Scouting and Accessing Public Land
 

Here's one of our favorite ways to scout and ultimately hunt some of our hidden public land sweet spots. This one comes with an added bonus of being able to use nature itself as a tool for a stealthy approach to our stand.

Disclaimer for a select few: Don't be the guy who burns himself with his coffee then gets sue happy... Know you're states laws, because I'm not going to point them out too you. ;)

That's a good way to get into out of the way public land areas IF the water is considered navigable and legal to use to do it. You need to check with your individual state to see that it's legal because if it's not considered navigable by a watercraft you may get a ticket for trespassing.

If there is a landing leading from public into a body of water, it's wide open for use. There is a canoe/kayak landing I leave from.

Not in every state. For instance in CO if someone owns the land on both sides a river then they also own the river bottom, the river itself and access to it. This means you can put in on a public landing but get into a place where you can definitely be tickets for trespassing even if you never get out of a canoe or kayak. I know of several places on the Colorado River that have fences stretched across them for this reason.

This is why TOP tells you to check regs for individual states. What is legal in your area may get you arrested in another.

The one time I'll actually say thank God I live in Minnesota... lol. Here unless the body of water is completely on your property, it's wide open for all too use as long as there is an access too it from somewhere public. If not, say a pond for example, those with land connected to the body of water have access. In the case of this specific river, I drop in at a kayak access point, and as I go up river the public that is land locked is still on the East side of the water where it's still accessible by water, but is no longer accessible on foot. I think in the case of this river, any state should be safe because you're always within arms reach of the public land from the water.

That is not a correct statement in a number of states! Try that in Utah and you'll be behind bars! PS: What you THINK should not be put out in your videos or on a post when you are just guessing based on the one state you live in! This is a huge issue in Utah right now due to court rulings that shut off access like you're talking about to a lot of landlocked public land!

He ain't listening TOP. Read my post. In CO you can find yourself arrested for trespassing while sitting in the middle of a river in a canoe. Doesn't matter where you put it, heck your entry point could be 10 miles away ind it won't matter. If a rancher owns both sides of the river (and this isn't uncommon) then they own the river bottom, the river itself and all the fish in it and they can enforce it in court. Not all ranchers do, as a matter of fact most don't but there are plenty of cases in CO courts where ranchers have had charges pressed for people canoeing through their ranches.

This guy saying you are within "arms reach" of public water is simply wrong!!!!!!! I wonder if he will pony up the ticket $$$ if someone gets pinched following his advice especially since he links to his business.

Too bad he has that out on youtube for all the world to see and many will think he knows what the heck he's talking about and possibly be in a state like Utah and do what he mentions only to get a nice, expensive ticket and trip to court based on what he THINKS! If it were me, I'd yank that video and either toss it in file 13 or edit it and tell people the real story before he possibly gets sued in this litigious happy society we now live in!

That is a terrible law and IMO should never have passed any state senate. I can see a person not being allowed to beach a canoe or even fish the waters without permission when a land owner owns both sides of the river. But to not be allowed to pass through on a canoe or boat is ridiculous. IMO the water is NOT owned by anyone if it is free flowing.

Not saying I agree with the law. As a matter of fact I don't and sportsman groups have tried to get it changed several times but the Cattlemen Associations in the west carry a lot of political clout. However that isn't the relevant point. Whether you agree with the law or not is moot, IT IS THE LAW. And the OP saying it isn't, is liable to get someone a ticket.

The west is a different animal than the northeast or the mid-west. Doesn't matter if you like it or not, it is what it is. You should always check the local laws and never assume that what you can do back home is allowable in other regions. For instance, in my native CO I can bone a deer out where it hits the ground as long as I leave evidence of sex attached to one piece. But in TX where I live now I can't piece a carcass down any farther than quarters and I have to bring the head out, even if it is a doe. To me it makes no sense to bring bones and head out just to have to dispose of them later. But that doesn't matter, the law says that is what I have to do.

