I would pay a small fee to fish a private stretch of water, if that water was more compelling for me to fish, than say stretches of water I know in my own home county or in NC or NW PA. The key is small fee, meaning less than a few dollars per hour.
For those that state they absolutely would not pay, do you pay for meals when you go out to eat? Do you pay to go to museums or sporting events? Why do you agree to pay for those items and not to fish? In other words, whats the difference between the privatization of fishing, versus the privatization of the restaurant or entertainment business? Is it the notion that somehow "wild" trout should be free?
Awhile ago, I was an idealistic open-source software advocate. I've since moderated my views and use a combination of open-source and proprietary software to provide solutions in the business I work in. I would have, at one time, advocated free software (free as in speech AND beer), but have moderated to be willing to pay for software that actually works and is supported, since no matter how good the ideal of open-source is, some of the products out there are just crap (as are some of the proprietary ones).
So is the notion of free fishing an idea we strive to uphold, or is it the non-free fishing that causes the recoil reaction (in other words is it the cost or the eliteness of a pay fishing operation we dislike)? Is it because we begrudge someone making a buck (or someone who has a buck being able to spend it where we can't)?
By the way, I have never paid to fish anywhere (other than state license fees). If a landowner I know who owns a stream that is essentially a sleeper trophy trout stream wanted a few bucks to fish, I'd be glad to pay them. If it was a club stream, I would not pay to fish on it, as there are viable alternatives, and most likely, I could not afford the fees anyway. The two streams I know that are on 100% private property in the NW part of the state harbor trophy brown populations. The reason I would pay to fish them is because I know they hold trophy browns and while I am 110% certain there are other streams like them that I could discover, if I had limited time (which I do), I'd want to fish a known quantity and that would be worth a little money to me (but, only a few bucks an hour). My favorite drainage in NC PA is on 100% open public land (although the energy giants are gathering like thieves on the fringes of the watershed). My favorite stream to fish in Lancaster is on 100% open public land.