they have a no fishing rule out there they certainly do not declare it and this is why I carry a rod with me when I go out there. I am strictly catch and release for sport only. All Disney has ever asked of me is to stop and put the rod away which I do when asked. And the last time that happened was like 3 or 4 years ago.

Seems like I remember Denny Brauer do a show down there years ago. As far as Disney asking you to put your rod away, I wonder why? Also, when I lived in Fl. there was no state tax, is that still the case? Pretty sure it was Denny & Chad, lol..

[Catch 22]

^{Flyfisher, the place is not a pay/fish locale. Very few people even know about it. For the most part you have to know someone that would even tell how to get in there. Its a very casual good ole boy thing. Pay was optional.}

^{The point is that the guy  that filed probably had a false claim. Word gets around  and spooks  other property owners that might let people hunt or fish.Done}

^C22   

[flyfisher]

Even if it is not formal pay to fish if there is a pay box it is pay to fish and he is held liable....i only know because of a lot of access issues i worked on for rock climbing areas.  Even if it is good old boy deal, laws still apply

[RSM789]

I have a long story about this, but will cut it down to medium length so as to not bore everyone.

 

Back in 1986, a friend told me about a lake he had come across in an area of our county that was just starting to be developed.  He said it was called Oso Reservoir, that it was a small feeder lake to the (now) well known Lake Mission Viejo and that it was used to keep the Mission Viejo water level at a stable point.  He told me that while Mission Viejo is a private lake, Oso was on public lands and could be fished if you had a license & were willing to make the trek to it.  I bought a fishing license that day and got directions on where to park my truck & meet him there the next morning.

 

We parked on a public street next to some Model Homes that were being built & made the nearly mile walk through the brush.  A quick climb up the earthen dam revealed a triangle shaped lake, about 3/4's of a mile long.  No fencing, no signs, just a secluded little watershed tucked into the foothills.  We caught about 30 bass in the 4 hours we were there, the hot July sun finally getting too much to bear.  We decided to come back that evening for a few hours to finish off the day.

 

I arrived that late afternoon before my friend & headed off to the lake instead of waiting for him.  I was fishing a spot about 100 yards down from the dam & the fish were just as willing to bite as they had been in the morning.  I finally see my friend & another buddy of his crest the dam.  I yell out & wave to him and as I do, suddenly there is the deafening roar directly behind me.  Like a scene out of Apocolypse Now, a helicopter had flown low over the horizon, up over the hill behind me and was headed directly towards me.  I look over to my friend & see him & his buddy running as fast as they can, now I have no idea what is going on.  Scared out of my wits, I drop my pole and take a couple of steps back into a large bush to conceal myself.  The helicopter buzzes over the top of me & then does a 180 so they are now facing me.  I have no clue what is happening, so I just hunker down in the bush, not moving.  After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably 15 seconds, the helicopter flew back over my head in the direction it had originally came from.  I didn't move, instead just listened & noticed that while I could still hear the helicopter blades behind me, they were slowing down.  I crept out of the bush, peered back behind me to see that the helicopter had landed on the shoreline.  Just as I realized it was a police copter, I see a sheriff approaching me from the side, hand on his weapon & EXTREMELY ticked off.

 

By this time, I am freaking out.  I knew this cop was livid and I had to do something to calm him down.  I put my hands in the air as he approached me and he continued to yell at me 'What the hell are you doing?"  For a reason that to this day I can't explain, I tapped my hands on my ears, made some phony sign-language signs and mumbled some nonsensical sounds.  The sheriff stopped, looked at me oddly and said "What?".  I repeated the gestures.  The sheriff asked "Are you deaf?", to which I nodded yes (I must be a superb lip reader).  He immediately calmed down, took his hand off his weapon & said "Oh, Ok."  He pointed at my tackle box & rod and said slowly "Pick...up...your...gear..........You...are...under...arrest".  I nodded again and as I gather my stuff, he pointed for me to walk up to the dam, where I saw a sheriff's cruiser parked with another cop talking to my friend & his buddy.  I found out later there was a fire access road about 2 miles to the north that led to the dam, something we never saw but that was used by the sheriff to patrol the area.

 

Turns out this was not public land, but rather land owned by the developer of the model homes we had parked by.  The cops put us all in the cruiser, took us back & around to where we had parked and ended up writing citations for trespassing.  By this time, I had given up the deaf routine and the other sheriff had no idea what I had done earlier.  We were able to keep our gear, but were looking at a fine in that could reach $100 (in 1986 dollars).

