I just want to clarify something after reading your post Tristan. I did not see anyone that I would have characterized as rude, and there were lots of gear guys fishing along with fly guys. People were being as respectful of one another as possible under the circumstances. I mean after all most people are polite enough when they're all jammed together at the airport or in bumper-to-bumper traffic too, but most of us wouldn't seek out those experiences on purpose.

Check out this picture of the Russian River in Alaska.

http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/regio.../kenai.russian

Until this past weekend, that was the biggest zoo I had ever personally witnessed. Granted, the Trinity was not quite that dense, because we're talking about people who were nymphing with fly rods, but it was the fly fishing equivalent. And, the thing about the Russian, or other really popular spots on rivers in the lower 48, is that the pressure is generally localized to one or a handful of holes. The crowding on the Trinity seemed to be everywhere.

Anyway, don't mean to beat a dead horse. I was just totally shocked is all, and thought I would throw out what I had seen for others to do with what they will. If someone is into big crowds and social fishing, then maybe they will really enjoy fishing the river. For me, it was just the opposite of what I look for in a fishing experience.

To answer your question Darian, I don't know what to do, and wouldn't know where to begin. For me personally the answer is simple: don't fish there, and be VERY quite about the places I fish that are not like that yet. I don't even really go to the Rogue anymore for the same reason; although, now I see how much worse it is going to get there in the not too distant future. But, just as a sample of something I think could be done potentially, how about limiting commercial use, i.e., guiding, to certain days of the week and even then capping the number of permits that are available? What have they done elsewhere to maintain the quality of a fishery that was on the edge of overuse?