RR trespass law cuts off Wisconsin fishing access

GENOA, Wis. – Charles Burch was heading to his favorite ice fishing spot, a Mississippi River backwater south of Genoa, when he ran into a railroad detective.

The 74-year-old angler said the cop asked where he was headed.

“Obviously, I’m going fishing,” Burch said, retelling the story.

The railroad cop told him if he went across the tracks he’d get a trespassing ticket.

There was no other way to reach the water, so Burch turned around and hasn’t been back to that spot since. Never mind that he’d been fishing that slough for 40 years.

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