Judge rules much of Mississippi River off limits to anglers

[Wingman]

I searched through my old copies of Waterfowl mag last night and found an article on Beaver Dam (June/July 2005). I was amused to re-read "whose family has owned the Tunica County lake since the Civil War."

A few paragraphs later, the author points out: "Beaver Dam is an old oxbow of the river..."



Stano, since Cocklebur is in Tennessee, I can't tell you if it's considered public or not, although it is a part of the oxbow called Horn Lake. I can tell you I went up in there back in May and I can see how anyone could easily access it during normal winter water levels.

[Po Monkey Lounger]

Well, if we keep getting absurd opinions as from this idiot Judge in La., then the public outcry from being barred from fishing and hunting historically public rivers and streams will be much greater than any political rumbling by a relatively handful of landowners.

The state of MS never should have sold those river and stream bottoms in the first place. But due to that unfortunate event, the laws protecting the public's rights to use those surface waters should be protected at all costs by our courts and legislature. There has already been too much erosion of our laws protecting the public use of our inland rivers and streams. At some point, if politics and self-interests of a few continue to push things in the direction they are heading, there is going to be a shift in the pendelum back in the other direction, that may be painful to a few.

From my extensive research into this matter when I was personally involved in such issues with the DEQ (on behalf of the public interest), I unearthed several good legal arguments based upon solid case law, that with the right development of factual support, could be used to make public again a good bit of formerly public water that has been declared private throughout the state. These arguments would apply to a large number of waters deemed to be "private" over the last two decades. And if further pushed to the extreme by certain private interests, I WILL do what I can to bring those arguments to the courts in furtherance of the public interest. All I would need are a few "guinea pigs" willing to receive a trespass ticket or an allegation of trespass via a citizen's affidavit of criminal charges, and a landowner dumb enough to provoke the matter into court, and I could be off to the races. Due to the fact that these types of actions on my part could ruffle some feathers (including some on this board), I have chosen not to push for this type of action, and have let sleeping dogs lie, so to speak, for quite a while now. But, I will not sit idly by and let further intrusions occur into the public hunting areas (in my area at least) without a legal fight. So far, things have been rather quiet on this front over the past few years. Hopefully, no one in my part of MS will be emboldened by this LA court case to attempt any further public water grabs.

Rob, erecting a dam across a public river or stream, that blocks water flow, is illegal under MS law.

[Wingman]

Sent you a pm, Max.

[Money]

Sent you a pm, Max.

Looks like you two are fixin' to brew up some shat.

[Wingman]

Looks like you two are fixin' to brew up some shat

I'm just sick of more and more public land being lost by the minute and us poor, simple, peons not being able to do anything about it.

I was told not to write a trespassing ticket on an oxbow and I never will. If you cross private land to get to the oxbow or get outside the banks, you could get cited, but not while you are in the water between the banks of the old river channel.

I have about worn a hole in my disks with topo maps and aerials of oxbows in the Delta.

[mottlet]

Po Monk,

I didn't mean to imply that I supported the erosion of public access to navigable waters in the state of Mississippi. I'm just not holding my breath waiting on the state to make things right. Maybe after I've left my mark on DC and have returned home, you and Wingman will have fought the good fight and won. I'm pullin' for ya.

mottlet

[Wingman]

Or else we'll be waiting on bail money

[MemphisStockBroker]

Here is all ya need to know.
Mississipps Code Ann. Sec 51-1-4 says that you he right to participate in "water sports" upon public waterways.

And, The Attorney General said that the term "water sports" includes hunting.

Water sports... is that like peeing from the boat ??

[tunica]

Ask Anyone on the cutoff and they will tell you I own the damn thing...Got it from the Yankees for MY Grand Dads spying techniques.

Let me open a can o' worms.

Beaver Dam in Tunica county; it is an oxbow of the Mississippi...same as Tunica Lake, DeSoto Lake, Horn Lake and Moon Lake. See laws above concering "publicness" of oxbows formed by public waterways.

A public road runs right through the middle...you can access the public water from the shoulder of the public road. IThe lake is surrounded by private land. If one landowner was to give you permission to get to the water through his land, you could hunt/fish the entire lake.

If there was no public access on Tunica Lake (like Charlie's ramp, etc.) then the public would have to have permission from landowners to put in the lake. Problem solved when landowners put in a ramp and charge people to launch or when state leases land and installs a boat ramp. Only other access would be through the old river channel when the river is up enough to float through it.

But in the case of Beaver Dam, there is no public ramp. The lake is landlocked, as are many oxbows no longer connected to the river by an old channel or "chute"....Moon Lake is another example. The chutes have been silted in over many years(that is the whole geology of how oxbows are formed) The river pinches a bend in two, it silts in the ends of the "U" and the oxbow is formed...now the old channel "ends" are farmed and no longer flood. So you have no public access from the river. You can legally walk off the side of Hwy 1 and into the shallows on the south end of Moon Lake. Isn't that the same situation as the public road that runs through Beaver Dam? I say it is indeed.

So, who wants to hunt Beaver Dam with me and grik this winter?

[Grommet]

Ask Anyone on the cutoff and they will tell you I own the damn thing...Got it from the Yankees for MY Grand Dads spying techniques.

I believe treason is still a hangable offense. Carpet Bagger.

[Delta Duck]

Hell yea Wingman, lets hunt Beaverdam!!

What was the cost again! Yea waiting on bail money in the Tunica county jail. You would be popular with that red hair, they would think you was extra sweet!! They would let you get bailed out with in 72 hours!! I'm payed up so I would get to be bailed out within 24 hours.

That's not a can of worms that you would open, That would be a can of whoop ass!

[tunica]

Ask Anyone on the cutoff and they will tell you I own the damn thing...Got it from the Yankees for MY Grand Dads spying techniques.

I believe treason is still a hangable offense. Carpet Bagger.

hey Hey wait....He was the true Double agent.....

[tunica]

Hell yea Wingman, lets hunt Beaverdam!!

What was the cost again! Yea waiting on bail money in the Tunica county jail. You would be popular with that red hair, they would think you was extra sweet!! They would let you get bailed out with in 72 hours!! I'm payed up so I would get to be bailed out within 24 hours.

That's not a can of worms that you would open, That would be a can of whoop !@#!

I've got the rights to put this on ESPN and the OutDoor channel the consesion rights and the event.....Can I hunt from the bridge?

[bullsprig]

Dutch Dog:

why call some one a punk booty you dont even know. i have known will for a while and it sounds to me from your comments you dont know him at all. for you to call him a punk booty is crazy. just because he has a piece of property that we all wish we had, does not make him a punk booty. i guess anyone who has a large farm with awesome hunting is a punk booty to you. or anyone who hunts on primos videos are punk booty's to you. because outside of those things i know of nothing he has done to anyone except be a concerned outdoorsman who has done more for the promotion of wildlife in MS and southeast then you and your closest 10 friends will ever do. he is simply looking out for the protection of his property and his investment.

this is a similar mentality to the welfare society. hell if i cant afford to have a good life (nice farm in this case) then i guess i should be able to freely use someone else's. this is simply an effort to keep people off his property.

since you obviously dont mind other people on your property, i need to park a double wide in your front yard. oh but wait a minute.....if you dont want people on your property then i guess that makes you a silver spoonin punk booty.........

just some thoughts.

[Bully]

I will hunt Beaver Dam with you too, but we will have to leave the truck in the middle of the road to keep from trespassing!