I kinda use this analogy on the 'gated' canals. If I high fenced my 50 acres in Miss. but left the gates open all summer and put out corn and sucked all my neighbors deer inside the fence and then come October closed and locked the gates, would that be legal or ethical, hell no.

If my canal was open without culverts, it would be public. But since you have to go under the road through 2 small culverts, its Private and will remain.

I know this is farfetched and hypothetical but still food for thought. Suppose someone goes through their gate on their 'private' pond and catches a tagged redfish, should he win the truck for the STAR tournament although I didn't have a shot at that redfish?

I think the answer is yes, he would.

I will agree with you Fool on your culverts and places like that, we have fished on the river side from a boat but but no one in their right mind would try to go through and in my mind that does make that a privet area but if you look at the cannal that goes to South Park Manor it is not blocked in any way but if someone decides to fish in it or even the one by the Cal. River bridge you can be run out or get in trouble and neither have anything to block you out.

[QUOTE=weedeater;305190]I will agree with you Fool on your culverts and places like that, we have fished on the river side from a boat but but no one in their right mind would try to go through and in my mind that does make that a privet area but if you look at the cannal that goes to South Park Manor it is not blocked in any way but if someone decides to fish in it or even the one by the Cal. River bridge you can be run out or get in trouble and neither have anything to block you out.[/QUOTE]
That's exactly what I'm saying, where do you draw the line? Huge 'gray area'..

[quote=Zachary Boy;305192]What it leads to is outlaw justice, both sides think they are right and both have a point. Technically the land owner is right since the law is on his side so they go try to protect what they think they need to protect. It is impossible for the authorities to police something like this so you end up with outlaw justice. Someone will get killed in the state of Louisiana over this in the near future, it is just a matter of time. Hopefully at that point the rest of the citizens will see just how one sided this law really is.

AMEN!!! This has been my mantra for years.

POSTED SIGNS!!!!!!! I don't care what the law says. Anyone complaining about trespassing and doesn't have their area posted is either lazy or just looking for something to complain about. I don't agree with all the gates on canals but a simple posted or no trespassing sign will give you every advantage when calling the law. They can't argue when the signs are there. In my opinion this law just caused more headache and grey area than it did help.

this topic has been beat to death on other forums...:beathorse::beathorse:

Well said, had I seen a posted sign that day with my kids I sure as hell would not have went onto someone's property. I still would not have agreed with the law but I would have respected the signs and the law.

\

For the record Sulphite has a duck lease and would fall in line with the landowners. I'm glad the voters and lawmakers in his great home state of Alabama do not agree with him for the sake of Alabama anglers.

I knew I should have stayed away from this political 'hot potato':pissed:

thats right...I'll spit mah' tabbacy and point mah double barrell shotgun at cha' especially LSU Fans!!!! ;)

All I am saying is that this is a very hot topic and one that has so many variables that either party has a valid arguement.

Exactly. Its all about respect of peoples property. There are and allways will be people who don't and that will be a battle forever. Good law abiding sportsman like us are not the problem. (If signs are posted) I have a deer lease in Beauregard Parish and if I didn't have posted signs up we would have people everywhere. The signs keep it to a minimum. You will never keep out the true outlaws! I got the trail camera pics to prove it lol!

Agreed on the grey area created by the law. Before it was as cut and dry as it could be.

I usually don't say much on these things, but I think it all boils down to a huge lack of common sense and lack of true consideration for others. And like someone state earlier, these laws that are usually hard to truly interpret as black and white come about because a few lawbreaking houligans that think they have a right to anything and everything cause rediculous problems for the rest of us. Most of these people should probably already be in jail for some other law they broke anyway but were let off. I agree with the posted signs being up, but that has its problems too. In the basin there is a lake called Jackass Bay. I fished and hunted it when I was younger and went about 20 years before I went back last year. On the maps, it shows as a public state controlled area. On my way back there, along most of the canal, there were posted signs on both banks. As I got closer, some other group had put posted signs referencing the canal. After getting all the way through to the bay, the state had public signs all over the lake. After checking with the WL&F and the Sherriff's Dept. they said I was ok. We have a problem with many people putting up posted signs on land that is not even theirs.

def agree with u here man..i got ran out of the marsh a few weeks ago and had no idea i was in a private area....the dude was a total douche and cussed and screamed as if he caught me with his wife....he said " im tired of people being on my land" so i told him if he wants people to know it private just put some signs up and he replied that " under state law he didn't have to" so i was like then why the **** u complaining.....looks guys i dont agree with the law as far as fishing goes but if your going to run a guy out of "your" waters then does it really hurt to ask nicely especially if its the first time you catch that individual back there? I can understand yall pay a lot of money to lease the land and would gladly leave all yall have to do is show a lil courtesy and everyone else would do the same...thanks

I have a sore spot with this subject as well, this reply is off the hip, but I'll do a little more research and get back. I was told to leave the North end of Black Lake one day by a guy in a boat because I drifted past a PVC pipe in 4' of water, that marked his claimed boundary. I Didn't leave, told the guy I'd take my chances in court.

All the court interpretations I have read state that if a water way is subject to the ebb and flow of the tide and a boat can travel that water, that water is navigable, and is public, BUT if you stop and anchor you MAY become susceptible to trespassing laws depending on how deep the water may be at the time.

I could be very wrong but i dont think the north end of black lake is private....if it is i fish there all the time :p..lol...but i think the way the law works is the area has to be off of a man made channel or it can't be private