Conduct of Oregon fishing club member?

[Jetsledder]

Today I was fishing on eagle creek for coho. I was fishing on blm land 100 yards above oregon fishing club land. These two oregon fishing club members were fishing this hole and i moved in above them with my brother and sister and started fishing and hooked a couple of fish. They started throwing thier lines over my line and my brothers and it started tangling the lines up. The thing I did not really care for was the degrading way the mentiond member was lewdly staring at my sister in a sexual manner. So we moved upstream to another hole to get away from these people. Just to let you know both members were males. Also these two members said they were security for the creek and also had said they could issue tickets for trespassing. But the thing that gauls me the most was they were not even on oregon fishing club land when they said this. And also I thought you had to be licensed by the department of public safety to do any type of security work. Also these two members were very rude. correction!!! the property was not private it is blm land.

[ 10-10-2002, 09:02 PM: Message edited by: worldlyme ]

[Vandal]

Sounds like a few of the finest found there way to EC........

[nerta]

:mad: It's against or state law to interfer with anyone in the persut of fish and wildlife if your in or let them try to ticket you when your legal then give them their own (medicine) after you have their names. I treasure my sisters and would not tolerate anyone being rude to any of them.. the law works wonders sometimes with peoples attitudes.

[AnglersRental]

Doesnt sound like the behavior of any OFC club member Ive ever met.

1) Did they have club ID cards out or OFC hats on?

2) Did you get their member numbers? (On their Club ID?)

3) which Eagle creek OFC property, Upper or Lower?

I would suggest you call Bruce Harpole with OFC in Albany, I'll send you the number if you need it. OFC works hard to maintain coordial relationships with surrounding property owners / or anglers. If your story is true you have a real beef, and Bruce will take action.

I say "if your story is true" cause I think it is likely that these people were not really club members, but rather trespassers that said they were club members.

The locations you describe:

"I was fishing on private land 100 yards above oregon fishing club land."

are at least a mile walk from OFC club parking at both Eagle Creek locations, and rarely fished by club members this time of year. All the good coho spots are well within club boundries and close to parking on club property. Ive been to the creek for coho several times this year and seen only a few club members at either location, most of the good holes (well within club boundries) unfished.

With that lack of pressure on those excellent spots less tha 100 feet from parking, I doubt that any club members would be fishing at the upper boundry of either property.

It is club policy not to trespass from club property onto other private property. It is club policy when finding trespassers on OFC porperty to politely ask them to leave and report the activity to the club office.

UG

[k9jeff]

even if they were security guards, they still are unable to issue citations.

[Brine]

Thanks UG. What you say is true. We do not have any security officers other than myself and Bruce. We have a couple aggressive members, but the extremely rude, as described, are extremely rare. I don't know where the posting fisherman could have been 100 yards above the private property, and I obviously cannot confirm the particulars, but the story sounds a little fishy. As for the ability to issue citations, a citizen cannot; however, as it was explained to me by a state F&G trooper, an agent of a private landowner has the ability to demand presentation of licenses and tags from fisherman on his land. But that is about as far as you can take it, other than asking them to leave. OFC members are not rich elitist snobs as is often described in Ifish posts, a family ccan join for less than $500 per year, and our membership encompasses a broad spectrum of economic class types.

[Nanook]

Ban all private fishing clubs on navigable rivers. :sick:

My favorite pet peave was the "cliff put in" loss on the NF of the Nehalem or telling me I can't drop my driftboat anchor in certain spots in the middle of certain rivers.

graemlins/stupid.gif

Don't quote me the law or send me flames. I know the "justification" stories and song and dance already. Way I feel.

Rick

[ 10-10-2002, 07:59 PM: Message edited by: ****** ]

[Brine]

Nook, are you talking about just the recognized navigable parts of the 12 rivers in the state or would you be in favor of more liberal definitions? Are you seriously comparing our evilness with the evilness of gill nets, if so ,I am seriously offended. Fish On.

