The Future in PA is Grim!

jifigz

jifigz

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HopBack just sent this to me, and maybe I am out of line on this one, but I am fuming. As far as I am concerned, this is going to lead to nothing good with regards to access and flyfishing in PA. The premise is this: List your stream section so it is available to flyfshermen to rent for a day's fishing. A day on Elk, for example, costs $150. Everyone wants a dollar these days, and soon the days of a simple knock on the door and a polite request for access will be gone. This simple strategy has gained me access to numerous stream sections in my life, but when landowners realize they can earn money for access, who is going to allow a schmuck on their land to fish for free.

Honestly, I despise the world that we are starting to see. I love PA, but I am starting to get very disgruntled by the privatization of our natural resources. Old timers often lament how you used to be able to hunt wherever you wanted, and people were very friendly. Gone are those days, and I fear that future generations won't have near the fishing opportunities we currently have because our best waters, many of which are on private land, will be pay to fish only, and that may only further help to drive up pressure on certain sections of our famous PA streams. Yep, it's great to live in Central PA's trout paradise, except that is exactly where this business model has taken hold, and it is where all of the current listings are. Hooksetr, I don't approve. Please go away. There is no telling how many miles of streams this business model could gobble up in the next 20 or 30 years. This is another reason why I wish we had those access laws like Wisconsin. Man, what a freaking bummer.

www.hooksetr.com

Hooksetr | Turning PA Trout Water Into Landowner Income

Hooksetr helps Pennsylvania landowners earn from their private trout water through verified anglers, clear rules, no public maps, and structured access.
www.hooksetr.com www.hooksetr.com
 
bdhoover77 said:
Just wait until private equity gets in on this game. I completely agree about hating the privatization of natural resources. Not everything needs to be monetized and turned into an income stream.
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At least we have lots of public land, but..... Yeah, no good.
 
Not good.

I know its a different part of the country, but so far here in the upper midwest where I live (IA, WI, MN, MI, SD, NE), most states have active stream easement programs with local landowners that seem to be holding strong, for now.

Easier said than done, but maybe its time to organize a grass roots organization to push for more public stream easements in PA? Its easy to say, "no way, it won't work here". I get it. But better to try and fail, vs watching it all get leased up for 'pay to play'.

Joe
 
All of the areas I fished extensively in my youth are off limits now. Maybe with this new tool they’ll open up again…for a price! (but not from me).
 
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CinnamonJoe said:
Not good.

I know its a different part of the country, but so far here in the upper midwest where I live (IA, WI, MN, MI, SD, NE), most states have active stream easement programs with local landowners that seem to be holding strong, for now.

Easier said than done, but maybe its time to organize a grass roots organization to push for more public stream easements in PA? Its easy to say, "no way, it won't work here". I get it. But better to try and fail, vs watching it all get leased up for 'pay to play'.

Joe
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NY DEC has a phenomenal system too. Lots of easements to both sides of water, parking spots and trials marked down to the water and maps of everything too
 
I see several stream sections listed on there that are advertised as free to fish. Sections that I probably wouldn't have ever tried to get permission to fish. It's not all negative, the concept is pretty cool in theory. But yeah, it's going to lead to more posting and ultimately more trespassing. Lose-lose all around.
 
Most of Spruce is already pay to fish or private and off limits so that’s not a big deal to me. If this guy is able to show he can generate a decent profit he can probably pull in landowners that currently allow access. If I owned stream frontage would I go through all this for an occasional $150 paycheck? Probably not. It’s definitely concerning but as of now I just don’t see significant expansion of this business model.
 
McSneek said:
Most of Spruce is already pay to fish or private and off limits so that’s not a big deal to me. If this guy is able to show he can generate a decent profit he can probably pull in landowners that currently allow access. If I owned stream frontage would I go through all this for an occasional $150 paycheck? Probably not. It’s definitely concerning but as of now I just don’t see significant expansion of this business model.
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I agree with this assessment. This smells to me like more of someone trying to grift off of what is already being done. Like an VRBO for Donny Beaver types so they don't have to do any legwork.

Edit: To be clear, I hope their business fails miserably, but I'm not gonna add this one to the list of things that make me angry.
 
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This isn't such a terrible idea. I realize everyone is up in arms with the idea of charging to fish, but this is a good way to open water to the public and having it controlled on the landowners terms.

I know one particular land owner that was very generous with allowing anglers on his farm if they asked permission. He didn't like that they didn't follow rules that he wanted such as not tramping down the streamside vegetation and wildflowers, leaving trash, leaving cow fences open or improperly secured, catch and release rules, etc. Every owner has to deal with this when allowing access to strangers. This will allow them to specify rules before allowing access and know who their guests are by their online profile. If they do not follow the rules he has the right to decline access.

I am a member of Harvest Hosts which has private owners, small business owners and farms that allow an RV to park on their property for a day or more. Rules are set and they agree to allow access on their terms. I love the concept. It opens up more more RV spots for me since I prefer to boondock and I cannot stand RV parks.

I would be willing to pay a small fee to help a farmer or maybe a small business who owns the land in exchange for a day of fishing their land.

Think about it more before you holler at the clouds.
 
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I do not like the name however. Leaving out a letter or a vowel to seem cool and hip is overdone. Should be changed.

There are posts with zero fee or a minimal fee. I do not like the charges of $100 or $150. That just seems greedy.
 
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I don't like this development, not even a little bit. Nor do I see any upside to it for the most part. None the less, it has been coming for some time and there isn't a whole lot that can be done about it. This is potentially a major step towards the sort of commodification that could have significant negative consequences for the future of sport fishing here in PA. Protecting the sport requires maintaining a stakeholder base that is large enough to compete and advocate in public policy decisions that can affect fishing one way or the other. With every means-based requirement that is applied to fishing, we reduce the size of the stakeholder base and the number of people who will join us to advocate for fishing. Public policy decisions that reflect this smaller stakeholder base are likely to follow.

That is, IMO, the bottom line here and it is not good news..
 
People have commented here that door knock or free access has been dropping as older folks sell or pass down land. It's a trend. Access denied is access denied and if they close it and charge or close it and not charge is a small difference.
This "service" is distasteful though. Could it, on the margins, on select waters, entice owners to do this, yeah.
 
85.00/haf. day to fish Cedar run? What fool would pay for that? LMAO. If I wanted to catch 8 in brown trout, I could go downstream a mile and fish upper Spring Creek for free.

some these waters.... IDK, I think its going to fizzle
 
I understand and appreciate your input that counters mine, and I say that to all posters who have made points that counter mine, and I still disagree. I think this sets a bad precedent. It is irrelevant how many bookings a landowner might get or how much money made. What matters is that there is now an avenue where a landowner can make a profit and remove all liability from allowing someone on their land. Yes, the website states that it is helping to open up otherwise unavailable waters, and that may be true for now, but how long until the "leases" start to gobble up tons of private water that is currently open? When will landowners begin to close their sections only to then list them here. The owner responded to me, and he said he would never partner with a landowner who does that. I'll believe that when I see it.

Maybe I am crazy, but I don't see anything good coming from this.
 
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