This is something I have always wondered about. I was always told or had the understanding that natural waterways cannot be posted. But yet there are numerous places where signs are up, logs cut, and some build fences across natural waterways trying to keep people out. Damn shame!!

I also agree that it is a shame. There are numerous places along the pearl river and bogue chitto that are 'posted'.
This thread says there's 2 comments but I am only seeing one so who ever else commented, I'm sorry but I can't see it on my end.

there was a thread that talked about all this about a year ago, the key loophole is to have the waterway or canal declaired as not navigatible (less then 6 feet of water) so as its not passable by commercial or barge traffic.

basicly they can close off anything as private except the main canals or water deeper then 6 feet (unless its privately dug and maintained in which case they can close that off too) so as long as they can get a politician to go along then get a permit to block access and call it private.

an exception is if its an access canal that is the only access to camps or land in which case everyone with rights to those must be given full access or a key to the access gate.

Louisiana Navigability Report

Summary

Navigable streams in Louisiana are those that have been or are capable of being used in their ordinary condition for interstate commerce. In navigable rivers, the state owns the riverbed, and the public can use the banks up the ordinary high water mark for activities related to navigation. Acceptable activities include boating, fishing and canoeing.

State Test of Navigability

Louisiana, through its case law, has adopted a state test of navigability that considers streams navigable that are “navigable in fact,” very similar to the federal commerce test.1) A body of water is navigable-in-fact if “it is capable of being used for a commercial purpose over which trade and travel are or may be conducted in the customary modes of trade and travel.”2) The court goes on to say that “simply stated, a water course is navigable when by its depth, width and location it is rendered available for commerce.”3) However, the courts in Louisiana distinguish the fact that a stream “navigable in fact by canoes, row boats and other small craft”, but “not navigable by larger boats and vessels, does not make it a navigable stream.”4)

Navigability is not presumed and the burden of proof rests with the party seeking to establish it.5) In Louisiana, a body of water can also be held navigable despite its natural or man-made obstructions.6) The public trust doctrine applies in Louisiana to navigable waters. The public trust doctrine maintains that the state holds certain lands and waters for the public's reasonable use.

Extent of Public Rights in Navigable and Non-Navigable Rivers

Louisiana follows the federal navigational servitude test which grants the public the right to use and access navigable waters as continuous highways for the purpose of navigation in interstate commerce.7) However, the courts in Louisiana distinguish from this test by fact that not all navigable waters enjoy a navigational servitude as there may be instances non-navigable waters are made navigable by private owners.8) For example, if there is a shallow lake that is non-navigable, and the owner of the lake dredged the bottom to make it navigable for boat travel, the public does not have a navigational servitude to access the lake.

The beds of navigable waters are “insusceptible of private ownership.”9) Banks10) of a navigable river are “private things subject to public use.”11) The public may not utilize the bank of a river or a stream for any activity other than incidental use as it relates to navigation.12) Riparian landowners have the right to reasonable use of the waters but cannot restrict the actual use of a navigable river or stream.13) Courts have not formally addressed the issue of portage outside of the use of navigable rivers banks.

Criminal trespass in Louisiana states that “no person shall remain in or upon property, movable or immovable, owned by another without express, legal or implied authorization.”14) There is an exception to trespass in the statute for an “occupant of a watercraft or vessel traveling on salt water engaged in an emergency purpose for the purpose of retrieval of his property or for obtaining assistance in an emergency.”15)

Miscellaneous

For more information on water rights in Louisiana, please refer to the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, found at [http://dnr.louisiana.gov/]. Regulation of all fishing and boating activities falls under the exclusive control of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, found at [http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/].

I have been told that if it is a man made canal or man made pond, it can be posted. Maybe that 'pond' is a borrow pit that is connected to the river by a cut. Since the borrow pit was dug by man it can be posted. I fish a lot of places that are old location canals that were dug with a dragline and they have gates across them with locks. I'm just guessing that is why. We have a couple of borrow pits on our deer lease that have posted signs, however we don't keep people out of the pits, just the land. Maybe that's what the sign in that case means. Can't say for sure though. Some people just nail up signs. There are DMAP signs all around my house that some guy nailed up to ward off people, but it's not DMAP.

anybody can put a sign up and hope it works!! is it legal, just go fishing and see???

Thank you all for your responses and opinions. However I do not know if it is man made but I'm guessing no. It has a creek in the back of that flows from the Lee's creek area off of highway 21. I'm going to try and post a GPS pic of the place. You will See the pearl river, a pond with a small cut from the river in the center and a creek in the top left. Once again thank you for your responses.

As far as I am concerned that land owner owns the land under that water not the water and the publics fish and other animals in it. If someone got hurt on the water in that private canal watch how quick the land owner will say, hey I don't own that water I own the land under it, sue the state.
Big land owner's are the one's that pay to get their man in politics to say what the big land owner wants done, that is just the way it works in Louisiana.
Now before anyone has something to say about my spelling or any thing else 'Bite Me'.

As far as I am concerned and you, the owner of the land owns the water above it. That's what the law says. It is not what you think it should be. You have no idea how suing someone works, yet you talk about it like it is easy. To successfully sue the owner of that body of water, you would have to show some negligence on their part. Just because an injury happens on the property does not mean the land owner is liable. Further, if he had it posted and you were trespassing, then the law says that you would be committing a criminal act.

You sound sore because you don't own any 'big land'.

Oh and by the way, your spelling bites--no wonder you don't own any big land.

Jeff, it's hard to tell if that was an old gravel pit. I kinda does, but it kinda doesn't..... I'd fish it till someone ran me out. There's 3 places come to think of it now on our deer lease that have signs on the land saying 'posted', however we mean the land. We never chase anyone out of the water. I wonder if that is the point of the sign? It isn't right dead in the middle of the opening is it? Go fish it. The worse that can happen is they can tell you to leave. If they do, just leave. Too much water to argue about it. It's not worth it to tangle with some crazies either. We got those kind of land owners all around our lease. The pipeline company and the timber company won't even mess with them.

DNR SONRIS

Private Pond

Here is a picture of that area with overlays of state owned/claimed waterbottoms and state claimed/owned land.
The blue overlay is waterbottoms and the green overlay is state land.
Of couse there is a disclaimer on the website that this information is not to be used for legal purposes.