This is a picture of a lake behind our church property.  It is inaccessible to the public. It has cattails around most of it , and has several sections that join together.

it is owned and cared for by a woman who has had some kind of boat club for skiing. I very rarely see boats on it even in the summer. 
I have a goal to gain access ( legally of course) 

It is separated from our church property by a barb wire fence and has numerous no trespassing signs up.  A spring fed creek flows out of it , and into the best church pond where I catch most of my church pond bass( we have 4 on our property).

I met a friend of the lady that owns the off limits lake. But she didn’t come through for me to get permission.

 

what would y’all do to get access? 
she lives in the back of a gated community that was built in front of her , and I can’t find any boat club listing there either!!

 

Long game. Become a priest or minister in training. Work your way up and eventually take over the parish. Defeat demons and fish to your hearts content. 

It isn’t on the church property though. I’m actually a licensed preacher already anyway, but that won’t impress this lady I’m sure. 

Have you asked the owner for permission?  That would be my first thought.

Volunteer to lead the church’s water quality and habitat commission and offer to test and monitor her water also.  Just to be sure it’s safe for all the boating and skiing they will undoubtably be doing.  

The owner is probably concerned if she give an inch you take a mile.

Suggest wearing you church cloths and assure her that permission is for you alone and catch & release all the bass you catch.

Tom

The problem is I can’t get to her. She lives by herself in the back of the gated community and she has her own gate too. I think I know what I’d say to her if I had a way…

I was thinking about sending her a nice letter asking permission and offering to keep an eye on things for her…

24 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

The problem is I can’t get to her. She lives by herself in the back of the gated community and she has her own gate too. I think I know what I’d say to her if I had a way…

I was thinking about sending her a nice letter asking permission and offering to keep an eye on things for her…

 

I'd also consider offering labor. I'm guessing she's old and she might love the prospect of a big, strong guy with skills being nearby. 

Give it up. She clearly doesn’t want fishing on her lake & with all the water available in Florida.. 

56 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

I was thinking about sending her a nice letter asking permission and offering to keep an eye on things for her…

Santa Claus maybe able to help get that nice letter to her along with a little something something  

 

JK, good luck my friend 

There are so many ponds around here like that I’ve lost count.  I just daydream about them when I drive by and file them under what could’ve been forever.

 

alternate plan - pretend you’re part of Florida department of environmental quality and tell her there’s some sort of bloom you need to carefully monitor for the next few years for local safety.  😂

4 hours ago, F14A-B said:

Give it up. She clearly doesn’t want fishing on her lake & with all the water available in Florida.. 

it’s just sitting there with nobody fishing it, which is a shame . A friend nearly got permission from her a few years ago but didn’t. Can’t remember why.

2 hours ago, BigAngus752 said:

That’s me in the old days lol.

With zero fishing pressure, the lake may be overpopulated with dinks.  Thinking of that possibility may let you sleep better at night.

15 minutes ago, king fisher said:

With zero fishing pressure, the lake may be overpopulated with dinks.  Thinking of that possibility may let you sleep better at night.

 

With zero fishing pressure, the lake may be overpopulated with giants.  Thinking of that possibility won't let you sleep better at night.

I would write a letter and mention the church, I'd address yourself as Rev. whether you're the pastor of the church or not, though I take it that you are.

 

I think the best bet is being that you're her back door neighbor, and a church/preacher.

I'd apologize for getting caught rather than wait to ask

If there’s a will, there’s a way. It’s been suggested in certain articles that Pat Cullen as a full time accountant offered free services  to land owners in exchange to fish their private ponds. He flew around in a friend’s private plane, scoping out the juicy spots, and then went knocking on doors. Seemed to work for him! 

Mike, this woman lives behind two gates, so security might be a concern. Security is your profession, so I'd mention that.

 

She sounds rich, so she can hire someone to prune her bushes, but as a fellow old woman, there are times when I simply need a strong back for five minutes and most tradesmen don't want to do a five-minute lifting job, so offer that. 

 

Tell her, "I'm minutes away. Call me and I'll be there."

21 hours ago, LokiDawg said:

I'd apologize for getting caught rather than wait to ask

She has been strict about that through the years. They have violaters will be prosecuted signs up. 
 

 

21 hours ago, Bazoo said:

I would write a letter and mention the church, I'd address yourself as Rev. whether you're the pastor of the church or not, though I take it that you are.

 

I think the best bet is being that you're her back door neighbor, and a church/preacher.

Sounds like what I thought up.

I am not a pastor of a church but have been to school for it, and  I do a fair amount of teaching .

I would mention my affiliation with my church and offer free help to her .

I should just  help with no strings attached. I’m not even sure she really needs any help lol

 

10 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

I’m not even sure she really needs any help

 

As I wrote once, here and there, every old woman needs arms long enough to reach a top shelf and a back strong enough to move 50 pounds from here to there.

 

10 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

I should just  help with no strings attached.

 

Good plan.

 

As far as signs, the ponds where I now own property has a farm on it with two BIG signs saying, "Absolutely no pond access!"

