MA River/STream Access Regulations

[jskowron]

Can anyone give me some insight into Mass river/stream access regulations? I am aware of the public right to navigable waters, but what about smaller flows? To use an example from another thread on this for, can the river proper be posted at the Steiner Film area, or just the access? I don't know the area, but if you could wade or float in from a non-posted spot, could you still fish there? What about smaller streams?
I'm not planning any potentially law breaking fishing adventures- just curious.

Jeff

[JoeOverlock]

I know in some states that the river beds are open territory. I'm not sure about Mass. though...

[Joshua Field]

Cross post from "Lost a good fishing spot..." The Hoosic is definitely a "navigable" waterway and is public property.

"When walking along the river, the public can walk above the high water line where necessary to get around obstacles, in the manner least intrusive to private land. The public can use the banks of these rivers year round, even if the water has dried up. (On rivers that are not navigable for title purposes, the public can only use the banks as necessary to make use of the water, and the right to use the banks comes and goes with the water.)"

It seems to me that, when I'm carrying a fly rod and wearing waders, people are more likely to wave and shout "catch anything?" when you walk across their 'back 40' than confront over private property.

It is my understanding is that, where public roads cross rivers, the public is allowed to access them as is possible and that, the river and bank up to the high water mark are also public property. My experience is that this provides plenty of room to work up the stream.

This is a great write up that I found a long time ago when I was curious about the same access rights question:
www.adventuresports.com/river/nors/us-law-public.htm

Some interesting points from the site:

...the law is that the rivers and the carrying places between them shall be forever free. The public does not have a general right to cross private land to get to and from rivers, but such a right exists at traditional access routes, under the above law and the legal doctrines of custom and prescription. States have an affirmative duty to maintain traditional access routes to rivers, and acquire additional access where needed and available. Where public roads cross over rivers, the public has the right to get from the bridge down to the river itself, so landowners cannot connect fences to bridge abutments in a way that blocks public access to the river. 39 Am.Jur. 2d (1968) Highways, Streets & Bridges, section 256, p. 644. State ex rel. Thornton v. Hay, 254 Or. 584, 462 P.2d 671 (1969). Gion v. City of Santa Cruz, 2 Cal. 3d 29, 465 P.2d 50 (1970). People v. Sweetser, 72 Cal. App. 3d 278 (1977).

In America, public fishing rights were codified shortly after the colonies were founded. In the 1640s, the city of Boston established laws to protect public rights to fishing waters, and the Massachusetts Bay Colony declared public rights to fish in the “great ponds,” and to cross private property, if not cultivated, to get to the water. People tend to assume that fishing at that time was just for sustenance, but the sport of fly fishing was already popular in Europe before America was colonized, and in Philadelphia there were at least five different fishing clubs before the Revolution.

[strbender]

There is now a portion of the Ipswich River in Hamilton, MA that is posted as private. Today I was told by a guide that he was in his kayak last fall on this stretch and the owner of the estate gave him a hard time. The guide also said that some FF screwed it up so now you have to try and get permission from the owners, who also FF.