Police ticketing Fishermen in Captains Quarters

[Danny]

You guys should read the thread about this very subject on the KY board. Dave Stewart posted a portion of the booklet put out by the KDFW that makes this legal.

As I have said over there, this topic has been beaten to death. Want to change it, support someone or run yourself, for an office that has the same views as you do, and get it changed.

I myself used to have a boat moored at a marina, I don't anymore, but I hated to show up and find my seats ripped from a crankbait, a ding from a jig, paint chipped off my motor, etc....

If you watched the Ultimate Match Fishing show, you saw that even one of the professional fishermen had his spinnerbait caught in the lines of a moored boat. I'd wager that those guys can out cast 99.9% of us on the board... so you figure how many of us will miss our target and hit a boat.

It was funny too, not once did a fisherman leave contact information with a note offering to pay to repair their damage.

I too am now a tournament fisherman, honestly, there are a lot more places to fish than marinas.

Danny

[Moose1am]

I see what you are saying as a boat owner. And I understand why a boat owner who's boat is tied up in a covered dock wants his possessions protected. That makes better sense to me now.

I learned to fish on KY lake when I was 8 years old. I fished the Cypress Bay area all my life until I got married and moved away. Dad was my fishing mentor. I learned way back then that the bass liked to hang around the boat docks in Cypress Bay and the bays to the South of Cypress. I caught a lot of nice bass off the docks.

I also had some wayward baits land or hit boats that were tied up to the dock. But I never ever ripped a boat seat or anything like that. I always was able to retrieve my crankbait without damaging any boats. But back then the main type of boat parked alongside a dock was an aluminum fishing boat which didn't have fancy leather seats or nice paint jobs.

I guess times have changed and there are more and more pleasure boats and yaughts being parked in the new larger marina's.

At Patoka Lake where I like to fish at times first Marina that was built on the lake is right over some nice looking deep water channels that are perfect fishing areas.

But here is the rub. If you pay to park your boat at the marina then you can fish off the docks? humm. I guess by paying to park a boat there makes you a perfect caster?

The bottom line is that public money is used to run the Corp of Engineers and they COE give this public property to private business. That's my rub.

And the reason why I use the internet to discuss this subject it to find out how other fishermen feel about their public waters being turned into private clubs. I am sure that a lot of private discussions went on behind closed doors to get things the way they are now.

The average fishermen has very little time to try to get things changed in the legislature. Without the money and time to spend on this issue we are doomed to be left out of those private meetings that make the deals to get the marinas this exclusion zone on public waters.

But you are right as there still are some other places to fish for now. But you see if you try to fish in other places the jet skies and water skiers use you as a buoy to go around. Have you ever tried to still fish for crappie when there are jet skies around. We crappie fishermen are forced to fish at night or in the submerged tree where the jet skies can't go.

I love Patoka Lake for one reason. There are only two marinas on the lake and a lot of the lake has a 10 mph speed limit and a NO SKI ZONE.


Regards,

Moose1am

[Danny]

Very nice post... and good points.

As for the folks fishing off their boats parked at the docks... well those folks are usually just float fishing, or maybe tightlining, but we bassers, well we are casting and retrieving, and generally using heavier lures, with many more points and barbs, when you consider crankbaits.

I also agree whole heartedly with you about access slowly being eliminated for us regular guys. We live in Muhlenberg County. My father-in-law owns about 250 acres that has been surrounded by a Peabody Wildlife refuge, not the WMAs, but a refuge. We also had a lot of the WMAs around us. We have a lot of trouble with trespassers cutting our fences, and trashing our land, as we have a few very nice fishing lakes. Here's the thing, 6,000 acres that surround us, the WMAs and Refuge has been, or is being sold. Word has it that it will be turned into one of those pay to hunt ranches. Now our land is south of the highway 62 through way. Now apparently, someone is wanting to, or trying to buy up all the land north of 62 as well. This will just about eliminate any of the puplic fishing areas out here, as it will all be private property. Over in Ohio county, just down the road from my wife's uncle, was a huge Peabody WMA... kenlake and others. Now all that has been purchased, or most of it, and there are now gates up that prevent us from getting to the lakes we used to fish.

Soon, there won't be anywhere for us regular guys to fish. Also, don't know if you remember, but at one time the KY government was discussing either leasing or selling KY and Barkley lakes to a private investor for management. how much would that end up costing us?

Our courts have allowed the Corps to "lease" the area to marina owners, and allowed them to uphold the 150 foot buffer zone.

My question goes beyond that though. Take the ramps that charge, whether they are corps ramps or marinas that charge, like Katawa marina. They now charge a launch fee, as allowed. If a marina opperator charges a launch fee, then they have to be responsible for the maintanance and upkeep of the ramp. So what if I get hurt on that ramp? I know as a home owner, if someone slips on an ice covered side walk, they can sue me, the home owner, so can I hold the marina opperator responsible for any damage to me or my equipment due to their ramp? What about holding them responsible of damage to my trailer by someone else? What about theft? They've been give regulatory privledges over the area, then why not hold them responsible as well?

We are on the same side I believe, but I just feel we end up saying the same things over and over, and none of us do anything. So, I generally try to not post complaining posts, because I doubt I'm running for any public office.... way too many skeletons... LMAO

Danny