Got no problem with landowner rights.  I used to own a stretch of a stocked trout stream in southwest PA.  If I owned land on an Erie trib, I'd probably be frustrated too with some of the slob behavior that goes on there.  Most of us on here are very well aware that it's a small minority of slobs that have ruined many access opportunities for the rest of us.
 
Just wanna post it to keep the riff raff out?  Cool.  Wanna lease it?  Cool.  I'm not attacking the rights of property owners and capitalists that see the money making opportunity.  What I am saying - and what you seem to have failed to grasp - is that those who want to make money off of a publicly financed resource better be prepared to reap the consequences - both good and bad - when the majority of the public doesn't care for their business practices. 
 
The speculation on the interwebs (from here and a few other sources) the last few days is $80 a rod.  $80 is far cheaper than most licensed, insured, legit guides in Erie charge per day.  So if the $80 is above what the intended charge will be for Trout Run B&T guide service, it makes me wonder, is it really a guide operation, or a bait shop selling day passes on behalf of a landowner where both will profit? 
 
If it's advertised as a guide service for $80 a day, I'm sure the state will be interested in learning more about the credentials of the guides.  If it's a bait shop selling day passes for $20 or even $40, they'll probably do quite well on a good stretch of water with limited pressure for a few months out of the year.  But will they make up in day passes what they lose in bait shop business?

I have fished the waters below the Conrail tubes for over 50 years and when my brother told me he was asked to leave on Tuesday I could not believe it. It kicked me in the stomach and then I got angry and emotional. The problem is when you are in this state you probably should not make any judgments or decisions but as is usual and stupid on my part I lashed out at the tackle shop in question immediately without thinking and knowing the facts. I also lashed out at the PFBC believing they had not done their job.
 
So today I eat crow and in a more clear state of mind, I went to work looking for the truth. It seems the shop in question is actually innocent of what I thought and also read from various sources. I will not go into details but I have vetted this vigorously. They were approached and asked if they wanted to guide on the water. No Strings and no compensation to anyone. Knowing it was now closed it was reasonable to consider the offer. In retrospect they probably would not even have considered it knowing how we would all react. But if we were offered the same deal knowing what they new we would all probably have jumped on it.
 
The reason the land was posted is based on a couple of instances experienced by the landowner. First, he had a couple of unpleasant encounters with steelhead fishermen on his own property. This set the stage for combustion to eventually occur. What started the fire and ultimate posting of the property was the landowner was apparently recently cited for a trespassing violation by parking his car, along with a couple of friends, on the adjacent property which is posted. According to my reliable first hand source the owner had a hand shake agreement with the nursery owner to access his land through their property.  From what I gather the land in question is landlocked or quasi inaccessible.  All landowners have a right to access their property whether landlocked or not.  The party responsible for the citation was the Pennsylvania Game Commission, not Fish and Boat, and it apparently went to court. The fines ended up standing and were around $180 for each person. This broke the back of the property owner and triggered the posting, so the story goes.  If this is correct it is actually shameful. Not that anyone is above the law but it seems common sense and law enforcement discretion was not applied. This is what I was told anyway. None-the-less I can’t blame the landowner.
 
To that point, we need to respect all private property and if the landowner posts their property respect it. We would all expect the same.
 
As for the trashing of the shop I personally picked up the phone and swallowed my pride and offered a huge apology. My email was not nice or accurate and I am sure I caused a sleepless night.
 
As fishermen we all need to be aware of the truth and I think we need to quit bashing this business. They have families and bills to pay just like we do. We are stronger as a group if we conduct ourselves as sportsmen and stick together. Maybe the landowner can be approached again by the PFBC and an adequate deal put together that satisfies everyone. If not I still personally will respect the landowner. 

It seems the shop in question is actually innocent of what I thought and also read from various sources. I will not go into details but I have vetted this vigorously. They were approached and asked if they wanted to guide on the water. No Strings and no compensation to anyone. Knowing it was now closed it was reasonable to consider the offer. In retrospect they probably would not even have considered it knowing how we would all react. But if we were offered the same deal knowing what they new we would all probably have jumped on it.

