Issue at Local Private Lake

[sr73087]

So I am a member of a private lake community and pay a few hundred dollars each year in lake dues (which to my knowledge I pay more than most since my lot size is larger than most). Written into the bylaws for the lake, ice skating and other ice related activities are permitted. However, it states the following "Ice fishing will not be allowed unless requested in writing and approved by the board of governors in an area approved by them." Last winter was my first winter being a resident of the lake community. While I was at the lake shoveling it off to ice skate, I ran into one of the governors of the lake. I mentioned to him that I would like to ice fish on the lake and he said "its technically not allowed but just don't drill too many holes, it wont be a problem." So since that time I have been out ice fishing on the lake probably around 15-20 times with no issues at all. I always made sure to drill as far from areas that people skate or walk and always fill in my holes. Basically being as respectful as possible to the other people that use the lake. I have even been stopped several times by people very curious about ice fishing and the thickness/conditions of the ice, but none of them ever had any issue with me being out there. Anyway, this weekend I was fishing and someone comes over to me while fishing and says "you know you really aren't supposed to be fishing here" and he continues on to ask me where I live and if I rent my home (not sure if this was supposed to be a backhanded insult that I typically get from the Fairfield county snobs). I answered all of his questions in a respectful manner and tried to reassure him that I am in no way putting anyone in danger and have gotten the go ahead from one of the governors last winter. He didn't believe me and continued to question me for literally 25 minutes, but did so in a way where he tried to come off as interested, but was really just interrogating me. He ended up walking away without saying good luck, good-bye, nice to meet you. Just "well I will have to speak with my neighbor who knows about the ecology of the lake and speak with the board members".

I don't really understand the logic here, ice skating and playing hockey is permitted, where you have predominately children flying around on ice skates (poor weight distribution as opposed to a person on foot) on ice that was not checked for thickness, only by eye and is deemed good simply by the fact that it held their weight when then went over it. But ice fishing where I am walking and checking the ice every few feet is not permitted without approval. I guess the correct way to deal with this is to simply request permission, however I was impatient and did not want to wait weeks or longer to gain approval when I was verbally given approval last winter. I'm not sure if I should just continue to fish or try and get approval, which I am unsure if they will give me.

[stripernut]

That is the type of BS that goes with living in that type of "Community"... All it will take is one sour apple, to wine... For me I would never live in a place were a bunch of little minded people had that kind of control over what I did on my own property... The Government is more than enough for me... Good luck, but I think your day of fishing on "your" pond are limited.

[xt1hunter]

Welcome to Fairfield Co.

[frenchy]

Yeah i live on a private lake too.... the rules suck. ice fishing only on sat+sun....

[ESOX FIX]

Is there an association with bi laws keep fishen

[Corndog]

And here I was thinking.. Man would it be great to live on a lake.. Lol! Also, the only two times I fell through the ice was playing hockey. Some people are just not happy.. I hope it works out in your favor.

[cj]

It's because you are talking to people that think it's cruel.  next thing you know, you'll be hunting and accidentally shoot their dog.  They would rather eat factory farmed fish from China that is fed human waste than see someone actually catch a fish with a hook.    Too bad they can't see the logic that you know more about the ice than anyone on it and could be instrumental in keeping his future snob safe.   I bet if you had a polluting , loud ice craft that was for no other purpose than running up and down the lake continually for entertainment purposes that would be o.k.  good luck with the board

[Terasec]

if community has procedure to ice fish, follow the procedure and get permission written permission not verbal by so and so,
in my community which has 5 lakes(PA not CT)
all thats required for any activity on the lakes including ice fishing is to sign a waiver at the office.
pretty easy requirement, shanty is even allowed as long as its not kept overnight.

[chuckrudy]

Hope is not a pound that you are catching a lot of fish.

[rj1623]

           Its pretty funny how this works. Associations own the land under the water . They technically do not own the water. What sucks is you usually have a few people that want to be a snot about stuff. What it is is a power trip. Have dealt with this many times in enfield as well on private lakes . Most people are nice but u have that one or two people that are on a powertrip. 

