Do any of you pull off the side of the road and fish creeks?

[LovinOutside]

There's a lot of creeks Georgia DNR stocks, and I think it's because they get into the ecosystem more than worrying about someone fishing. But, do any of you just pull off on the shoulder of the road and fish? When I look at the maps on county websites, they usually have about 25' of shoulder space. Everything is else somebody's land, which I want to respect.

I'm also wondering if you can pull off on the shoulder and stay there legally, but don't know much about it. There are tons of places, as most of you know, just no way to get to them.

This is for any part of Georgia where there's no designated pullover like some of the streams I've seen in North Georgia, could ask this same questions about rivers too.

Thanks for help. Yes, I know you are not a lawyer on the legal question.

 

[lampern]

I would assume if the creek is stocked there is public access and you can fish it.

Otherwise why stock it?

 

[across the river]

I would assume if the creek is stocked there is public access and you can fish it.

Otherwise why stock it?

You cannot fish in a creek on private property without permission from the land owner. You can fish public property, wether it be national forest, right of way along the road, a park, etc….. where the creek crosses the public ground, but you cannot venture off onto someone’s private to fish it, whether the creek gets stocked or not. The fish can’t read posted signs, so they swim whereever they want. It doesn’t mean you can follow them. Really only an issue with trout, where a large portion of the some of the stocked creeks are on private land. No different than a stocked largemouth bass in West Point or a hybrid in some other lake or river that ran way back up some creek off of the lake or river onto private land. You can’t walk on the land or take you canoe back in those to fish either.

 

[LovinOutside]

You cannot fish in a creek on private property without permission from the land owner. You can fish public property, wether it be national forest, right of way along the road, a park, etc….. where the creek crosses the public ground, but you cannot venture off onto someone’s private to fish it, whether the creek gets stocked or not. The fish can’t read posted signs, so they swim whereever they want. It doesn’t mean you can follow them. Really only an issue with trout, where a large portion of the some of the stocked creeks are on private land. No different than a stocked largemouth bass in West Point or a hybrid in some other lake or river that ran way back up some creek off of the lake or river onto private land. You can’t walk on the land or take you canoe back in those to fish either.

You can't kayak in the creek if someone owns frontage?

 

[LovinOutside]

I would assume if the creek is stocked there is public access and you can fish it.

Otherwise why stock it?

So they can grow and enter the larger streams? I made that up but it makes sense.

 

[across the river]

You can't kayak in the creek if someone owns frontage?

In Georgia the law states that you can only kayak, boat, fish, etc…. if the water is navigable, which means it was used to transport freight. The USACE determines what is navigable and non navigable and you can get a list on their site. For non-navigable waters, which are most all creeks(there are a few that portions are considers navigable), the person that owns the creek bed the creek flows on, controls the access. If a section is on public land, like the part on the right of way at a bridge, you can fish it. However, you can’t put in a kayak and legally fish anything beyond the right of way unless you have permission from the landowner.

 

[lampern]

So they can grow and enter the larger streams? I made that up but it makes sense.

In North Carolina anyway they only stock streams with trout that have public access

 

[NCHillbilly]

I don't know if Georgia has some weird laws going on, but here in western NC, if a stream is stocked by the state, you can fish it without going and getting permission unless the landowner has up posted signs or purple paint. In which case, they won't stock that part of it, because they're not going to spend public tax money to stock streams on posted private property. Been fishing trout streams running through private property all my life, and I'm 55, and never had a single issue with it.

 

[Batjack]

Here we go again. Down the same old rabbit hole.

 

[across the river]

I don't know if Georgia has some weird laws going on, but here in western NC, if a stream is stocked by the state, you can fish it without going and getting permission unless the landowner has up posted signs or purple paint. In which case, they won't stock that part of it, because they're not going to spend public tax money to stock streams on posted private property. Been fishing trout streams running through private property all my life, and I'm 55, and never had a single issue with it.

The DNR doesn't ride back into someones private 1000 acres to stock trout, but they do stock streams of which only a portion are on public land. They do stock them less than streams that are heavily pressured and largely on public. The fish don't all just hang out at the "park" or "bridge" they put them in at, some go up and down stream onto private property. You can't just wander onto to someone's property to fish because a trout the state dropped in there swam onto it.

 

[antharper]

I do it all the time and haven’t been ran off yet . If someone has it posted or is a known jerk I respect them and go somewhere else . I think it is illegal but they can’t eat you ? I do stay close to the road though

 

[NCHillbilly]

The DNR doesn't ride back into someones private 1000 acres to stock trout, but they do stock streams of which only a portion are on public land. They do stock them less than streams that are heavily pressured and largely on public. The fish don't all just hang out at the "park" or "bridge" they put them in at, some go up and down stream onto private property. You can't just wander onto to someone's property to fish because a trout the state dropped in there swam onto it.

