Decades ago, an angler could drop a baited hook or cast a shimmering lure in any navigable river, stream or lake in this state. Wherever a boat could be paddled or driven was generally considered and accepted as open water for fishing.

That has ceased to be the case in these recent times. It did when owners of properties bordering bodies of freshwater began declaring the river or stream in front of their land off limits to public fishing. Expect more such declarations as new landowners move on the shores of inland waters and more waterfront property is sold for residential or commercial development.

State lawmakers attempted to address the issue with the passage of Senate Bill 115 on the last day of this year’s session of the General Assembly. The enacted legislation says that anglers have a right to fish in the state’s navigable waters.

Unfortunately, that has not stopped water-bordering property owners from trying to block access to the part of a river or tributary facing their land. Just as troubling is that the areas where these challenges are occurring are multiplying.

They include the Flint River, a tributary of the Satilla River in southeast Georgia known as Seventeen Mile River, a tributary of the Chattahoochee called the Chestatee River, and the Upper Ocmulgee River just beyond Macon.

Now, a legislative study committee will delve into the matter. Among other things, the House Study Committee on Fishing Access to Freshwater Resources will weigh the rights of property owners against the rights of anglers. Chaired by House Majority Caucus Whip James Burchett, R-Waycross, and created by House Resolution 519, the panel will seek to determine whether fishing licenses purchased from the state entitle anglers to try their luck in any river, stream or cove they can anchor their boat.

It is a dilemma that must be resolved considering there are 1.29 million resident anglers that fish Georgia’s fresh waters, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. All totaled, freshwater and saltwater anglers generate $1.3 billion in retail sales, which produces an annual ripple effect of $2.1 billion.

Then there’s all the 15,644 jobs that are tied directly or indirectly to the industry. That workforce generates $622 million in wages and earnings, $109 million in state and local tax revenues, and $147 million in federal tax revenues.

Fishing is more than a recreational pastime. It is important to Georgia’s economy.