[mikeupton]

"yes sir, I understand your concern."  "while you ask your neighbor about why I shouldn't be allowed to ice fish, could you also ask him whether I can petition the homeowner's association to put a gun range over by the boat ramp."  "I really would rather shoot guns then fish."  "thanks, pal."

[Deepwaters]

Yuppies are the worst breed

[schaffman]

Hope you can resolve it so you can continue to fish.    Since you pay your dues, I would be polite, request a copy of the by-laws and learn them front to back.   

[PikeKing23]

Some people just suck!  I had a guy on cross country skis give me a hard time at a public lake about having a fire on the ice.  He said it was bad for the water.....
I asked him if he had a fishtank and he said yes.  I told him to open up the filter and see what's inside   

[eiderz]

It's likely that the restrictions aren't in place to stop icefishing, it may be because they are afraid a kid will put a foot in a hole. Or an iceskater hit a hole and take a flipper. I think the OP mentioned approval to icefish included a location, that would make sense. Not that I agree with the rule, welcome to the nanny state.

[68 TROUT]

sr73087........
 "I ran into one of the governors of the lake. I mentioned to him that I would like to ice fish on the lake and he said "its technically not allowed but just don't drill too many holes, it wont be a problem."

Hi:
It just keeps getting ........Really???
I would have asked this individual to put his comments/approval in writing,
then asked to appear before "The Board" and find out just why they dislike Ice Fishing.
And, Oh, do not forget that "you pay" into the up keep of the community & "The Lake" !!!
There is something wrong here....GOOD LUCK !!!
Be Safe-Tight Lines

[toddhunter]

Sounds like you handled it right. You were respectful. You kept it informal, which is usually best as long as you can. Mostly, it just seems to be a community that is not familiar with ice fishing, and hasn't had to deal with it much of late. Most of your neighbors were pretty cool, but it's not surprising that you ran into someone who was suspicious, maybe hostile. Plenty of intolerant people on all sides, and small (lake) communities, well, the benefits come with challenges. Be a good neighbor and there's a good chance it will work out. 

[bigdog22]

I live in Woodstock Connecticut my friend lives on witches woods Lake which is private he pays a ton in Lake fees and we went to ice fishing it got all set up and the board president came out and told us we could not ice fish because there is a lady that likes to ice skate and he didn't want her to slip n fall into a hole well my friend was really mad so they shuffled off a spot for her to skate and he saw it so he drank like a 30 pack and took a sander went down to the shoveled of spot and sanded  it the board president came out yelling at him and he told him that he put good thought into it and he figured he could sand it so no one would slip n fall I laughed so hard I almost couldn't breathe.

[sr73087]

So I sent an email the other night to the president of the association, as well as my local area governor. Within 24 hours I received a response from both people and was given the ok. The way they both responded was basically the same way I was verbally given permission last year, "yea sure, just be safe and stay away from skating areas". I am very happy this worked out well and was a much much smaller deal than the nobody that was interrogating me made it out to be. I guess you have people that are a pain everywhere. It just confuses me as to why people go out of their way to cause issues. I need to make time just to get out and fish. Let alone waste my time bothering others for dumb stuff like this.  O well, it worked out in my favor.

[Corndog]

well, it worked out in my favor.

Great to hear! I would print out those replies and stick them in a zip lock to have at the ready if questioned again. Just can't please some people... Tight lines!

[lowaccord66]

So I sent an email the other night to the president of the association, as well as my local area governor. Within 24 hours I received a response from both people and was given the ok. The way they both responded was basically the same way I was verbally given permission last year, "yea sure, just be safe and stay away from skating areas". I am very happy this worked out well and was a much much smaller deal than the nobody that was interrogating me made it out to be. I guess you have people that are a pain everywhere. It just confuses me as to why people go out of their way to cause issues. I need to make time just to get out and fish. Let alone waste my time bothering others for dumb stuff like this.  O well, it worked out in my favor.

Those associations tend to conduct themselves like socialist countries.  Best of luck to you sir.