 
I don't know what you thought, but what is sticking in the craw of most here is the shop's turning a profit on fish that the public paid for that are not inaccessible to that same public.  And maybe you have shakier ethics than most, but of the guys I've met from this site, they'd have all told them to take a hike, or at very least, not turned it into a pay-to-play.  There's a big difference between respecting landowner rights and taking advantage of a situation at another's expense.  Again, nobody here is faulting the landowner for closing the property.
 

As fishermen we all need to be aware of the truth and I think we need to quit bashing this business.

 
Bluntly, nobody really cares what you think.
 

They have families and bills to pay just like we do.

 
Absolutely, but we don't take advantage of a situation that hurts them to make a buck.  Likewise, we don't have an infinite amount of disposable income to patronize shops in their area, and it's our decision not to support a shop that is okay with this sort of thing.
 

We are stronger as a group if we conduct ourselves as sportsmen and stick together.

 
It looks to me like most of the fishermen here are sticking together.  You need to tell this to the shop.

H3Fisher-
When you want to move to another beat on the water because you're not catching fish, how is that going to be accomplished? You better hope your $20 got you a good spot w/ a good drift and willing fish. Don't think you're
moving anywhere near that guy on the next hole that's slammin' 'em. It ain't happenin', 'cause his $20 got him that honey hole.
If all this is true concerning Trout Run B&T, they better have a Plan B, C and D in place because jobs are hard to find these days.
You reap what you sow and that's some bad juju they be sowin'.
 

I'm not going to argue or challenge your ethics or anyone else's.  I think the shop now understands how we all feel so if you want to boycott them that is your prerogative. But I would hope you would at least get your facts straight and understand how it came down. You owe it to yourself and others to know what you are talking about. Maybe do the research.  Its just a thought. How about give them a call or find out who leased it and the circumstances. Talk to the landowner! I did.
 
BTW, there are ton's of guides and other business's benefiting from private water. Are we to pick on them as well?
 
Also, how do the shops who smoke fish get there initial stock? 100 fish in exchanged for 100 fish out. I wonder! Think about it statistically.   So some of these shops may have some baggage as well, maybe even bigger and more detrimental to the fishery than the loss of a 1000 yards of stream, not that the loss would not be significant. They make exorbitant amounts of money on the harvest of our fish and they have to come in and go out the door one for one. How does one ramp it up? Where do they come from and from who. Does such conduct promote the over harvest of fish by some? And then isn't this the same thing you are trying to argue in your thread? Just some thinking! 

Thanks to D-Nymph, Esox Hunter and Rsquared that responded, much appreciated! I wrote inaccurately ["under the impression"]. It should be I was informed as a number of people [all fishermen] have said it to me in the past. No offense taken to anyone's post. My clarification was not written for any reason other than to signify the amount of people that were informed wrongly as the statement was likely repeated to many other fishermen. There were numerous good comments on this thread posted by many, too numerous to list each. Some intentionally funny ones, some things posted in a question form to promote further thought and different POV's that were well written.

 

We do fish on water that is private, 
 We are also there at the invitation of the land owner, not as a part of a lease agreement.

 
 
 
fo-reel??
you mean the landowner came into your shop and ASKED you to put anglers on his stretch of posted land??
if so.... i reckon Trout Run B&T could say the say same ..since they were "invited" by the lessee
 
I'm also curious if part of your marketing mentions guiding on "no crowds" private sections??
 
forgive me if I'm [b****/b]uming more than i should, but your stance  seems a mite tad disingenuous to me
 
 
..L.T.A.

I actually may not Steelhead fish anymore. Its fishing, not politics, or for profit really. I grew up in Venango County and I could fish almost every stretch of water anywhere in the County. I'm thinking pellet heads and Small Mouth are the way to go. Less BS.
 
Steel are fun to catch, I love it, but hate the BS more than I like the fun of it.
 
Count me out. One less for anyone to complain about.

Welcome to the site Ladyoflakeerie ,Maddsmomma, White Death and Birdhunter! Hope you find it to be enjoyable and informative.

I would pay to fish this stretch of water.  I pay to fish the Douglaston Salmon Run every year and it's now $50 a day.  It's worth every penny to avoid the hordes in the public areas....I will come to Erie to fish private water.