Change Lake Athens to a fee to fish lake?

If there was a proposal to change Lake Athens to a fee to fish (have to buy a permit) lake would you be for or against?

Completely Against

I read an article in the Athens paper where the Homeowners Association was proposing to do something similar to that. I don't remember the exact details. I will try to find the article again. Personally after seeing what has happened in Louisiana, I am not for anything that restricts the public use of our lakes. I'm fine with paying a reasonable launch fee to help maintain facilities, but anything beyond that I am not ok with.

Against

Against! This would be another Cali thing that is ruining this amazing state.

Needs to be a few to jet ski lake.

Totally for it. that lake needs a break.

Here is the story.
https://www.athensreview.com/news/l...fd38fc2-cc77-11ea-8f11-83ef21779771.html

I think it's fair to chip in a little to help fund ramp and parking lot maintenance, maybe even help build a nice dock and a restroom. It just can't be more than a couple-few bucks per visit or like a $20ish annual.

Against
Maybe a daily boat limit?

My take on it is along these lines as well. I’m all for the facilities being funded by the users, just make it realistic and show improvements that are being funded as well.

A REAL bathroom would be nice, as well as a little better lighting. Maybe more parking so my truck and trailer doesn’t get muddy if I’m number 15 in line that day.

I was surveyed there the other weekend by TPWD. Asking questions like what I spend per fishing trip, do I tourney fish, do I keep what I catch, etc.

Makes sense now.

I can understand how the home owners feel. Our poor Lake Waco is almost the same way. You work all week then on the weekend you go to the lake and the parking lot is full of boat from the Metro-plex. Every inch of the water is being fished. This is why I don't even go on the weekend any more, and most of the time it takes days for the fishing to come back. And yes they don't add to the local economy.

Whatever. You Waco boys sure whine a lot.

I went to school there and Baylor for four years. I couldn’t wait to get away from that whiney [censored] town. Too bad my family still lives there. Besides...someone’s gotta come hammer that lake, Waco dudes sure can’t.

Now. When you can PROVE it’s DFW anglers killing your fishing, I’ll apologize.

I’m waiting.

I find it hard to believe metro-plex anglers are really chomping at the bit to go fish Lake Waco.

I live on the lake and am incentivized to have fewer boats, yet feel that restricting access is a bad thing. Public water is just that. If I wanted a private like community then I could have bought at Kiowa or Hideaway.

I was also surveyed there by the TPWD about 2 weeks ago.

Hahahahahaha "lets go to Waco" -Said no one EVER!!!

Isn't there additional parking? Or is this off limits? I'm asking seriously as I don't know for sure.

LOL! sounds like Lake Welsh

Most of those other people work all week to. They have just as much right to the PUBLIC WATER as you do. We all get frustrated fishing pressured water at times, but the solution to that problem is not to start restricting access to public water. Lots of states are trying just that, and it is turning into a disaster. This type of lazy fisheries management is a snow ball headed for hell.

As to the homeowners....you know when you buy property on a public lake there is going to be traffic. Either accept that or sell the property. It's part of owning lake property. Don't like it? Go buy you a ranch and build your own lake.

Homeowners on a public complaining about other people fishing "their" lake is like buying a house next to a freeway then complaining other people are driving on it


Its a public resource.
.

I'm really failing to see what their problems are. Outside of the spawn, fishing traffic really isn't that bad. Traffic overall is bad in the summer because every single person that lives on this lake has a ski boat and runs in circles from 6:45 AM until dark every day. It just started 2 months earlier this year because of the rona. I would bet the majority of traffic on that lake every single day including tournament days is the property owners. If they want traffic to return to historical levels, just ban wake enhancement...

I'm sure there are things the homeowners could do to limit tournaments. I'd hope TPWD would entertain a reason to put a 16 inch maximum on Athens.

We could also talk about why TPWD has failed to produce this type of fishery on so many of our other lakes but that's a different topic.

Respect your opinion but also respectfully I think comparing “rights” between a lake owned(and managed by) the Army Corps of Engineers and a lake owned by the local water municipality(Athens Municipal Water District) as a bad comparison. True “apples to oranges”. Prolly just me.

And “YEP” to this if you believe outsider tournaments are have some negative effect on fish populations. I personally don’t think they are.

It's pretty much used very weekend between May and September

a couple of obvious points regarding this...

