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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | A good question brought up on another board.
In Wisconsin is it legal to fish from a private pier? At what point, if any, does a property owner's pier extend too far, thus making it public? |
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Posts: 1270
| I've always thought that as long as you don't trespass to get to the dock you can be on it. Say if I pulled up to a dock with my boat I thought I could get out on the dock as long as I didn't step on shore. I've never done this it is just what I thought the law was. |
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Posts: 578
Location: Sheboygan Falls, WI | Reelman is absolutely correct. You can fish off of a pier, dock or swim platform for that matter, as long as you do not trespass to get to it. It is not the nicest thing to do, but it is your right to do it. The dock could be 2' long or 20' long, it does not matter.
Some of these docks have nice bench seats and rod holders on them. Pull up to the dock, unload a cooler of cold ones, a couple of sucker rods with single hooks and you are set. All are legal to do, but not the smartest things to do.
Chuck
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Posts: 691
Location: nationwide | What happens if the guy has a nicer boat than you do????? Can you leave your rowboat at his dock and take his new ranger out????? Just kidding.
I knew the dock rule, but do not know of anybody with the nootz to try it.
Corey Meyer |
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Posts: 156
Location: Oconomowoc, WI | This is an interesting question. I gotta believe that the owners would be upset to see someone docked and standing on their pier. Seems that they could have some claim to being private property since they actually own the pier. If someone was standing on the pier and got hurt, I would imagine the pier owner could be held responsible. (Don't want to start the "you can file a lawsuit for anything" debate but..)
Legal? maybe. Good way to start a fight with a lake property owner? definitely.
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | I thought it was 50/50 sort of. If the pier extends out past 3ft of water, it's resting on lake bed owned by the state, thus legal to be on. Other than that, it's private property.
Kevin brings up a good point and one that I just called my insurance agent on. Legally, I'm covered if somebody decided to slip on my pier and smash thier face against my bench seat. |
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| What about those blue and yellow swim rafts and trampoline's? I've had a few slow hot days on the water and was just dying to pull up to one of those things and do a cannonball!! |
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | I bet those are fair game. |
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Posts: 1270
| esox, I too have wanted to jump on those every once in a while. If I owned one of those rafts I would be very nervous to leave them on a lake with us throwing musky lures with big hooks near them! |
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Posts: 149
| I've researched this before and here is the low down as far as Wisconsin goes:
Piers are PRIVATE property and can't be accessed by anyone at any time for any purpose with one exception which I'll explain in a second. Makes no difference how long the pier is. Makes no difference how deep the water under the pier is. The water and lake bed under the pier to the ordinary high water mark is PUBLIC property and can be accessed and used by anyone at any time. The exception is when wading the shoreline of a water body you are allowed to take the shortest possible route along a private shoreline or over a private pier without it being considered tresspassing. You may not stop and walk out on or fish from said pier. You may not stop and fish from said shoreline. You may only use it to take the shortest possible route around or over the pier.
You may pull up to and fish under someones pier. You may not allow your boat or yourself to touch the pier at any time. You can't tie up to a private pier.
Same rules apply to swim rafts. You can fish around and under them, but may not touch them whatsoever. |
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Posts: 578
Location: Sheboygan Falls, WI | esoxcpr, this is not what the DNR has stated. I was told that a pier extending into the water is not private property. They also said that you would not want to push the issue by using the dock. Owners would not be appreciative of it. I agree whole heartedly with them too.
I know that an area that I fish on LOTW has a big, fancy covered dock. A storm came in and we took shelter under the roof in an open slip. The owner came down and asked if we were alright or needed anything. I thought that was pretty nice. He also talked some musky fishing and told us about other structure that was right near his place that was not shown on a map and also where he had seen big fish. As long as you repect peoples property, you should not have a problem.
reelman, are you sure that YOU want to use one of those water things? Just kidding. Probably see you on Sunday. |
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Posts: 20281
Location: oswego, il | We got into a huge arguement with a guy on teal lake when we casted by his dock. He was not fishing and was not even on it but said we had to be 50' from his pier. We fished by his dock I don't know how many times in the past. I suspect he seen the il tag on the boat. |
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| Does anyone have the definitive legal answer for Wisconsin?
I always thought my dock was my property. Besides anyone that would tie up their boat to someone elses dock and then sit there must belong to a bad gene pool that needs to be eliminated before he propagates. How about my boat lift? Thats in the water.
Are we going to have dock rage this summer?
Buddy |
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| Todd M, ya an I'll bet it was not a local either. There a some nice ones but an awful amount of a holes that own lake cabins that act that way. The realtors even have a name for em, FYIGM, pronounced "fig im's" Stands for F you I got Mine! No need to say more |
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Private Piers, Not So Private?