Pay to Play

[Rusty]

I have been looking around on the net, and have located several pay to fish on private property locations.

My question is would you pay a yearly fee of, lets say, 500.00 - 20,000.00 and up, a year to be able to join one of these clubs?

[Phil Lilley]

I know people who are members at clubs like these... they use and enjoy them.

If you have the money and time- sure.

I don't have time now to fish all the "free" rivers and lakes around!

[Don]

I personally wouldn't pay an annual fee to fish a specific place. On the other hand, by the time I calculate what I spend yearly on flyfishing gear, equipment, and supplies, not to mention all associated food, camping equipment, lodging, licenses for several states, and transportation costs, an annual fee of $500.00 is not comparatively outrageous.

There are too many public waters that are available. I might consider to pay for one day of C&R at Rockbridge one of these days.

Don

[Terry Beeson]

My question is would you pay a yearly fee of, lets say, 500.00 - 20,000.00 and up, a year to be able to join one of these clubs?

I almost have to laugh when I hear about these type of hunting and fishing clubs. But then again, I was fortunate enough to grow up a true "country boy" and had access to fishing waters and hunting grounds on my dad's and neighbor's property.

But then I have to realize that the vast majority of people don't own any land at least certainly not enough to hunt on and probably not fish on.

Would "I" pay to join one of these clubs? Most likely not. I would consider joining a duck blind/club, but there would have to be a lot of stipulations.

There are many things to consider when looking at these clubs. Many of them are plain "make the landowner rich" schemes and you simply pay for the privilege of hunting or fishing on their property. Nothing wrong with that if the price is in line with what you get out of it.

What sort of management "guarantee" do you have? Are their "improvements" going on such as parking, trails, or other amenities? Is their a limit on how many hours/days you can fish? Is this a "wild" stream or stocked? How many members are there?

I would think the main reason to join something like this would be to have some guarantees of good access to good fishing and to avoid the hassles associated with public fishing. No crowds, easy access, good fishing, and other positives would help justify the costs. However, you have to be aware of the "negatives" as well.

All I can say is $20,000 can buy a lot of time on Taneycomo and the rest of the White. I think I could make a nice fishing trip to Alaska on $20 grand...

[Gavin]

I dont think so. We have a lot of public land and stream access in Missouri, the hard part is getting to all the places you want to go.

You can get away from most pay to play trout farms for less than $100 fish bill unless you are a real glutton. Deer leases are usually pretty cheap....Bought the only thing that there is a real market for is decent guaranteed available waterfowl hunting. Folks are willing to pay a lot to avoid MDC's draw system.

[Phil Lilley]

Deer & bird hunting would tempt me... it's nice to have a place you know has deer on it and you're the only person hunting the place. Birds too. Pheasant farms, you pay out the nose to hunt those. Sometimes you're better off paying the annual and getting the whole package, depending on the package.

But again time is not on my side.

[SilverMallard]

Terry's right. To a good ole country boy these places seem kinda silly. But to an urban/suburban angler with a very demanding schedule and a good chunk of disposable income for hobbies, they make a lot more sense. Like he said, if they truly deliver quality: intensive management, low pressure, and upgraded facilities; they can be a good value for the dollar. Think of them like country clubs for hunters and fishermen instead of golfers. That's pretty much what they do and how they operate...the good ones, that is.

Would I do it? It's not in my budget. But if it was, I probably would shop around for a really top notch bird hunting club and a top notch fly-fishing club. Being the "only one" on the stream or one of few with some others who actually know what they are doing in a duck marsh is worth $$$ to me.

[Terry Beeson]

Terry's right.

I am? Ssshhhh, Ken... You're liable to ruin my reputation...

Being... one of few with some others who actually know what they are doing in a duck marsh...

There are people lke that?

I have to say that I've been lucky to hunt with some of Cindy's relatives in their blind on occasion (an open invitiation any time they are not "full") and it really does make a difference...

[ckjacks]

I might consider to pay for one day of C&R at Rockbridge one of these days.

Rockbridge came to mind when I began reading this topic. I have gone the last couple of years over labor day weekend with a friend, his dad, and some buddies. At first it seemed a little stupid to pay to fish when Taneycomo sits down there waiting to be fished. But, I soon learned what it was about. Its a great place to take someone that has never fished or a place to teach someone to fly fish, or to take a family with younger kids that have short attention spans. My group had some guys that have never fished and I wouldn't have thought twice about taking them to taney because they would be ready to go just as soon as I was getting warmed up.

I think that some Pay to Play places are good for the guy who only has a couple of days a year. You do have to pay for these places, but its per fish or lb and I think it would be about the same as a trout stamp and a fishing license. Now, as for 20,000k memberships to fishing clubs Thats just crazy to me, but if you have the money more power to you.

I do think that those bird hunting places where they "take the bird out and stuff it in a bush and then you come behind and shoot it" are stupid. A friend has one close to his house. We went out one day and there was a chuckar on his hood. I went up and caught it. Yeah, it was pretty tame. I have hunted both wild and those private places. Wild birds are so much better. I don't think there is any sport to some of those places.

[Terry Beeson]

I use to live next to a "hunting club" back home. One day I was walking by my front window and had to do a TRIPLE take... Sure enough, there was a nice cock pheasant walking up my driveway - a strange sight in Arkansas at the time... (lucky for him, my black lab was in the back yard chasing moles and armadillos... Well, maybe more lucky for ME that's where Bo was...)

Anyway, we had a nice meal of pheasant that Saturday night...