creek detecting laws in PA?

[sweetinsanty]

I have kicked this around on other sites.... but there seems to be more people on here closer to my area. I've talked to park rangers, state and local police, game wardens, fish commission and even stopped at our local court house! no one will give a straight answer. some say you can't come up past the high water marks (top of banks). others say as long as you are in the water you are fine. another went as far as to tell me, if I'm in a boat i'm fine...just don't touch bottom. they all said if they saw us in a creek detecting they would blow on by. if a creek is stocked with trout and people are fishing and swimming.... can the guy next door who property borders the creek run the detectors off and let other public stay? not trying to start trouble..... but for four years! I have yet to get a straight answer.

 

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[DigToChina]

You should ask ScubaDetector about Riparian Rights. Not sure if it's applicable to PA or even the situation you are describing but maybe a good place for you to start? Scuba would be able to explain far better what those are.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

.... I have yet to get a straight answer.

And do you think the "straight answer" provided by teams of lawyers, is going to stop the guy from trying to "run off md'rs" ? And assuming for a moment you "got all technical" and proved something right to him. Then guess what ? He just pulls another rabbit out of his hat and claims you're "vandalizing", "taking", "removing" and "harming indian bones" (all of which is base-less, of course).

It's never ending. So if you're finding seateds and barbers and cool stuff, just hunt when "mister-lookie" isn't there to gripe. Full moons are great.

 

[victhedog]

Hunt creeks in PA all the time when its warm out
never had a problem

 

[jeff of pa]

problem is there is no Clear answer since there are so many creeks and streams
and types of property owners surrounding them. add to that, there are so many fish and wild life agents with opinions, like "Are you finding anything Cool ?" to
"what are you Doing Digging in My creek ? " etc.

here is a clip from my 3' X 5' Stream Map
http://www.streammaps.com/showmap.php?id=SMPA



as for your Question:

if a creek is stocked with trout and people are fishing and swimming....can the guy next door who property borders the creek run the detectors off and let other public stay?

If your an arse. Go for it & find out.

That would be the Worst place/time to try.

may as well go to the Beach, & Lift up the edges of peoples Blankets while they are
sun Bathing to dig Targets

People fishing have More rights on Creeks through Private Properties.
Everyone else Must be in a boat . it has to do with "Navigable Waters"
which gets very Complicated when talking Creeks running through someones property .

 

[filthylucre59]

I used to fish in Walnut crick outside Erie,Pa. and you can't wade up the middle of the crick if the land is privately owned on both sides and stay within the law...you're still trespassing on private property...Same with a metal detector I would think.I wish I knew about metal detectors back then with all the old covered bridges going over the cricks.And yes it's crick....not creek if you're from Pa.

 

[pa plateau hiker]

Over the years, I've heard two different opinions on it. One is, if you can float a boat on it, it is public property. I imagine this would apply to a canoe too. The other is the high water mark. What is a high water mark? After the spring thaw, When the snow melts? After a heavy down pour? But you can not cross some ones property to get to the high water mark. You most walk along the banks or go in the crick. Not creek, as filthylure says.

 

[SteveM70]

Take this for what it's worth since 1. I live in a different state. 2. I never had this confirmed.

I used too own land on a creek that bordered land on the other side of the creek. The guy I purchased the land from said that the boundary was in the middle of the creek but if someone floated a canoe down there was nothing I could do about it.

My interpretation was the land split in the middle of the creek to give both sides water rights for livestock, mills and or whatever else. Of course you can't own the water that flows through so I suppose anyone on the water would technically not be trespassing but someone who was walking on or digging the land underneath the water would be.

Again, that's my vague recollection of something I never had independently confirmed 25 years ago in a different state but the point is, if a creek is running through private land it would be a good start to find out if the landowner actually owns the land the water flows across.

 

[DigToChina]

People fishing have More rights on Creeks through Private Properties.
Everyone else Must be in a boat . it has to do with "Navigable Waters"
which gets very Complicated when talking Creeks running through someones property .

Put an inner tube around the waist and say you are floating [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23].

 

[jeff of pa]

seriously though ,
to me is if the area you want to search boarders (flows Through) someones property.
Ask them if you can detect it.

