All "navigable" rivers, streams and creeks (AVERAGE of 30FT. wide) from the mouth to your access point, are owned by the state, therefore legal to hunt bank to bank regardless of whether there is any water in them or not. Any fences or other man made obstructions not approved of by the LEGISLATURE are illegal and should be torn down. It is not trespassing to step up out of the river when necessary to see where you are going but it is limited. You can not shoot up out of the river or stream and should let the land owners know of your intentions. Does anyone know where there is a list of "navigable" streams in Texas?

Edit: Except the ones listed in the 20012 game book.

I have done a little research on 'Navigable streams', I could not find a list. If you can find the original mexican survey (some counties have them online) every stream shown on them are 'Navigable'. Good luck I hope you are able to find a better source. If you do send me a PM please.

This maybe your best bet
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/pwd_rp_t3200_1047/index.phtml


http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/nonpwdpubs/water_issues/rivers/navigation/sweeney/

Yeah, read those and 40 more. Thanks though. If I find something more I'll let you know.

I would think long and hard on what I was doing hunting on a river bed through someones private property. You may not like the result.

The law is clear. If you want to act outside the law, that's your choice.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications...nnedy_faq.phtml

Q: Some landowners in my county have deeds to the riverbed. Can they exclude the public from their part of the river?

A: Not if the river is navigable. The policy of the government of Texas, expressed in statute since the days of the Republic, has been to retain the beds of navigable streams as public property.13 However, the state surveyors did not always adhere to this law, and some land grants purported to include the beds of navigable streams. To remedy this situation, in a 1929 law known as the Small Bill, the state relinquished to the adjoining landowners certain property rights in the beds of some navigable streams. However, this statute declared that it did not impair the rights of the general public and the state in the waters of the streams.14 So even if a landowner's deed includes the bed of a navigable stream, and taxes are being paid on the bed, the public retains its right to use it as a navigable stream.

It is a fairly common myth that a person boating along a "Small Bill" stream may not set foot on the streambed if the landowner forbids it. This is based on the notion that a person who steps into the streambed has entered onto private property within the meaning of the criminal trespass law.15 This may have some applicability when the waters of a stream leave its banks and a boater navigates out of the streambed and steps onto the adjacent private lands, or on coastal land when tide waters cover private property. But the general public has the right to walk within the boundaries of any navigable streambed, even if there are private ownership rights under the Small Bill.1

Q: Is it lawful to fence a stream?

A: That probably depends on whether the stream is public or private. Since the public has a general right to walk and boat in a public stream, a landowner has no right to erect or maintain a fence that interferes with those lawful activities.27 Additionally, it is a crime to restrict, obstruct, intefere with or limit public recreational use of a navigable stream.28 It is a more serious crime to obstruct a waterway to which the public has access so as to make passage impossible or unreasonably inconvenient or hazardous.

the only way the public will have access to it is if a bridge goes over it on a public road... even so to bad those trees happen to fall in the way of your boat...better luck next time.

Q: What agency/agencies have regulatory authority over activities that take place in and on the public streams of this state?

A: The legislature has retained much of this regulatory power for itself, and delegated out some functions in a piecemeal fashion. TCEQ regulates water pollution, the building of dams, and diversion of water.33 Local river authorities may own water rights and exercise other specific powers granted by statute. The General Land Office regulates crossing easements and mineral development in public streambeds, and has some authority to remove unauthorized or dangerous structures from state-owned land.34 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department regulates fishing and hunting, as well as the removal of sand and gravel from public streambeds.35 Placement of dredged or fill material into the waters of the United States is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Construction or other work in the 100-year floodplain may require approval by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, whose authority is usually delegated to the county or other local Floodplain Administrator. Local government entities have some authority to regulate boating on public waters.36

I could see alot of that being enforced around more urban areas or big public lakes...not so much round here...we hunt the river here and its not big at all but its so small your not gona make it 100yrds without a tree block..and no one is going to clear it