Trespassing to Fish

It blows my mind how many people trespass on the pond at my office complex. I see about a dozen each week and there are probably more that I don’t see. Security runs them off if they see them. I helped one time because I saw a guy mishandling the fish and so I went down from my office and let him have it - I told him I didn’t care if he was fishing but he needed to learn how to handle fish if he was going to fish. Is trespassing just acceptable nowadays and I’m just out of touch?

No it's not acceptable

Chill man, life's to short to get bent about a fish that's born to die. Relax. No hurt, no foul. jmo.

Good to know. People are born to die as well. I hope the logic doesn’t carry out.

Have you been to the border lately? There are lots of people that do not care about the law anymore, all over America. Texas does have severe penalties for trespassing, but to pursue those the property should be clearly marked for no trespassing or have a barrier. However, if the angler is asked to leave and doesn’t then the authorities will usually follow-up on the case (or at least they did at one time).

Call 444-4444. (If you're from south Texas you'll get it).

You're not out of touch - you simply have an interest and a view of a desirable piece of private property that people want to trespass on. Trespassing is a common problem for us at many of the commercial properties that we manage.

Too many people have no respect for the property rights of others

i would let them fish
glad you showed the guy how to do it correctly

I blame it on the Googans. They made videos at every office/warehouse pond in DFW.

Talking about how fire they are... I used to fish many of those same spots but was always discreet. Fishing at night or weekends. And always being low profile about it. But yeah...Googans

Bad idea!

There are extreme abuses of property rights on both ends.

If trespassers are hurt on someone's property, owners might be liable for injury if there is no posted signs, so we always put them back up whenever they were torn down. It got to the point where it was more trouble than it was worth, for these and other reasons, so we just sold the property.

OTOH, I have seen legal navigable river access and portaging blocked by barriers or other harassment put in place by riverfront property owners. Sometimes it's necessary to get the warden involved, but in some places the good old boy system means those barriers and other property owner abuses, stay in place.

No offense meant to either side, just a reminder that life isn't fair, haha!

Trespassing is wrong plain and simple. No body has the right to fish, hunt, or be on any property that they do not own or have permission to be on. How would you feel if someone wanted to camp out in your backyard without having your permission. Besides I have seen places that are totally TRASHED by people who visit river put in and take out points, and places open to the public to fish at . City parks that have ponds, creeks, and rivers that are in them have a lot of trash left behind by people that use them. I have had several places that I was able to fish that were good places that the property owners did not care if people fished there. Due to the trash that has been left behind the places have all been posted by the land owners who are also willing to file criminal charges if someone is caught on their property without permission. I do not blame any property owner for putting up "NO TRESSPASSING SIGNS" on their property. I would do the same after seeing how people take care of the places they fish at. It's a total shame.

private property shouldnt have to be marked do not enter. a good rule of thumb is if you dont own the property you dont have the right to tresspass on it.

This! We should all take a plastic bag with us to pick up the [censored] left by the inconsiderate, room temperature IQ slobs.

Trespassing while hunting and armed is a federal offense.. do it on our property and you will go to jail and if the offense is at night you might win a free trip to the morgue.

This is the most "Karen" thread I have read in a while.
It's not like you own the place and people are sneaking in at night and fishing it.
While it is private, the area in the pic looks like a park, sidewalk, ponds, etc. I could see people simply thinking that is would be ok to fish there. Are there no trespassing signs?
Are other people using the area to walk, bike, feed ducks or is just the fishermen that get the boot?

Did you literally see a guy mishandle a fish and storm downstairs from your office to give him an earful?

most public areas that are meant for the public to use to fish at you can tell because of the trash an things the general public leave behind . any more if it is private property the owners dont want uninvited folks fishing or hunting on their property an they shouldnt have to put up no trespassing signs or no fishing signs do that folks wont go onto their property in town.

JW Hardin was so mean
he shot a man for fishing

yep

It depends, on whether you can afford the consequences. Think of the miserable life, if you choose not to.

a good 16" barrel with a suppressor would save you the trip downstairs.


just sayin.

https://codes.findlaw.com/tx/penal-code/penal-sect-30-05.html

unless it is marked or there are purple posts at any entrance they are not trespassing till asked to leave, they refuse then it becomes criminal trespass and changes a lot of how it's handled.

being in an office park that could be considered a public space imo, no trespass since all they have to say is they are waiting on someone doing business or to go to one of the businesses etc.

if there are not any signs saying no fishing then pretty much the same, no offense till told not to.

I wouldn't let it bother ya but you can keep calling security to have them run off, about all you can do if you are not the owner of the property or authorized rep.

