I know in Connecticut on the shoreline you're legally allowed to go up to the high tide line down to the water. Does anyone know the laws in regards to freshwater rivers ? Fishing the Natachaug this morning.

Same rules apply apply.  

Theres a few cranky guys that live on the Nat in the Ashford area. Theyll yell at you for traversing up/down the river and everytime Ive just pointed at the highwater mark and said its ok I know what I can do and they pipe down right away.

Sort of a relative topic: Gardner Lake down near the dam. Some guy runs a private boat launch/club there.

I was told that his family owned that area of land before the dam was constructed and that they still own the soil under the water, and he fucks with people “trespassing” by water if they aren’t members of his club. Or so I’ve been told. There’s some imaginary line across the water.

There’s a fully submerged sandbar about 60 yards out from the dam. Supposedly if you hop out of your boat and put your feet on his sandbar, he’ll come out and harass you. If you put a camping chair on his sandbar, sit in it and fish, that’ll get him fired right up supposedly.

I heard enough from others that I’ve avoided that particular area. I’m allergic to bullshit.

Been a few threads in GD recently similar to this issue of who owns what when it comes to places/land on lakes, rivers and oceans.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/general/For-Those-Who-Live-on-River-Large-Creek-Bordering-Property--Is-Trespassing-a-Problem-/5-2424511/

https://www.ar15.com/forums/General/Developer-claims-entire-inlet-parts-of-people-s-back-yards-and-Coast-Guard-property-legally/5-2434500/

Makes for some fun reading.

https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Coastal-Resources/Living-on-the-Shore-Brochure/Who-Owns-The-ShoreThe-Public-Trust
https://shoreline.noaa.gov/docs/8d5885.pdf

Come now comrade. The "public" (ie collective) absolutely has a right to fish, hunt or to keep and bear arms and do a great many other things in the great and glorious Democratic Socialists People's Republic of Connecticut^TM.

The individual however most go on bended knee, ask for permission, pay for that permission, just so some faceless government employee slaving away in some dark office can grant them a license or permit to fish, hunt or buy a gun or do many other things in this great socialist state. How else can your fellow comrades toiling away in those many basement government offices be employed and paid? How else can the state benefit and control the fruits of your labor to catch that fish, shoot that deer/fowl, to own some very restrictive firearm/magazine/ammo,


Seriously though in some cases its just a money racket. A way for the state to control and generate some revenue that is funneled back into some government funded group or community organization. Its also a way for the state to claim they're being environmentally conscious by limiting how many can participate and how much one can take fishing/hunting so to not depopulate the animal species. (Or something like that)

avoid the kings men and you GTG