02-03-2004, 05:58 PM
Patches latest post got me to thinking (I know, bad for the mental health) about private fishing areas that should be open to the public. Colorado has many lakes that are posted, reserved for those with a permit and seldom used. I've discovered that these so-called private lakes were once open to the public but closed once the land was sold. However, our DOW continues to stock the lake with catchable, and bigger, trout at taxpayer expense. Based on legal precident, these lakes should be posted as "open to the public", but aren't. Or the signs are placed in an area so far away that you'd need the Hubble Space Telescope to see it.
We also have the same problem with river access and even fishermen and rafters being harrassed for simple floating by private land. Some land owners have strung barbed wire across the river, resulting in several injuries to rafters and floaters running into the sharp, ripping points (maybe that's why cows stay away from the wire). There are always court cases challenging river access, and being won. The Wyoming Supreme Court recently ruled that fishermen have the right to access to the river, but not to trespass on private land. Float trips are back in business in that state.
It's everyone's right to be able to enjoy Mother Nature, whether it's fishing, rafting or simply floating by on an inner tube. I've seen the courtesy displayed between fishermen, rafters and floaters. The fisherman will wait till they are past before casting; the rafters will slow down and wait until the fisherman has retrived his line and the same between floaters and fishermen. It is just another shining example of common sense and courtsey between those who enjoy river/lake sports. I exclude those single-digit-IQ idiots on Ski-doos and other pocket rockets on lakes who have no regard for fishermen or swimmers and can't seem to share the water. They are another story in itself. I could write a book on that subject.
Any other thoughts or comments?
[signature]
We also have the same problem with river access and even fishermen and rafters being harrassed for simple floating by private land. Some land owners have strung barbed wire across the river, resulting in several injuries to rafters and floaters running into the sharp, ripping points (maybe that's why cows stay away from the wire). There are always court cases challenging river access, and being won. The Wyoming Supreme Court recently ruled that fishermen have the right to access to the river, but not to trespass on private land. Float trips are back in business in that state.
It's everyone's right to be able to enjoy Mother Nature, whether it's fishing, rafting or simply floating by on an inner tube. I've seen the courtesy displayed between fishermen, rafters and floaters. The fisherman will wait till they are past before casting; the rafters will slow down and wait until the fisherman has retrived his line and the same between floaters and fishermen. It is just another shining example of common sense and courtsey between those who enjoy river/lake sports. I exclude those single-digit-IQ idiots on Ski-doos and other pocket rockets on lakes who have no regard for fishermen or swimmers and can't seem to share the water. They are another story in itself. I could write a book on that subject.
Any other thoughts or comments?
[signature]