How to you guys go about finding out if a pond is legal to fish or not? i know to look for no trespassing signs, but most times they are not there. I recently moved to Plano and i know this city has ponds everywhere, but i know alot are on private property. I don''t want to break the law but i'm also tired of driving across town to the few ponds i know are safe to fish. Any help is welcomed.

I've fished on private ponds before. And from experience, no one ever says anything to me about not being allowed to fish there. And the owners have seen me there. I think that if you're by yourself, and you're just fishing and not vandalizing or anything, they don't mind, and won't say anything. I can;t speak for all pond owners, but the ones I've come across, haven't kicked me out or anything. I say that if there are no "No Trespassing" or "No Fishing" signs, then go for it. And if the owner or someone comes and tells you otherwise, then just tell them that you didn't see any signs and you just wanted to fish. Like I said, from experience, nine times out of ten, they'll be okay with it.

Or you could go up to the owners, or ask around, and ask them if it's okay. I've never had to do that. But I guess asking for permission is more respectful than just doing it.

Thanks Sean. If I know for sure a pond is on private party, I won't set foot on it without owners consent. One of the ponds I fish is private, I met the owner at a public lake and he invited me. But I am really concerned about these ponds next to business' or these HOA community ponds. It's just not worth having the cops show up. But there isn't a phone number I can call ya know.

Most of the HOA ponds will have a sign posted saying residents of X only. I've found a few ponds in east Texas that were on private property. I simply knocked on their door. Most of the time if you are respectful and polite they won't have a prolem with it.
Just make sure to tell them you won't leave any trash and that you won't take any fish out to keep. Live up to your word.
HOA ponds will kick you out pretty fast depending on the area. I know some that will kick you out within 30 minutes. Others they don't seem to care. I would still very careful with the HOA ponds. I don't fish them out of respect for the people that live there and pay for the right to fish there.
All that said, what part of Plano are you in? I live in Allen so I might be able to help.

I liked your question and as someone who leases lakes for a living appreciated the way you asked the question. If you want to fish, I would make sure you ask permission. If you do not know who owns it, then you have no business being on the property. I'm not sure why some believe that it is OK to use something of somebody else's and when caught; ask for permission. Would you use that mentality with other aspects of your life? Would you take your ATV and just start driving it around a property; because you saw someone else doing it or there were already some trails; so it must be OK. I think 20+ years ago, this was a common thought process. But with landowner liability issues I would want to get permission first.

I don't think I answered your original question of how do you find the owner of a particular property? Look for the nearest home from the pond/lake. If he does not own it, he probably knows who does. Its a little like making a sales cold call.

When asking permission, it helps to be accompanied with a well-endowed woman.

Thanks all. To fisherman1 I am in W. Plano right at parker and the the tollway. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you Salex for the great info. I don't own any property but if I did I would appreciate a man knocking on my door and asking permission to set foot on said property.

If anyone knows if it's OK to fish the ponds located at Tennyson Pkwy / Corporate Dr please let me know. There are several that are surrounded by business. Also the 3040 ponds in Lewisville are not too far away.

3040 ponds hold Big fish, this I know...
Too close to the dump, please don't consider eating them

I have seen people fishing at the ponds at Tennyson, and I believe it is okay the fish there without prior permission. They may only get onto you, if you fish there during business hours, I am sure you would find out by security of nearby businesses if so.

Good luck - and keep us posted on how you do.

Will do gunner thanks! To goldspooner I only catch and release. But thanks for the tip.

Some of the 3040 ponds you can fish and some you can't. The ones you can't are posted by the roads.

Thanks Todd, I will keep an eye out. Yesterday I spent 2hrs driving around checking out spots I received from fellow tff's only to find out all these places had private property signs posted.