02-27-2009, 05:10 PM
A couple of comments are worth noting;
1. The act Leaky describes is as illegal now as it was prior to Conatser.
2. If HB 187 passes (as presently constituted), nothing will change in this instance either since the Weber is on the list of approved rivers for fishing access.
We as anglers have a responsibility to respect private property rights and report violators ourselves. The rhetoric regarding HB187 has been sharp, but I have to disagree that all HB187 opponents are not cognizant of landowner rights. I have read on various forums and have proposed myself ways to help protect landowners while maintaining the rights clarified by Conatser.
As for violators, if they are wantonly violating the law, I say bust them and throw the book at them. If they ignorantly are violating the law, still bust them but we as anglers need to educate our fellows as to what is legal. I feel that is the DWR's job as well, but they were very slow in putting anything out to guide anglers[:/] on what Conatser means and thus a lot of misinformation is still out there. (another story for a different time) Anyway, it will fall on us the anglers to educate and be the eyes and ears of the landowners when we are fishing "public water over a private bed". If we do, we can all peacefully co exist.
Oh, and Kill bill 187[
]
[signature]
1. The act Leaky describes is as illegal now as it was prior to Conatser.
2. If HB 187 passes (as presently constituted), nothing will change in this instance either since the Weber is on the list of approved rivers for fishing access.
We as anglers have a responsibility to respect private property rights and report violators ourselves. The rhetoric regarding HB187 has been sharp, but I have to disagree that all HB187 opponents are not cognizant of landowner rights. I have read on various forums and have proposed myself ways to help protect landowners while maintaining the rights clarified by Conatser.
As for violators, if they are wantonly violating the law, I say bust them and throw the book at them. If they ignorantly are violating the law, still bust them but we as anglers need to educate our fellows as to what is legal. I feel that is the DWR's job as well, but they were very slow in putting anything out to guide anglers[:/] on what Conatser means and thus a lot of misinformation is still out there. (another story for a different time) Anyway, it will fall on us the anglers to educate and be the eyes and ears of the landowners when we are fishing "public water over a private bed". If we do, we can all peacefully co exist.
Oh, and Kill bill 187[
][signature]