How to get pond opened for fishing 2024
shp33 reply :
My sixteen-year old son and his friend want to get a community association owned pond opened up for fishing. It is a new pond (about 10 years old) with a shelf bank for safety located in central Virginia. The banks have little to no slope and are well maintained (mowed, etc.) by the association. Currently the pond is posted for no fishing and no swimming due to liability concerns. These two boys will have 6 minutes to present their reasons for allowing fishing on this pond to the community association board on Thursday, November 15. Any information that members would think useful for such a presentation would be helpful -- reasons why fishing is a good activity, statistics on fishing safety, reasonable limitations/guidelines that could be followed, ways to minimize risk, etc. They will also need to submit their request in writing so articles or other resources would be welcome, too.
Many thanks for any help you can provide these two young, avid anglers!
Low_Budget_Hooker reply :
off the top of my head
1. There aren't enough GOOD places for kids these days. After school, etc,.....give them QUALITY choices. There are much WORSE things they could be doing.
2. Propose a "family or fathers day derby"-creating community bonding and association with each other.
3. Offer a trial basis as I am sure trash is their main concern.
4. Offer to be the liaison between the anglers and the board. You will attend every 3 rd meeting to address any concerns
5. refer to #1
and....WELCOME ABOARD!!! 
Troutfisher reply :
Get people in the community involved. The more people, the better, and the more community involvement, the better.
guest reply :
I would also stress that the Kids will help maintain the cleanliness of the area. We have one pond we fish that we always are bringing soda/beer cans, snelled hook packing and straofoam worm caontiners out of. None of which is ours!
ThomasL reply :
Explain community assoc. owned to me,is this private property owned a A indivigual or a group of people.I know of a pond that several owners have together that is private is this the same?
Low_Budget_Hooker reply :
And if it is a private area, you could only allow residents to fish it but then you have the issue of policing it. Just a few more things to discuss.
shp33 reply :
Wow thanks for all the great ideas! As for your question about community associations..it is a homeowners group. We live in a large development and the pond is part of the common area that is maintained by the homeowners association. When you purchase property in this development you sign an agreement and become a member of the assocaition and pay dues. Since it is also a "gated" community we can keep non-residents from fishing. I think the main concern for the board is the liability issue.
Thanks!!
Low_Budget_Hooker reply :
-Make sure you bring close up pics of the graduated bank, many there may not have looked close enough to know it's a very safe gradient.
- Also propose noone under 13 or so can use the area w/o an adult present. Like pool rules. If there is a community pool, point out that the pool is even more dangerous than the pond would be. (no sloped bank).
32251 reply :
Liability is the issue. You will have to talk them into buying liability insurance. Someone gets hurt while at the pond and who ends up paying for it. My brother lives in a lake community. They all have to have liability insurance just in case some one illegally trespasses and gets hurt!!! They can get sued for not keeping them out.
The No Fish rule is there to protect them from lawsuits. Count on it. I would not allow anyone to fish there either if no insurance is availiable.
The other route would be to sign away your right to sue if you are hurt. Take away the liability..your on your own and they have no fear of being sued. They will probably let you fish.
Red reply :
Quoteoff the top of my headThere are much WORSE things they could be doing.
this i think is the best one...do you want to see the communities kids fishing and having fun, or getting drunk, stoned etc etc.....i use this on my wife...when she complains about me going fishing, i say "fine, i will go to the bar instead" she replies with "hope ya catch a big one!" let us know how it goes, i am interested to hear hwo it turns out
good luck
Cliff
shp33 reply :
Thanks! I think that we will agree to sign a waiver and even pay a small fee since I think changing the status of the pond will increase the insurance premium. They will go in front of the board next Thursday, so I'll let you all know how it goes, although we probably won't get a final decision for a while.
KYbass1276 reply :
maybe add a clause where kids of a certain age must where life jackets while fishing and adult present as well
LooksLikeSinbad reply :
QuoteLiability is the issue. You will have to talk them into buying liability insurance.
What if they have a liability waiver that all anglers have to sign before fishing?
32251 reply :
QuoteThe other route would be to sign away your right to sue if you are hurt. Take away the liability..your on your own and they have no fear of being sued. They will probably let you fish.
This covers signing away your rights to sue if you fish there.
shp33 reply :
Here is the letter my son will present tomorrow. Did I mention that he is a pretty good writer? (I'm mom, I have to brag!) As you can see he used all of your ideas. Many thanks!! I'll let you know how it goes.
November 14, 2007
RE: Request to Allow Fishing on Section S Pond
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen of the Common Area Review Board:
Today there are simply too few constructive choices for kids to make concerning before and after school activities. Many are content to play videogames or worse. However if you were to give them quality, worthwhile choices, then problems and complications resulting from poor choices can be avoided.
A prime example of a quality endeavor is fishing. I have been fishing almost all my life, and during that time I have come to respect nature, enjoy lasting and memorable friendships throughout the angling community, and to bond and spend time with my friends and family. If fishing was to be encouraged and more quality ponds and lakes opened to fishermen, then I feel that larger groups of people would take up fishing and with it the respect and values that come with it. This would allow the whole community to become involved with the maintenance of property and of trash and waste disposal that have a negative impact on our fields and streams. In fact with heightened involvement, fundraisers and parent child activities could be established to get people excited.
