Not sure if this is the appropriate spot for this as it could cover a few areas but I had an interesting run in the other day. While fishing my 2 acre pond (that was excavated and stocked by my family) a conservation officer entered the property. I have realized they have a very broad authority to do so (even if I don't agree that they do not require probable cause) but I was still very surprised. At first he came off as nice but when I told him I didn't have a valid fishing license (expired end of March and haven't gotten a chance to renew it) he got a little... Shall we say bossy? Asked me to come to shore and while he didn't ticket me he did write me warnings for no license, no throwable floatation device, and to many bass in the live well. All of these surprised me but the fact that I was required to follow catch limits on a privately stocked pond really got me. I had spoken with the fisheries biologist a few months ago about transferring lmb (pond is bass crowded) to another pond we have prior to getting my perch and shiners and was told by him it is perfectly fine and I don't have to follow any limit or get any permits. Now DNR is telling me otherwise about permits and numbers. The point of this is to both inform you guys of what I have been told by DNR (in Illinois) and ask if you guys have any advice? I'm not sure in this instance who is the governing authority? Either way it's pretty ridiculous that I have to follow these rules wheni paid for the dang fish... At least in my opinion

From what I see, it looks like you are still subject to statewide sport fishing regs, even on a private BOW. Doesn't look like you need a license to fish it, provided you live on the land?

I found info here: http://www.ifishillinois.org/FAQS/

Based on this, private pond owners in Illinois are also regulated to size and quantity of fish that can be taken. So for example, if you have too many small LMB in your pond, you cannot cull them without a permit??

This is absolutely correct per DNR headquarters in Springfield - I called them on this 2 years ago and almost lost my cool.

It's a little known rule here...the '6 bass creel limit' applies to ALL BOW's in the state. I stumbled across it because I'm a bit OCD and read the entire regs book fairly regularly...and the creel limit rule seemed to apply to all waters in the state. When I called they confirmed it.

Me - 'So let me get this straight...I paid to build the pond on my property, and I paid to stock it. The fish in it are mine. If I want to drain the pond and kill every single fish in it all at once that is my right. But you're telling me that if I use a rod and reel I can only take 6 bass out a day?!?'

DNR - 'That is correct.'

Apparently this was enacted to give the CPO's some power in the case where a person has a private BOW very close to a public one...there were cases where they'd catch a ton of bass and then 'jump the fence'. This law lets the CPO get them anyway.

I know that you don't have to have a fishing license if you're fishing a BOW you own and live at. Not sure about the 'floatation device' but I bet that's the law as well...I'd get a ticket for this one every time I get out on the pond.

Bill I don't believe there are any statewide size limits on any fish - there are plenty that are water-specific but nothing that I'm aware of that would limit by size across our 'great' state.

Correction - I just went and read the 2015 regs...there's a statewide reg on Walleye and Sauger on size. You can't take a Walleye or Sauger less than 14". Even on your own property.

That might be an interesting conversation if that law was attempted to be enforced on my property.

Sounds like maybe the pond owners of Illinois should consider working together with their voted-in reps and make some changes to the books.

That also might be interesting if an over zealous CO wanted to interpret "take" as having in your possession, and were stocking them in your pond. Pays to have a receipt for the fish you purchase I suppose!!

I'd like to say something, but it might be construed as being inappropriate to pond discussions so will just say "that sucks".

We always use PFDs on our pond both as a a safety measure and as a good example to visitors. I feel this prudent regardless of the law.

I do also Dwight but have a problem with a government mother coming on private property and ticketing a private owner for doing his own thing and determining his own level of risk he is willing to bear. What if we were all required to wear arm floaties when we swim?

Freedoms are not taken away all at once. That would result in a revolution. They are taken away slowly, one at a time, till we wake up one day and realize we no longer live free, but in a police state.

I guess I shouldn't take for granted what I already have. In Indiana, private water is just that. Yours, to do with as you see fit.

