The privatization of river portions is certainly worth the interest and resulting opinions afforded here.-Of that there is no doubt. That there may be pros and cons in those opinions and observations is also more than noteworthy.
There are ,however IMHO , several clear underlying factors involved in the resulting opinions- am not 100% sure where I stand on many of them but I sit here and try to understand them all with equality and attempting to remove personal interests in the effort to look at it from a purely common sense and reasonable manner..
First the Fishery was generally CREATED by various Govts including US, Canada and a variety of States and Agencies dedicated to restoration of what had become a relatively dead Great Lakes fishery. In that regard the Lakes in general are kind of what Tuna described in a NY river recently-a fake fishery- IMHO this is not a negative statement but simply an observation about stocked non native fishes.. YES-- many if not most of the species we so eagerly chase are introduced and not native to waters throughout the US today- not just the SR..
Accepting that reality I guess the next step would be to look at the Fishing Public's ability to enjoy the condition that has resulted- not just in the SR. Frankly it seems to be accepted well across the Country with stocked fishes and introduced species generally becoming the main attraction.
If we only were able to fish for Natives species- which many would likely prefer to do -- there would frankly be such limited fishing opportunities most of us would likely be prohibited from even trying. Too many folks and not enough places without damaging fragile ecosystems would result. Therefore- Stocked Introduced species.
As we tend to fish what has become the 'poster river' in the now famed Great Lake fishery for the aforementioned stocked intro species we are faced with larger issues and realities. Public access is of course our recent main concern as it is ever evolving.
Like Bear mentions he will not be able to just walk across the Street to go to his favorite rock anymore because of NEW access issues. Andy mentioned he still feels the pay to play is reasonable enough and enjoys the waters in the lower river.
These are issues that are near and dear to most all of us myself included- I have lamented the NO signs found on more and more private property along the congested River for some time observing more limited opportunities- Privatization was sure to follow and I fear it is far from over.
Bottom line IMHO is the States responsibility to maintain PUBLIC rights to as much River or Lake access as possible to insure Public opportunities to the Public financed fishery. The reality is that for a long time now we have become used to bening able to fish from Private properties on the River and that is changing.
Actually when ya take a look at the big picture the Boating fishermen on the Lake have been facing similar conditions for years- MOST boats are not stored or launched from Public places but from expensive Private places.
No answers - just some thoughts about realities some of us are having 'issues' with..