CTFishTalk.com: Bantam Lake Access - Be Careful - Connecticut Lake Reports ( CT Lake Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

slimecoat · Joined: 09 Nov 2007 Posts: 1576 Location: Newington, CT.

Hey CTFishtalkers,

I just got off the phone with Bill Forman at the DEP. He answered a few questions about access to a few lakes. I asked him about Bantam and this was his response.

The state has not agreed with the town on a cost to use fee so to speak, so the launch is still under control by the town, for use by town residents only. The sign has been taken down by the town, only because a new more official one is being made, I'm sure with parking ticket costs right on the new sign.

This way the town can inforce ticketing of those who do not live in town. So be careful, there is no telling when they will begin ticketing vehicles from out of town.
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Fishface · Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 308 Location: New Britain

Good Heads up Slime.

Tim

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

I thought that the sign had been "unofficially" removed, because it looked like it had been ripped down. I should have taken a photo of it. I guess non-residents will be able to use the launch until the new sign goes up.
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slimecoat · Joined: 09 Nov 2007 Posts: 1576 Location: Newington, CT.

Do what you want, you may get ticketed though!

It is officially just for Town Residents Only!

I live on the other side of the state, so for me it's a haul to fish out there, thus I don't really care that much. I would love to fish a tournament out there again, but that just isn't going to happen anytime soon.
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SkeeterJim · Joined: 08 May 2007 Posts: 2219 Location: Newington, CT

Thanks for the heads up Gary. Looks like I'll have to take my Hobie and launch from the river and make my way to the lake. Love fishing there but not enough for a nice hefty ticket fine.

Jim,
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Eat, Sleep, Fish......I Love my SKEETER ZX225!!!
If I didn't have to work for a living....I'd be fishing.
If I'm not in my Skeeter then I'm in my Hobie!

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

As of noon today, there was still no sign:

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AustinB · Joined: 10 Jan 2009 Posts: 120 Location: Simsbury

Thats stupid. Where are people suposed to park, or are they trying to make it a private lake?
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SeaDog1 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 2629

Hi!

Yes, Austin.
The towns of Morris and Litchfield, that have complete juristiction over Bantam Lake, and locals want to make Bantam exclusive for themselves and exclude all public access.

The state failed to renegotiate for public access to the boat ramp there which is town owned.
The towns had asked the state DEP for assistance with the aquatic weed problems.
The state did nothing and the towns put up their own money to solve the problems.
Since the state did not render any assistance and did not negotiate at all for the use of the boat ramp, the towns decided to make the ramp exclusive to residents of Morris and Litchfield.
The town of Bantam may also have ramp rights, but I'm not sure!

(I do know you can gain access to Bantam thru some of the marinas BUT YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY A FEE!)

Much like Lake Pocotapoug in East Hampton is a town only lake and Lake Teragmugus in Malboro is a town only lake.
Both of these are for town residents only and exclude the use by the public.

There are many many more throughout the state that are town waters or private.

SeaDog1

AustinB · Joined: 10 Jan 2009 Posts: 120 Location: Simsbury

Well i guess since those twons put out the money then its good that they are standing up. but it sucks for the rest of us.
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PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

I read somewhere that Bantam Lake is "owned" by the State of Connecticut. The problem is that all of the land surrounding it is not. You could still to launch a canoe or kayak from Sandy Beach, which is on the south end of the North Bay:

http://www.sandybeachatbantamlake.info/
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thevinman · Joined: 06 Sep 2010 Posts: 9

Not sure you guys are aware, but on August 11, 2009, Attorney General Blumenthal wrote to First Selectman Karen D. Paradis advising her that restricting the boat launch to only residents would be very difficult to defend against a constitutional challenge. He used Leydon v. Greenwich as an example. Upon receipt of the Attorney General's correspondence the Town of Morris removed the "residents only" signage that was posted at the boat launch.

I have it on credible authority that Bill Forman in fact has a copy of the Attorney General's letter to the Town of Morris.

I'm not sure how much of the first post was paraphrasing Bill Foreman's comments, or extrapolation...especially regarding the parking tickets and any assumption that the "new sign" will state any such threat to non-residents.

The town can put certainly put up a new "more official" sign, but they'd be in direct violation of the Attorney General's direction to not impede non-residents from using that launch in any way; tickets or intimidating signs included.

Slimecoat,
Could you be so kind as to elaborate or make clear exactly what the DEP stated in your conversation regarding the new sign and tickets, and whether that was your interpretation, or was the "ticketing non-residents" part stated directly by the DEP?

Thanks and good luck to us all. Let's hope we don't lose Bantam to a bunch of elitists who want to keep everyone off their "personal" lake.

SkeeterJim · Joined: 08 May 2007 Posts: 2219 Location: Newington, CT

Wow!!

This is very interesting, thanks for posting Vinman. I'd like to see what becomes of this.

Jim
_________________
Eat, Sleep, Fish......I Love my SKEETER ZX225!!!
If I didn't have to work for a living....I'd be fishing.
If I'm not in my Skeeter then I'm in my Hobie!

slimecoat · Joined: 09 Nov 2007 Posts: 1576 Location: Newington, CT.

Vinman,

The comment about parking ticket fees was my interpretation, but Bill forman did say that they were making a new more official sign in the hopes of making ticketing more enforceable. Maybe the enforcement of ticketing was his interpretation.
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Life's Short - Fish Hard - Take a Kid Fishing

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

There are already some "No Parking" signs along the paved launch area that restrict where anyone (i.e., residents and non-residents alike) can park. I don't see any problems with that. However, if the towns were to try to restrict parking in the immediate vicinity of the launch area to only residents, that would be a problem. Could you imagine the towns on the one hand saying that non-residents could launch their boats at the ramp, but on the other hand not permitting non-residents to park anywhere close to it?
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thevinman · Joined: 06 Sep 2010 Posts: 9