can you use boats, like john boats or kayaks in community lakes if it isnt posted not to do so? just wondering as Im thinking about getting a kayak, and thought it would be cool to hit some of the local ponds instead of just rivers.

I went to a community lake last night & was talking to another guy fishing & he brought that up. Said that a guy had put a little raft into the water & was fishing, but a cop flagged him down & told him he couldn't use it there. Keep in mind, this is 3rd hand info, but the guy told me that the cop was called by a resident, and even though it's not posted that no watercraft are allowed, it's in the HOA covenants & restrictions. So just because it's not posted doesn't necessarily mean it's allowed.

thanks FriscoEd....I was wondering about the HOA's surrounding some of these ponds

If they own it, they can pretty much do whatever they want, though I think (definitely not sure) that if TWPD stocks it for them, they are required to allow the public to fish there, within reason. I could be totally wrong about that.

Boats are definitely a different story.

Unless its posted, you can fish, swim, boat....It's gotta be posted...And if anyone tells you any different they can not enforce it....

TPWD hasn't stocked private water holes for a long time. Dinty, it doesn't have to be posted to keep out poachers.

From the TWPD website:

Q: What is a public lake?
A: The typical public lake in Texas was created by building a dam on a navigable stream. When a navigable stream is dammed, the resulting lake is a public lake, and the public may boat and fish on all of the lake's waters, not just that part directly above the streambed. Therefore, a property owner may not fence off any portion of such a lake.7 For other lakes, the test is whether the lake is navigable. Typically, the small natural lakes in Texas are held to be non-navigable, and therefore subject to private ownership and control. Manmade stock tanks and flood control ponds are usually non-navigable as well. The public has no right to boat, fish, or hunt in or on the waters of private lakes,8 and hunting or fishing without landowner consent is a crime.9 In order to encourage outdoor recreation, the legislature has limited the liability of landowners who allow the public to use their property for recreational purposes.10

Q: But doesn't the state own the waters of ALL lakes and flowing streams, plus the fish that live there?
A: Yes, the state does own the water of every lake and natural stream, and the fish that live there.11 But that does not give the public the right to fish or boat in private lakes or streams.12

Sounds to me like the assumption that "unless it's posted, you can... whatever" is more myth than reality.

Heck I even know in Arkansas you can fish any lake or pond when I was a kid unless it was posted, or had purple paint or you had to cross a fence to get to it...If not the above applied it was game on...you might get ran off but no criminal charges could be pressed

So what you mean is "you can until someone tells you you can't". That's not the same thing as being legal.

No,it is in the game in fish book,land must be marked by purple paint, sign or have some sort of fence...If not then it is not illegal....or it used to not be...

But if it's not illegal, then they couldn't run you off, right?

Well I dont know about you but I tend to run if someone comes out of a house with a gun...lol
They can ask you to leave and call the police if you dont but you wouldnt get a ticket,,I never done it,,I was always the good guy and asked permission before I went on someone's property,,,but I do remember it being that way,,,Everyone went out and started buying purple paint in bulk...lol

Err... community ponds are more like fish tanks than real ponds. Those water lillies are not rooted into the pond bed. They are in POTS fastened underwater. If you kayak on a small pond, you'll likely knock over these pots and spray soil everywhere.

My neighborhood pond has an underwater aerator for the fish. If you kayak knocks over an industrial size aerator worth thousands of dollars, are you going to pay for it?

A kayak in a pond only 2 to 4 ft deep? Do you have enough depth to paddle?

Not a good idea.

This whole conversation reminds me of the confusion regarding water rights and private land on the great lakes.

Private land owners with property right on the beach would put up fences that cascade all the down to the water which completely blocked the entire beach. Then if you were wading in the water, say up to your calves and walking the beach crossing in front of their property, they would come out like a frieght train yelling, arms waving demanding you get off their property and saying things like, "This is a private beach", threatening to call the police (Kind of sad to see folks act that way, like you were stealing their candy).

Well, after two experiences like this I looked it up and the laws say that their property ends at the water and the state has all the water-rights, similar to here in Texas. So technically, I had the right to wade down the beach in front of private property. But unless I wanted to spend my day fighting land-owners and wrangling with police; that are part of the 'good-'ol-boy' system, I just stayed away. Kind of defeats the purpose of why I'm out there and one ugly confrontation ruins an entire outing. And I really didn't have the time or energy to be a rebel with a cause, legitimate as it was.

So are you technically right according the laws---yep. Are you willing to exchange your day-off in what was supposed to be a pleasant get-away just to fight and argue with land-owners and police...? Guess everyone has to make their own decisions.

well...I guess I will just stick to rivers and creeks then. I dont want to risk some yahoo uppity HOA fanatic coming and going all boss hog on me...thanks guys for your input...