Gill Net

The Washington (state) Supreme Court was faced with this issue, and ruled that these "Gill Net Drift Rights", as claimed, are illegal and not enforcible. Such rights were "debatable" until 1990, but since 1990, the law has been settled.

http://www.mrsc.org/mc/courts/supreme/114wn2d/114wn2d0271.htm

The above-citation provides the Washington Supreme Court case opinion.

Its an interesting case. A group of professional fishermen formed an organization (LONG ago), through which areas of the Columbia river were cleaned, with debris removed, etc., to allow gill net fishing, which but-for their efforts would not be possible. They collected dues, and the members were given exclusive rights to various areas of the river. (sound familiar?)

These rights became rather important and valuable, and were sold, passed down through probate, and assigned in divorce procedings. You could not simply join the group to get access, you had to purchase the rights of another member, and even then, group approval was required.

A lawsuit was filed by a non-group member, who (like you) thought it was ridiculous that someone could "own" the public waterway. Meanwhile, the professional fishermen argued that they had an established right which, even if not statutory, had been established through custom and usage.

Strangely, the fishermen won in the trial court (HOME town justice?). The Washington Court of Appeals reversed, and the Supreme Court agreed, holding that a group cannot own the waterway, and cannot prevent others from using sections of Columbia River.

(NOTE -- this does not mean that anyone who owns land next to the river cannot prevent access. A private landowner may prevent trespassers from using his property to access a public waterway. However, once on the river, the river's fishing and other rights may only be limited by the state, not by private residents).