So on Sunday I was fishing a pond that I have fished every weekend since I have lived here in Texas.. so 9 months or so� It is surrounded by commercial/industrial buildings�no homes, no retail. I only fished it on the weekends and am very low profile� no radio blasting drawing attention or anything like that. Respectful and clean and quiet. Matter of fact the last few months fishing has stunk so bad I spent half the time just picking up trash! Pulled out a huge trash bag each time I went.

The area does have a few very old signs here and there that say no trespassing/no fishing. But never had a problem, if I ever did see an employee of one of the buildings they just waved and asked if I caught anything�. You all see where this is going right??

Lewisville police officer (cute lady cop) shows up as I was getting out of my little boat� told me that I had been told to leave by another officer that day, (NOT TRUE) and that now I would be arrested. I explained that was in no way true; no officer had told me to leave or I would have� she went to her car and must have cleared that up cause she let me go�told me I had been warned, she said that the �owners� of that property had called and complained. Yeah right, no one knows who owns that, its owned by some real-estate developer I am sure� some player hating employee called�.

But she took my DL# and my plate # and said if I was ever there again I would be arrested for trespass�.. She said all those lakes and ponds off Hebron (South Lewisville) are private property, she said that if I knew anyone who fished them to let them know too, the Lewisville police are going to be there patrolling and that people would be warned only once�.

Now my question is this�In Texas� if I had accessed those waters from a public right of way�is it not true that as long as I am floating on a navigable water and do not step onto their land, then I am not trespassing??? For instance, if one side of that pond was not private and was a public right away could I not put in my tube there and be legal??? What is seen as �public right away� in texas??? And who is scared of the Lewisville police! (I wont be back there)


That pond sucked anyways! Lol

I know the feeling. It stinks but the ones that trash out a place make it hard on the others that don't. Trespassing is trespassing no matter how you look at it. Trespassers can be arrested without a warning. This is why I say is stinks. I'm pretty sure its a mistomener crime but placing NO TRESPASSING sings protects the land owners from lawsuits. Don't know the rules of public right o way. Sorry:~(

By my understanding, the 3040 ponds don't count as a "navigable waterway". That being said, I'm surprised they came after you. I know a lot of kayakers have fished them regularly without a problem. Been there a few times myself and never had an issue.

No offense but law enforcement is sometime just dumb! they do not take care real problems like robbery, buglary...etc only try to take on minor problem where they can show off their power. Most of the police just try to scare normal law abiding citizen while avoiding all low life criminals.

serious that was my thought! Is this the worst crime going on! But I am sure someone called and they had to respond... And ditto on the kayakers, i have seen many, many ppl fishing there and no one I had talked to had ever had a problem, my one buddy i fish with there said that the cops had stopped a few times and just asked him how the fishing was! said he had been fishing those ponds for 15 yrs or more! since they were built! So seems like your ok as long as no one calls on YOU! Just burns me, cause really i went out of way to be a good guest there; pulled out so much trash and was so polite, never dreamed of going when the business were even open... oh well.

The good pay for the mistakes of everyone... so is life right? Anyone have any suggestions in the area?? I dont need a launch ramp, just like to fish and be left alone lol! Thanks

Whats it like to not have a clue?

[quote=Dan702][/quote]

You could contact the PD anbd ask for a supervisor to meet you out there.


With all the laws in Texas, nobody knows them all.

Fish Burglar??

Dude, screw that. There is a neighborhood bond right there on hebron parkway with little docks. Also you can access some under 121 and those ponds and channels go a ways down. Behind La Hacienda Ranch. UNder 35 & frankford. There is also a good set of ponds near there in Carrollton called ken good park. The trinity is right there. There are tons of places within a mile of there. They cant be at them all.

.....signs that say no trespassing/no fishing.


Dan 7 - If I barely knew you and you told me this story - I say 'uh huh" and 'hmmm" and "wow" alot - till your were done....

No if you were a really good friend I'd just up and call you a [censored] ! ( looks a bit like Dumas )

Jeez ! You even said:


"The area does have a few very old signs here and there that say no trespassing/no fishing."


OK OK - I wrote this just for a LOL #2


sorry dude

In my understanding navigable waterways are rivers, creeks, etc. or impoundments on them. A pond wouldn't be a navigable waterway as it is not a part of a waterway.

LOL yeah that was funny... there are signs... just how dare them enforce them!

These lakes and canals all spill into the Elm fork, so they are part of a water system/shed, connected to the Trinity...not that it matters, they win I wont go back, just sayin.... if I wanted to be arrested and fight it in court for a million $$$ I might have an outside chance of makin that argument stick...but forget that...other places to fish right?

Just watned to vent out, thanks guys...i would ALMOST love to be arrested for fishing.... its my cause

Remember this?

Avid fisherman Deion Sanders gets nabbed for fishing on private property in Florida

Jet, July 8, 1996

Dallas Cowboys football phenom Deion Sanders just couldn't resist a good fishing hole and recently was arrested for fishing at a restricted lake in Fort Myers, FL.

Sanders, who was warned at least twice, police said, was fishing with a friend one night when police reeled him in for trespassing on property owned by the Southwest Florida International Airport.

Sanders' home is a short distance away from the area. He was warned verbally on May 7 and received a written warning on May 9 not to fish on the property.

He was charged with the first-degree misdemeanor and released pending a July 8 court hearing. If convicted, he could face up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Commenting on the case, Sanders said in the USA Today, "The only defense I have is that I'm sorry, but they were biting."

The whole problem to begin with is your a US citizen and can read the old sign's.If you were and Illegal you'd not only be free to fish where ever you want without a lic ,but they'd offer you a Job with the city.

Dude if there's a NO TRESPASSING sign then don't trespass! Pretty simple. Don't dog on the lady cop, she was given a call to go handle by her dept's dispatch. If she doesn't go then she gets in trouble, loses her job, can't pay her bills, etc... I would love to walk into a bank and say "give me a million bucks" but that's against the law and I know if I do it I will go to jail... so I don't do it. Plenty of places where it's ok to fish, just go there instead.