Except for the obvious reason to raise money, is there any other reason that we should need a fishing license to fish in rivers, lakes, creeks, etc. I'm assuming that you don't actually need a fishing license to fish in a pond on your own property. Right?
Except for the obvious reason to raise money, is there any other reason that we should need a fishing license to fish in rivers, lakes, creeks, etc. I'm assuming that you don't actually need a fishing license to fish in a pond on your own property. Right?
I've never needed a license to fish on my property that I know of.
As for the reason, it helps track the number of fish. If fish and wildlife officers catch someone or observe them taking too many, or undersized fish, they can cite them. In short, it's to prevent over harvesting.
A lot of states do captive breeding/fish farming to stock lakes and rivers. I imagine the number of fishing licenses is an important data point for planning such operations.
A lot of states do captive breeding/fish farming to stock lakes and rivers. I imagine the number of fishing licenses is an important data point for planning such operations
The fees for licenses will pay for those operations.
HM.
A lot of states do captive breeding/fish farming to stock lakes and rivers. I imagine the number of fishing licenses is an important data point for planning such operations.
True, and as HM mentioned, paying for those programs.
In the USA there are 50 States and every State hasdifferent governing laws.
As for Michigan the laws are as such that the State of Michigan owns and has controlling interest the water rights to any body of water that can be navigated by a canoe.
What this means is if your property completely surrounds a small lake or pond then that body of water is owned by the State and you must follow State laws.
So if you have a lake or pond on your property then by Michigan law anyone can fish, swim, boat, and enjoy the water as long as there is PUBLIC ACCESS. So in Michigan if you see a sign that says private lake the lake actually isn't private but the property surrounding the lake is owned and the general public does not have access to the water.
Now to answer your fishing question in Michigan the law is 17 and old are required to have a fishing license. Everyone including those 17 and younger must follow State fishing laws as the daily numbers and the fishing seasons.
Michigan highly regulates the fishing seasons as to fish breed and locations so it is recommended that when you get your license that you pick up that years fishing guide because fish that you can legally catch in this river or lake may be illegal to catch else where.
Another thing to be mindful of is your location Michigan touches 4 of the 5 Great lakes those being Lake Michigan, Superior, Huron, and Erie. With Lake Michigan you can either be in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan and your Michigan fishing license doesn't cover or allow you the rights to fish in the other States controlled waters but you can usually get away with just a warning. Now the other 3 Lakes Superior (also shares with Wisconsin), Huron, and Erie they are half USA/Michigan waters but the other half is Canadian waters and I have known and read the reports of those caught fishing in Canadian waters and while the Canadian Coast Guard is extremely polite in that they will return you to the nearest American port and soil they have no problem with giving out nice large fines, keeping your gear, and boat though depending on the severity they may return the boat and gear after you pay additional fines and penalties. The moral is know where you are as ignorance is not an excuse.
And one last point even if your property completely surrounds the lake or pond and even if you dug out and made said lake and pond you still are governed by the laws of Michigan so yes if you are 17 and older you must have a fishing license and you must obey they fishing seasons.
If you wish to try and follow the Michigan Fishing Seasons for 2021. the 2022 can and may have changes.
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79119_79146_81200---,00.html
What this means is if your property completely surrounds a small lake or pond then that body of water is owned by the State and you must follow State laws.
And one last point even if your property completely surrounds the lake or pond and even if you dug out and made said lake and pond you still are governed by the laws of Michigan so yes if you are 17 and older you must have a fishing license and you must obey they fishing seasons.
So if you dig out a nice sized pond completely inside your private property you can't fill it back in next year because you would be destroying state property?
So if you dig out a nice sized pond completely inside your private property you can't fill it back in next year because you would be destroying state property?
It's not a pond, officer, it's a pool for wild swimming. I have no idea how those fish got in it, honestly!
AJ
So if you dig out a nice sized pond completely inside your private property you can't fill it back in next year because you would be destroying state property?
