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"We own this water"

TRIGGER

TRIGGER

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Joined
Sep 25, 2011
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10,538
Location
Cunningham TN
Was fishing the Cumberland river yesterday and went between some boat slips (at the conservation club)and the bank (about 15' wide) to try to catch some bass. One of the boat owners came over and said I was not allowed to fish there because it's private property and the boat owners don't want people fishing there. He explained to me that they have been there since 1929 and before the core was even around so they were grandfathered in and own the water between the slips and the bank! Is this possible? By the way there are zero no fishing or trespassing signs.
 
No they don't.... We have people try to tell us that all the time while duck hunting... If you are on private property all you have to do is stand in the water and you are fine. You could be in the water shallow enough to spit on their property.
 
Re: "We own this water"

TreyB":11vyl0yz said:
No they don't.... We have people try to tell us that all the time while duck hunting... If you are on private property all you have to do is stand in the water and you are fine. You could be in the water shallow enough to spit on their property.
Click to expand...
some people do own the ground below the water so you couldn't stand, but a boat they can't do anything about.


Sent from the talk of tap
 
Re:

catman529":2wegji2m said:
TreyB":2wegji2m said:
No they don't.... We have people try to tell us that all the time while duck hunting... If you are on private property all you have to do is stand in the water and you are fine. You could be in the water shallow enough to spit on their property.
Click to expand...
some people do own the ground below the water so you couldn't stand, but a boat they can't do anything about.


Sent from the talk of tap
Click to expand...

True statement
 
It's possible he owned the land,But he can't own the water you and your boat was on. He should not legally be able to keep people from fishing the water in a boat.

That's like a dock sticking out in the water at a lake, someone might own that dock, But they don't own the water around or under that dock, and if you wanted you could flip lures under that dock all day long and there is not much if anything they could do about it at all.
 
TreyB":2xzygj7h said:
No they don't.... We have people try to tell us that all the time while duck hunting... If you are on private property all you have to do is stand in the water and you are fine. You could be in the water shallow enough to spit on their property.
Click to expand...

Incorrect. If your are standing within the boundaries of their private property you are trespassing without their permission. It doesn't matter if you are in the water or not.
 
Actually, there may be some credibility to the claim. Apparently the Corp leases control of the water when they lease for commercial boat docks.

You probably need to check with the Nashville District of the USACOE to find out the truth about their lease.
 
I don't know, but have a hard time believing it.

2 years ago I ran into a very similar situation. I was fishing for bluegill right next to and all around boat docks at a local marina, literally catching them under the boats in there slips. We didn't notice but a guy was a few boats down sitting on the back of his boat apparently watching us the whole time. After he watched me and my partner catch about 20-30 and thrown them in the live well to keep and eat he approached us to tell us some utter horse poop. He claimed that The cove was marina property and that no one was allowed to keep the fish that they catch near the boat docks. All we responded with was "man that's the craziest thing I've ever herd", and "the marina doesn't own these fish". The guy tried to argue a little bit after we said we weren't going to thrown them back, but we just ignored him and kept doing our thing. He eventually just walked away and we still fish those docks to this day with no problem, so take what the guy said with a grain of salt, some people I think get jealous when your catching fish on their "spot".
 
scn":mxciibw3 said:
Actually, there may be some credibility to the claim. Apparently the Corp leases control of the water when they lease for commercial boat docks.

You probably need to check with the Nashville District of the USACOE to find out the truth about their lease.
Click to expand...

I was hoping you would chime in. Thank you.
 
scn":34jcffdf said:
TreyB":34jcffdf said:
No they don't.... We have people try to tell us that all the time while duck hunting... If you are on private property all you have to do is stand in the water and you are fine. You could be in the water shallow enough to spit on their property.
Click to expand...

Incorrect. If your are standing within the boundaries of their private property you are trespassing without their permission. It doesn't matter if you are in the water or not.
Click to expand...


Well a warden was called on us at nicajack one winter and told us that exactly. Because we kept hunting there the rest of the weekend.
 
In the Nickajack deal, you weren't on private land because TVA has an easement. Basically through that easement, TVA has use/control of the water and the land under it. On reservoirs with just an easement where TVA does not own to a deeded high water mark, the land goes back to the landowner as the water recedes back off of it, and then back into TVA control as the water covers that same land. Douglas is another reservoir that operates under easements.

It wouldn't be the same for water covered private land.
 
Re:

catman529":1esfrxjb said:
TreyB":1esfrxjb said:
No they don't.... We have people try to tell us that all the time while duck hunting... If you are on private property all you have to do is stand in the water and you are fine. You could be in the water shallow enough to spit on their property.
Click to expand...
some people do own the ground below the water so you couldn't stand, but a boat they can't do anything about.


Sent from the talk of tap
Click to expand...

Incorrect on thinking you aren't trespassing if in a boat in a lot of cases.

Riparian law is EXTREMELY complex, and there IS NOT a definitive answer that covers every situation/scenario.
 
And I wondered about "deeds" that go to the center line of creeks, some have said the "bank"
and some say center line, that are big enough for boats.

One the farm I live on, it's on the Red River, at different stages the land I own is under water for
months, and it's not at flood stage
 

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