Lake fees?

[WRB]

No free launching or use public lakes in SoCal.

Pay entry for vehicle and boat. Annual fee’s are available, daily use avg about $25 vehicle and boat.

Tom

[Swamp Girl]

No fees in Maine. At the bogs and ponds I fish, there are also no ramps. 

[Woody B]

Thanks for all the responses.   It amazes me how full the lake gets on weekends during Summer.   Higher fees should help the overcrowded lake.   I drove by there Sunday afternoon.  The entire parking lot was full with additional tow vehicles and trailer parking along side the entrance road.   I should have taken a picture of the lake.  I could see ~15 boats from the landing.  As I stated in my OP I had already decided not the renew my annual boat permit for $80.   The old fee was $80 per year, or $16 per trip.   New fee is $200 per year, or $40 per trip.  It's still 5 trips equal an annual pass.   Higher fees should relieve the over crowding but it's still a lake full of mostly 10 inch Spotted Bass.   The new fees take effect and my old annual permit expires on July 1.   I'll drive though the landing occasionally after the new fees take effect.   Their rules state "any boat capable of having a motor" has to pay the fees, so I suppose a jon boat with an electric motor would still be suppose to pay.  Kayaks, and canoes don't have to pay any fees.  I suspect this will make it a better, and safer lake for them.  

 

They also tripled the overnight fees for the campground at the landing.   

 

IF (big if) that lake turned back into the lake it was 40 years ago I'll cough up the $200 for an annual permit.  I used to fish there 2 or 3 times a week after I got off work.  Time will tell.

 

Perhaps in a year or 2 I'll be paying $200 a year.  Team9nine will be coming up here and we'll be riding around the lake catching DD's.   

[MediumMouthBass]

In my part of PA all you need is a fishing license and a launch permit if planning to use a boat or kayak. Have fished in various different cities, and counties in the state, gone to a ton of different lakes, ponds, creeks, and rivers all of which were free. Some were maintained very nice with fresh cut grass, clean trails, and a nice launch, others were so overgrown and hardly taken care of that it felt like walking through a state forest to a trash filled shoreline, where the boat launch was designed by someone who never used a boat. Some of those Army Corps of Engineers places are really nice, bathrooms, several boat launch areas, really nice trails too, those as well are free nearby.

I cant imagine paying to use a lake, if it was a great lake, big bass, low pressure, and had valet parking with a reasonable yearly pass then sure, but no way would i pay more than what a steak costs at a restaurant to fish for smaller bass and has tons of people.

 

Most of our public water reservoirs locally were bought by one company, its shore fishing only.

Not much of a bank to fish on tho, nature made trails from animals and you sometimes have to walk either a little or a few miles, but the fishing is incredible. Free as long as you pick up your garbage, but decades ago only a small few had a pass to fish it.

 

Not sure how it is where you are at, but maybe take that money to people that have farm ponds or other private ponds. Probably would be limited to bank fishing but youd have the whole place to yourself, and youd know who your money is going to.

[casts_by_fly]

6 hours ago, Susky River Rat said:

@casts_by_fly that incline to get in and out of the boat ramp at hopatacong is nuts. When I first pulled into that parking lot I was so confused where the ramp was. I figured that was a maintenance road. At least the ramp I used. I know I fished another lake in NJ that was $5 or something put your boat registration on a the envelope and dropped it in. 
 

I have never paid to use a ramp other wise expect that $5 one a few times. I went to the cong out of season. There is a couple private launches on the river you can get a permit for the year or pay as you go. I do not use them. 
 

Normally, I frequent some pretty sketchy ramps. 

Im on that $5 lake now 7 bass deep. 

[Susky River Rat]

@casts_by_fly I fished it for toothies

[Log Catcher]

Most of the places I fish have no launch fees or any other kinds of fees. I do fish one lake occasionally that does charge a $6.00 launch fee. They give you a tag to hang from your rear view mirror so when they check the parking lot they know if someone did not pay.