Yes you are correct but only for bodies of water that are greater than 4 foot (1.2M) in depth or greater in surface area of 1 half acre. You would need to file with the Michigan DNR (Department of Natural Resources) They will require you to show proof of when you dug the pond and they will then do an environmental impact study to see if you can get a permit to then fill the pond you created back in.
Yes you are correct but only for bodies of water that are greater than 4 foot (1.2M) in depth or greater in surface area of 1 half acre. You would need to file with the Michigan DNR (Department of Natural Resources) They will require you to show proof of when you dug the pond and they will then do an environmental impact study to see if you can get a permit to then fill the pond you created back in.
That is unbelievably ridiculous, it's a hole you dug out just a year before. Same injustice as civil forfeiture.
That is unbelievably ridiculous, it's a hole you dug out just a year before. Same injustice as civil forfeiture.
Ahhh but we are talking about government so you should expect
unbelievably ridiculous.
Yes you are correct but only for bodies of water that are greater than 4 foot (1.2M) in depth
Wouldn't that apply to many private swimming pools? What if you have what we Brits call an 'iceberg house', with a swimming pool in the basement? Does the basement become state property?
AJ
Does the basement become state property?
Probably only the pool, not the basement itself :D
Wouldn't that apply to many private swimming pools?
No, very few in-ground swimming pools have a surface area of 1/2 acre.
Even a regulation Olympic swimming pool isn't that big. An Olympic swimming pool is 50m by 25m, 1250m^2 or 13,454.89ft^2.
An Acre is 43,560ft^2.
So the Olympic pool is a bit under 1/3 acre. Very few homes have in-ground pools that large.
There are homes in the US with indoor pools in a finished basement. I've never heard of one with a pool that would be larger than an Olympic pool. Most are much smaller.
No, very few in-ground swimming pools have a surface area of 1/2 acre.
But many are greater than four feet in depth.
AJ
But many are greater than four feet in depth.
I suspect that palamedes misstated and that the actual legal requirement on that is an and not an or. That is it must be both greater than four feet in depth and at least 1/2 acre surface area.
I suspect that palamedes misstated and that the actual legal requirement on that is an and not an or. That is it must be both greater than four feet in depth and at least 1/2 acre surface area.
Correct. People can put in and remove those Koi ponds all the time as some are deep to protect from freezing but are not very large.
Correct. People can put in and remove those Koi ponds all the time as some are deep to protect from freezing but are not very large.
Not to mention that if it was an or rather than an and, a 4 inch well casing would end up being public property.
Some things are too absurd even for the government. :)
Wouldn't that apply to many private swimming pools? What if you have what we Brits call an 'iceberg house', with a swimming pool in the basement? Does the basement become state property?
AJ
Swimming pools if maintained do not have an eco-system of fish and plant life living in it.
Swimming pools if maintained do not have an eco-system of fish and plant life living in it.
There's a current UK fad for wild swimming. Doing it in natural rivers etc isn't a brilliant idea because so many water companies use them to 'accidentally' dump sewage overflow. So the very rich are creating their own swimming ponds/lakes and stocking them with wildlife.
AJ
I remember a controversy about the swimming there. They introduced 'women only' sessions in order to be 'inclusive', and a bunch of men turned up in protest, claiming to be trans women. I can't remember what the outcome was.
AJ
There's a current UK fad for wild swimming.
And an article on natural swimming ponds in yesterday's tabloid du jour.
AJ
Wisconsin is worse.
All navigable waters are public property, defined similarly to what you describe for Michigan (will it float a canoe).
And that's not just law, it's baked into the state constitution.
Being that the waters are public property, the owner(s) of the surrounding property are obligated to provide public access.
Glade we are not alone but what's your fishing like ?
I'm not a fisherman, so I wouldn't know.
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has some similar rules. However, stock ponds are exempt. As such, many farmers stock those ponds with fish.
We have a creek that runs through our property with no public access. They would have a difficult time catching me fishing and likely could not prosecute if they did, as they would have to trespass on posted private property to do so.
Still, we get a license every year, as I support the effort. It's one of the few government programs that at least semi-supports itself.