Sorry, people are more important than fish, but mistreating an animal isn't acceptable. Even if the water is poisoned with pesticides and herbicides, the animal should be treated with respect. Everything is a fallen world will die, however, fishing in an office park shouldnt raise alarm bells. Let's not over-react. Release the fish- because you aren't going to eat it- in a respectful manner. My opinion. You're welcome.

I admit, I've seen some ponds that call me, trespass or not.

I'm far from perfect, and I break the law when necessary.

...not braggin'! IN65

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I deal with this somewhat frequently at one of the lakes I fish. I’m the only non-family member that has permission to the place, and I’ve been given explicit instructions never to confront, but to call the SO immediately. I know these people will press charges, but I also know there are a lot of out of state people moving in to the new neighborhoods popping up nearby. SO, I approach them, advise them they are trespassing and give them the opportunity to leave-which they immediately do. But once, I threw a guy out who had dragged his kayak over the back fence near the housing construction, to fish. He proceeded to tell me there was nothing wrong because he was just having fun and throwing everything back. Nope. I advised him that if I ever saw him there again I would call the law. Hard to explain, but the difference in attitude was noticeable with that guy. Trespassing is against the law, I find it surprising that there seem to be some (not talking about kids) that think the law doesn’t apply to them for some reason.

MUDDY CREEK NO TRESSPASSING!

Hey all!

I went by Muddy Creek this week end to see if there was any ruin action.

Right at the entrance of the lot where everyone parks I noticed two new No Trespassing signs, one on each side.

Anyone know anything about this?

You are brave!

how in the heck do you mishandle a fish?

These are valid points. I know private property is private property but when it's commercial property, particularly commercial property that's open to the public, the rules can get blurry very quickly. And as you noted, it's not always clear what's "private" and what's not especially if there's no signage, as appears to be the case here.

Having said that, I could see where the owners/management might be OK allowing "the public" to walk through, but not stop and fish. And unless I'm the owner or in management, I file that under "not my problem".

I am literally sick over the manner TPWD deals with game/fish violations by trespassers. I have a place in Hill County where people have decimated the deer and turkey populations. Brazen enough to shoot from the road w/me on the place. Don't know what it takes to garner their attention.

Being young and stupid we would trespass everywhere to fish. Good times though. We caught a lot of fish. Never left trash about and always catch and released.

At 47 I sure don't want to be shot just to go fishing.

At an office park like that you need to post a lot of signs or just get over it.

Yes it's an offense but not a federal offense.Texas Penal Code 30.05 addresses Trespassing which is a Class B misdemeanor just one level above a citation but still an arrestable offense. Trespassing with a deadly weapon is a Class A misdemeanor.

Fishing without landowner consent is addressed by Texas Parks and Wildlife Code - 61.022. Taking Wildlife Resources Without Consent of Landowner Prohibited which is a Class A Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor

So basically a person can be charged with Criminal Trespass and fishing without land owner consent.

Whether day or night you would not be justified to shoot a trespasser. Read Texas Penal Code Chapter 9.

Prevention of Trespass or Theft - Texas Penal Code § 9.41(a)
Texas law allows a lawful owner of land or tangible property to use force to protect his property. The property owner is justified in using force when he reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to prevent or terminate the other's trespass on his land or unlawful interference with his property.

Recovery of Land or Stolen Property - Texas Penal Code § 9.41(b)
A person unlawfully dispossessed of land or property by another is justified in using force against the other when he reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to re-enter the land or recover the property. The owner can only use force if he uses it immediately or in fresh pursuit after the dispossession and he reasonably believes the other had no claim of right when he dispossessed the actor or the other took the land or property by using force, threat, or fraud.

Deadly Force to Protect Property - Texas Penal Code § 9.42
There is a three-part test an owner must meet in order to use deadly force to protect his property. A person is justified in using deadly force to protect his land or tangible property if:

he would be justified in using force against the other under § 9.41 of the Penal Code;
he reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary to prevent the other's imminent commission of arson, burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, theft during the nighttime, or criminal mischief during the nighttime or to prevent the other who is fleeing immediately after committing burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, or theft during the nighttime from escaping with the property; and
he reasonably believes that the land or property cannot be protected or recovered by any other means or the use of force other than deadly force to protect or recover the land or property would expose the actor or another to a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.


twice I have let trespassers know I was armed and would shoot by sending a few rounds their direction, ended their trespassing.

just better be dam sure you are justified if you ever do drop someone for trespass, you have to give them the option to leave and up to them how things go after that.

Good luck with the Grand Jury.