fishing rules

[Newt]

Sorry butiaboy. Just re-read my post and it could be a little confusing.

 

I was speaking of US rules. All of our rivers and the vast majority of the lakes are 'public' so if you have a boat and can find a public launch spot (easy enough to do) you can freely move anywhere on the lake/river and fish.

 

Land ownership here ends at the shoreline and waters, unless completely contained within private land (so animal watering ponds and such) are open to all. You do need a fishing license to fish though.

[Bruno Broughton]

Peter Waller:

The worst that they can do is too deport you, confiscate your tackle, they might even take your rod & reels, and then there would be a small matter of tresspass.

Err, not really. You would almost certainly be charged under schedule 2 of the Theft Act for 'taking (or attempting to take) fish into your possesion'. If found guilty, you would have a criminal record, with all that that means.

 

Tackle cannot be 'confiscated' (this would be illegal and also theft). It CAN be seized, for production as evidence in any court case, and if you are guilty the court could make an order for the disposal of your property used for the crime - e.g. sold for charity or destroyed.

 

Oh, and on some estates, if you are caught fishing without permission you may get a loaded shotgun pushed up against your nose or a fair bit of roughing up.

 

Now, why do you ask?

[Ian FG]

ajp...if you trespass on someone's land and they ask you to leave and you agree to leave, you have commited no offence.

[ayjay]

Gobio:

ajp...if you trespass on someone's land and they ask you to leave and you agree to leave, you have commited no offence.

That much, I knew.

 

So, what happens if you refuse to leave?

[unukwolf]

Newt:

Or move to the US where your license gives you the right to fish any 'public' waters and around 99% of the water here classes as public.

or move to ireland where you dont need a licence at all and can fish when you want where you want!

 

spring,summer autum winter, day, or night, river lake stream pot hole if you want to try!

[rob.i]

butiaboy:

once i have brought a fishing licence am i entitled to fish anywere even so called private rivers ? as nearly all the best rivers round were i am from are owned by the chatsworth eatate who charge a fortune to join there fishing club so am i witin my right to cast a line into these rivers and if i do whats the worst thing they can do if they catch me ?

Why not try it then post to tell us what happened

[argyll]

Naively thinking that the EA would be fully conversant with the rules of the river, I approached them to clarify the issue of who owns what and who has fishing rights etc. I got several different answers all of which started with 'I spose its....' and there were a few 'ifs and buts'

 

A riparian owner owns the land through which a river flows. If two owners are on opposite banks then they own the land up to the middle of the river. What they dont own is the river itself (the water that flows over the land)

One answer I got was that if your bait or anchor does not touch bottom (owned property) then technically you are free to fish. Another answer I got was that whilst the owner of the land does not own the river, he/she owns the fishing rights. A third opinion (a non-fishing legal opinion this time) suggested that the fishing rights are only owned if it is listed in the contract of sale.(of the land) Tidal rivers in theory are fishable by boat so long as you dont trespass the land. However in the Fens, where local clubs own the fishing rights on a tidal stretch, its still a contentious issue that provokes the odd treat of violence when a boat full of non club members drifts past a line of maggot drowners on the bank. in this case, the law is on the side of the boaters. Just don't hang around to try to explain your rights when several red faced pole anglers are throwing half bricks in your direction. The Law is once again an ass and certain aspects of 'fishing rights' are open to interpretation.

 

[ 12. February 2005, 12:29 PM: Message edited by: argyll ]

[Severn Wolf]

Thats got me thinking now Argyll.

 

If theres a tree fallen completely across the river and you rope off smack bang in the middle then the land owners would be arguing whos land you were encroaching and you could carry on fishing!!!!

 

Or would it depend on which side the roots were.........

[SteveH]

In support of the Illustrious Dr Bruno, theft is taking or holding another persons property or belongings and witholding there access to same, so if we catch a fish without the owners of fishing rights permission we are witholding their property from them technically thats theft even if we dont take the fish away.

[butiaboy]

there's two good spots i would like to fish but they are only open to fly fishers not coarse fishers who pay £25 a day the first is

 

 

the second is further down the river