Receiving a ticket (warning) for not wearing a PFD on your own, private pond? Wow.

Zslow6 that don't hardly seem right...it's not that way here.

Private Water, Private Land

A fishing license is not required to fish in privately owned lakes or ponds.

For persons fishing in public water from private property, a fishing license is required.

It is unlawful to fish on privately owned water,
or enter private land to fish in public water,
without the express permission of the owner or the owner's agent.

http://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoo...ing-regulations

I've been and active member and officer of the West Virginia Aquaculture Association for many years. We worked long and hard to get all private waters moved from under DNR jurisdiction to being under WV Department of Agriculture jurisdiction. It has been at least five years since the transition.

Our ponds are now the same as a cattle farmer's pasture, and our fish are no different than the cows in that pasture. It also took us out from about 35 different government oversight groups to about seven. Pond muck and fish poop is now the same as cattle or chicken manure. Prior to the change, pond muck and fish poop was considered hazardous waste and fell under multiple agencies. It was a nightmare.

So, yes! I don't know anybody in the Illinois Aquaculture Association, but you should be able to get in touch with your local Extension Service representative. If that doesn't work, get in touch with your local Farm Bureau representative.

Geeze, as I was finishing this -- I just remembered we have a very good Pond Boss friend who may be able to answer some questions, if you can slow him down long enough to talk with him. He is out of Peoria, IL, and his family's reality TV show, LAKE LIFE, premiers tonight at 10:00 PM Eastern Time on the DIY network.

That would be Nate Herman, or N8ly here on Pond Boss. Their website is Herman Brothers Lake and Land Management.

Nate is an incredibly friendly and helpful individual. He and his brother Justin have done a lot of unbelievable things in Illinois and surrounding states.

Maybe he will see this, but if not, send him a PM via this website.

Ken

Or to say it another way...put a pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil, then throw a bullfrog in - he'll hop right out.

Put the bullfrog in the pot of water and THEN put it on the stove, and slowly bring up the temps...by the time he notices there's an issue he'll be cooked.

It's hard to live your daily life here in Illinois without violating some law. Most people around this rural area learn to ignore them. There are no laws I will ignore quicker than those pertaining to a pond I paid to build and stock.

FWIW When I contacted the Local DNR regrading assistance in building our pond the reply was, we don't support pond building anymore yet....one nice guy came out on his lunch hour and offerred up advice. Just remember, the guys you and I see did not make the laws, they have to live with them too. I do not anticipate any issues with our local guys. A good bunch. They will do nothing unless there is a complaint. Then they are forced to act.

Poppy we are so lucky our lawmakers have time to create such laws as it is obvious they do not have a clue on how to address important issues such as high unemployment and high taxes.

Interesting. Here is the Georgia Law FAQ from the GA DNR site. Thank goodness my streams start on my property. WOW!

GA DNR FAQ
Do I need a fishing license to fish in a private pond?
If the pond is wholly enclosed on a persons private land (that is, no ingress or egress from beyond the lands borders), no. However, if the pond is fed from waters coming in from outside the land borders, a license is required

So the stream never leaves yer land? The way I read it is if the overflow leaves yer land you need a license.

Interesting Point Bill, yes the water does leave my land. I will have to find the actual law and do some more research. The egress part of this statement is very vague.

Now maybe one could argue that if water is not running out the spillway then the water is not egressing and you are legal

Thanks for catching that.

My first response here is, God made us with a middle finger, I think it was designed for such things as giving some government offices the finger. lol Some complain about the Congress and Senate not getting any thing done, but mostly I am happy the do not, because of all the rights taken away through regulation. There might be a problem if someone was to wright me a ticket concerning my pond that I built and paid for. OH! I remember someone saying I did not build a company without the governments help. hahahaha

Tracy

Sorry if I offended anyone here as I am on a rant today lol

Tracy

So as long as it doesn't rain you're golden!