1. MLF and having Ott Defoe catching 25+ lbs in a short window got a lot of Athen's attn.
2. Covid is causing all our lakes to be super crowded. Just check the ramps at Texoma, Lewisville, Ray Roberts, Eagle Mountain, Bob Sandlin, Cypress , etc.They are completely packed even on Weekdays.
* My club officers are now having to make adjustments just to accommodate ramp parking and weigh In's where we used to enjoy little to no traffic.
3. The article mentions not contributing to the local Athen's economy... When my club did fish Athen's in years past - We stayed at the local motel, ate at Whataburger, bought gas at the Walmart, etc.. and probably would spend more if they had more access to gas stations and Food places on the loop.

I personally love fishing Athens.. used to be one of my favorite lakes. Just like Lake Bonham, I would pay the annual fee if that's what they went to, but I think if it's public waters and the state is providing services, it should be FREE.

So.,,,, if the HOA gets their way and it becomes exclusive - does this mean that they will compensate the state for the fish that TPW has stocked there? Perhaps a small check to every "non-local" that has fished there and has purchased a license?

I have a lake house on Fork. Everyone knows that Fork is crowded, perhaps I can whine and get it closed to non homeowners.....
Public lake, public access...

oh boy paying more fees is like paying for the things we have already paid for.

100% against. It's a public lake in Texas. I'm certain home owners on every lake in the country are seeing increased boat traffic due to COVID. This is not an isolated issue for lake Athens.

ask the city of dallas what happened when they tried to do this to ray hubbard. the coe told them they could if they paid them back the money they paid to build the lake.

I'd love to have a no jet-skiing on every lake. It ain't going to happen. I can either find a way to put up with it or stop fishing. It's public waters. The ski-fleas and wake boaters have the same right to public waters as I do.

All of this talk about permits to fish makes me think of Lake McQueeney. How did a publicly funded lake turn into a HOA only lake? (Yes, I know what happened to all of the GBRA lakes)

Against
Add a ramp fee if there’s not one now!

The world needs less fees

I think 361 has made a point that many have overlooked or didn't realize; the lake wasn't built by the state or the corps, it was built by the local water company. So, to my understanding that means that unless you pay Athens water bills your taxes haven't paid for anything but the occasional stocking from the TPWD hatchery up the hill so I don't understand the sense of entitlement to fish there for free.

No entitlement here......our tax dollars have helped stock it.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/action/stock_bywater.php?WB_code=0031

You just gave the answer, it's a good bass fishery BECAUSE of our tax dollars

There's been a misunderstanding of my point. TPWD manages the fishery (that includes the fish, the habitat and the anglers). They have nothing to do with maintenance of facilities, boat ramps, parking lots, docks on that lake. My position is that it would be reasonable to charge a fee that goes directly towards access point maintenance and improvement for a place that gets that much traffic. I haven't said anything about restricting public access to the lake.

As long as pubic access is unlimited, I'd pay to play.

Lol...right

In all seriousness I would be fine with a small $5ish ramp fee to help maintain facilities if they truly go to the ramp and maintaining of those facilities. Other than that I would be a hard no

Agreed. Not to pad the pockets of the lake side owners. No

Sounds like Karl has been listening to his wife Karen and its rubbed off on him.

!00.00 dollar per yr. pass. $1000.00 for tournaments!!!!

Okies implemented a 4.00 launch fee on arbuckle, automated pay station so it is easy and fast.

they kept the ramps and park areas clean and most of the riff raff out of the campgrounds with the fee money, had no problem paying for launch on that lake.

if it is a corp lake I doubt the hoa can take it private, buy the lake, maybe but if fed tax money is involved then all bets are off on private.

many years ago . before all the improvements were made you had to pay a five dollar launch fee. then someone researched the funding that was used
and it was determined that because of said funding they could no longer charge the fee.
i think a launch fee is reasonable as long as the money goes to the maintenance of the ramps and docks.

Unless, as you said, it was/is federally supplemented. This would make it likely that it couldn’t be fee based.

🤮

I would agree to this, but would like to add that Athens be removed from the stocking program and repay TPandW 1 dollar for every fish stocked.
Also, the money collected needs to be shared with every one down river from the dam as well. I assume it makes it to a coast somewhere

I can understand the locals desire to limit tournaments if it is having a negative impact on the lake and the fishery.

Right now there is no ramp fees 100 % free to fish that lake there are plenty of pay lakes lake worth for example
I have fished many lakes with ramp fees of upto 20 dollars a pop
i would be willing to pay a fee if it gives us more say so in the way it is managed like no spraying the grass if I get nothing for my money but the same access I have now I would be against it.
Also there would be no restriction on who can get access you just have to pay a fee to get on the lake not restricted to fisherman.

Yeah, they will compensate just like the folks that bought Monticello did.

+1