Get Permission
Free printable fishing permission slips
Print a permission slip for a private pond or creek bank, check what your state requires, and know what to say when you ask. Free, no account needed.
State by state
Does your state require a written slip?
Pick your state. It also goes on the slip below.
Get it in writing
Ohio: Use the same slip for fishing
Ohio's written permission law names hunting and trapping. The state's free permission form also has a box for fishing, so one signed slip covers a private pond or creek bank too.
Checked against the official page. November 2026.
Fill it in, then print
Printable fishing permission slip
Pick a layout, type in what you know and print. Anything left blank prints as a line to fill in by hand. Both of you sign it in ink.
Nothing typed here is saved or sent anywhere. It stays on this page until you print.
Permission to fish on private land
Ohio
The landowner named below gives the guest named below permission to enter the property for the activities and dates marked. The guest carries this slip whenever they are on the property.
Permission for
Landowner and property
Guest
Landowner's terms
The guest agrees to
- Respect the landowner's property and wishes.
- Keep only the fish the landowner allows.
- Leave gates, fences, docks and equipment the way I found them.
- Pack out all line, hooks, bait containers and trash.
- Follow all fishing laws.
- Use only this property, only on the dates listed, and bring no one who isn't named here.
I enter and use this property at my own risk. I release the landowner from liability for any injury, loss or damage connected with this permission.
Free permission slip from buckeyehunterhub.com. A general form, not legal advice. Check your state's rules.
When and how
How to ask permission to fish private water
The situations that come up most, and the approach that gets a yes.
The farm pond
Ask at the house, not from the bank. Say how many of you there are and how long you'd stay, and offer to release everything unless they want fish taken out.
A creek through private land
Whether you can wade or walk the bank differs by state. Where the bank is private, ask before you step out of the water or cut across a field to reach it.
Parking and walking in
Even when the water is public, the easy way to it often isn't. Ask for the parking spot and the path, and write both on the slip.
Neighborhood and HOA ponds
These usually belong to the association, not the house next to them. Ask the board or the property manager, and expect a residents-only rule.
Bring a kid, ask for an hour
An adult with a kid and two rods asking for one evening is the easiest yes there is. Keep to the hour you asked for.
Business-owned water
Quarries, golf courses, gravel pits and campgrounds have an office. Call during business hours and ask who can approve it in writing.
Ice and winter access
Crossing a yard or a field to reach the ice needs permission too. Ask where to walk on, and whether they want anyone on the ice at all.
Ask for less first
One evening from the bank, catch and release only, is easier to say yes to than a season with a boat.
Put it in writing every time
Even where the law doesn't require it, a signed slip settles who is allowed, where and when. Fill one in before you go so the landowner only has to read it and sign.
Word for word
What to say
Change the details to fit. Short, honest and easy to say no to works best.
Knocking on the door, in person
Hi, I'm ____ from over in ____. Sorry to bother you at home. I noticed your pond from the road, and I wondered if you'd consider letting me fish it for an evening. It would be just me and my kid. We'd park wherever you want, release everything we catch unless you'd like some taken out, and carry out anything we bring in. If the answer's no, I understand completely. Either way, thanks for hearing me out.
Once you have a yes
How to treat the property
Permission is borrowed. This is how it gets renewed.
Park where you're told
Never block a gate, a lane or a driveway, and stay off the lawn. If the ground is soft, walk in.
Leave gates as you found them
Open stays open, closed stays closed. Livestock getting out is the fastest way to lose a place.
Keep only what they allow
Ask about keeping fish before the first cast. Some owners want bass released and bluegill thinned, others want nothing leaving the pond.
Never dump bait or move fish
Leftover minnows and fish from other water can wreck a pond. Take your bait home with you.
Leave docks and boats alone
Unless the owner offers, their dock, boat, paddles and feeders are not part of the deal.
Pack out line and hooks
Cut line and loose hooks hurt livestock, pets and birds. Pick up yours and any you find.
Bring only who's on the slip
Permission is for you. Ask before bringing a buddy, and never pass the spot along to someone else.
Say when you're there
A quick text when you arrive and when you leave means they never wonder whose truck that is.
Keep it quiet
Don't post the location, the landowner's name or a photo that gives the pond away.
When the answer is no
How to take a no
Or a yes that is smaller than the one you hoped for.
- 01
Thank them and mean it
A no is usually about timing, insurance, family or a bad experience with someone else. It is rarely about you. Thank them for their time before you say anything else.
- 02
Don't argue or bargain
No second pitch, no asking why twice, no offering money on the spot. Pushing turns a polite no into a permanent one.
- 03
Leave your name and number
Hand over a card or a slip of paper in case things change. Plenty of yeses come a year later from a landowner who remembered the polite one.
- 04
Ask one easy question
"Would it be all right if I checked back next year?" or "Do you know a neighbor who might be open to it?" Then take the answer and go.
- 05
A partial yes is a yes
Bow only, not during gun week, catch and release only, weekdays only. Take it gladly and follow it to the letter.
- 06
Stay off the line
Never use the place anyway, and don't crowd the boundary out of spite. Wave when you drive by. You are still their neighbor.
Before you knock
Finding who to ask
Start with the map
Find the ground on the map first so you know exactly which piece you're asking about. In Ohio, the hunting map can draw property lines.
Open the hunting mapLook up the parcel
Most county auditor or assessor websites have a free property search. It gives the owner's name and the mailing address, which is where a letter should go.
Ask who has the say
The farmer working the field may rent it. The slip needs the owner's signature, or the signature of someone the owner has authorized.
Trusts and companies
When the owner is an LLC, a trust or a company, write to the mailing address on record and ask who can approve access.
Year after year
Keeping your permission
Say thank you after the season
A note, a text or a visit when the season ends. Tell them what you saw and that you closed up behind you.
Give something back
Share meat or fillets if they want them, and offer a hand with firewood, fence or hay. Ask what would help instead of guessing.
Be their extra set of eyes
Tell them about a broken fence, an open gate, a sick animal or tire tracks that aren't yours.
Ask again every year
Renew the slip before each season. Never assume last year's yes still stands, especially if the land changed hands.
Same people, same truck
Show up in the vehicle on the slip with the people on the slip. Ask before anything changes.
Leave it better
Pick up trash that isn't yours and fix what you can. That is what gets you invited back.
Good to know
fishing permission slip FAQ
General information, not legal advice. Laws change and differ by state. Check your state wildlife agency's current rules before relying on anything here.
Ask first. Fish with a clear conscience.
Free to print. No account needed.