Do you plan on staying in Louisiana? Then you may want to trade in your bay boat for a "bay plane". I tell you why.
Louisiana's Insane Water Access Laws
It's pretty easy to get PO'd over Louisiana's incredibly ridiculous "property rights" laws.
Yes, we are the red-headed stepchild when it comes to fishing freedom, literally being the only state in the entire Union that allows anyone to "own" water held in the public trust.
That's right, the same kind of bay, bayou, or lagoon you'd be A-OK to fish in Florida could be totally off-limits in Louisiana.
To make it worse, there's no way you could know, since current law dictates that water-owners need not post signs.
It gets better! If you don't know you're trespassing or not, then you must assume you are.
Anyone, literally anyone, can approach you in the marsh and demand you leave their "land".
It happens all the time. Sometimes at gunpoint.
And guess what? They don't have to prove it to you.
Don't bother running to the police or sheriff, they're usually in cahoots with the land owners and lessees.
This is the absurdity gas, oil and land management companies have brought upon us, as well as incredibly domineering private land owners.
These freedom-haters are easily identified in public: the ones talking on the phone during the movie, driving for miles with the blinker on or ordering their steak well-done.
Yeah, those guys.
By now you're probably thinking, "What the hell does an airplane have to do with any of this?"
Everything.
Consider this scenario:
You want to go fish in a bay that has a bunch of speckled trout in it, but the problem is that this bay is surrounded by "privately owned water" and you can't access it without trespassing.
This is where the bay plane comes into action!
Take off from the bayou in front of your favorite marina, set a course for that lake and you'll be there in no time.
It's totally possible, just watch this video.
A Ridiculous Situation
It's good to bring levity to the situation by joking like this, but once the laugh is over I can't help but be embarrassed.
Inside bassin' podcasts and radio shows, I hear all the time about Louisiana's ridiculous water-access laws and why Bassmaster won't go there, despite us having some of the best fishing in the world.
I really hate it for our state.
How can gas stations, boat dealers, tackle stores, and marinas expect to stay in business if no one can go fishing?
They can't.
What can you do?
If I were you, I'd become as educated as possible on the issue.
A good place to start is the Louisiana's Sportsmen's Coalition or LASC (not affiliated with the magazine Louisiana Sportsman).
LASC is a grass-roots organization fighting for our fishing freedom.
I'm a member and you should be, too!