 

Fishing the river the places I fish are also free. There are some places that charge a launch fee. 

 

A lot of the ramps and parking areas that are free were put in by the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife and the also stock fish in a lot of these places.

[casts_by_fly]

1 hour ago, Susky River Rat said:

@casts_by_fly I fished it for toothies

Yeah, I remember. I don’t see any tonight though. Saw a 48” class fish Sunday. Just a couple pickerel tonight. Finished on 15 bass. 

[Junk Fisherman]

Not to be snarky but if the lake is mostly filled with 10" spotted bass, why do you want to go there?  I could understand if the fishing was good.  And to address the cost, I spent $200 on a yearly marina pass for Lake Michigan last year.  I didn't renew this year but I paid $25 to launch today.  The majority of the lakes/rivers in Illinois have a free public launch.  I limit myself to Lake Michigan only once a week but a big chunk of my fishing days has wind and waves on Lake Michigan that make me go elsewhere.  

[TnRiver46]

Seems like I paid $25 to extract a canoe just a few feet upstream of Lake Michigan. The next time I went we talked to enough people and found a place to park for $5

 

these kind of things drive me batty

[Susky River Rat]

@casts_by_fly the biggest I got out of there was 45” so def possible. I only ever fished there about 6 times. 

[Woody B]

Yesterday a dump truck owned by the city accidently rolled into the lake.   People on social media are brutal saying stuff like "I hope he paid his $200", and "I hope the city manager was driving it".  (The truck wasn't occupied)

The yearly pass (going up to $200) is a decal on your boat, and trailer.   To get a daily pass you either pay in the office (during normal office hours) or fill out a form, and leave your money in a drop box.  They watch the landing closely.  If your trailer doesn't have the decal and your information isn't in the drop box they'll be waiting for you when you load your boat.  I'm not a thief, I wouldn't try sneaking without paying even it the chance for getting caught was really low. 

 

Most of the lakes I fish and landings I use are power company lakes, with landings maintained by the State and/or the power company.  I use one landing at Lake Wylie that's been leased by the county.  (Allison Creek, York County SC)  They have a campground, walking trails, picnic area, fishing pier ect.  They charge something like $5 per day, per person for access.   I bought an annual "night pass" for $30.   I have a card that operates the gate.  This gives me a super secure landing both night and day.  You have to go through the gate to get in, and there's guards/rangers all over the place.  There's several free public landings but for me it's worth $30 per year for good security.  Just a disclaimer that I do pay to use a landing, but it's for security.  There's other free landings on the same lake.   

[NorcalBassin]

All over the place in my area. Mountain lakes for trout fishing are free launches. My home lake (bass and trout/kokanee) is $10/day or $70 for an annual pass (what I do each year). "Funny" thing is it was free up until 15+/- years ago and when they started charging they said all fees would go straight back to the lake for facility upgrades. The entry stations subsequently haven't been staffed for many years (were always staffed when it was free) and there haven't been any noteworthy upgrades since they started charging. Where's that money going? (rhetorical question since this is CA after all).

 

A nearby comparable lake is overseen by an irrigation district and they just increased their launch fees again to $35/day or $330/annual pass. That's absolutely ridiculous and I haven't fished it for years since it's no better than my home lake.

[Swamp Girl]

I amend my answer. I paid $75,000 for my 4.5-acre pond pass, but I had to pay another $5,000 for the driveway pass and then have a boardwalk and dock built out of pallets. My annual pond fees/taxes are about $345. So, Maine is pricey. 

[Skunkmaster-k]

On 6/5/2024 at 11:06 AM, TnRiver46 said:

Well I’m glad we sent our loved ones and relatives across the Appalachians (the overmountain men) to fight and die at kings mountain just for them to charge $40/day to launch a boat……

 

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/overmountain-men

 

My guess is they ain’t worried about the drinking water, they are worried about cash money. 