You absolutely certainly can here if it isn't specifically posted by the landowner. Hundreds and hundreds of miles of heavily stocked public trout water with NC public mountain trout water signs on the trees flowing across private land here with people fishing it every day and nobody caring. Like I said, Georgia may be different, but that's exactly how it works here and in many other states. It is very common to stock streams for public fishing on private land. The only way a landowner can keep you off is if he owns both sides of the creek and has posted signs or purple paint. Otherwise, you can get in the creek from any public right of way and fish right through there. And the landowners don't care. If they do, they post it.

 

[across the river]

You absolutely certainly can here if it isn't specifically posted by the landowner. Hundreds and hundreds of miles of heavily stocked public trout water with NC public mountain trout water signs on the trees flowing across private land here with people fishing it every day and nobody caring. Like I said, Georgia may be different, but that's exactly how it works here and in many other states. It is very common to stock streams for public fishing on private land. The only way a landowner can keep you off is if he owns both sides of the creek and has posted signs or purple paint. Otherwise, you can get in the creek from any public right of way and fish right through there. And the landowners don't care. If they do, they post it.

It is illegal to serve alcohol at a bingo match or plow a field with an elephant in North Carolina. If I come up there I will abide by those laws. If you come to trout fish in Georgia, realize that you could be ticketed for rambling through someone’s property to trout fish like you do up there, because it is illegal. The laws aren’t the same because they are different states with different laws. Whether you like them or think they are stupid is irrelevant. Considering this is forum is aimed toward the outdoors in “Georgia”, what you do on North Carolina has nothing to do with the question the original poster asked. If you want to discuss being able to wander all over people’s land in North Carolina because they don’t have a purple mark on a tree, then it would probably be better to start another thread. It has zero to do with the laws in Georgia or the question the guy ask.

 

[Big7]

I keep at least one rod and one gun in the van at all times.

I stop at a lot of roadside places to fish bit mostly look for places to set turtle pegs.

Have been for decades.

 

[notnksnemor]

I do it all the time and haven’t been ran off yet . If someone has it posted or is a known jerk I respect them and go somewhere else . I think it is illegal but they can’t eat you ? I do stay close to the road though

You only respect posted property and known jerks?

 

[LovinOutside]

Here we go again. Down the same old rabbit hole.

It kind of devolved. I was mostly interested in the pulling over part. I already know not to go on people's property.

I believe the actual water isn't owned, so I guess you could walk or float, but I really was more curious on people pulling of the side of the road. I usually look at the county GIS first m. If you follow it far enough, there's typically a small part no owned by any regular person, but I digress.

 

[across the river]

It kind of devolved. I was mostly interested in the pulling over part. I already know not to go on people's property.

I believe the actual water isn't owned, so I guess you could walk or float, but I really was more curious on people pulling of the side of the road. I usually look at the county GIS first m. If you follow it far enough, there's typically a small part no owned by any regular person, but I digress.

You can’t float or fish a non navigable creek without permission. Here is the law if you are interested.

https://www.jbwpc.com/Articles/Zoni...ES-WHAT-ARE-YOUR-RIGHTS-AND-LIABILITIES.shtml

Go down to riparian rights (B) part 2 for a good explanation. You can fish from the public land of the right of way, but if you are waking, floating, or even casting up into the part of the creek that is on private land, you are not legal. The owner of the bed controls access to the water above on non-navigable water. It’s not nearly as complicated as people want to make it out to be.

 

[hopper]

I keep at least one rod and one gun in the van at all times.

I stop at a lot of roadside places to fish bit mostly look for places to set turtle pegs.

Have been for decades.

What's a turtle peg?

 

[Milkman]

There's a lot of creeks Georgia DNR stocks, and I think it's because they get into the ecosystem more than worrying about someone fishing. But, do any of you just pull off on the shoulder of the road and fish? When I look at the maps on county websites, they usually have about 25' of shoulder space. Everything is else somebody's land, which I want to respect.

I'm also wondering if you can pull off on the shoulder and stay there legally, but don't know much about it. There are tons of places, as most of you know, just no way to get to them.

This is for any part of Georgia where there's no designated pullover like some of the streams I've seen in North Georgia, could ask this same questions about rivers too.

Thanks for help. Yes, I know you are not a lawyer on the legal question.

It was common 40 -50 years ago in NE Ga. Nobody minded. Heck the owner encouraged it in some cases.

Nowadays you had best have permission. Those who did wrong on landowners property caused them to have to post it.

 

[oldfella1962]

"It is illegal to plow a field with an elephant in North Carolina."

Stick a fork in North Carolina - they're done! How did our Founding Fathers not mention this basic right when they drafted the Constitution?