 

That evening, as I told my fiancé the story, I started to get a little uppity about the situation.  After all, no fencing, no signs, how were we supposed to know it was private property?  After a few hours of playing Perry Mason in my mind, I made the decision to return to Oso the next day, this time armed with a camera instead of fishing gear.  I was going to build a bulletproof case to get out of the trespassing fine.

 

My fiancé went with me the following afternoon (a Sunday).  I again parked next to the model homes, and told her to stay with my truck.  I walked towards the dam, taking pictures along the way to show a lack of fencing or signage.  As I get to the base of the dam, a security officer from the developer comes driving down the service road.  I wait for him & when he pulls up, I show him the previous days citation and explain what I am doing.  He says fine, but that I need to get into the truck so that he can escort me to the dam for the remaining pictures.  We get to the top of the dam, he tells me I can get out to take the pictures I need & that he has to drive to the other end of the dam in order to turn around.  When he comes back, I get back in his truck & he says "I went down to the other side of the dam to call the police (-this was before cell phones-).  You knew you shouldn't have been here, so I had to report it.  When the police get here, they will decide what to do".  That was fine by me, I figured I could explain my situation & all would go well.  He drove around the service road exit and then back over to where my fiancé was waiting.  We all chatted, waiting for the sheriff to arrive.  10 minutes later, the sheriff shows up, pulls the security guide aside to talk with him for a few moments and then approaches me.  Just as I get ready to start explaining myself, the sheriff says "Put your hands behind your back".  I do as he says, but respond incredulously "You have got to be kidding!".  As he handcuffs me, he says "I don't kid about this".  A few minutes later, I am being taken down to Santa Ana county jail, where I was booked & then released on my own recognizance. 

 

Turns out the sheriff told the security guy that it was up to him what the sheriff would do, either warn me or arrest me.  The security guard told him to arrest me, which he probably later regretted as my sweet, innocent fiancé freaked out and started dropping F Bombs at him for doing that (after the sheriff left).

 

Without getting into anymore lengthy details, I ended up pleading my case when my hearing came up, using the pictures I had taken and the fact that I had bought a fishing license the day prior (showing that I was under the impression that it was a legal place to fish).  Both the arrest & fine for me were dropped, but my buddy & his friend ended up having to pay about 35 bucks for their tickets (no fishing license).  A couple of years later, the developer entered into an agreement with a private party to allow Oso to be fished as a private lake in exchange for waving of all liability and for the private party to provide security.  If I am correct, lake access is now under control of the Boyscouts.

 

Ironic thing is that where I live now is about 3 miles away from the lake and a toll road goes right over that same dam, so I see the lake on a near daily basis.

[fisherrw]

I try to not trespass or anything. It gives fishermen a bad image. I've gotten permission/access by being respectful and nice, something that's not happening if you get kicked out.

x2

[fisherrw]

Most people leave trash behind when they leave it. Pee & crap near a bush or tree. All the things I do not want done to me.

same here

[SirSnookalot]

In South Florida where I live many places are gated you can't get in, even some of the canals that are public are being fenced.   Addressing ponds I go by my gut feeling even if they are no fishing or trespassing signs, you can usually tell if a problem will arise.  Communities with single homes or condos may not work so well but apartment complexes seem to pose little problems.  I have been fishing a couple of golf courses early in the morning, been working out pretty good.  I can leave my car on the road and walk right in, I try to fish as far from the houses as I can.  I know the golf course so I fish the holes that are later in the round, so no golfers.  I'm neat and well dressed and don't do any bucket fishing.  I don't spend more than about 15-20 minutes at each pond, I've got my rotation planned out pretty good.  So far the early morning crew cutting grass just drive by and say nothing or give me the high sign if I have nice fish on the line.

[Sam]

Florida Fishing Fool,

 

Would you believe my wife is planning a February trip to Disneyworld for us, my son, his wife and the two heathens and I told her that I am going fishing at Disneyworld.

 

So you can imagine how great it was to see your link for Disney fishing.

 

As I read your post, I can hire a guide and be legal; or take some fishing equipment and try my luck on any water by the cottage we will rent for the week.

 

If no one comes around and stops me from fishing any water by our cottage then I can have some fun.