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
I don't know what they can and can't do legally but the Michigan DNR is its own breed they are not like regular cops or State troopers. The Michigan DNR doesn't need a warrant to enter or cross your land when in the performance of enacting or maintaining State property.
DNR doesn't need a warrant to enter or cross your land when in the performance of enacting or maintaining State property.
Therein is the difference. For TVA, ten feet from the high water mark is considered Federal property.
https://www.tva.com/environment/shoreline-construction-permits/section-26a-regulations#Subpart%20C
As for the legality of an agent on my property, that touches on state and federal laws when it comes to that. There is legal precedence for my earlier statement. Obviously I can't and won't speak for Michigan law and precedence. I will say, it's highly unlikely that there isn't precedence there as well.
LOL I just love that they actually wrote into the bylaws that you have permission to clear and remove poison ivy.
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(f) Within the 50-foot SMZ and elsewhere on TVA land as defined in §1304.201, clearing of specified understory plants (poison ivy, Japanese honeysuckle, kudzu, and other exotic plants on a list provided by TVA) is allowed
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Different groups get to have and follow different rules and laws. Police can not search your car with out permission, probable cause, or a warrant yet on the open waters the Coast Guard at any time can pull up beside you board and search your boat at their will. But like you said local laws and rules that apply here don't apply else where.
I actually like the Michigan DNR as the money spent by them actually do good things and has visible results.
oh yeah, boating rules vary wildly too. Some states require you register canoes and kayaks even.
oh yeah, boating rules vary wildly too. Some states require you register canoes and kayaks even.
Very true but I can get behind this as the cost is not that great but it helps greatly when finding an unmanned boat on the open water to have a starting point for a search.
find an unmanned boat you can at least contact or try and contact the owner to ask who was on the boat and any idea where they might have gone and done.
In my area of Lake Erie it is shallow sure the shipping channel is dredge out to 65ft (19.8m) but the average depth is between 4-6ft (1.2-1.8m) deep and we get many teenagers and adults who leave the shore thinking big Lake and go full speed not knowing the area and find that the water is shallow with sand bars. Even jet ski have to be registered and are not immune to shallow water and high speeds.
Erie
AKA Eerie, What is the meaning of eery?
"Definitions of eery. adjective. inspiring a feeling of fear; strange and frightening. synonyms: eerie, spooky strange, unusual. being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird."
AKA Eerie, What is the meaning of eery?
"Definitions of eery. adjective. inspiring a feeling of fear; strange and frightening. synonyms: eerie, spooky strange, unusual. being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird."
Well it is fitting as if you where to talk to any of the crew for the commercial freighters they will tell you that they would rather be in the Atlantic Ocean in a hurricane then in any of the Great Lakes with extreme prejudice against western Lake Erie during a storm.
We would also verify boat registrations, hunting and fishing license by phone if the state paid for the service. Once day I got a call about an abandoned boat with a permit from another state not sharing a boarder. Sorry no help there.
The most comprehensive 'public access' policy I know of is Sweden's "allemansrätten":
The Right of Public access
Sweden's right of public access in a nutshell
It's baked into the Swedish Constitution and generally limits property rights in favor of public access.
Florida is a little better than most then. Those residents 65 and older do not have to have a license (fishing or hunting). Military active duty and retirees residing in Florida do not need to have a license (fishing or hunting). If you have a pond entirely on your property of 20 acres or less you don't need a license to fish. One over 20 acres on your property requires you buy a license at $3 per acre and you can charge people to fish there. There are also free fishing days that anyone can fish for free.
For 3 years I worked for a company that provided technology solutions for hunting and fishing license sales. The bulk of the wildlife management and parks budget for most US states and Canadian provinces comes from hunting and fishing licenses. In most states/provinces you do not need a fishing license for private property, but do need one to hunt on private property. Most coastal states/provinces require separate salt and fresh water licenses. Also bodies of water forming a boarder can have their own rules. To add more confusion residency rules apply, as in if you are not a resident it usually costs more and you can do less with one. Finally to add more confusion each state and province has its own rules that can vary wildly from place to place.
