It would be a complete cluster if anyone attempted to fight & win that battle on that stream in that geography and I for one hope it never happens because I live on the headwaters of a another creek used for commerce at one time as were most streams in SEPA.
My section that runs through my property is barely 3 feet wide and probably less than a foot deep in most places and there once was a mill. However, I don't want some doofus self-righteous fly angler on my property telling me they have a "right" to fish on my property because someone sailed a barge down the creek 20 river miles downstream in 1620.
THAT would get ugly!!
I get the major rivers, but IMHO when it comes to creeks that will never again be used for commerce, it is complete and utter nonsense to use 400+ year old laws that NO longer serve any purpose or have any relevance to the waterway or commerce in the 21st century.
It's like allowing someone to have a flock of 50 chickens and a couple of goats in residential sub-division just because it was previously farmland...
There are plenty of other places to fish with pi$$ing off property owners and losing them as allies for other battles where they are needed...