 

Not those little red signs that every hardware store sells, but professionally-made, scary signs. So, I went to the farm with a plate of homemade cookies and a couple-signed children's books and introduced myself. And every time I drove past those signs, I delivered more cookies and come Christmas, I gave them big bags of pecans and cashews. Even today, when I no longer need to cross their land, I drop by here and there with more cookies. 

Well Mike's secret pond is a secret no more!

 

I did the legal footwork today tracking down all available information about the lake Mike started this thread about.

 

We now know the who, what, when, and where. And some very interesting background details. So without identifying anyone nor the "secret" location, I can share some of the incredible details to emerge from this thread.

 

First, the background to the lake. At present time it is unknown if this body of water and others nearby were dug for mining or road construction. One thing is clear, these bodies of water are indeed dug out by man. So they are not naturally occurring bodies of water. And this makes them private bodies of water that are not included under Florida's riparian rights law which I won't get into since it does not apply here.

 

I tracked the land ownership and discovered who owns every plot of land in and around this body of water. It is listed as owned under various private for profit corporations because of what the original owner was doing there with this land and water since they purchased it in 1987.

 

I found all of the corporate records dating back to 1987. The corporation was ended just a couple months ago. But this tells Mike and I this body of water he was seeking information on and access to was actually part of a for profit corporate situation involving water skiing training on this lake.

 

This lake is split into two separate land plots showing two different owners through two different corporations that records show are all owned by same person today, but the corporations are no longer active.

 

The surrounding land has been developed and I think and believe this is how the current owner has made enough money to do well to this day to keep and maintain ownership over the lake and the various plots of land it is within. I think there are close to 6 or 7 different plots of land all tracked to this same current owner.

 

Residential neighborhoods have popped up around this body of water and are more than likely bits and pieces of the land sold off to make a profit to allow current owner the ability to stay put and live comfortably.

 

I found in public records where one piece of land was sold off just this year not far from this lake.

 

So this is how a gated community sprang up along the road to the lake and put the current owner behind two locked gates to their house.

 

The reason I am posting this information is because the woman who currently owns the land and lake in question is a widow now, but her husband was a national treasure and an American hero I wanted to tell all of you about. I am just sorry I can't reveal his name as I want to protect their privacy.

 

According to news report & his obituary, he died tragically in a plane crash of an experimental plane back in 2009 at 59 years old about an hour away from his house at this lake.

 

His obituary says he was originally from Tennessee but moved to Florida because he was in the U.S. Navy as a jet fighter pilot stationed in Jacksonville, but he was not just any jet fighter pilot. This man retired as a commander and served 12 more years in naval reserves.

 

He had 300 certified aircraft carrier landings to his credit. And as a young lieutenant in the 1970's he was one of four pilots chosen to begin a training program that was the forerunner of the Navy's "Top Gun" school.

 

He was also a commercial aircraft pilot for Eastern and Delta airlines and logged more than 18,000 hours of flight time before retiring.

 

So it is a tragedy to lose him at 59 in a plane crash of an experimental plane. I have not researched the crash, but with what I know now, I'd say it was plane malfunction and NOT pilot error. This man knew what he was doing.

 

But he left behind a widow who now owns the land and lake. They were married for 23 years until his tragic passing.

 

He was a plane builder, a water skier, a mechanic, an instructor, an expert rifleman, an expert hunter, a wing shot and great dog trainer. He enjoyed playing the banjo, piano, & guitar.

 

What I uncovered today shows that this national hero purchased this land and lake and ponds to retire on. He and his wife started up 3 corporations to earn income from beginning in 1987. One was a design and construction firm. The other two corporations were strictly for this lake and using it to earn income teaching people how to water ski on this lake. As stated all of this has ended since all of the corporations are now listed as inactive in state of Florida public records.

 

So now the widow is retired on the land and living the good life no doubt, but sadly now alone, but does have children and grandchildren.

 

For someone to be just 1 of 4 of the U.S. Navy's top jet fighter pilots chosen clearly for his knowledge and skills as a pilot into the navy's first "Top Gun" training program tells us this man was top notch and as good as they come. The best of the best.

 

Rest in peace Top Gun!

I would ask politely and respectfully. 
If the answer is no, I would leave and move on. 
 

Those kind of lakes are all over the state. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

28 minutes ago, Mike L said:

I would ask politely and respectfully. 
If the answer is no, I would leave and move on. 
 

Those kind of lakes are all over the state. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

 

When I fly into Florida, I'm amazed at the number of lakes down below. They are everywhere. 

I would write her a letter. Mention all of the things you know, the church, the boat/ski club, the no trespassing signs, the security/gated community, etc. Tell her that you would like to fish by yourself when nobody else is using the water. You will keep the areas you fish clean and honor any of her rules. All fish would be released back into the water. Let her know you are a member of the church and an environmental advocate. As mentioned, she could also call on you for any manual labor or help she may need in return for lake access. Ask politely for a reply letter or phone call, and that would be your answer.