 

What do you think of me fishing on my own near the cottage?

[Catch 22]

Even if it is not formal pay to fish if there is a pay box it is pay to fish and he is held liable....i only know because of a lot of access issues i worked on for rock climbing areas.  Even if it is good old boy deal, laws still apply

I agree and understand perfectly.

Confusion arose here. The phrase "I don`t understand" was substituted by the site computer for three well known letters that express frustration. Thou shalt not use them again.

C22

[fishballer06]

I got ran off some land that I thought was public while salmon fishing this fall. There was 4 of down at this creek fishing. After about an hour or two, the owner came down and started speaking to me and kindly asked me to leave. I said we would happily oblige, and then I went on to start talking to him about fishing and hunting. I ended up talking to the guy for almost 2 hours while the rest of my guys kept fishing and catching fish. He ended up saying that we could stay and fish as much as we want, and then he went up and asked the adjacent property owner if we could fish on their land as well. He came back down and told us we could and he told us how far we could fish each way up/down the stream. We were very grateful for this, and we were told we could come back next year and fish all we wanted. So at Christmas this year, we sent both property owners a $100 Wal Mart gift card for giving us permission to fish their land. 

[SirSnookalot]

The ranger waved to me this morning, if anyone would be asking me to leave it would have been him.

[basscatcher8]

Fishing a creek from shore where access is a bridge that walks over it. Had a farmer come and wait for us to step over the 30 foot mark from the bridge and proceeded to rip us a new ass for being on his land. He kept telling us he ran us off before and I had never seen the guy before. He didnt call the cops or anything. We just said screw it and left. I'm going to find a way to get a boat up to there one day cause the bass were loaded over on his property.

[HoosierHawgs]

I got ran off some land that I thought was public while salmon fishing this fall. There was 4 of down at this creek fishing. After about an hour or two, the owner came down and started speaking to me and kindly asked me to leave. I said we would happily oblige, and then I went on to start talking to him about fishing and hunting. I ended up talking to the guy for almost 2 hours while the rest of my guys kept fishing and catching fish. He ended up saying that we could stay and fish as much as we want, and then he went up and asked the adjacent property owner if we could fish on their land as well. He came back down and told us we could and he told us how far we could fish each way up/down the stream. We were very grateful for this, and we were told we could come back next year and fish all we wanted. So at Christmas this year, we sent both property owners a $100 Wal Mart gift card for giving us permission to fish their land.

That was very generous on part of both parties. I wish people would understand the whole give and take thing..

[bigbill]

Ok I'm fishing a newer small swamp from a road off a low bridge. It's not my usual low bridge hot spot. There are smaller bass in many numbers but so far a 30" picketed has been my biggest fish there. It's legal to fish from a road from a bridge because I'm not on the property owners land. It's stated that the property owner doesn't own the water he owns the land around the water. The property was sold and the new owner was flexing his authority a little and asked me to leave.

I went and asked the state deep the environmental people and I got both answers.

One is I'm legal. The other find another spot to fish.

I'm disabled and fish not too far from the car. This was the best spot I ever found to date. In the spring I'm going to purse this issue further.

We're losing more and more legal fishing areas by law. The land owner doesn't know the law. It's time to educate everyone on there rights to fish.

I was never like this before but it's getting worse and worse for handicapped people to fish. The areas they do have handicap fishing at we couldn't catch a cold on a good day. It's silly what areas they pick out for us.

As a teenager we were run off of private land by the land owner with a shotgun.

[geo g]

Most definitely, I have one pond I can only fish on Sunday afternoons after the guard leaves the DSL site, in Plantation.,  Any other day of the week you'll be asked to leave in minutes.  Fishing is good so I wait him out! 

 

Cleveland Clinic will kick you out of the west canal even though its on a South Florida Water Management Easement., and not their property.  I don't argue, I just move to my next spot.

[Chris S]

Florida Fishing Fool,

 

Would you believe my wife is planning a February trip to Disneyworld for us, my son, his wife and the two heathens and I told her that I am going fishing at Disneyworld.

 

So you can imagine how great it was to see your link for Disney fishing.

 

As I read your post, I can hire a guide and be legal; or take some fishing equipment and try my luck on any water by the cottage we will rent for the week.

 

If no one comes around and stops me from fishing any water by our cottage then I can have some fun.

