Permit for Columbia Lakes?

[bunnielab]

Likely I am missing something obvious, but I just spent like 20 min poking around the Columbia Association's website and I cannot find where it explains how to get a boating permit. If someone could give turn me in the right direction and give me a kick in the rear it would be greatly appreciated.

[acwatkins]

I fish them all and have never heard of such permit


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[mchottie]

Good luck!

I'll let Stu 'bignose' chime in (he's the resident Columbia Lake expert)

[bignose]

RE: COLUMBIA LAKE PERMITS

You can get one in person at the Columbia Association Open Space Management site at 9450 Gerwig Lane

You are not required to be a Columbia resident. As a part of being "open space" they are accessible to the general public.
Fill out the application and they will give you a sticker for your craft.

Be very careful about the restrictions at Wilde Lake. The fishing regulations are hidden in the boating regulations. They are very unevenly enforced but the neighbors can be a real pita about fishing in out of bounds areas that ARE NOT WELL MARKED.

Don't get me started on this. I have been fighting with the Columbia Association since the late 1980s!
The lakes are private property and subject to whatever regulations CA wants.

They use a couple of pictures of me fishing from my canoe in the open space office as a part of promoting the "Columbia lifestyle," (there used to be one directly behind the receptionist's desk where you get your application), but they are not overly friendly towards fishermen.

[DanMarino]

What Bignose said. Go to the Columbia Association office on Gerwig Lane and complete the form for your kayak. If I remember correctly it asks for the make, model, color, and serial number for the kayak. It is free and they give you a sticker to put on the bow of your kayak. I hope to get mine this coming Monday. In 2017 my buddy and I were "checked" by some old geezer type guy trying to issue tickets while fishing at Lake Kittamaquondi. We are fishing the lake not bothering anyone and we were the only kayaks on the water. The geezer comes over and starts yapping about if our kayaks were registered. I pointed at the sticker on my kayak and he kept yapping. I just kept fishing and he eventually went away.

[bunnielab]

In person. In 2018.

Good thing there isnt a picture on of on online or I might be tempted to get one of the graphic designers at work to whip one up for me.

Thanks for the info, I guess some korean bbq is in my future.

[bignose]

Yes, going in person.
They don't want to make access easy, and do not want it to be convenient!
But at least it's still free!
Each sticker is hand numbered to correspond to the permit number.........

Check the archives for my postings of June 14, 2014. The only thing that has changed is that it is now possible to launch on Kittimaqundi from the lower SE corner of the Whole Foods lot, like we did for many years.

[bunnielab]

Bignose, I went back and read that thread, lots of good info in there. Am I correct in understanding that Centennial lake does not require the permit? That was the only one I really was interested in kayaking in, the rest don't seem good enough to be worth the bother, given that RG is closer to me than any of them. Is the info from that thread still applicable? The office is close to a parking access to the Little Pax I have been meaning to check out, so I will get one at some point.

[DanMarino]

Drew I know exactly where you are talking about.

[mchottie]

Bignose, I went back and read that thread, lots of good info in there. Am I correct in understanding that Centennial lake does not require the permit? That was the only one I really was interested in kayaking in, the rest don't seem good enough to be worth the bother, given that RG is closer to me than any of them. Is the info from that thread still applicable? The office is close to a parking access to the Little Pax I have been meaning to check out, so I will get one at some point.

i'm drawing a 0 matches searching 'Centennial' - Can you PM me the 2014 thread link?

[DanMarino]

Centennial Lake is a Howard County Park and not part of the Columbia Association. The last time I was there a few years ago you were supposed to pay a launch fee at a box at the boat ramp. However, it was sorta like an honor system thing. I've never seen any rangers there monitoring who pays and who doesn't.

[bunnielab]

Centennial Lake is a Howard County Park and not part of the Columbia Association.

Ah, ok, I didn't know there was a difference, I just grouped them all together in my head due to proximity. I don't mind shoving five bucks into a box to launch.

[YakMan1731]

Centennial Lake is a Howard County Park and not part of the Columbia Association. The last time I was there a few years ago you were supposed to pay a launch fee at a box at the boat ramp. However, it was sorta like an honor system thing. I've never seen any rangers there monitoring who pays and who doesn't.

Same here. I've been fishing Centennial for years from my kayak and have never been checked, although I have seen DNR there a couple times on the boat launch. The permits are in a box to the left of the launch. I've had multiple days where I've arrived and there have been no permits left, so I usually just keep my $5 if that's the case. It can be a good place to go in spring or late summer, but if you're going for bass it can be tough in the hotter months due to vegetation. Most of the lake to the left of the launch is aesthetically appealing, but I have had little luck catching bass there because it's very shallow. To the right is usually consistent, especially along the rocky shore at the end, but beware because it's snag city down there. Good luck!

[bunnielab]

Hah, yea, when I fish there from the bank the dam is usually the most productive spot. When the wind is up and blowing at the dam it's almost a sure thing to catch a few bass, at least until I blow my reel up trying to cast into the wind.

[mchottie]

Lots of good info shared here! Might have to get some Fresh Water fishing in this spring/summer!