The problem in cases like these (in addition to the "attractive nuisance" that Uncle Jesse points out) is the reputation of fishermen.

I like to fish a lot of out-of-the-way places, including city park streams, and remote National Forest wild trout streams. It is usually very obvious which ones have had other fishermen before me; there will be bait containers, beer cans, bobbers hanging from tree limbs, and tangled fishing line lying around. It's almost like you aren't a real fisherman unless you leave some type of trash lying behind. I wouldn't want the public to be allowed to fish on my body of water either, based on the evidence I've seen.

I would say to please clean up after yourself, but I'm fairly certain that the readers of this forum already do that, and the people who are leaving trash won't stop doing it anyway.

By the way, great story prairieschooner!