On June 5, the Colorado Supreme Court tossed out a case that could have broadened the public's access to the Centennial State's streams and rivers. With its unanimous decision in a case known as Hill v. Warsewa, the court ruled against an angler who sued after he was threatened, harassed, and ultimately denied access to a favorite fishing hole on a popular river. The ruling will maintain the stream access status quo in Colorado—where anglers have no legally-protected right to wade fish on any stretch of water that runs through private property.

The case stemmed from an incident that occurred more than a decade ago when an 81-year-old angler named Roger Hill was fishing on the Arkansas River near the town of Salida. He says that's when landowner Linda Joseph began hurling rocks down at him from the top of a bluff on her property. Joseph, who owns a parcel of land adjacent to the river, believed that she also owned the riverbed, and that Hill was trespassing by standing on it to fish.

Hill narrowly evaded the tumbling rocks without injury, exiting along the same stretch of public property he'd used to access the spot. One year later, his friend was fishing the same hole when Joseph's husband, Mark Warsewa, fired a pistol in his direction. Warsewa's bullets missed the fisherman, but he served 30 days in jail for the stunt.

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Typical for Co., also common in Texas. Gotta respect those high $ landowners that pay taxes.

the law is the law. Been that way +- 100 years. Dont like the law change the law.

Smart place to buy river frontage if you want exclusivity of the bottom of the river bed.



Texas is extremely far from CO river laws… You can wade down navigable rivers in TX. You cant even drop an anchor in CO

Yep.

There is a spot on the Arkansas river that is really good for rapids but at certain times later in the season you may become beached and have to get out and carry the raft. The opposite side of the river is apparently a good fishing spot with a couple eddy’s to slow the current.

The LO on the side with the rapids will stand on that shallow area and fish the eddy. The summer we were rafting it the guide parked us in the eddy for a bit, where about 6 other rafts were taking a break because earlier in the year the LO had shot an arrow at a stuck raft, piercing the raft and the guides ankle. So now it’s common practice to eddy out right where he wants to fish.

I understand not agreeing with the law, but this isn't a grey area. Unlike corner crossing, this has clearly been illegal in Colorado for decades.