Need advice-Someone is stealing our fish

I have used this for some projects around my house:

Amazon.com: Optex RCTD-20U Wireless 2000 Annunciator Driveway Alarm: Camera & Photo

If you are less than 2000' from the pond you can have it ring a chime in your house when it detects movement. You can buy additional sensors for better coverage around your pond.

-Mallow

By any chance do they have a RIGHT to fish there?
You see In The USA if the pond is connected to fishable waters they have full rights to fish it.
So the question is does ANY water EVER flow out of it?


Interesting, you ok with the public paying to put fish in your pond but get pretty huffy about them taking some of the bounty.

My shotgun will reach that far. It might not do much damage but it would sure spook them.

Please post a link proving this? Thanks!

Pretty sure you have that wrong. The concept of limited riparian rights only extends to "navigable" waters. It is based in old law when rivers were the highways for travel and trade. Some streams that may not seem navigable today are still listed as such, because back then they were. Changes in forests, water use, and such have a major effect on stream flow, which is why power generation plants must, by law, keep a base flow going in a stream or river at all times. During late summer, that can be incredibly hard.

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George Washington did not run and hide.

Trouble with waiting for someone to show up, is that it might be days or months, between visits.

Be careful with your game cameras. Make sure there are no blinky lights that go on when the batteries are low.... my uncle unwisely set out $500 cameras, and didn't tape over the red led, and the thieves stole the camera.

I don't know if this will work for you or not, but it does for me. Learn everyone in the neighborhood's name, family alliance, saint or sinner, drug or alcohol abuser, meth heads, serial game law violator, etc. I know every household out to a six mile radius on each side of me.... half a dozen homes I don't know the families names, but haven't heard any negatives about them. I chat up the Constable, Deputies, and the Game Wardens every time I see them, to see if any new bad eggs are loose and about. Tie into the good ol boy network, the wives gossip sessions, etc., and soon you know who to look out for. About five years ago, a third cousin 'accidentally' kilt himself with a 45 auto, he was bed ridden, so never a prob. His older meth head brother moved in, with a slough of his criminal buddies... a few days later, they show up wanting to fish my pond, and I had to kindly ask them not to, or show back up. Next day, they saw me drive by their house, and they sneaked back down... three anatolian shepherds bayed him, and a dozen weener dogs started chewing on his ankles. GF came out and told him to 'git', or she'd give the kill command to the 130lb snarling foaming drooling lgds. They never showed back up.

I'd loan you a couple dozen rotten eggs to carry down and douche the place with an appealing scent, if you were closer.

I'd post no trespassing signs, and no fishing signs first. Maybe a shooting range warning sign....

IF I couldn't go and check regularly, for the next week or two, I'd fire off a dozen rounds on the pistola or rifle, into the ground, at all hours of the day AND night, to let someone 'think' about how dangerous it is. Personally, I go through a dozen rounds or so of 22lr every single day (and night) to let the wild things know I'm still kicking...

good luck

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Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival. W. Edwards Deming

Ahhhh.... that might be a possibility if they left granola wrappers laying around but they are smokers! Therefor we know they are evil... and evil people have no qualms about stealing fish.

I am also curious how we know that anyone is actually stealing fish? I went fishing not long ago with a couple of friends and every fish caught was immediately released back into the river.

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"Nothing so needs reforming as other peoples habits." Mark Twain

That "Right to Fish" Link was in another thread here at HT a while back thats how I learned about it....
I will see if I can find it when I get home.

They said in the OP there is a small forest between them and the lake right? Some sparrow shot out into the trees would make a lotta racket but do no harm....

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To punish me for my contempt for authority, fate made me an authority myself. ~ Einstein

My understanding about the navigable water rule is that if you can reach the water via any watercraft starting at a point where the public has legal access, then it is considered public water.

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Libertarindependent

The "Right To Fish" is actually far stronger than the navagatable waters rule even allowing ingress and egress across dry land on a practical route basis.
It seems like the links to groups talking about this was in a thread about how fish get in land locked ponds...but I might be wrong on witch thread.

There is nothing in the fish and game handout that states I have to allow public access if they stock my lake...and they would have to put it in the paperwork if it was a requirement.

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http://tubbsfarmstead.com/

That must be a state law. Never heard of it here.

__________________
Flaming Xtian
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
Mahatma Gandhi


Libertarindependent

The deadline to apply for the pond stocking program for new or renovated ponds is September 1 annually and there is a fee.- Call 1-800-858-1549 for application and fees.- You do not have to let the public fish in ponds stocked by KDFWR.

Sometimes google is your best friend. Got this of Ky website.
Should solve the debate on letting people in if the state stocks it.

In Kentucky. Meaningless anywhere else.

__________________
Flaming Xtian
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
Mahatma Gandhi


Libertarindependent

I went fishing the other day and didn't catch a dang thing. And I smoke

Well I have a fast moving creek behind my house that is only about 2 inches deep and 4 ft wide and it is considered "navigable" waters and is the goverments property even though i own both sides. It wouldn't even float a toy boat on it.

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The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

We just stocked our pond two weeks ago at our expense. We already have thieves too! A pair of wood ducks moved in and are diving constantly. I'm hoping they're getting mostly fat head minnows.

What I think we are talking about are two similar but different things.
Here when they ran the program it was free.
Why would the State stock your pond at the expense of the other tax payers?
the reason was they required you to provide access.
Nobody does anything for free more so government.

I looked into the Kentucky program its not free and only available to new or renovated ponds. Really though what they are charging for "delivery", I could probably buy fry cheaper. they also only supply bluegill,bass and channel cats.
Seems though you are responsible for the cost incurred therefore I can't see them requiring access.

Don't know about there but our rule book is just a slight gloss over of the full laws. Not that's its not detailed but there is far too much for it to hold. Just some of the more pertinent stuff,other wise it would weigh more then a ships anchor!

As far as Riparian Law, if its connected to navigable waters I.E can or has been used for commerce or can be used (determined by a log test, you can float a log not a boat) it is a public water way. with certain riparian rights reserved to the public,that includes the land owner adjacent. that means you have use of the waters surface,and a right to fish.the land owners do have a few extended rights. All land owners adjacent to the water body own the land to the to the middle. well you may transverse dry land to avoid obstructions or hazards anything else is trespass. including wading or anchoring.

Just because you can float a boat or log does not mean its not a private water way. most public body's are designated as such as are private.
you may need to challenge the status in court and here the courts have normally sided with the land owners in such cases concerning private water.

Now though in my particular county they own a lot of property around water body's including private. In that Situation as a resident of the county,I would argue that all county residents have riparian rights. Same in cases of state owned land.

We asked our district's fish biologist from Charleston, IL about that. He said it wasn't true and isn't sure how it got started, but that he was asked that question often. We worked with him about our stocking plans after we decided not to get our fish from the IDNR.
He did say that if you obtain funds from the NRCS to build your pond that you are/could be required to let the public fish from the pond. He also said that requirement is rarely enforced.

there was an absent tee owner that had his land posted NO HUNTING, and he set a few game cameras up, after he caught some of the trespassers on camera, and all the cameras position in a way that No hunting or trespassing sign was in the back ground, and he took the photos to the local paper, he took out nice size add, and posted the pictures of the trespassers, for all to see, (I guess he did not have any more problems), He never had to contact the Law or the game warden, and of course the noble hunters were the ones who said they all ways followed the rules, I guess it was a talking point for many weeks in the coffee shops,