Field Notes
Access & Law
Where the public can legally fish — public-trust doctrine, navigable waters, wading rights, and how access law differs state by state.
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Float It or Wade It: The Stream Access Split That Changes at the State Line
In Montana you can wade a stream up to the high water mark through private ranchland. Drive south into Colorado and putting a foot on the bed of the same kind of stream can be trespass. This is the single largest legal difference in American fishing, and almost nobody explains it.
State Trust Lands: Millions of Public Acres That Are Not Quite Public
Scattered across the West are tens of millions of acres of state trust land, granted at statehood to fund schools. They show as public on most maps. They are managed to make money rather than to provide recreation, and the rules for using them differ in every single state.
The Ordinary High Water Mark: The Public Boundary You Cannot See
On most navigable rivers in America, the public owns the bed and banks below a line called the ordinary high water mark. It is a physical feature rather than a survey line, it is not where the water is today, and learning to read it is the single most useful access skill an angler can have.
Corner Crossing Is Now Legal in Six States. Here Is What That Means.
In October 2025 the Supreme Court declined to hear the Wyoming corner-crossing case, leaving a Tenth Circuit ruling in place and settling the question for six western states. Millions of acres of corner-locked public land became reachable. Here is what changed, and what did not.
The Bridge Is Public. The Riverbank Under It Might Not Be.
A public road crosses a river. There is a pull-off, a worn path down the bank, and no sign. Whether you may walk down it depends on the width of the right of way, what the easement was granted for, and in a few states, a specific statute. Here is how to work it out.
Fishing Access Laws by State: Where the Public Can Legally Fish
The same river can be wide-open public in one state and off-limits in the next. Here's what actually decides it — and where each Western state draws the line.
Can You Fish Here? U.S. Water-Access Law, Explained
The rules that decide where the public access is — without a law degree.
How to Find Public Fishing Access (Without Trespassing)
The water might be public even when the bank isn't. Here's how to tell where the public access is.