Tracy sometimes it's good to air it out. Nothing changes unless you fuss.... The squeaky wheel gets the grease......

Or swapped out for a new one....

You are preaching to the choir on Government nannism and usurping our freedoms. I just wrote another big check to the National Treasury most of which will be wasted on waste.

About Illinois; we never ever drive in Illannoy when we head out on a road trip. There is no road that isn't under construction. Living in Minnesota; there isn't much to brag about other than 9879 lakes away from the tax sink hole in MSP.

Not political, just saying........

We are a dying breed that do not want a government to take care of us...

You got that right!

I can see you guys have never lived in Illinois. The government here has absolutely no interest in taking care of you. They focus on how much can they squeeze out of you. Seems like every other month another Illinois politician is in the news that is caught living the good life on the taxpayers. So if you figure 1 out of every 10 gets caught.....

Nor will I, Bill come on down to Texas- we got room- will send Ted Cruz to fill your spot

The "Over Regulation Nation."

I was afraid my comment might stir the pot, but sometimes it is just hard not to say something.

Wait a minute. You said 9879 lakes. You telling me the 'land of a thousand lakes' has been false advertising all these years?

The other day I was reading a bunch of MDNR CO reports, and all I can say is, well, the characters in these reports are not all that bright.

One that got me voting for the Darwin award was a group of guy's that have been busted 5 times for fishing without a license. They were approached by the CO, who busted them before He checked them out. Yep, they said, we learned our lesson and all have valid licenses. They thought they were in the clear.

What they didn't realize is the CO was watching them for quite some time. Yep, you all have valid licenses. Now, let's go check out your vehicles They used the term's "housed", and "referred to prosecutor" in the report

They had a bunch of illegal size and out of season WE in the truck, while throwing suckers in their catch bucket.

Another thing I learned is the CO's watch the social media venues very closely for stupid people violators in their area.

There was a guy in the paper here last summer. He had been arrested 7 previous times in 2 years for SMB out of the river. Last time he got 30 days in county jail to think about it. The way I read the regs for this river is no size limit but 6 kreel limit so he must have a real honey hole to fish!

West end of the MKG river is a real honey hole for SMB.

A guy down the road, maybe 4+ years ago got a Felony Conviction for some massive poaching. He shot a "wired" Turkey, which turned the CO's on to him, and his gig was up, the hard way!

No one from that family lives up there anymore.

Now see, in my mind that's what DNR and CO's are for - actual violators. And honestly most CO's that I've met have been focused on exactly that.

But there are the anomalies - and in IL unfortunately there are more than in other states I've lived in, or at least that's my experience.

To circle back to the original topic at hand, I went camping with a Fisheries Biologist this past weekend and asked him what all he knew about that particular law (statewide creel limits on LMB) - he confirmed what I'd been told previously, that it was enacted to allow CO's to be able to police people that had private property adjoining public reservoirs.

I guess my issue there is, I understand the premise but the law now affects me and mine and we don't fall into that category. That smells strongly of an expansion of power couched as a vaguely written bill.

Me - 'So let me get this straight...I paid to build the pond on my property, and I paid to stock it. The fish in it are mine. If I want to drain the pond and kill every single fish in it all at once that is my right. But you're telling me that if I use a rod and reel I can only take 6 bass out a day?!?'

This is the EXACT argument I made!

Dale- I guess I can understand that reasoning but (dont have the rules on hand at the moment) why then do they allow no limit on BG? wouldnt that fall in the same category?

On a side note...the perch are in the pond but havent seen any...where might they be hiding? Ive only caught perch while jigging for walleye so not sure the best method to locate/catch them.

Yellow Perch can be undetected for a long time.

I had my pond for several years before I ever even knew there were Yellow Perch in there.

Here in PA, I you have a private pond, only the direct family members who own the pond can fish without a license. For my pond, that would be me, my wife, my brother, and his wife. Nobody else can fish without a license. Not sure how my kids would play into that once of licensing age.