It's been so long since I deer hunted down in Texas with Dad that I don't even remember the law that you described in your post flags. I wonder if the reason behind that is because of so much of Texas being private land and that's one way the GWs can check a person when they hit a highway with their animal. Until a few years ago Wyoming required that evidence of sex remain attached to a decent size piece of boned out meat. Then they changed it to just having evidence of sex with the carcass pieces, so now we just bone everything out and put the udder of a doe deer/antelope, or cow elk in a ziplock bag and we're good to go.

In Texas the unfrozen head must be kept from cwd zones and presented within 24hrs at a check station. Not all zones so this is incorrect also!!!!!
I have accessed many areas of public land by use of a kayak like the opp did and it can make travelling a lot easier.

I asked a game warden why it is illegal to bone the meat and he said that people were taking deer and cutting them into chunks about 2 inches square and filling coolers with meat. The regular license in TX allows you to take 6 deer so if you had 2 or 3 coolers full of meat in 2 inch chunks how would you really know how many deer were in the coolers? So they came up with the quarter rule to easily tell how many deer there were during a field check.

They decided to require the heads because people were killing small bucks and claiming they were does. You can only take 2 bucks on a license in TX and for the most part one of the bucks will have to be a spike and the other needs an outside spread on 13 inches. This doesn't apply everywhere in the state but it does for a large part of it. They protect the young bucks because big bucks are big business down here. On the general license 4 of the deer have to be does or you can kill all does if you want. The head rule is kind of inconvenient for hunters like me that only want 2 does for meat but the law is the law.

In PA, if you quarter your deer in the field you must bring the head and hide out with you. If you don't a WCO can demand you take them back to the site of the kill and the butchering and show it to them.

I could understand the head but there is no logical reason to require someone to bring out the hide of an animal that has been quartered. I wonder why that rule exists?

Like I said, thank God I'm in Minnesota then because the water here is not owned by a land owner unless it's totally confined within your property. It's accessable by anyone who has connecting property, and since this one has public land attached, it's fair use. Now that is not saying you can touch the physical land attached too it, so if i were to trap for instance, I could not make pocket sets into their bank, but could on the public side.

You all have some seriously messed up laws in your states if you cannot access water that is attached to public land....

Boy you're sure a bundle of joy now aren't you. I don't recall saying this is effective or legal in every state. If you're not smart enough to know your own states laws, there's a problem.

I don't watch yours or anyone else's You Tube videos or blogs but there would always be a disclaimer either at the beginning or the end of the segment cautioning anyone watching to check their state regulations before using any of your methods.

I did add a disclaimer in the text because it is a good idea, but I am floored by how many people do not know their own States laws... It's sad really. But I appreciate your opinion and idea.

If you think that's bad, Minnesota made things even harder for those of us who hunt out of state. Because of CWD, we no longer can bring back the skulls or spines of a deer across the border, so just to skip over the pains of transport, I went ahead and found a taxidermist from across the border ahead of time, then since I process my own deer anyways, I just do so at a friends house over there. We need to have the used tag with us during transport. The only other option leaves you almost violating some of the laws in the other states on waste if you don't find and secure other processing options.

I take it by that first comment that you don't like to be corrected, LOL!!! No, you didn't say anything in the video other than what you were doing is a great way to access public land. Without making any statements to check your state and/or local laws it was as if you were saying it was legal everywhere, so why don't you just admit that until you were told by myself and flags that it isn't legal everywhere that you didn't have a clue because that's essentially what you're saying now after you were called out on it! In fact, you even came up with incorrect statements in your second and third posts after we corrected you the first time and we then had to tell you those statements were also incorrect! As Oldtimr stated, you should have either stated at the start or end of the video that it might not be legal where others live, but you didn't because you figured all states were like where you live in MN and they aren't. Just admit it and let's move on!

That's where you're wrong Top. I don't mind being corrected one bit, and have already moved on. It is what it is. I added a disclaimed in the text of the video because it is the right thing too do. Sometimes a little more class and tact gets the point across a little faster though.