[Nanook]

I stand corrected. Edited my post above and removed Ban all nets. There is no greater evil. :sick:

Rick

[Brine]

THanks Nook, appreciate the flattery. Still sore about a place we did not take away from you (the boat launch was unavailable before we got NFkNeh, and we left it five years ago.) So do you consider NFkNeh to be navigable? And we don't make the rules on anchorage, and as a matter of record have never harassed anybody about dropping their anchors. ( Check out the Tucca below Hwy 101 for confirmation during driftboat season). If you got a bur, I suggest you finally pull that sucker out of there, and let it go.

[Jetsledder]

To the two people posted replies who said that that story is not true or sounds fishy. No I did not get thier names. But the story is true and they both had oregon fishing club id. I did not stay around these two abnauxios men. Because I did not want to start a fight or one of these men pull a gun on me. Because I have had this type of sitaution happen before but it wasnt club members before. It was on the upper section of eagle creek.

[ 10-10-2002, 09:16 PM: Message edited by: worldlyme ]

[Brine]

Wordlyme,
Excuse me if I get this wrong, but your allegation is that while fishing 100 yards above 2 fisherman wearing OFC ID you became ensnarled with their lines when they cast over you and for looking at your sister. By the way, you were not on BLM land. You were not on Longview Fiber land either. You were on the land of a seperate private landowner, if in fact you were above the upstream property line marked with a barrel of rocks. You claim to have had a conversation with them, but have provided no details of a discussion of boundary. IF you are just ****** off because they asked you to leave, join the Club. Otherwise, my humblest apologies for the actions of a couple of jerks.

[BCFISHON1]

fellow ifishers i have had many encounters with the ofc people on the upper ofc property on eagle creak.they often fish below the lower deadline on the upper property.i have permission to fish that area and have told the ofc members to vacate and usally get some lame excuse or kind words to say the least.i also believe that the hole at the bottem of the upper property does not belong to the ofc.if you ever go there you will notice that the fence line that seperates the property takes a turn at the creak into the lower persons property then goes below the whole than after crossing the creek it then turns back upstream how convienant for the ofc property.its not like they dont have enough creek already but they have to resort to this kind of behavor to steal one more hole from joe homeowner.i also believe the orig post these guys think that since they pay to fish that it gives them some kind of authority to say or do as they wish.if i am not mistaken there is some kind of warning sighn stateing if you cross their line you will be cited by their commy patrole so ofc members be warned do not go below the lower deadline on the upper club property i will be waiting to return the favor!!!!!!!

[Danderson]

Live Free Or Die ...... Or is it Fish Free or Die

Wouldn't it be nice if we could all hold hands and fish EC together. NO WAY GET THE HECK OF MY PROPERTY....lol

Anyways I repect the private land owners and the OFC they have taken the time to get to know the land owners and spend countless hours maintaining and cleaning up the land and rivers they fish. They also have a great selection of private camping and private ponds available for use as a club member. No I'am not a member but I'am familair with there program every one I have met from the Club has been very repectfull to the river and those using it.

[Chris Nordling]

Land above upper fence is LVF. We have permission to fish there as well as the property below as well.

No ****** rules, just the same that apply anywhere you TRESPASS !! Don't forget this is someone else's back yard. Who they allow there is completely up to them, just as it would be to you if it were your backyard .

BC dude, mellow out !!! We don't own or claim to own any part of any river. If you encounter rude OFC members then call the # at the bottom of the many signs you have to pass just to fish some stretches of water.

Don't get mad at the OFC. Get mad at the people who screwed you out of the spots you so love with litter and vandalism and other law breaking activities. Respect the land owners who have had enough, and want a responsible party to take care of their property, while engaging in something we all enjoy.....

Fishing.

Chris :cool:

[Stew]

I'm not going to bad mouth the OFC but I will say this much. We have an organization that fights hard for stream access! This organization has paid lobbyists that fight for your sports angling rights! They have won a navigabilty suit for bank access on the Sandy river! They have paid for the defense of an angler who was wrongfullyarrested on the John Day river because of an access dispute. They fought hard to keep the North Coast hatcheries open along with other sports fishing advocacy groups. They have fought hard to improve wild fish habitat in every anadroumous stream in Oregon. This group fought hard to make steelhead a game fish in Oregon so they are not gillnetted in the Columbia....sounds kind of like a commercial doesn't it? :grin: You want to know more about this group? Whose yearly membership fee is less than $30?
Email me :cheers:

[ 10-11-2002, 04:13 AM: Message edited by: Shane S ]

[Fishplay]

Brine,
The tone of your posts dismay me. You have a serious problem if you cant take another Ifish members word at face value. If your represenative of the general membership of OFC then I can see why it has developed a black eye within the fishing community.

