Can You Eat Fish Caught on a Golf Course? (Answered)

Nearly everyone knows that there are ponds on moth golf courses. These ponds can be quite large, and they are often stocked with fish which are responsible for helping keep bugs and other unwanted grime out of the pond. Many people want to know if they are allowed to fish for the stocked fish inside the ponds on golf courses. While this might not seem applicable in cases where the pond is very small, some courses have huge ponds in them.

It is possible that the course that you are visiting offers fishing as well. Some large resorts do use their golf course ponds for both functions. You will need to ask before you assume that this is the case, however.

Fishing in Golf Course Ponds

The key thing to remember about fishing in a golf course pond without permission is that it can cause you to be forbidden from being on the property. Most golf courses do not stock the ponds with fish they intend to be caught by visitors. These fish are placed in the pond to keep the ponds clean, not to be eaten by visitors who also love their fishing hobby.

In addition, these stocked ponds are not treated in the way that stocked ponds for specific fishing use are treated. There could be chemicals in the water that have affected the fish and which should not be ingested by humans. Remember as well, that golf courses need to be maintained with fertilizers and other chemicals that you probably don’t want to be exposed to when you cook up the fish that you caught. 

If you love to fish in a stocked pond, you should visit areas that are set up just for fishing. It is usually much more fun to fish on a pond or in a stocked lake that is maintained just for fishing than it is to catch fish in a golf course pond anyway. 

If you do think that the golf course that you frequent would let you fish out of their ponds, you should make sure to get permission first. Never take liberties with the stocked fish in a golf course pond unless you have permission first. This is a lot like the other things to do with golf courses that involve etiquette. You need to make sure that you are not breaking the rules by just assuming that the fish are there to be caught for fun.

Fishing on Golf Courses is Not a Great Idea

If you love fishing, there are lots of reasons that the golf course is not the right place for this activity. Heading to a place that is set up just for fishing is more ideal if you really want to catch fish for fun. You cannot eat the fish that you catch on a golf course anyway because they have probably been exposed to a variety of chemicals that you do not want to ingest. This is just not an ideal place to catch fish and certainly not a good place to catch fish that you want to cook up and eat later on.

This article was last updated on August 16, 2023 .

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