Generally, the Game Officers here stay off of private property; they have enough to deal with in public lands.

Funny I was thinking of officers staying off your private property and then watching your avatar picture flash at me with you holding the semi-automatic weapon, I wonder if that has anything to do with it

For those of you in states that have laws on the books regulating what you can harvest from your own privately owned ponds, you might want to consider getting an aquaculture permit. The permits are usually fairly inexpensive, and must be renewed annually, but they remove all those "pesky" harvest regulations, as they essentially change your fish from "wildlife" to "livestock", which also changes the regulation of them from your conservation department, fish and game, etc. to your department of agriculture instead. As long as you provide a receipt/bill of sale to guests who fish at your property and take fish home, they should be well within the law, with or without a fishing license... and regardless of creel limits or slot restrictions.

Something to keep in mind, however, is that this MAY result in new restrictions that you must abide by. For instance, some states require you to pay a self-reported tax (usually per pound) on any fish food purchased. Water quality regulations can become more of a concern regarding any discharge waters. Certain fertilizers, liming, alum, pond dyes, copper treatments, etc. could potentially fall under an entirely new set of rules when applied on your property, subject to EPA and FDA rules and state specific rules.

It's just a matter that has to be thoroughly researched state-by-state to fully understand.

That just may be due to Peroni management strategies.

In Missouri, owners and family of 5 acres or more can hunt during seasons (turkey, deer and federal tags/stamps required) and any pond owner/tenant can fish their own property without a license. In Arkansas, you needed a license to hunt or fish your land......also, by signing the hunting or fishing license as required, you authorize authorized LEO to enter and search your home or property at will to investigate any allegations or violations....no search warrant hassles

Excellent point, JKB, but usually, excessive Peroni causes extra YP to be seen...

Good points Rex. We're lucky to live in MO, as we enjoy less regulation in this regard than a lot of the members of PB do in other states.

A bunch of us could be in big trouble -- or maybe it could just be our legal-beagle friend, who would be in the most trouble. Or, on general principles, we could just blame it all on our good friend Rainman!

As I look back at good times at Sunil's pond, there have been several occasions where he knowingly hosted and harbored us criminals taking fish without an in-state license. I can even think of one case involving a big old snapping turtle -- which the legal-beagle set loose because it was interrupting sessions in the outhouse. In any case, my legal counsel accompanied me on those trips, and he never said anything was amiss except when we finally ran out of minnows and worms.

I have a number of friends in our state's DNR. I have found that the game wardens, or whatever they are called these days, are mostly out to stop really heinous wildlife-related crimes. And, I applaud them for their efforts. I can't think of an instance where they have projected themselves into parties at private ponds -- unless they were invited as participants, or if there was serious unrest. But, serious unrest usually gets taken care of by the Sheriff's office.

In recent years we've had some really crazy things in this area of Virginia and West Virginia. Like a group of guys killing bears just for their paws. Apparently the paws have some aphrodisiac power in certain Asian countries, where they bring big money. We've had people using black walnut husks to poison fish in our local rivers and streams. The black walnut husks will kill massive numbers of fish, but the dead fish are safe for human consumption. It sure wipe out sections of a river or stream.

I've got a neighbor who I wish would get caught, even though he is on private property. Our area broods a pretty reasonable number of wild turkey every season, but this guy takes out every one he sees. After a hatch, we'll see large flocks of them at our ponds and even in the front yard. Come fall, there have been many days when he has been right at the corner of my property and property where he has permission to hunt. He'll be there calling turkey. I can easily hear him from my ponds and sheds. It is mostly done pre-season, and he takes a lot of birds. One of these days when I hear him, I'll call my DNR friends.