Rather than insinuate worldlyme is a "fishy story" telling liar making "accusations" about your non elitist membership, you could have attempted to contact him to get clarification.

Your Organization was not attacked in his post. He restricted his comments to the improper behavior of two members.

Furthermore; it is imaterial whether he was on BLM land, LVF land, or private land. What is material is that he was not on OFC land!!
His statement clearly said that he was 100 yards above OFC land (not 100 yards above two OFC fishermen) when he encountered these miscreant soles. Which tells me they had no authority on that property. So if he is ****** off because they asked him to leave he has every right to be. He also has plenty of reason not to "join the club".

You might take a few pointers from Uglygreen when handling future situations. He at least comes across as concerned rather than combative. In my opinion you should "offer up your humblest apologies" for your self.

There is bad seed in every Organization.
My .02
Greg J. McMillan

[riverrat]

typical for an ofc fishing member to call innocent people that are being harrassed liars, fishing clubs and hunting clubs are the same as country clubs without their own property......they appeal to the landowner that they will save their land from all the terrible people out there....what a crock.....the only other RULE these clubs should have is to stay on club leased land only.....if clubs have the best spots why would they want to go somewhere else......by the way brine nice of you to turn down the 6yo who wanted to fish from the bank......that is cold

[CATCH AND EAT]

graemlins/lurk.gif

[Kruechief]

Just a note:

Mark (worldlyme) who recently lost his father is one of the nicest most straigt forward young people you will ever meet! He and his family are hard working, conservative, and RELIGIOUS! I met him when I bought my Lowe from him. If anyone has a "bur" it wasn't Mark, that is until an OFC member gave it to him!

Lo

[Tagster]

Wow, Brine, you are being attacked from all sides...

Apparently, people aren't realizing that it isn't OFC land. They aren't OFC holes. The OFC isn't stopping these people from accessing the rivers. It is the LANDOWNERS. They are the ones that ultimately decide who gets access and who doesn't.

If you don't like not being able to fish certain areas, you have a couple of choices. Join an organization that promotes friendly landowner/fisherman (woman) relationships, or start hammering on people who don't respect the private property. Think the property above the bridge on E.C. will be open much longer if the dolts don't figure out how to pack it out??

I recently joined the OFC. I took my wife on a tour of all the properties a couple of weeks ago. Not one time did I see ANY trash or vandalism. This is why I joined. These people really care about taking care of the land.

If not, the landowners could easily move us on and close the property altogether.

BTW---Riverrat, "typical for an ofc fishing member to call innocent people that are being harrassed liars" ????

You have much experience with this? If so, I would love to have the SPECIFIC details about your experiences. There must be many in order to throw out a sweeping generalization like that...I can't really think of a time that I have EVER harrassed or seen someone harrassed on OFC land. (although I have seen it many times on public property)

Tag

[ 10-11-2002, 07:41 AM: Message edited by: Tagster ]

[Pilar]

Ah .. it all comes back to me now. This is why I left the riverbank shoeleather boogie to the other guys. Friendly conversations with people who only had to drive a few miles, fall out of their car and stumble down to the river. Or not so friendly. Long walks to the hole thin them out a little bit.

The ocean deals with the blackhearts so I don't have to. Find out who these clowns are and call the owner of the rock they are standing on. It sounds like they are tresspassers in their own right. Or at least acting like tresspassers. I doubt if you could blame OFC for a few nimnoes fishing on OFC property.

Most of the really aggressive bank fishers I have seen are way beyond outlaw and as was stated above they won't stand up to much attention from the man with the star.

Where's a gunslinger when you need one?

