Somewhere there is the Chestatee River. It shows on the map as it winds through the hills south of Dahlonega in North Georgia. “Chestatee” reads street signs along US 19. But the river is difficult to see from a public highway and its rushing cannot be heard.
No wonder the river is elusive. Ominous signs are all around the river. No trespassing. no fishing No access to the river. No Parking. No turn. private road.
Welcome to country no.
The state has always been a champion of the landowners, and the power of the landowners is evident in the rivers and streams. Parts of the waterways have been cordoned off to kayakers, tuber fishermen and anglers because long stretches of coastline are closed to the public. It may seem absurd to be in the middle of the wilderness and see a “no fishing” sign nailed to a tree leaning 20 feet above the water across the river.
The Georgia Wildlife Federation, the Flint Riverkeeper and the Altamaha Riverkeeper are pushing for a “no.”
They wrote a public letter that is being circulated to state agencies and lawmakers denouncing the increasing lack of public access to waterways in the state. From the letter:
“In recent years, a growing number of landowners and those who lease ‘fishing rights’ from them are attempting to restrict public access to our rivers and creeks for fishing. Across Georgia, “No Fishing” signs have appeared alongside our free-flowing rivers, whose fish stocks are managed and protected by dedicated public officials. The salaries and resources of these dedicated public servants are paid for by those who hunt and fish, not by those who own the land. Our access to these rivers is via boat ramps, mostly paid for by hunters and anglers.”
A school bass out of the water. Contributed by Flint Riverkeeper
The problem is particularly acute on the Flint River, where anglers hunt for the internationally renowned school bass in an area known as the Yellow Jacket Shoals. A sign appeared on the banks stating that fishing is permitted only with a permit or not at all.
Mike Worley, the president and CEO of the Georgia Wildlife Federation, said he’s getting calls from anglers who have been surprised by “No Fishing” signs on the Flint.
“They said they could fish that stretch of river for years and all of a sudden there are no fishing signs,” Worley said. “We wrote in the letter that it is time to really take a stand that these stretches of river cannot be closed to fishermen.”
Worley said the property owners claim they own the bottom of the river from the bank to the centerline of the river. State law states that when a river is declared navigable, the private landowner controls only to the low-water mark, or the water at their ankles, where fish do not normally reside.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Enforcement is siding with the anglers. the lt Judd Smith of the department said DNR would not write subpoenas for fishing on the flint. It is considered a “navigable” waterway and even if property owners produce a deed extending their property line into the water, they cannot restrict fishing or swimming.
Smith said even if a property owner has a charter on both sides of the Flint, he cannot restrict fishing.
“The landowner certainly has the right to forbid trespassing; You can’t get out and go on their land if they say you can’t,” Worley said. “But unless law enforcement officers write a ticket, it’s hard to argue that they have the right to say you’re not allowed to fish there.”
Of course, property owners could take the law into their own hands, and it was done with near-catastrophic results. In 2020, Samuel Brewton III fired a gun at a family while canoeing down the Flint. He was found guilty of four counts of aggravated assault and is serving 10 years in prison and was fined $10,000. The Brewton family is a large landowner near Yellow Jacket Shoals and Brewton III is believed to be an invader of the canoeists.
Gordon Rogers, managing director of Flint Riverkeeper, worries the debate over who owns what on the Flint is still ongoing.
“From our perspective, the situation with fishing rights is not a set law,” Rogers said. “You will hear some people say that how rights are determined is established law. According to legal advice, this area of law is far from over.”
A court battle is brewing as property owners on the Flint have sold leases to fishing guides for what they believe is their property on the water. Of course, the fishing guides charge fees for excursions.
It is in the public interest that the problem is resolved as the economic impact of outdoor recreation is significant.
According to the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, Georgia ranks eighth among states in terms of adding value to a state’s economy through boating or fishing. The study states that the value added by the outdoor leisure economy is US$10.8 billion.
While disputes on the Flint could be settled due to DNR’s statement that it would not issue subpoenas, in North Georgia it is far more muddled. These waterways such as the Toccoa, Chestatee and Soque are considered ‘unnavigable’, in contrast to the Flint which is considered ‘navigable’.
This is a crucial distinction. Smith of the DNR said a property owner on the Chestatee could put up a ‘no fishing’ sign on his side of the river and have it enforced with a deed stretching to the middle of the river. If the property owner has a charter on both sides of the river, say for a mile, he can post no fishing. Anglers can then be subpoenaed for breaking the law if they throw a line in the water, Smith said.
What’s important, Smith said, is that property owners can’t stop a kayaker from swimming through, even if they own both sides of the water.
If the property owner says “no fishing” on one side of the river, they can reach an agreement with the owner on the other side to restrict fishing in that stretch of the river, Smith said. But they can’t tell kayakers they can’t swim through.
One of the problems with saying “NO” to waterway views is that it’s difficult to find owners of riverfront properties to talk to about it. They are often found behind locked gates or they post menacing signs warning “Beware of Dogs”. They often live on gravel roads with signs indicating “Private Road” and “No Trespass”.
But just walk along what they consider their property and you may find them or they will find you.
In May, YouTube angler sensation John Dalton fished the Chestatee with 97,000 subscribers. He was drifting for fish and a voice came over his shoulder that he must not fish on one side of the water (Mark 4:37).
Dalton’s GoPro camera then captured a sign hammered to a tree hanging over the water that read, “Fishing No.”
There was an aggravated exchange of words between the man claiming ownership and Dalton before the angler moved on. Many other anglers could find themselves in this situation unaware of the DNR interpretation that the swim through is OK.
Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrard said he doesn’t recall a landowner calling his office about a privately owned fisherman that year. If the sheriff is called, the office will refer the property owner to DNR.
Some property owners feed the fish and help increase the fish population. Worley said he knows landowners on Georgia creeks who establish private fish stocks and manage those fisheries. He doesn’t want this issue to become so controversial as to upset the owners.
“If you look at our mission statement, it promotes hunters and anglers and their relationships with private landowners,” Worley said. “It’s a really important issue for us.”
Fees and taxes paid by anglers build boat ramps and fill streams with fish. Those assets are not collected through ad valorem taxes paid by property owners, Worley said, but by users.
Some waterways, such as the Soque River in Habersham County, are not buoyant during certain times of the year. If a kayaker gets into an area of low water and has to disembark and walk, they could be trespassing.
A property owner along the Soque, Blackhawk Fly Fishing, who could be reached by phone, said they own both sides of the river and it is not navigable and people cannot float through their property.
Jon Ron has been the Toccoa River Outfitter in Fannin County since 2007. Juanita Edwards, who owns the business with her husband Ron, said if property owners thrive on the Flint with restrictions, the same could happen on the Toccoa and North Georgia waterways.
“There’s no way to be on that river without drifting through private property,” said Juanita Edwards.
She remembered a property owner on a section of Upper Toccoa who strung a cable and signage across the water because he owned both sides of the river. “He had people on four-wheelers out there patrolling the river,” she said.
Worley and the Georgia Wildlife Federation don’t want to get caught in the middle of a dispute between landowners, anglers and boaters.
“We work with private landowners to ensure they can manage their land for wildlife and we advise them,” he said. “But one of our primary responsibilities is also to oversee and ensure that the interests of hunters, anglers and the public are represented at the Capitol.”