thelivecanary
Eight Pointer
Hello, I've been a keen observer of the site for a while and actually before I moved to Raleigh, NC about 5 years ago I used this site to navigate my move from Portland, OR. It was a real treat learning that there were Kokanee in this state, a fish we treasured out west. It's been great, weekend trout fishing in streams like the Watauga, the Roaring River in Stone Mountain and a few small creeks in South Mountain State Park. The one item that has plagued us on these trips however...public access. Two weekends ago we fished the Watauga and I went with a friend of mine whom was a guide on this river about 8 years prior. He couldn't believe all the signage in Watagua county - Private Property No Trespassing. As a non-native to the state I was shocked. Typically in my experience the land between the highway or road and the river is considered an easement and can not be privatized; not so in Watauga County. I then learn through a bit of research that not only is the land privatized but the owner of said land owns the property all the way to the river and extending to the center of the river. I would guess if you own property on both sides you own the entirety of the river, which in doing some research I found to be an issue further downstream into the next county. My short stint of research has dug up an issue on a gated community that does in fact own property on both sides of the river and have taken legal action against fishers whom have walked the river onto their property. They've also taken up private stockings on this stretch of river, which the state is keen to. This is both astounding and also gives me an uneasy feeling. I'm working up a two part story on this at the moment which will include a Podcast. If anyone has information regarding North Carolina public land rights, access rights and overall fishing access, please contact me directly I'd love to have a conversation on the matter. If you'd like to share your experiences in this forum that would be great too because I'm guessing I'm not the only one that's had difficulty accessing water. In addition PM's are welcome (not sure if I have enough tenure on the forum to receive PM's but you can also email me directly at www.thelivecanary.com, especially if you'd like to stay anonymous, we can keep it off the record.) I hope this thread doesn't create too much strife but I find it really interesting. Cheers.