Just to clue you in on this one too, most states don't allow a person to bring back what you mentioned from any CWD positive state. It's very simple to bone the animal out or quarter it and leave the spinal column where you shot the animal minus the backstraps. It's also very simple to clean the brain and associated skull/antler area and finish it off by stopping in a car wash when you get to the first area that has one and wash it on out under pressure before you leave the state where you shot the animal. I've been doing that for the last 20 years every fall when I go out a couple months to Wyoming and I'm legal to pass through any state on the way home to MI.

Look man, you were the one that made the video that wasn't complete in it's information, not us! Then you continued to make wrong statements in more posts after you were told it's not legal everywhere. I'm sorry that I'm not as PC as you'd like, but it gets tiring to see all these so-called expert hunters out on the net that are just out there to make a dollar or two and don't have a clue half the time as to what they're putting out to unsuspecting people that think if it's on the net it's correct and accurate when it's not. It's also rather ironic that you came up with that comment about so many people not knowing the laws in other states when WE were the ones that corrected you about other states because you assumed in your video that the states were similar to MN.

Well, if you'd have actually taken a second to read my "About me" section on my YouTube channel, you'd have seen clearly that I am not calling myself an expert, and my focus is to get other veterans and youth on hunting adventures then film it for them. I could care less about ever being classified as an expert, but being a multi tour combat vet myself, other disabled vets are my focus. The before season stuff like scouting and what not, are to fill my time, have fun, and enjoy life.

Sorry, but I wasn't including you as an expert in that comment and it's great to know you served your country even though it has nothing to do with this thread. FYI I did three years in the Army Veterinary Corp during Viet Nam before you were probably born and Oldtimr is also a Vet, along with flags having served 20 years and just retired as a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy a couple years ago, so maybe we should just quit right here and move on!

Well I'm not a mind reader and just stating what I'm really about and involved in vs thinking or claiming to be an expert. Moving on.

What makes you think that Top, OldTimer, myself or any other member is going to run to youtube and "research" you? Why not do a post here about you? That's what most members do. As to the "combat vet" you don't have anything on me or several other members. I did 9 combat tours to the Middle East as part of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command. But your time in the field and mine have zero to do with this topic.

For what it is worth I have hunted in 13 different states, 2 Canadian provinces and made 5 safaris to Africa. Right now I have taken 68 species of game. This experience has shown me that what is legal in one place is not legal everywhere which is why I pointed that fact out. You may not care if someone else get a ticket for following what was flawed advice on your part but I do. Someone with less experience very well could take by the user name that you have and the fact it is a business that you actually know what you're talking about on a nationwide basis and you've proven you don't.

Keep making your videos and sharing them.

I could care less if he makes vids and shares them. My point is the comment he makes in the original post is that his method is a great way to get into new hunting lands and he doesn't seem to note that they may not be legal everywhere. Several of us gave examples where his method will get you a ticket.

And I'm sure not going to bother going to a different site to look up his "about me" post. Why not just put it here.

I don't think I said anything to you nor about you. I watched his video, and posted keep making them.

But since you want to quote me, I think you are wrong. Have a good day.

Wrong about what? His method of accessing public land? In several areas of the west doing things his way could very well get someone a ticket. Perhaps you should look at the water use regs in places like CO and UT as has been noted.

I dont need to look, I have read into the issue a great bit and fish with a few guys that guide out there in the summers. I think your wrong in that he needs a disclaimer about what is legal or not legal, thats up to a viewer to figure out. I have never seen one at the beginning of a fishing show nor hunting show so why are we nitpicking his video?

The first 5 posts discussed the land access issue very adequately. Tops initial reply was correct, adequate, and sufficient. Your initial post dialed in exactly what he was not understanding. You guys took that fifth post the wrong way and it went downhill from there.

So again, I disagree, I posted to support him to continue making videos. Have a good day.