Another neighbor that has three acres adjacent to the opposite corner of our property property takes a lot of deer each year, in and out of season. I wouldn't really have a problem with that because we have such an over abundance of deer, and he has a big family. But, he only takes out the backstrap. Then he drags the remainder of carcasses onto my property. By the time the vultures find them (which is how I find them), they are useless as human food.

I guess I'm saying, lets not be so hard on the DNR enforcement people. Nearly every one that I know in that business, just like policeman and fireman, are in the job for the benefit they can bring to society.

As I posted much earlier, if you aren't satisfied with the rules in your state, get involved. I did. It made life much simpler for everyone with ponds and raising fish. It made life simpler for landowners and the enforcement community.

Like you, Ken, I really have no problem with someone feeding themselves and family. The "problem" comes when it is for profit or there is wanton waste, such as your backstrap guy and paw choppers....those, I'd hold at gunpoint for authorities to pick up and deal with, if I could.

Oh, and please don't blame me for anything new...at least not until I've paid my low 5 figure fine and completed unsupervised, Federal probation for the recently filed misdemeanor charges! Legal-Beagle has a better grasp of how to navigate such things...lol

Geeze Rex,

Before Pond Boss, I never dreamed I'd be surrounded by so many wonderful and upstanding law abiding miscreants, scofflaws, and other really fun people who just want to have a good time playing with fish ... and fireworks, and ...

I was looking at the mug shots of the nearly 200 bikers arrested in Texas last week after the Waco incident. As I looked at them, I thought to myself that many of them looked just like us! How many group Pond Boss photos resemble those photos. We were just never handcuffed -- well, except maybe for that one time with the red handcuffs, feather boa, high heels and the really big LMB!

As I looked at the mugshots, I saw guys that looked just like The Guv, FireIsHot, Dwight, me, you, and a bunch of our other grizzled old fishing buddies. We all carry knives. Most of us own guns. I've got government papers to prove I'm legally crazy.

Yeesh, now my paranoia lets me think I understand why we might be under suspicion for something.

With all that hanging over the heads of long time Pond Boss members, I guess I can see why we might be targeted by somebody -- maybe B.A.S.S.

Maybe we need to start wearing 1%-er Pond Boss denim vests, with rockers on the back for our states, and the things we've done, like caught BG bigger than 14 inches, fished in Sunil's pond, etc.

Ken

I live in WI and a biologist told me to get a fish farm license through the USDA. Cost $50 per year. Glad I had it, shortly after stocking the pond a warden stopped and asked me for my fishing license and asked me if I had gotten a permit for stocking. When I told him no, I was a licensed fish farmer and would show him the certificate he said "oh you're one of those guys. your not on my list, have a nice day" and left.

Wisconsin must be hard up, but Michigan is no gem either.

I have not heard of people with private ponds being bugged unless there was a light shining on them for some reason.

People up here believe that bucket stocking is a natural phenomenon as well as the ducks seem to frequent the waters. Best to keep your papers tho.

I would think the DNR would have better things to do. I live in the middle of no where, hoping he was just passing through and not just coming to see me.

I complety agree Ken....

nor·mal
ˈnôrməl/Submit
adjective
1.
conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.

I bet not one person here is Normal by definition. I would also bet that everyone here is very PROUD of that fact.

You could put me on the Abby Normal list

Abby Normal

Took forever to get this to show up.

Weissguy!!!!

Where have you been?????

Would I need to get my own license? I would have thought you would have already had one in hand in case I decided to make a road trip to PA. I like road trips you know.

You're welcome anytime, and while you're here, your name will be "Deepak Chatterjee," and you are my long lost father, and therefore may not need a fishing license.

Deepak Chatterjee works for me. You and I are almost doppelgangers anyway, so it's not much of a stretch.

I am slowly turning honky.

That proves it! I am too.

Hey Sunil! I've stopped by the forum from time to time, but honestly, I've been so busy recently with family and business matters, my "me" time has been pretty limited to nearly non-existent. Looking forward to things loosening up a bit soon though.

Glad you're back, Weissguy!