[Jennie@ifish]

I don't know much about this club, but I do know that someone who would pay to be in an exclusive club of any fishing interest loves the sport.
We need to stick TOGETHER, all of us! Let's not bicker, k?
I think we'd get a lot more done if we could all just get a long and save the energy we spend fighting on something that will enhance or save our rivers and fisheries.
OK then... it's settled. Group hug.
:smile:
Jen

[WP]

WP stands and applauds Jen....you are so right Jen! :cheers:

[Bankbound]

Jen, you have always done a great job on this board you know when to and when not to. I love how you always make them play nice!! :smile: :smile:

[CATCH AND EAT]

Remember that it is not a "right" but a "privalage" to fish. Yes, it does stink when a land owner or club says you cannot fish here. Most of the time it is because doughballs have ruin it for all the others by not RESPECTING OTHERS PROPERTY!!!! :mad: :mad: :mad:

The only real dispute I have with landowners is the ability to anchor in the river. That I believe is a little extreme. But, where is the line drawn???? :whazzup: Inconclusive at this time.

Enjoy the areas that are left and clean them up. I am not environmentalist or elitist but I sure get ticked when I see that someone has left garbage and line everywhere. Not cool at all. :depressed:

[hey-it's-me]

I AM THE OWNER OF PROPERTY ON A COASTAL STREAM, UPPER NEHALEN- I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE NUMBER OF STREAMS CLASSED AS NAVIGATABLE INCREASED- I AM NOT SURE ABOUT WHERE MY PLACE BORDERS THE RIVER IF THIS IS NAVIGATABLE, BUT I HOPE SO- I FEEL THE PURSUIT OF LEGAL FISH & GAME SHOULD BE A PRIVILGE OF THE RESPONSIBLE SPORTSMAN- IF THE NEHALEM IS NOT CLASSED AS SUCH HOW CAN I HELP TO CHANGE IT?

[Brine]

Thanks Jen for being you. I was not trying to call anybody a liar, just trying to get the whole story. As far as the six year old, I thought I was offering a reasonable solution. We have easy access where a guy can take a child to learn to river fish. I also offered a reasonable tip as to where he might have success. I was trying to be nice, but as usual the words get twisted to suit the need. IF i seemed a little harsh last night , I apologize ( a fourteen hour day can make me a little cranky). Peace and love everybody.

[rags]

I know this has probably been discussed before but what is the rule on anchoring your driftboat on a river that runs through private property? Is it ok on rivers that are designated navitgatable? Where can I find a list of these rivers?

[Tanner]

All I have to say is: WorldlyMe you are a better man than I. If it was me and my sister. Those boys would have been carried out of there on stretchers. :shocked:

[FrogPond]

Property boundaries can be many places along a waterway. It depends on each waterway. The property lines, easements, and rights of way are detailed in the properties deed. Property boundaries can be at the waterline, high water mark, or center of the waterway. I am sure other states have different rules.
If a landowner owns "to the center of the waterway" the setting of anchor could be interpreted as trespassing. The property line at "mean high water mark" is most commonly found along 'navigable' waterways, and I believe is common in Washington.
The Division of State Lands (DSL) also has a classification of "waters of the state" which usually means that the waterway to the high water mark or designated property line is the property of the city, state, or county that it is in.
I am not a Licensed Land Surveyor or Land Use Attorney so I may not have the story straight. I know that some waterways have been listed as 'navigable' and some have been identified for listing...whatever that means!
Bottom line is that we need to be careful about where we fish. Similar to hunting, it is always smart to ask if you will be fishing from or crossing private lands. -- And always pick up after ourselves, even discarded fishing line!!

Dismounting the soapbox...

[GutshotApe]

Rags - Well, there's the Columbia, Willamette, Sandy, Chetco.......and after that it gets fuzzy. I think there are about 12. Try the State Marine Board - or Northwest Steelheaders, who are involved in the issue.

If a river has been declared "navigable" the public has the right to use the bed and banks up to ordinary high water line (not flood level) for navigation and navigation-related recreation (fishing & hunting, boating, waterskiing. etc).

On waters not declared navigable you may not touch the bottom or banks but you may go anywhere your boat can float, flood or not.

