Denton County 'shelter at home' orders - my opinion (for whatever it's worth)

Guys, I'm going to do something that will almost certainly bite me later, but I care about my fellow anglers enough to go out on a limb. I'm going to offer my opinion on the Denton County shelter at home order.

My opinion is that under this order, it is ok for individuals to go fishing. Section 2(a)(iii) says: "For purposes of this Order, individuals may leave their residence only to perform any of the following "Essential Activities" ... To engage in outdoor activity, provided the individuals comply with social distancing requirements of six feet, except as family units (for example, walking, biking, hiking, or running)."

While the order does not expressly name fishing as an outdoor activity, the list is only examples and is not exclusive. I can think of numerous outdoor activities not listed that can easily comply with 'social distancing': kayaking, hunting, fishing, sailing, metal detecting, birdwatching, etc. Now, an overworked law enforcement officer may not agree with this, and might cite you for violating the order. But I suspect that as long as fishermen are keeping their distance from one another, law enforcement will be more concerned with real problems.

The above is my opinion only, it only applies to the Denton County order, and is not legal advice. I'm going fishing tomorrow. Take that for what it's worth.

I agree 100%. As long as you're doing something outdoors respecting the social distancing rules you should be good, for now at least.

I agree but I had my wife call the Denton police dept and they said no fishing and if I'm caught pulling my boat I'd be ticketed! This really has me bummed out because I'm on vacation this week and am on the "essential" list at work so I have to go back to work next week...

Frisco told Denton County to pack sand

I think what they all want is no stopping to and from too. No gas, no drinks, etc,.........

When the people in charge are STUPID, it is time for civil disobedience.

sb

Tell them you're going out to get food for your family

What number did she call and what was the name of the person she talked to?
I don't believe they actually said that.

Maybe she just wants you to stay home 😉

I'm not sure what number she called I'll have to ask her but I was sitting right next to her and she did call. To be honest with you it hasn't kept me home. Hell the boat launches have been packed!

While I was pulling my boat to RR yesterday around 9:30 am, passed 2 police cars on 1171/Main St and one police car was stopped next to me at a red light, nothing happened. Passed a few police cars on 377 also.

FYI: Jordan ramp was packed.

I was fueling my boat 2 pumps over from a FTW officer yesterday morning... he just waived. Sanger officer passed right by me at the sportsman and waived. In a thread in the bass section there’s a guy that was pulled over while pulling his boat for speeding by a state trooper near Ray Bob, just wrote a speeding ticket and never said a thing about anything else. Only thing I saw that was BS was the crappie guide and bass guide that had 4 people on their boats.., that’s not social distancing, and that stuff better not cause the rest of us to lose our ability to fish.

Yeah, guides could definitely have a problem.

wear gloves while pumping gas.

Corinth PD put out a "shelter" do's and don't. It specifically listed under Outdoor Activities -- hunting and fishing. The Denton Sheriff also posted that they are not going to pull people over to just to see what they are doing. If you are speeding or doing something that would get you pulled over normally, expect to be pulled over. Otherwise, be smart and go fishing.

guides are listed as essential in Harris County. Keep in mind many are putting food on someone's table. As long as someone isn't sneezing/coughing and isn't hugging on the boat and you're regularly washing your hands, the risk is low. I'm not suggesting that we pack 50 people on a party boat but having two-three people on a guide boat fishing doesn't seem like that big of a deal.

I did not know that

Oh hell, I gotta tell my wife that!! I have a buddy that guides for crappie, he bought my old boat, I may need to go!

Said Denton Police said no fishing.
City of Denton no big deal
But if it is Denton County the lower part of Ray Roberts is in Denton County

for what it's worth, they can not pull you over, ticket you, or in any way detain you while legally out and about.
we have a bill of rights for a reason and there seem to be a lot of municipalities that are tossing it so they can "be in control".
if you do get pulled over and questioned as to where you are headed I suggest you be civil but get all the info such as name, badge # etc. and file a civil rights complaint after.
city/county/state/fed can all issue guidelines, they can not suspend our bill of rights or freedoms without martial law being imposed and then we have a huge problem.

if people want to be stupid and go co mingle while out and about then go for it, I am staying as lo profile as I can and avoiding people as much as possible since the wuhan flu would most likely kill me if I got it.

Hopalong is right. If you are lucky enough to get on a Jury for these cases of Inalienable constitutional rights violations I suggest a very punitive award for the plaintiff. These cities need to have their chain jerked.

The state of Texas said it’s ok to go fishing.

Plus #1.

bs

Fortunately, I live in a neighborhood on Lake Travis with our own boat ramp, 90 seconds from my house. I can drive to the ramp, launch, tie off at the courtesy dock, pull the trailer out and park the truck, get back in the boat and fish without touching a single thing anyone else has touched or been anywhere close to another human being's breath. Then I reverse the procedure, drive home and back the boat up next to the garage. About as socially isolated as possible. I don't think I'm being irresponsible, in my particular situation, and comports well with the Governor's edict. I only hope the marina owners keep the ramp open.

self government cannot exist without self discipline. it appears that a lot of people need big brother to tell them what to do, but again it's only the flu

From thecolonytx.gov: The Colony Police Department is NOT pulling over drivers and asking for work documentation in light of Denton County’s current "Stay at Home" Order. If an Officer makes a stop, it will be for an observed traffic violation or investigation of another criminal offense. They will, however, encourage the community to voluntarily comply with the Order as they conduct daily operations.