 

What do you think of me fishing on my own near the cottage?

Good thing its Disney World not Disneyland!! http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/unvaccinated-students-told-stay-home-measles-fears-28351164 

[Chris S]

I have been ask to leave a few golf course ponds in Florida, I took a rod and reel golfing with me once and the Ranger found no humor in me fishing while waiting for a backed up par 3  

[BassinLou]

Good thing its Disney World not Disneyland!! http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/unvaccinated-students-told-stay-home-measles-fears-28351164 

 

Not to hijack the thread, I was gifted a Disney Charter last year. It was a unique experience for sure. 

 

Talking with my Disney guide, he told me  fishing on the park property was prohibited unless on a charter or in a designated fishing area on some of the park resorts. 

[South FLA]

Anytime anyone goes to Orlando, I suggest you bring a fishing rod with a spinner-bait or a worm!  Most large hotels and resorts have retention ponds and canals and if you get early enough you can fish them no problem. Full of HAWGS too. I lived in Orlando for 3 years and it was some of the best bank fishing ever!

[bonzai22]

I've only been kicked out of one neighborhood and I was kicked out multiple times because there was a guy with a clip board that had nothing better to do. First he said I had to have someone with me that lived there so I left. Then came back next time with somebody that lived there but they were just watching me fish. Then he told me they had to be fishing with me so he made me leave again. He seemed to make up new rules every time just to kick me out so eventually I stopped going. There were a lot of big fish in there so I think he just didn't want me sore mouthing all of his fish lol

[zachb34]

Key to bank fishing in iffy areas is the good ole smile and wave. Works a majority of the time if not just politely leave when asked.

[Djf3864]

There are almost no private lakes/ponds where I live, it is all public land that is cared for by the State.

 

Golf courses are one thing that I don't fish, which obviously would be privately owned (though there is one public that is up in NH) but we have enough bodies of water that I don't need to venture there to fish.

[RSM789]

Key to bank fishing in iffy areas is the good ole smile and wave. Works a majority of the time if not just politely leave when asked.

 

Unlike most other younger guys, you have already figured out one of the keys to life.  Congratulations.

[Rhino68W]

       I found this lovely little pond off of the beaten path in my town (the same pond I caught my 2 PBs at). It had a dirt road that lead to it and was only about 1oo yards from the main road behind some woods. No gate, No stay out signs or anything. I even saw tons of people running and walking their dogs and whatnot around it.  So I started bank fishing it. One day another gentleman pulled up in his SUV with his 2 sons and asked how I was doing. I politely told him I had caught a few bass and let them go, just some dinks. I only catch and release. He asked if I had premission form the land owner, I said no, as I thought it was public due to its superb location and running/walking traffic it recieves. He gave me the guys work number and I called and asked permission. I also explained to him that I had been fishing it for about 3 months and released everything, He said YES! But 3 weeks later there was a gate up at the entrance

[rabidsquirrel]

Yep, the bass in my Avatar pic. Less than 3 min after that pic was taken. FHP, ask me to leave the retention pond i was fishing. Don't know why til this day, no signs or fence. I remember someone from BR said that it was the troopers honey hole and he was making sure no one fished it... LOL!! 

 

Most ponds in FL are legal to fish unless it is private property. If there weren't any signs or fencing, you were within your rights to fish it. However, arguing with Johnny Law isn't wise, even when you are in the right. 

 

Few people realize that most newer developments treat the ponds/lakes on within as public waters. If a community has a CDD, those bodies of water default as 'public' - unless they have specific policies against fishing. I'm on my community's CDD board. We are a gated community, so getting in is unlikely unless you reside there or are a guest of a resident. If you are going to fish ponds within developments, make sure you are doing everything 'right' like having a current fishing license, catch & release, etc... You want to do this in case someone does call the cops. Unless there are posted signs saying no fishing, you are generally OK, and the cop won't be able to do anything to you. Even if you know it is OK, don't fish behind someone's house unless you know them and have gotten their permission. Otherwise you might have your fishing briefly interrupted by some irate owner, or the police. Many of the owners don't know or understand that there are public easements around the ponds in most newer communities that have a CDD. It's just less of a hassle if you know the owners on near that pond. I may have rambled a bit here, but hopefully most of you get where I'm coming from. 

 

TL;DR - It's always good to get permission, even when you don't technically need it.