Fishing Rights

[catflem]

Hi

 

I need some advice regarding the laws relating to private fishing lakes.

 

We are about to sign a compromis to purchase a house with a small private carp lake/pond (roughly ½ acre).  The lake is completely fenced off and lies about 5 metres away from a stream, a pipe feeds the lake from the stream, there is also an overflow pipe running from the lake back into the stream.  At no point does the lake physically contact the stream other than through the pipes which are laid underground.  The lake is self contained and does not run anywhere else. There is also a busy road a few metres away. 

 

The lake is apparently well stocked with carp, I do not have any intention of running it as a commercial venture as it would probably be too small, I have no idea as to how such a small enterprise would pay its way anyway.

 

I have read a posting on a forum that states that if the lake is fed from a stream then anybody with a fishing licence is legally entitled to fish in it, this has alarmed me somewhat.  Can anyone clarify or confirm this as fact.

 

If it is indeed fact, how do the commercial fishing lakes operate ?.  Presumably they are also fed by streams or rivers yet they are able to charge people to fish there.

 

All advice gratefully received.

[Debra]

Partly correct - because it is fed by the stream it is classed as 'public water'.  You would therefore need a licence to fish it and so would anybody else you invited to fish it and you could only fish it within the season.  If you own the land around it then it is still private property - people aren't just allowed to cross your land to fish it without your permission and obviously the fencing makes this clear.  If one bank was on someone else's land however, then they could fish it with a licence, or allow anyone else with a licence to fish it from their land.  I understand you can't definitely run such a lake as a private fishery (need to apply to do this) because you would be making money out of something that is publicly owned (ie the water).  It doesn't sound as if you are bothered about this aspect though, so your main concern is that you will need a fishing licence and also that you should take the outflow waterway into consideration when doing anything with the lake (ie draining it or putting anything in it).

Commercial fishing lakes have to ensure that each customer has a licence or permit if they use a lake such as this so obviously that adds to their running costs (or their customer's holiday costs).  They may also have to apply for permission to use the 'public water' for commercial fishing.  A lot of lakes are spring fed so the licencing doesn't come into it.  We have two spring fed ponds which overflow into a third pond which is also stream fed.  The first two are private and we don't need a licence to fish them.  The third, stream fed, pond is 'public water' because of the stream and we need a licence to fish it and also can only fish it within the season.