A few years ago a driftboat anchored in Smith River (not officially navigable) and the landowner's son came out and fired several .30-30 shots at the anchor rope. The county prosecutor dismissed trespass charges against the boaters and the shooter, an ex-con, went back to the slammer.

[AnglersRental]

FYI

The property owner at the upper OFC property has been doing some logging on his property over the past several weeks.

The Loggers in his employ are using and parking on and working next to the only access road into the property in question.

They have been there everyday for the last several weeks from 7 am till about 4 pm.

On a hunch I spoke with them this morning and they said that they say NO club members, or any vehicles other than their own, entered or exited the upper Eagle Creek OFC property yesterday. (10/10) They were there all day.

Strange.

UG

[rags]

Thanks for the information. I'll try the state agencies. A few years ago I was anchored on the Trask River and was told by a property owner to pull my anchor I was trespassing. Rather than get in a confrontation I moved on. Anyone know the law on the Nestucca, Trask or Wilson?

[Brine]

UG - Thanks for the report.

[ragjr]

Three cheers for Jen!!!!

I agree with her why can't we all get along and fish with out fighting, if one's got the money to join a privet fishing club then let them, to bad so many fishing folks don't care about picking up after themself's(like kids) and ruin it for us that do pack our junk out and then some.

Sad but true... like any group, there is always some(or one) that spoils it for everyone.

[lofty]

ragjr, nice how you blame kids for all the garbage. I am a kid and I pack out more then I pack in EVERY time I go fishing. Just because someone is young doesn't me they are irresponsible.

Lofty

[Stew]

"On waters not declared navigable you may not touch the bottom or banks but you may go anywhere your boat can float, flood or not."

Not entirely accurate. The bank part might be but the anchoring situation and who actually owns the river bed is not clear and any landowner would be hard pressed to actually prove they own it. I think there are actually very few rivers in the state that have been ruled navigable other than of course the obvious ones. The North West Steelheaders are currently involved in a case on the John Day river.

[ 10-11-2002, 07:22 PM: Message edited by: Shane S ]

[garyk]

Careful folks, you're giving up your rights.

Actually Frogpond and GSA are off the mark a bit.

At the heart of the matter is the assertion that Federal Law, (in this case the statehood enabling statues whereby the Federal Government ceded its land to form the state of Oregon) supercedes any state rules.

Just because Oregon's Div.of State Lands hasn't gotten around to declaring a stretch 'navigible' does not mean that the water in question is not subject to a claim of navigability or that the publics right to use it - as delineated by the Federal statutes - is constrained.

Finally, just because someone has a deed does NOT mean that they have clear title to something - in this case the underlying riverbed - even if it's included in their tax lot.

Contemplate the fact that the popular lower 100 miles of the Deschutes has never been declared 'navigable' by the State.

[riverrat]

jen......i apoligize for venting.....possibly i went a little too far.....lost track that if a person or people who take the initiative and the expense to fish or hunt are people like myself....everyone could use a little improvement, but us sportsmen are not all bad, just get off track occasionally......tom

[Haftafish]

Only one thing to say here, because it is a club of anykind, does not make it bad. Clubs tend to promote and protect the sport or activity they love and are not elitists. Some of thier members may be but just because we are not a member of that club does not make it a bad place. This is a people issue and as we all know everyone one of us has run into a bully, jerk, call them whatever you want on the river or in the hunting field. Never fun just a fact of life. It' how we deal with it that counts. This website has demostrated to me that there are lots of thoughtful caring people here and it is because of the sport they love that brings them together here for these types of discussions. By the way I am not a member of OFC. My .02 worth
Thanks :smile:

[Just_learning]

Just to throw this out there, are you sure nobody is complaining about some Ifishers behaviors out there on the river? Theres bad people in every crowd, just let them be, theres not much you can do but pick up and apologize after them and hope they snap out of being complete A-Holes.

[Silverado]

Probably just a couple of Shoeless Jethros, those guys get around. :grin:

[rebell]

First I want to say thanks to Jen, you are a class act.
Second, I am a property owner who let's peaple fish on my property. All I ask is that you leave it in better shape than you found it.

