First experiences on the Pine

[Chip]

Took my little bro up to do some spinner fishing and decided to do some exploring. We ended up learning a lot the hard way. I'm not sure if we were truly in the right or the wrong, but we were confronted by a land owner on one stretch of the upper branches. He was quite upset and very verbal about it. We played it cool and he ended up providing us with a few public access points and offered we could fish if we asked for permission next time. We ended up really liking those new stretches even though we didn't land a lot of fish. Each spot did provide plenty of decent fish hook ups and/or sightings.

I want to represent our sport well, and I think we did that on this occasion or this man would not have been so helpful once we complied. I always thought if you got in a trout stream right a the bridge and stayed in the river except for hazards you were alright. Especially on rivers like the Pine that used to be used for log drives. At least, all of the old cut timber in the streambed would indicate it was used for logging. Am I in the wrong? How do you find out if you are allowed to fish a stream without having to bother every landowner along the stretches you plan to fish? Thanks for any advice in advance. Take care.

Chip

[Whit1]

The Pine R., at least below the convergence of the East Branch and North Branch, is considered navigatable and thus anglers,and others can wade and fish and may go around stream obstructions that bar their way as long as they do so with discretion and within the area of the stream's bank.

The concept that any stream, once you entered the water, is open for fishing/wading is a myth.

As to where one can find a list of streams considered to be navigatable we had this discussion in here this spring. No one could come up with a source of reliable information.

[cadillacjethro]

I want to represent our sport well, and I think we did that on this occasion or this man would not have been so helpful once we complied.
Chip

You did the right thing. You may have even swayed this man's opinion regarding sport fisherman.

[sweet tree]

I talked to a local sheriffs deputy about this issue and how it deals with small local streams in my county. He stated that this whole issue is a gray area unless a court decision has been made about the specific stream. Local police and judges must use their own discretion because there are no clear guidelines to what streams are "navigable," (a term dealing with the floating of logs during the lumberjack days).

There is a stream by my house that has had such a court decision. It's off limits even though its a designated trout stream.

I don't think that you were trepassing but you definitely did the right thing by being polite.

[Whit1]

I talked to a local sheriffs deputy about this issue and how it deals with small local streams in my county. He stated that this whole issue is a gray area unless a court decision has been made about the specific stream. Local police and judges must use their own discretion because there are no clear guidelines to what streams are "navigable," (a term dealing with the floating of logs during the lumberjack days).

I don't think that you were trepassing but you definitely did the right thing by being polite.


In a nutshell that's about it.

[Chip]

I appreciate all of the info and support. I guess if I don't see how canoes can go down the river, I might as well start knocking on doors. That puts a lot of "my spots" in question. It sounds like it is in the angler's best interest to avoid court decisions- if there isn't a case to set precedent, then as one post said, access won't be "locked" for sure. Thanks again, take care.

Chip

[Creek-Chub]

In a nutshell that's about it.

Absolutely, with an emphasis on the fact that only rivers which have been contested in court are listed as naviagable/non-navigable. By way of example, the St. Joe river in my neck of the woods, inarguably one of the larger rivers in the state, is not listed as being "navigable" simply because its status has never been contested.

[sweet tree]

The creek deemed "non navigable" in my area is tiny and runs through a golf course...A few folks were carping on it and the course called the cops, it went to court, and now its "non navigable."

I have to think that the vast majority of police would not write a trespassing ticket in these situations. Has anybody out there found this to be false?