If A River Runs Through It, What Law Applies?

[Texas Grown]

Your welcome Senifee. It is an interesting topic. My self, if the water way is questionable, I just avoid it. Not worth the risk of argument. Or having to pay a fine, or worse. There are to many other places to go where there is no question.

[Senifee]

Hi there, thank you for sharing. Now I understand.

[Bigyummy77]

How does it go from public to private

As stated above, if waterway is equal to or larger than 30' wide, it remains "public.

My suggestion, dig that S.O.B. deep as heck, and narrow as possible!!! Lol!

[Killer]

That is as clear as mud!

[Lungbustr]

I have this very problem on one of my places. I have caught several people fishing inside our high fence. Keep in mind they have to cross to spill ways and a bridge to get to deep water. The creek is navigable in city limits but deemed private where we are. Game warden is even confused on the law and was supposed to call me back with his findings a month ago. We have a high fence that goes across the creek but it has been getting washed out with all the rain we have been getting.

You need to speak with the Texas General Land Office. I usually have them come out and put eyes on it if its questionable. Game wardens don't have a clue.

I'm sure all your **** and spillway are permitted and approved right?

[Lungbustr]

Most of my experience is in tidal waters. Me, Jerry Patterson, among other folks with the land office, along with the Attorney generals office have had several lawsuits with our names on them. If you want to fight the state of Texas over the publics rights to use waterways be my guest. Hope you are ready for a heck of fight and have a few spare dollars laying around for lawyers.

[Bh_liberty]

My personal experience is if you can float it or ford it in a boat or tube it is perfectly legal to travel the stream/creek/river. However if you touch bottom you are trespassing. I learned this the hard way from a williamson county judged she told me the state owns the water, but the land owners on either side own the property out to the center of the waterway

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[Artos]

Had a buddy who owned property in Leander with this problem...the creek or river would run or go dry from month to month. Every now and then there would be some folks who all the sudden were fishing on his property where a natural deep are to waterfall/pond would always hold water & fish.


They would tell him the water way was public and they had rights to travel by any means to fish it...his reply would be. "Think what ever you want, but unless you can pull a Jesus & walk on this water way you say you have rights to, the bank & dirt are mine!! Get the hell out now or we can discuss it with the authorities."

They always left.

[Ender]

Had a buddy who owned property in Leander with this problem...the creek or river would run or go dry from month to month. Every now and then there would be some folks who all the sudden were fishing on his property where a natural deep are to waterfall/pond would always hold water & fish.


They would tell him the water way was public and they had rights to travel by any means to fish it...his reply would be. "Think what ever you want, but unless you can pull a Jesus & walk on this water way you say you have rights to, the bank & dirt are mine!! Get the hell out now or we can discuss it with the authorities."

They always left.

Not to be a smart a** but I would have said lets get the game warden and sheriff on up here. Like I said certain situations call for some respect of the effort the landowner put into the place , but just a natural creek that's 30' wide even the creek bed is public property. According to the article above that is. Honestly it just gets my hackles up when someone wants to act all tough to me and I'll call the bluff or show the law, I've done it before on the river(right in the middle of town at that)

[Texifornia]

The only time I ever in my life thought I might get shot and then thought I might get arrested was when I decided to drive down a dry branch off a county road to a river and hunt ducks!

[Artos]

He had to do that more than once ender & le always always escorted the trespassers off the property...I don't keep up with this law because it has no effect on me in deep s tx, but it makes no common sense to me why folks think they would be able to trespass by foot in a shallow to dry riverbed to fish his hole from the bank in this particular situation.

He paid a ton of money for this property & seems weird anyone could just come take up a day on the bank he paid for...the owner did mention something to the effect that if the water ever stayed high enough & they came in on a craft, stayed in it while fishing they were legal, but the body really didn't lend itself to providing any sort of decent fishing under those river conditions. Sorta adds to the whole confusion if you think you could pull it off and everyone else lost that said le battle?? Glad I don't have to deal with it.

[XBOW STALKER]

River run

Thanks for the clarification. I think i will stay on navigable water

[texasair]

According to the GW and Judge here in East Texas

When the lake gets so high that it comes up into our pasture, it is still our property. Float over our property in a boat and fish is OK, Float over our property in a boat duck hunting is not OK.

[GarGuy]

My personal experience is if you can float it or ford it in a boat or tube it is perfectly legal to travel the stream/creek/river. However if you touch bottom you are trespassing. I learned this the hard way from a williamson county judged she told me the state owns the water, but the land owners on either side own the property out to the center of the waterway

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That is absolutely bull crap in most of Texas. I do know a few counties passed local regulations but they do not jive with the Texas supreme court ruling on the matter. A navigable stream is public access within the Gradient boundary which is half way between the water swept channel and the upper most bank.

Any otherwise lawful activity can be conducted within this boundary including , hunting, fishing, and camping. Even if the deed goes back to a Spanish land grant and they pay taxes to the middle of the stream, it is still public right of way just like a public road where the land owner still pays taxes on the road but cant stop cars from traveling it.

[Russ81]

If A River Runs Through It, What Law Applies?

I'm confused as to why someone would put a fence across a public stream with the intentions of preventing the public access to public waterways.

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Getting peppered by bird hunters shooting out of bayou at doves in trees along the bank.

Walking into hay barn to someone taking a s*** in said barn bc "it's raining and cold outside".

Having a bank side lawyer tell you your great grandfather who's been dead 55 years gave him permission last year as long as he came by boat.

Nursery works coming in and digging plants out of the bank to sell and causing bank to wash out.

That's just the tip of that iceberg on our place.


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