And as far as the OFC goes, DONT ASK! And to the N.W. Steelheaders, If you can float down and fish on my gravel bars, why would you need to walk threw my feild?

THINK! The best thing we can all do is get along and respect other peaple's property.

[Stew]

Originally posted by rebell:
And to the N.W. Steelheaders, If you can float down and fish on my gravel bars, why would you need to walk threw my field?
<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">Rebell, the Association of North West Steelheaders in no way promotes tresspassing of any kind by anyone! We try teach our members to ALWAYS ask permission from landowners and to leave the streambank better than you found it! The rivers and streams of Oregon belong to everyone but tresspassing,littering and vandalism is a crime and the Steelheaders strongly discourage this.

[ 10-12-2002, 08:13 PM: Message edited by: Shane S ]

[Jerry Dove]

Aabout 22 years ago the Rock Hole on the Trask River was open to any body that would pay 50 cents to fish. Problem most would go and not pay. Most would leave garbage. I guess I should say some would do these things. Some would bread farmers fences. some would leave wine and beer bottles. Some would fight with other anglers. The Farmer that owned the property finaly said ( enough). Closse the dam thing up and no body fishes. About 24 local anglers said we will lease it from you for $100.00 a year apeice. We will keep it clean and will limit the number of fishermen at any one time. At first we had a few hard noses in the group tha;t would yell and scream at anybody that dropped anchor or tried to fish from the bank. We got them out right away. Now if the hole is not crowed and some one comes in and ask to fish, they do so, as long as the go by the rules. If it gets crowded with members then they are expected to leave. No snagging,. no garbage, no unsportsmen like conduct. Boats that come into the hole are asked to please anchor where all can fish. When a boater get out of line, the other boaters handle that. As for the OFC when they first came to Tillamook, they said they would not go after any property that was open to the public. That was a bare face lie! What happened to the two bit hole, what happended to the 50 cent hole, the list goes on and on. They went in and offered then good money to lease them. Leasing a hole is ok, but if it is not crowded why should it not be open. Jen you are so right lets all get along and enjoy the great sport of fishing.

[The Bad Fish]

oh boy .. good thing anarchy aint legal :hoboy: i think eagle creek will be the last place on my list to visit.. graemlins/icon_argue.gif

[Chris Nordling]

Just to clarify Jerry Dove's post.....

The Oregon Fishing Club has NOTHING ! to do with the 2 bit or 50 cent holes. The list DOES NOT go on and on....

We have access to 2 locations on the Trask, one in tidewater and one waaaay above the hatchery. Neither of which are listed in Jerry's Post.

Once again, I'm sorry that so many ruined "the good access" :rolleyes: for the few. But please do not blame the people of the Oregon Fishing Club. Blame the bad guys who litter,trespass and abuse other people's backyards. :mad: :mad:

It's really too bad that the OFC carries such a harsh relationship with the public sometimes :whazzup: We just like to fish like everyone else.... :smile:

Chris :cool:

ps. SHANE S. &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; tried to email you.

[ 10-12-2002, 09:46 PM: Message edited by: FWF1 ]

[ssteelheadsteve]

Chinook
The lower Deschutes has been declared navigable and has been administered by the same agency. This throws a monkey wrench in to the soup. The Agency ? The US Coast Guard.

[TheRogue]

The thought of pay-to-fish, pay-to-access clubs really disgusts me. :mad: :mad:

NOT the clubs themselves , but the fact that some people have destroyed many private landowner's faith in the public fisherperson, and will only allow access to clubs like OFC. Good for these clubs to step up and get the access.....bad on those people who caused the issue to begin with!!! graemlins/icon_argue.gif graemlins/icon_argue.gif

Navigability!!! One of my favorite topics :grin: .

The state has been almost criminally negligent in handling the navigability issue. I HATE this litagous society we live in now....but I think probably the best thing to be done would be for a lawsuit to be brought against the state to force the issue of declarations on any streams that need to be addressed!!!

In my mind, there's little doubt that any portions of streams which are used for driftboat touring/fishing traffic are and should be declared navigable. This includes most all tidewaters on the coast, as well as significant portions of the rivers themselves. It would, of course, create a huge mess......but one that would have to be brought by the landowners themselves.

