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Guest loggerpete

Question about wading

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Guest loggerpete

Can I fish a river or creek by wading even if both sides are private property.The access is down stream and its public.

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Guest Big Moose

Not sure if its the same spot but I ran into this problem before myself and never bothered to get back to fish there because old the old dude would have probably shot at us.But I'd imagine you could go by the info in the previous post about pond access trapping minnows,Public access is public access.

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Some Old Guy

MNR Answer:

Many of our best rainbow trout streams along the north shore of Lake Superior run through parcels of private property, some of which are posted ?No Trespassing?. Without the landowners? permission, some anglers will try wading (walking up the middle of a stream) to gain access to better locations on the stream.

In Ontario, both the Navigable Waters Protection Act (NWPA), which is administered by the federal Department of Transport, and the Beds of Navigable Waters Act (BNWA), which is administered by the Ministry of Natural Resources, have concerns related to navigability. Basically, the NWPA deals with ensuring that navigable rights are protected (i.e. allowing navigation on navigable waterways), while BNWA deals with the ownership of the beds of navigable waterways.

Every parcel of land was granted by the Crown by the means of letters patent. Letters patent states what rights went along with the property to the grantee for example surface rights, mining rights, bed of a water body etc. also, in the patent there are ?Reservation?. Reservations retain certain rights to the Crown for example pine trees, all trees, sand and gravel, all navigable waters and many more items.

In order to determine if a person can fish a creek/river by wading when one and/or both sides of the water body are private property one must first research each property before proceeding. A copy of the original letters patent of the upland parcels are required to determine what rights were granted to the landowner. The patent may specifically grant the bed of the water body to the land owner resulting in the public requiring permission to wade in the water. If the patent does not specifically grant the bed of the water body but reserves all navigable waters upon said land then the navigability of the water body must be determined. Again, the federal Department of Transport determines the navigability of the water body, and if it?s determined that the water way is navigable and the reservation is valid then the bed of that water body is Crown and the public is free to wade in water only. It is also possible that parts of a water body are determined navigable and other parts of the same water body are to be deemed non-navigable therefore, one must thoroughly research the area in question before proceeding to wade. Note, this explanation is for wading the bed of water bodies only and different rules may apply when navigating with a vessel.

To obtain a copy of letters patent most are available at your local Land Registry Office. However, some older grants are not available at the registry office and must be obtained from the Ministry of Naturals Resources, Document and Records office in Peterborough, Ontario.

Given the time of year, (spawning season) wading upstream could disturb and perhaps destroy eggs that have just recently been laid down.

It may be easier just to ask the land owner for permission.


R.T.R. Respect the resource!

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Guest TerryK

My interpretation of the issue is this: If YOU were the land owner and someone was wading in a stream running through your property, how would you react? The whole thing would turn into a real mess, really quickly and probably end up in court. In my humble opinion, it would not be worth the risk and confrontation. There are DOZENS of fishable, crown land streams where you can avoid any such trouble.

I would be willing to put money on which stream you are talking about Pete! lol

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Guest Big Moose

That's why I haven't bothered going back,COURT SUCKS.

I'm pretty sure I know the water in question.

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Guest loggerpete

Its the Mac and its upstream from where Dog lake road crosses the Mac.Nice pool upstream and the guy chased us off when we were kids and thought I`d go try it out by wading.

If it was my property,I`d never stop anyone from fishing cause the river in my opinion doesn`t belong to anyone!! Period!!

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grumpy

Its the Mac and its upstream from where Dog lake road crosses the Mac.Nice pool upstream and the guy chased us off when we were kids and thought I`d go try it out by wading.

If it was my property,I`d never stop anyone from fishing cause the river in my opinion doesn`t belong to anyone!! Period!!

I am not 100% sure but I beleave that there is a barrier just below that spot that the trout cannot navigate. Try going and talking to the land owner if he gives you permission great.

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Guest About Time

Its the Mac and its upstream from where Dog lake road crosses the Mac.Nice pool upstream and the guy chased us off when we were kids and thought I`d go try it out by wading.

If it was my property,I`d never stop anyone from fishing cause the river in my opinion doesn`t belong to anyone!! Period!!

Hey All,

It was my understanding that waterways (and steams and creeks) were crown land. SO, if you accessed it by a PUBLIC launch, and waded up the stream, you were on CROWN land the whole time, I also believe some waterways have part of the shore included in this... kinda like if I was boating up the kam, and crossed someones house, they can't come out and tell me to get off THEIR river...

Also, here's a excerpt from a previous MNR answer:

"you do not own the water or the fish in the water. However, as the property owner, you have the right under the Trespass to Property Act to restrict access across your property. If the only way to get to the pond is across your land, by posting your property at the normal points of access according to the criteria described in the Trespass to Property Act, you can stop people from going to the pond. If someone can get to the pond without travelling on your property, such as by flying in by aircraft, using adjoining Crown land or private property where they have permission, or by using a boat if the pond is connected to a waterway that is deemed navigable, you would probably be unable to stop them from accessing the pond to trap minnows."

There might be more intricate laws, but that was my understanding...

Regards,

OT

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Guest TerryK

The key words here are "navigable waterway" and I don't think the upper MacIntyre would be considered navigable.

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