The Kentucky River Authority apparently doesn?t believe in posting proper signs and there is a conservation police officer in that area with the reputation of a writing a lot of tickets for everything. That?s what I?ve been told by several people and experienced firsthand myself.
My girlfriend and I had decided to try fishing the Kentucky River for the first time. The week prior we had gone up the Kentucky River to Lock 1 by boat and saw a lot of people fishing off the lock. I didn?t feel like getting the boat out again the next weekend so we drove to the lock to fish like we saw everyone else doing. There is no gate or fence at the lock you can drive right up to it. There is no sign that says ?No Fishing?, no chain or barrier restricting access to the lock gates or the lock structure, and the locals didn?t seem concerned about no trespassing sign painted on ground. It was my first time there so I didn?t know what to make of it.
Well apparently fishing off the lock is not allowed. How people are supposed to know this information, especially the first time out, is beyond me. Like I said there was no sign that said ?No Fishing?, there were no barriers, there is no mention of fishing off the lock being prohibited in the Kentucky Fishing Guide, and there is no mention of the Kentucky River Authority in the fishing guide or that they have additional restrictions.
After the fact the only place I was able to find mention of the ?No fishing from the lock structure? rule is on the Kentucky River Authority website. So with no signs and nothing indicating that Kentucky River Authority manages the locks; how are people supposed to know to go to the Kentucky River Authority website for a list of restrictions?
Unfortunately we got to learn this lesson the hard way when the conservation police officer showed up and asked for our IDs. He said the lock master had asked them to ticket people. Even though it was my first time fishing there and it was a free fishing weekend where people that don?t have experience are encouraged to fish, we weren?t given any type of warning. Instead we were each given a $253 ticket. That is $506 in fees for not being aware that the Kentucky River Authority only has additional regulations on their website and expects the entire population to be aware of it.
My brother is a conservation police officer for the state of Illinois. He was one of the more aggressive and hard core officers when it comes to writing tickets. When I told him about the situation he said that even he wouldn?t write two tickets. Being cited like that in Illinois can be expected as they are pretty heavy handed up there with enforcement. That is not what I?ve learned to expect in Kentucky where people are more polite, laid back, friendly, and willing to give someone the benefit of doubt.
That saddest thing about the situation is that all day long my girlfriend was excited and couldn?t stop talking about how much she enjoyed fishing. After the tickets her words were ?I don?t think I will be fishing much anymore.? After this experience I can see why that would be. It is simply not worth it. To get $500 in fines for not knowing an obscure regulation is ridiculous.
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