We've had this discussion before, it's the Oregon DSL board that determines navigability....not the Marine Board, not the ODFW, not the courts!! The courts affirm or reject the decision, but they do NOT make the decision, except in special circumstances.

It's gonna get worse before it gets better....a lot of it gets back to the neaderthal, trash leaving history of some fisherpeople destroying the relationships we had with landowners.

TR

[ 10-13-2002, 08:37 AM: Message edited by: TheRogue ]

[Straydog]

Good Post Rogue.

This is going to be a hot issue the next legislative session..... count on it. :wink:

[Fishalot]

You people might want to try E mailing the people that head up the Oregon Fishing Club with problems or questions. I see a whole lot of promotion going on and that means more club members more money more land being closed. I would also like to point out that the club is getting free advertising on ifish this way.
I do know a few people that are members of the OFC and these are good ethical people looking to get away from the lowlifes and improve their fishing access.

Fishalot :smile:

[Chris Nordling]

Wake up people !!!!!

Ofc is not going around CLOSING any land !!!!!

99 % of the time ,the land was already previously closed to you anyways, and for whatever reason the landowner decided to let some responsible people in to fish. ON THEIR OWN PRIVATE BACKYARD !!

Get over it, and elbow in to your neighbors on public stuff, make some friends with private landowners, or join the Oregon Fishing Club.

But go FISH !!!

I hope this topic is shut down soon. It's not even really a debate or discussion anymore. Just more mis-informed people internet fishing, and needing to whine a little. :depressed:

Free advertising ??? Cmon Fishalot, you know hundreds of other things get rated, opinionated, and praised right here on this board. Not just the OFC, or NorthRiver or G Loomis, or Maxima, ABu-Garcia, Brad's products or any of the other non sponsors.

Just life in the internet fishing hole I guess.

Chris :cool:

[Chris Nordling]

Thanks TR, I appreciate those that understand what really goes on. I also respect your opinions and frustrations too. I have been there.

The Navigability thing really irks me too. But that would be a different thread :smile:

If you ever wanna tag along, I'd be happy to show you a spot or two.

Chris :cool:

[Stew]

TheRogue said:
"Navigability!!! One of my favorite topics .

The state has been almost criminally negligent in handling the navigability issue. I HATE this litagous society we live in now....but I think probably the best thing to be done would be for a lawsuit to be brought against the state to force the issue of declarations on any streams that need to be addressed!!!

In my mind, there's little doubt that any portions of streams which are used for driftboat touring/fishing traffic are and should be declared navigable. This includes most all tidewaters on the coast, as well as significant portions of the rivers themselves. It would, of course, create a huge mess......but one that would have to be brought by the landowners themselves"

Well said Rogue. Unfortunately this battle is going to be stream by stream and the North West Steelheaders spent a bunch of money on the Sandy River access issue which we won and landowners are appealing. There are some other rivers we are targeting at this time with the John Day being one of them.We don't have the money to go it alone though.
As I've said before while we do want stream bank access we are not advocating tresspassing of any kind! It is totally the right of the landowner to decide if he'll allow access through his land to get to the streambank. With some of the horror stories I've heard about littering,vandalism and other things it's sometimes a tough sell!

[Jetsledder]

I am the original person that posted this message. I was not trying to attack ofc reputation. They are a very good club. All I was doing was wondering why two members from such a well known prestigous club were acting in a very inoproperiate way. Lets all just forgive and get along with each other.

[TheRogue]

You're exactly right, Chris.....probably more fishing spots open to at least someone to fish because of OFC.

I'm not a member, and I'm sure I'll never will be, however, I understand completely the reason for the club's existence.

I challenge anyone who complains about such types of clubs to pick up after all our fellow fisherpeople, to patrol the banks, and do all the stuff that the OFC's committment does. I know, for the most part I'm preaching to the choir....but that's the difference between most of us here and the general fishing public....which is what get's these private properties closed to public access!!

I think this is a very valid discussion, and don't want to see the thread closed, I used to be pretty anti-club until I thought about it a lot, and thought about the real reason they exist (I don't believe it's for the money!)

TR