That’s a good article. 

[TnRiver46]

@Skunkmaster-k, at least a couple of my ancestors were overmountain men, probably more than a few 

[Bird]

Free public launch in all the lakes I've fished in VA / WV.

 

[Woody B]

I drove through the landing Sunday afternoon.  Every ramp had someone at it either loading or unloading.  There were 10 or so empty parking spaces.  

 

[Pat Brown]

You can pay daily or annual fees but thankfully the annual pass covers all three major resevoirs local to me and all are well maintained and have healthy populations of bass and crappie and shad and catfish so we are happy!

 

If I had to pay 3 annual fees to fish all three lakes - I'd be irked - but I'd do it if I wanted access to all three without question.  

[Woody B]

I drove through the landing around 1 this afternoon.  It was 3/4 full.   I suspect it will be fuller later.  I'm curious to know how many annual passes they've sold this year compared to last.   I bought mine last year on July 4.  The number (starts at 1) on mine was 256.   I saw a picture yesterday on social media that someone had purchased #140.   I suspect they'll sell a few less than last year, but....there will be an increase in revenue, and the lake will still be crowded.   

 

The city of Kings Mountain has been spending money foolishly for a decade or so.  I suspect they're simply looking for more revenue.  As I stated earlier the City Manager said they don't want powered boats on the lake.  I believe that statement was made so people would pay the increased fees just to "show him".   

 

Kings Mountains water, as well as other utilities are the highest anywhere around here.  Currently residents are complaining about a bad smell from the water.  A friend of mine who works at the water treatment plant says lack of maintenance on the tanks is the reason for the smell.   I'm not a Kings Mountain resident.  My water actually comes out of Moss lake but it goes to a different water treatment plant.  My water has no smell, and is less than half the price of Kings Mountain water.   

[Gator Kayser]

The only place I pay is at a local golf course. It’s well worth it for me. 

[BrianMDTX]

So, up until now, with an inflatable powered by yours truly, I have either fished local ponds (no ramps, no fees, no license required) or one small reservoir in a state park with a $7.00 daily fee. I have fished there a few times. Now with a bigger inflatable with a motor (just waiting on the battery and my registration letters/number decal), I can fish bigger nearby lakes like Conroe and Livingston.  I know Conroe has some ramps with fees and others that are free. I’ll stick with the free ones. 

[king fisher]

I fish a lake in the middle of the mountains in the state of Jalisco.  On a busy weekend, there could be 5 sport fishing boats.  There will be about 10 commercial fisherman in small boats 15 horse motors, commercial fishing on most weekdays.  The commercial fisherman are gone by 10:00 AM.  and some days I can have the lake all to myself.  The last time I went there I was launching my kayak and a kid came up to me and said there was a fee of $10 a day for my kayak, and another $10 a night for camping.  I don't know who gets the money or how much they pay the kid to sit there all day, but I'm sure most days he collects less than $30 and many days he wont see a dime.  The commercial fisherman don't pay a fee, and I think the money goes to them. The launch is not maintained and wouldn't even be considered a launch in the US.

 

I don't mind paying and would still go if they charged $100 a day,  It was just seemed odd to get charged anything on a remote lake in the middle of Mexico. 

 

The next time I go, I will give the kid an extra $10 tip.  It never hurts to get on the good side of a local resident. 

[HOV02]

Personally, I don't mind. You don't have to pay $25 as that is the fee for the year. Instead, you could buy the daily permit for like $6 or something. I bought the $25 permit as I love going there throughout the year for crappie.

[Motoboss]

$20.00 annual fee for public parks permit. Many  “honor” boxes on smaller lakes for like $10-$15.00. Reservoirs are like $45 a day launch fee and yearly only if a resident of the “community “.  All the river access ramps are free as well as many public lakes if your willing to travel.

The high dollar reservoirs usually are e-coli filled and wouldn’t want to fish them anyway.