First of all, I spend plenty on gear, fuel, tying materials, etc. and really, with the fishing opportunities present in PA's public water, I can see neither a need nor a justification for spending even more to fish someone's private fishpen.**For those of you who do not pay to fish private water-why? What is the drive behind your decision?
Second...there's just something that rankles me about charging to fish. When I think of fishing, one of the things I like the best about it is that, once you've got your equipment, it's shockingly cheap, compared to most other hobbies, if cheap is what you're looking for (okay, fly fishing is NOT cheap), still, if you get a kid a good starter setup for a birthday or christmas, and he has access to water, he can fish from thaw to freeze, quite literally, for pennies a day. While most pay-to-play operations cater to other, more wealthy, clientele (which is a whole new can of worms I wont get into), it just seems to be..."not in the spirit of the sport".
Thirdly, I believe that in many situations, the success of one small for-profit fishery leads to more of the same, which slowly but surely cuts down public access to good fishing, especially in areas with smaller streams and local laws that prevent all access to privately owned water.
Now, I dont mean to say that any pay-fishery is BAD, or that the people that fish there are BAD, and in fact, I think that alot of good could come of them. Its just that I, personally, am not a fan. Just one man's opinion...but you asked for it.
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