This will mostly affect our local Cache Valley angling in the Blacksmith Fork River. In the last two years land owners have begun posting their land along portions of the bottom 5 miles of river. These were some of my favorite spots I had fished for over 20 years.
Last summer I talked with the security man posting signs. He said that the land had been owned for quite a few years by several absentee landowners. I asked if he would tell me who they were so I could contact them for permission to fish the water. He said they wouldn’t grant permission because they wanted to keep the fishing for themselves. Now I can fish there again!
The other place that will open up is about 20 miles of river along the upper Blacksmith that is owned by the Millers Brother’s operation. Many fishing enthusiasts have long desired to fish there. Now they have the chance.
There are sections of The Little Bear River that runs through the Paradise/Avon end of Cache Valley that will be affected as well. There are a couple of private fishing operations there. One is owned by a friend of mine. We’ll see what happens.
Forums discussing the issue:
And it showed up at Moldy Chum’s place.
Now, who has the cojones to take up the gauntlet the Utah Supreme Court has dropped? Anyone for testing Utah’s new public easement ruling to determine what is “reasonable and cause[s] no unnecessary injury to the landowner”?
I have talked with friends who are land owners here in Utah. Some idiots think that the ruling gives them permission to trespass and trash property. If you want to see the benefits of this ruling, you have to be reasonable and respectful to private property. Come on people, use your brain!
My brother told me about this the other day and I almost didn’t believe it was true until I saw it right here. I was so excited a danced right in my living room. Utah anglers have been beating each other up on the same water for to long. Now they can spread out.
Amazing news, isn’t it? Let’s hope it sticks and those who use the access laws don’t abuse them. I’m curious about spots that have fences across the water–can afisherman legally cross the barbed wire if they stay in the river?
In Idaho you can, those fences are mostly to keep cattle from wandering around here. I hope the law is the same. In Idaho you can enter at any public entrance and fish as long as you stay below the high water mark. This could mean a bridge, railroad bridge, where the creek comes close to the road. If the land is not properly posted with the white fence posts or no trespassing signs it is legal to enter there.
As mentioned in the SL Trib article:
“What are reasonable and unreasonable uses?” asked Russell, quoting from the court decision. “What is necessary and unnecessary injury to the landowner?”
“What is the ‘stream bed,’ and where does it begin and end? At different times of the year you have high water and low water.”
These are questions that will probably have to be hammered out here in Utah. But I haven’t seen any talk yet about what to do when coming across a fenced waterway when you are already in the water. Hopefully it’s like Idaho’s.