Disagree all you want, as most times when you post it's to disagree with someone and you never have a clue as to what your end of the disagreement is! The guy put out a video for all the world to see under a business he runs that would lead anyone that isn't up on things like several of us are that what he's doing is good anywhere. He even came back and made a statement to that affect AFTER we clued him in that many places don't allow you to do what he did. None of us said not to make videos now did we? IMHO that short first post of yours was essentially agreeing that his video was okay the way it was made and it certainly wasn't without specifically addressing the fact that what he was doing is not legal in many places and people need to know that. All we stated was that when a video is made that there should be explicit details of the dos and don'ts associated with the video. He could have made that statement right out in the video itself or had a disclaimer at the start or end of it like he finally stated he did after the thread kept going on and on due to him being obtuse like you seem to be now with your posts!

Thanks, and will do. I have too much fun to quit. It's not a business, and I don't make a dime off of it nor do I want too, so for me it's just about having fun and getting others out on a hunting or fishing adventure. I've got a lot to learn yet between filming and editing, but I've got a lot of hunts coming up so plenty of time to work on all of that.

I'm sorry you and others are not up on things. I can't help you with that.

But I'm fairly certain of what I disagree with. There is no need for a disclaimer. You don't find them on most videos you come across in regards to hunting and fishing so why are you being so petty with this guys video? If you see an elk hunting video, do you need a disclaimer telling you the regulations for every state? Probably not. If I post a video of me fly fishing for Brooks, do you need a disclaimer about the seasons, size limits, etc. No, so stop being so dang on petty.

I agree old salty and the info flags posted about texas regs was wrong. Unfortunately these guys are ruining this once good site with their B.S.

So please post and tell us what was incorrect, rather than just saying something he said was wrong! The thing wrong with this site is people like yourself coming on saying others are ruining this site, rather than you making some positive posts helping people like a number of us are trying to do. Try it sometime instead of just coming on every time a person posts like you keep doing to me to say how bad this site is. I asked you politely in a PM to play nice and got nothing back but BS about how you were going to follow me all over the site hoping I get banned and then you come on and post more of this kind of crap, which it appears is all you're good at! As the old saying says: "don't go away mad, just go away" if all you can post is how bad this site is!!!

And what might we not be up on if you will please tell us, as we know what we're talking about and the OP didn't and then admitted it when confronted with facts we posted, LOL?! Posting facts to correct information that might get others in trouble with the law is not being petty. You disagree with us and that's fine, but most videos like you're talking about don't show a method that may be illegal in some areas like he did and because of that he should have said it wasn't legal everywhere, but he didn't know that until told so! Then when the facts were posted so at least those on this site would know what he posted was not legal in all areas he came right back and had to be corrected a second time because he was totally wrong. YOU are the one that's being petty because I'd bet that if you were one that followed his advice in an area where it was illegal you'd be pissed and be asking him to pay your ticket if you got one after watching his video!

If i was taking a trip to his state and contacted him about the area rules and he presented himself as an outfitter or guide service then you betcha i would be pretty peeved. But I have never taken a fishing, hunting, boating, or camping trip anywhere without doing the research, making a few calls to proper officials and figuring out as much details as possible.

Listen, you don't have to like my views on things or agree with me, but some of this is getting rediculous. Almost like needing a warning label telling us "caution, coffee is got. I'm just saying, if I went through my YouTube history right now I can probably find an issue within each and every one. The first one would be my brothers spearfishing trip in Florida and if we put disclaimers into the videos like what is being asked here he would have to tell everyone that spears are not legal in certain areas but Hawaiian slings are the accepted method of harvesting in the Bahamas. I just don't see the point in the disclaimer. It's not the guys problem from Florida, it's the guys problem going to the Bahamas to find out what he needs to know.

Also if you went back and read my second post in this I agreed, you brought up an excellent point about land/water access. I even said the next few replies addressed what he was not fully understanding, but again I think you guys got ridiculously petty about everything after that.