I can't be the only one having faced this. What do you tell people who drive up to your house and ask if they can fish in your pond? Part of me feels like something of a d**k for saying no, but mostly I want to ask them how much of $30,000 that I spent on it would they like to contribute? Is it just me or is this something other people do. Seems incredibly rude to me.

Friends and family only for me.. I manage it, I control it.
People (some) will take advantage of ya and it's hard to keep track of what goes and what stays. I just don't care to add that problem to my plate and I have no guilt because of it.

1st - At least they ask, which is good.

2nd - I wouldn’t feel bad saying no. I doubt most folks really expect you to say yes. Myself, I would just be pleasant, but firm and have some succinct explanation ready if needed. I imagine word will get around and requests will taper off. Harder for me is letting a friend in and then they invite others next time. Others then think they have permission and things quickly get out of control.

In the end.... your puddle, your rules.

I had a Mexican family ask me if they could fish in my pond. I thought I'd be smart and ask if they had fishing licenses...
The older man said they did not need licenses, and he was right.

In NC, if your on welfare, you dont need a license to fish.

Eta: It really depends on the time of year.
I am protective of my predator fish, who keep my BG population in check.
Everyone wants to catch LMB, and have no regard for playing them out in hot water.

Spring and fall, I am more liberal.

Ive asked to fish in many ponds. Rarely get turned down. I also will allow folks to fish my pond. I make it clear catch and release, and permission is only for today if not family. I get more joy seeing other folks using it than using it myself.

Hunting is a different deal.

Many years ago I was chasing a big 10 point buck, and he was doing a good job of evading me. A friend of my dad wanted to take his 12yo son hunting and asked if he could hunt my stand, to which I said SURE!!

Not only did the young man kill the buck, but two does as well. Deer kept running and he kept shooting.

I was so twisted up at first, but then I convinced myself that's the way the good Lord intended it to be. Still, I'm not quite as obliging any more.

As for my pond, I'd be happy to let anyone fish, as long as they understood it was permission by the day and them only.

I intentionally built my 2 acre pond behind trees and down a hill so it could not be seen from the road. First question I would ask before I turned them away would be...How did you know I had a pond??!! Friends and family only and I still need to be present when they do to help from hanging up in sunken structures and to safely release large fish.

I get more people asking to swim than fish. I just ask if they have a personal liability release form since I can't insure them.

No one ever has one and I apologize and bid them fare thee well.

I have no problem saying no but I usually explain why not at this time. When I do say yes it is a requirement the guest must bring a kid fishing and that does not mean the kid sets on the bank while dad is doing all the fishing. Every time a kid goes fishing at the pond there are a lot of smiles and memories.

Glad I put this out there. Interesting range of perspectives.

If you do, by chance, allow anyone to use your land to hunt of fish, I suggest giving them a permission slip that specifies the date of accepted usage.

That way, if they come upon someone else on the property, they can pull out the paper and ask if the other party has permission also.

I do agree though with what others said.....only friends and family.

I'm on the 'friends and family' side of this convo for sure - and even then it's still controlled.

I've managed to be fairly confident that the pond doesn't get much fishing other than what I allow - until this weekend when I found a Keystone Ice can on the far side of the pond.

Guess I'll be setting up some trail cams.

I always say YES you sure can as long as you bring a weedeater and help maintain it with me. Friends and family can just bring a themselves that's why I do it not for the public.

I honestly don't care if people fish it, so long as they don't make a mess...so may folks from outside our hoa fish the pond for bait (BH and BG) that I really don't mind. If i had a wholly owned pond it would be friends and family only.

One consideration is liability. In the state of Iowa, thankfully, our state Legislature has updated language in our code to relieve land owners of liability if they provide free access to others to their properties for recreational use. A key thought...the minute you charge someone, even if you potentially just obligate them to exchange work for access, you may well be tossing your protection out the window. As a "business", you should have liability insurance in force or you are taking a great risk.

I am not familiar with how other states do it, but I do have a sense though that not all other states go so far to protect the landowners though.

Other than that, I do allow others, under certain restrictions/limitations to use my land for hunting and fishing. As long as I know they will treat the resource respectfully then I enjoy letting others have a good time too...as for many years, I was the guy asking permission to fish or hunt on someone else's property.

my land is gated and my pond is in the front yard so as far as I can tell nobody has been into it. No one has parked and walked the distance to the house to ask either.
Dave

Here is my thought on it. First off, I have asked to fish peoples ponds and about 2/3s of the time they say yes. When asking I always mention it is a 1 time thing and catch and realese only. Now I do have a few people that let me keep fish and fish anytime but that came with not doing anything stupid and building up their trust. Offering to help out around the pond ( maintain the shore, cut the grass, sink some brush piles etc. ) also goes a long way. As for letting folks fish, It would just depend on what kind of person they seam to be, if they are okay with catch and realese only and If I personally knew them.