If the property is a Park or other public property , do as you are comfortable
with that particular park or other public property.

avoid pa state game lands.
places with no trespassing signs,
and places in use by others at that particular time

 

[sweetinsanty]

And do you think the "straight answer" provided by teams of lawyers, is going to stop the guy from trying to "run off md'rs" ? And assuming for a moment you "got all technical" and proved something right to him. Then guess what ? He just pulls another rabbit out of his hat and claims you're "vandalizing", "taking", "removing" and "harming indian bones" (all of which is base-less, of course).

It's never ending. So if you're finding seateds and barbers and cool stuff, just hunt when "mister-lookie" isn't there to gripe. Full moons are great.

we do a lot of night time detecting.....people aren't standing over our shoulders asking questions. lol

 

[sweetinsanty]

the reason I asked..... my friend has property up against the water. we have fount civil war bullets, old pocket knives, buttons, one belt buckle, and one mortar shell. around the corner..... the property changes hands. people from out of state own the property along the waters edge. we never see them. but I know if we found all that we did in a short distance.....there has to be more. if I ever saw the people I would ask. but know one ever sees them. I hate to send a letter and just get blown off. no one would ever see you, its over 1000 yards from the nearest road or house. I don't want to make waves or cause any trouble for my friend.

 

[jeff of pa]

the reason I asked..... my friend has property up against the water. we have fount civil war bullets, old pocket knives, buttons, one belt buckle, and one mortar shell. around the corner..... the property changes hands. people from out of state own the property along the waters edge. we never see them. but I know if we found all that we did in a short distance.....there has to be more. if I ever saw the people I would ask. but know one ever sees them. I hate to send a letter and just get blown off. no one would ever see you, its over 1000 yards from the nearest road or house. I don't want to make waves or cause any trouble for my friend.

yea Letters have a 90% Failure rate. Even with a self addressed stamped Envelope.
Too easy to say no or just ignore.

Tuff call for sure . Not something I want to just say Go for it,
& then find out you got in Trouble. So I'll just say Good Luck
& Happy Hunting

 

[SteveM70]

the reason I asked..... my friend has property up against the water. we have fount civil war bullets, old pocket knives, buttons, one belt buckle, and one mortar shell. around the corner..... the property changes hands. people from out of state own the property along the waters edge. we never see them. but I know if we found all that we did in a short distance.....there has to be more. if I ever saw the people I would ask. but know one ever sees them. I hate to send a letter and just get blown off. no one would ever see you, its over 1000 yards from the nearest road or house. I don't want to make waves or cause any trouble for my friend.

To be clear, are you talking about metal detecting in the creek or on the land beside the creek?

 

[Tom_in_CA]

..... people from out of state own the property along the waters edge. we never see them. ....

You're not crossing fences or passing "no trespassing signs", right ? Then perhaps you're over-thinking all this technicalities things of "how many inches from the water-you-may-step type stuff. Yes, uh .... it would be pretty hard for people "out of state" to see you.

 

[sweetinsanty]

we will be in the water the entire time. cant really do the banks, they are more like cliffs (straight up)! the water is anywhere from 3" to waste deep. I know the area holds a lot of artifacts yet!

 

[sweetinsanty]

You're not crossing fences or passing "no trespassing signs", right ? Then perhaps you're over-thinking all this technicalities things of "how many inches from the water-you-may-step type stuff. Yes, uh .... it would be pretty hard for people "out of state" to see you.

nope! no posted signs.... they have always told me its easier to ask for forgiveness than it is permission! lol

 

[SteveM70]

I'm glad you have enough respect for other people's property to pursue your question but from what you have stated in this thread, I tend to agree with your last post.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

nope! no posted signs.... they have always told me its easier to ask for forgiveness than it is permission! lol

If it's as innocuous as you say (your on the creek, not passing signs and fences, etc...), then I wouldn't even go-so-far as to apply the cliche of "asking forgiveness". Because that only assumes the person saying that is "doing something wrong". That's not a given in this case. Don't overthink it. Go find some show & tell bragging rights stuff now !

 

[Wally Taylor]

I just found out that New York has a law that any Gold or Silver that I find belongs to.....New York. I wonder if that goes for coins too? In New York, I'm sure that it does mean coins too. Of course I can find it, and put it back, so that's what I'll do. Any gold coins that I find will go right...back...in...the...er...ground. It doesn't seem fair, but I must follow the law. I'll have to be careful not to have a piece of gum on my shovel, because I could accidentally take home coins, or gold nuggets that are stuck to my shovel.
I have a creek running through my property, so I guess I'm lucky to have both sides of the creek. I probably won't bother looking for gold underneath my waterfall since I can't keep any gold after all. That darn law!