Underground whipping boy Donny Beaver's back in the news, though this time he's only promising to privatize, post, and stock more waters with oversized pellethead trout before selling the experience to those with way more money than common sense.

The Alpine River Club - the Western version of Donny's Spring Ridge Club (which has repeatedly tried to keep anglers from lawfully floating the Little Juniata and illegally strung barbed wire on property it it didn't even own) - bought a high-end property on Colorado's Yampa River, and now - only a couple years later - is trying to sell it (for a sizable profit).

I'd suggest the economy hasn't exactly been kind to the luxury fly fishing membership market, and that a "liqudity event" is being sought by Donny and his investors.

The Steamboat newspaper's story consists mostly of realtor spin, but some is worth repeating:

One of the best angling spots on the Yampa River is back on the market for $28 million "” and just 22 months after it sold for $19.4 million.

That's quite a price premium given that - in the intervening years - the economy has largely cratered.

The rest of the article - accompanied by a realtor-supplied hero shot of one of the realtors holding a sizable brown trout (is this journalism, or simply free advertising on the part of the Steamboat newspaper?) - is largely realtor boilerplate, though one statement stands out (chillingly):

Smith said the current owners think they can tie up more miles of trout stream on behalf of their members by selling Tailwaters Preserve and using the proceeds to acquire less expensive properties.

Oh goodie. We've got that to look forward to.

Then again, it's probably just more spin.

The world spins constantly, and right now, it's not rotating in the direction of high-dollar fly fishing members-only clubs, and those that invested heavily in that kind of property might just be realizing it.

via The Steamboat Pilot && Today: 514-acre prime angling spot lists for $28M.