what about hunting on public waters next to private land.

[Coldwater Charters]

I have a friend who says that it is legal to hunt or float hunt through private lands for waterfowl if there is public access to the body of water. I have called the DNR in Lansing and I was told that no you can not discharge a firearm while float hunting through areas that have private land on both sides such as a river that you don't have permission on. Now the hand book on regs is vaque at best. What about Lakes and how far out does this rule apply off shore. Indianas rules I believe are if you are a legal distance frome a dwelling you can hunt on the water put out decoys and everything as long as you are hunting from a boat and not on the land proper. Why is Michigan different. Public water is public water right. Why would a hunter be excluded where a fisherman would have no problem. I know the answer but maybe the handbook regs could be more specific and leave less grey area on this.

[boehr]

Originally posted by Coldwater Charters:
I have a friend who says that it is legal to hunt or float hunt through private lands for waterfowl if there is public access to the body of water. I have called the DNR in Lansing and I was told that no you can not discharge a firearm while float hunting through areas that have private land on both sides such as a river that you don't have permission on. Now the hand book on regs is vaque at best. What about Lakes and how far out does this rule apply off shore. Indianas rules I believe are if you are a legal distance frome a dwelling you can hunt on the water put out decoys and everything as long as you are hunting from a boat and not on the land proper. Why is Michigan different. Public water is public water right. Why would a hunter be excluded where a fisherman would have no problem. I know the answer but maybe the handbook regs could be more specific and leave less grey area on this.


Your friend is wrong and what Lansing told you is correct. On the Great Lakes, as long as you are outside the safety zone or have permission inside the safety zone you can hunt there. That is because the state owns the bottom lands. On inland waters, river or lakes, which the state does not own the bottom lands on most of the inland waters, the riparian owner has riparian rights to the center of the lake or the middle of the river wherever the center may be.

On a lake the riparian owner has exclusive rights for hunting and trapping. If there is a public access site then the state has riparian rights to the center of the lake, in a pie shape to wherever the center may be, in front of the access site only, on a river that also would be true to the center of the river and only directly in front on the access site property.

As far as other states, all have different laws and you can't compare the different states. Fishing and marine use has been ruled to be a public right providing that access to the water has been done legally.

Go to this site and you can read more than you probably want to know about the public water rights.
http://www.dnr.state.mi.us/enforcement/publicrights.htm

[Coldwater Charters]

The search thing on this site is great. here's what officer Boehr said the last time I asked this question....

[boehr]

I guess I don't have to answer it again.:D