# Clear as mud...... Waterfowl laws



## DirtySteve (Apr 9, 2006)

DEDGOOSE said:


> Dumbest and most confusing thing ever. Make any public lake with access open to hunting or fishing available on said water as long as all rules are followed.
> 
> People claiming to own part of the pie may as well dump all their old cars, mortar and anything else out there like folks on private non submerged ground do. Hell you don't own the air above the back forty like you don't own the water over your piece of the pie in a lake.


You don't own the water over your piece of pie. You own the bottom and the bottom rights under it. That is what gives you the right to put a dock or swim platform in front of your property. People can boat or fish over the area. They can't get out and swim or hunt.


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## Ihavegills (Mar 21, 2014)

T


DEDGOOSE said:


> Dumbest and most confusing thing ever. Make any public lake with access open to hunting or fishing available on said water as long as all rules are followed.
> 
> People claiming to own part of the pie may as well dump all their old cars, mortar and anything else out there like folks on private non submerged ground do. Hell you don't own the air above the back forty like you don't own the water over your piece of the pie in a lake.


Actually when it comes to hunting.....you do indeed "own the air" above your property. If I am standing in the water on a piece of the pie obviously owned by the state but I shoot a duck over land owned by you.....I'm illegal. True story. Luckily, I haven't learned that lesson the hard way. I"ve just been warned by a CO to make certain I was shooting out over the water and not over the land next to me down the shore line a ways.


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## pescadero (Mar 31, 2006)

petronius said:


> So how are the underwater property lines figured out when the lake is a crescent or "S" shape?


The center of the lake is a line drawn down the length of the center.

"For a round lake, each riparian landowner would own a "pie shaped" piece of bottomlands radiating to a point in the cenet of the lake. Unfortunately, however, there are very few round (or nearly round) lakes in Michigan. Accordingly, the Michigan courts have resorted to several different methods for allocating bottomlands on irregular lakes in Michigan. In most cases, the courts draw a "thread" or line (which can be straight or gyrating) in the center (or centers) of the lake, to which the bottomlands of various properties radiate"

Lawyer Cliffwood Bloom, _Buying and Selling Waterfront Property in Michigan


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## Thirty pointer (Jan 1, 2015)

What rights do land owners have with their lake bottom property besides just paying taxes on it ? A dock maybe if allowed but what else ?


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## pescadero (Mar 31, 2006)

Thirty pointer said:


> What rights do land owners have with their lake bottom property besides just paying taxes on it ? A dock maybe if allowed but what else ?


Hunting over it.
Long term anchoring over it.
The right to draw water from the lake.


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## Zorba (Jan 24, 2007)

To be able to enforce the law correctly it would have to be posted in a way that the average person can tell his relationship to the riparian area of interest. There is no line on the water. Any violation to the area of interest would have to be clear. Otherwise it would be no different than a LEO writing a ticket for speeding with no one posting the speed limit. In court, any argument of trespass could be met with "I was on State land" Hard case to prove.

Also, if the property owner feels that strongly about the trespass, he should post the zone for all to see.


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