[sr73087]

So now it starts again, I have heard nothing regarding this until I spotted something on facebook this morning. Now they are allowing ice fishing but under certain guidelines. Here are a few that I have a problem with:

The ice must be covered fully with a layer of snow.
The ice can be no less than 6 inches thick
You are only allowed to make 3 holes at a time for ice fishing

What does having a layer of snow have to do with anything other than making it actually more dangerous to be on the ice? Only 3 holes are allowed at a time, not sure if this means 3 devices or you can only drill 3 holes each time out, if it is the latter this proves to me that whoever wrote these rules have no concept of ice fishing. The 6 inches limit makes sense to a point, however it says nothing regarding the thickness necessary to skate. Also, I guess I am not competent enough to judge the safety of the ice and need the ok from the lake officials. I guess welcome to CT  but I am getting fed up with this on all fronts.   

[Terasec]

So now it starts again, I have heard nothing regarding this until I spotted something on facebook this morning. Now they are allowing ice fishing but under certain guidelines. Here are a few that I have a problem with:

The ice must be covered fully with a layer of snow.
The ice can be no less than 6 inches thick
You are only allowed to make 3 holes at a time for ice fishing

can only guess
but maybe layer of snow is for traction? less slip and falls liabilities?
6 inch min is self explanatory
3 holes? guessing its to prevent people from turning lake into swiss cheese

can live with those regs,
and would probably make recommendations to change the layer of snow provision,
while changing 6" min would be a harder challenge to make them change, can try by providing safe ice charts and such,
or can do away with those provisions and just make members sign a waiver of liability, thats what my community does, no restrictions other than cant leave shanty overnight, just have to sign a waiver once a year

[deerhunterkyle]

Get yourself a 12" Auger to keep the holes open longer and when they get fed up and change the regs again, just find another spot to fish

[sr73087]

can only guess
but maybe layer of snow is for traction? less slip and falls liabilities?
6 inch min is self explanatory
3 holes? guessing its to prevent people from turning lake into swiss cheese

can live with those regs,
and would probably make recommendations to change the layer of snow provision,
while changing 6" min would be a harder challenge to make them change, can try by providing safe ice charts and such,
or can do away with those provisions and just make members sign a waiver of liability, thats what my community does, no restrictions other than cant leave shanty overnight, just have to sign a waiver once a year

The 6 inch regulation isn't that bad, but the 3 holes is difficult to stomach. I typically, as I am sure many others do, move around and look for the fish. I jig a hole for a few mins and move and so on. With these provisions I might as well find somewhere else to fish. 

[toddhunter]

It sounds like they prefer skaters and are giving limited use to anglers.

[BojiHawk]

My guess is that someone has already, or there is a fear of skating into an ice fishing hole.  Whoever confronted you is or will soon be breaking a "rule" of their own.  There are all sorts of odd by-laws.  Just keep your eyes peeled.  Sounds like the association loves watchdogs.  Become the very best!  'Remind' people about parking RV's and outdoor fires, polytarps on vehicles and other association goodie baskets.  ;-)

Oh...and if someone ever approaches you again with a question or concern...I always hear them out...look incredulously at them for 5-6 seconds...then glance down and say "your fly is down".  Immediately return to fishing and pretend they no longer exsist.  This has never failed me.

[lowaccord66]

Sucks.  I guess anyone thinking of buying a home on a lake should be very careful in investigating there rules. 

[tmcmellon]

This goes to show that you don't need millions of years to witness evolution. How many yuppies were around 30 or 40 years ago? At that time, most people would have
wandered out to talk to you and ask you how many fish you caught. I wonder what the yuppies would do if they shut down all of the golf courses because of the environmental
concerns of the fertilizers and pesticides used that were leaching into the water. They would freak out. The title of Adam Corollas book "In fifty years, we'll all be chicks"
 might turn out to be true.   

[teeo9111]

I'm not advocating breaking the rules but you do own property on the lake,what if you just kept on fishing and blew them off,what could they do about it? Personally they would have to pry my auger from my cold dead hands.