I would like to propose opening the Section S pond for fishing. Although there are several ponds within Glenmore available for fishing, this pond is one of the most conveniently located for a great number of Glenmore residents. In addition, the banks of this pond are maintained, making it a safer place to fish than other Glenmore ponds. By opening this pond, additional children and adults would be more likely to fish.
As should be expected, safety is a principle concern. However a vast majority of ponds today, like the Section S pond, are constructed with injury prevention in mind. These ponds are built with shelves extending out from the shoreline that do not exceed a depth deemed hazardous to smaller children or any other person for that matter. In fact the addition of graduated banks that incorporate gentler slopes make most ponds as safe as the community pool. Now it may be argued that the pool has lifeguards where ponds do not. However in order to make fishing possible for younger children, there must be restrictions in order to maintain a safe environment. If this pond were opened for fishing, I would recommend that a legal adult MUST accompany children under thirteen. These rules should probably coincide with pool rules as many of the same dangers apply to both. Children under five should wear a life jacket and children over the age of five may wear one at parental discretion.
But what if a certain party violates these rules? In order for the rules to be upheld there should be a permit process that could be overseen by this board. This would insure that anyone fishing in a Glenmore pond has been made aware of the rules and has agreed to abide by them. In addition, all able anglers and/or their parent or guardian MUST sign a liability waiver.
During my life, I have found few things to be more enjoyable than catching a 6lb. Bass at 7:00 in the morning. Fishing is not a danger to society; it is not a danger to one's health. It is simply an enjoyable pastime that should be readily accessible to all who wish to participate.
32251 reply :
May I make a suggestion. I fished a neighborhood lake with a friend. The association board provides one of those bright colored rubber band looking bracelets that is a specific color. Anyone who lives in the neighborhood and is fishing the lake has to wear that bracelet so others in the neighborhood can see that he lives in the hood and has permission to fish the lake. He can take guests to fish. Might be a good thing to present to the board. A way to keep out those who are not residents.
shp33 reply :
That is a great idea -- we are proposing that only people who have signed a waiver and granted permission can fish. That would help identify the people who have followed the correct procedure.
tyrius. reply :
QuoteThat is a great idea -- we are proposing that only people who have signed a waiver and granted permission can fish. That would help identify the people who have followed the correct procedure.
My father in law lives on an association managed lake and they just printed out piece of paper, laminated them, and then the people fishing clip these onto their clothes somewhere visible. Easy and you don't really need to buy anything special for them.
shp33 reply :
Just wanted to let you know how this ended up...we were successful! My son will be able to fish his pond again.
Many thanks for all your suggestions!
32251 reply :
Great. Now since your son will be doing a lot of fishing there have him keep watch for people who might want to come in and mess things up. Give him a phone number to call to report folks who are not supposed to be there and the standard phone numbers for emergencies. Also have him let you know when he is going to be at the pond so you will know where he is and can check on him. A prepaid cheap cell phone for him would be an idea so he can keep in touch while either at or on the water.
roadwarrior reply :
Congratulations!
8-)
Hoover reply :
Great letter and good work!! Applause to you and your son.
-HAWK- reply :
Question, if the community built this pond with the development and never intended it to be fished, they wouldnt have stocked it. Right? So would it be worth fishing? I know in my community they have 3 lakes and only stocked the one main lake. The 2 smaller lakes were never stocked and 10 years later theres nothing in those lakes but ducks.
c17Lat reply :
Congrats
I have a similar situation in my hood, but i think my lake is actually stocked with fish. (i wouldn't know where else bass and catfish would come from) but anyway I fish there anyway and so do a few other people and neither me nor anyone else have experienced policing about the no tresspassing signs. I would put my kayak on the lake and wouldn't think i would get caught but as a 19 yr old who uses his parent's car, my dad won't let me take the yak on it unless they open it for fishing. so I really want to present a case to the community like your son did. These suggestions on this post seem great. again congrats
fishingfourfun reply :
Congrats on the win. It is nice to see a young person looking to do something that will make adifference in his life aswellassomeone's else!
maxke01 reply :
Wow!!!! Such a young age and he has learned a valuable lesson already. The fact that he won his case tells me he was passionate on presenting his speech properly and devoted enough not to quit. I for one am glad he won, its nice to see young anglers getting involved in the better of a whole community
jomatty reply :
great job...next on the agenda is an invite for me to fish the ponds lol just kidding but not really...
in all seriousness i live in charlottesville and it is great what you did here. also great to see a parent take such an active interest in helping their children get something accomplished and kudos to the board for being openminded.
feel free to pass my email chololoco78@gmail.com to your son if he is looking for anyone to go fishing with. sometimes my five year old tags along with me, but he would probably think fishing was a lot cooler if someone your sons age was going lol as dear old dad is already a little dorky for his tastes...
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