Ride-Share to the Riffle: What the Future of Getting to the Water Might Look Like

Kevin Wolfe
Nov 9, 2025
5 min read

This piece is part of Sunday Cast, a weekly op-ed published in Casts That Care—our daily fly fishing newsletter. Each subscription helps support fly fishing charities, with 50% of fees donated every month. Join us HERE!

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By Kevin Wolfe | Casts That Care

The Last-Mile Problem for Anglers

You’re standing at the take-out, waders dripping, five miles downstream from your truck. Every fly fisher has been there in some form, you don't have cell service to call your ride, your friend canceled on you, or a more modern problem; "No Rides Available"

It's something of a modern paradox: we have more access to real-time data than ever—river levels, hatch charts, and stream temps—but the hardest part is still getting to and from the water. For anglers who travel or fish in gateway towns, ride-shares have quietly become a new part of the playbook. As companies like Lyft and Uber become more profitable than ever, and partnerships like Waymo’s driverless launch in Nashville move closer to reality, a new question surfaces: could technology finally solve the logistics problem of fly fishing?

How Anglers Already Use Ride-Shares

In cities with strong ride-share networks, anglers are already using these services as makeshift shuttles. Around Bozeman, Missoula, Bend, Jackson, and Denver, a growing number of traveling anglers are skipping rental cars altogether. They use Uber or Lyft to reach river access points, trailheads, or put-ins, and then schedule return pickups through Uber Reserve or Hourly options.

Drivers near popular fishing towns are getting used to seeing wet wader bags, rod tubes, and cooler packs. In some areas, drivers even know the local drop-offs by name. Airports like Jackson Hole list Uber and Lyft as official pickups, and anglers visiting from out of state often go straight from baggage claim to the river in under an hour.

Uber Ski - Available Outside The US — Uber Ski - *Available Outside The US*

The approach isn’t unique to fishing. Skiers and snowboarders use ride-share add-ons like UberSKI in Europe, while climbers and kayakers in places like Boulder or Salt Lake City rely on UberXL or LyftXL to haul gear to trailheads. Anglers use similar tricks: reserve bigger cars, message drivers ahead of time to confirm rods fit, and often add an extra stop for post-fishing food or beer. It’s not a perfect system, but in populated areas it works.

The Western Gap

Of course, that convenience drops off quickly once you’re outside the city grid. In places like rural Montana or Wyoming, it can take 20 minutes or more to find a driver, and cell coverage might fade before the ride arrives. These are the same areas that define American fly fishing, and they’re exactly where tech has the hardest time keeping up.

Most anglers in these regions still rely on local shuttles, fly shops, or good old-fashioned two-vehicle setups. You park one truck at the take-out, another at the put-in, and hope the weather holds. When that fails, someone usually ends up hitching a ride with another fisherman or pedaling a bike along the shoulder.

It’s a routine built on creativity and patience. But if driverless cars can navigate downtown Nashville, it’s worth asking how far we are from one that can handle a gravel road along the Madison.

Driverless Cars and the Road Ahead

In late 2025, Lyft announced its partnership with Waymo to launch driverless rides in Nashville in 2026. It marks a big step toward mainstream autonomy. For anglers, it also sparks imagination. What would it look like if a self-driving vehicle could drop you off at a river access point at sunrise and pick you up at dark? No second vehicle, no shuttle planning, no waiting for a friend to finish their last cast.

The potential benefits are easy to see. Predictable pricing, 24-hour availability, and no need to coordinate logistics could make spontaneous fishing trips more accessible. But challenges remain. Winter roads, dead zones, and muddy access points are not easy on sensors or software. Even if the technology is ready, the question becomes whether anglers are ready to trust it.

A recent AAA survey found that only 13 percent of Americans say they would feel comfortable in a self-driving vehicle. For many anglers, the idea of climbing into one with a rod tube and fly box might feel like crossing into science fiction.

The Opportunity for a Western Start-Up

Still, there’s a clear gap that a regional company could fill. A Western-based ride-share start-up built for outdoor recreation could make a big difference. Imagine vehicles equipped with rod tubes, roof racks, and wader-safe floors, routing software tuned to trailheads and river access points, and integrated mapping that highlights legal parking and public water.

It could also work hand-in-hand with local fly shops and guides. Book a trip in the app, reserve a ride to the water, and have your flies or rental gear ready for pickup on the way. For weekend anglers or travelers, this would eliminate one of the biggest headaches in planning a day on the water. And for shops, it would connect their customers directly to the local fishing community.

It wouldn’t have to compete with Uber or Lyft. It would simply do what they can’t—focus on the places where people fish, not the places where people commute.

Will Anglers Accept It?

Fly fishing has always carried a spirit of independence. For some, using ride-share or automation might feel like trading that freedom for convenience. There’s pride in the ritual of backing up your truck, rigging your gear, and heading out under your own steam.

But the next generation of anglers already plans entire trips through their phones. For them, scheduling a ride to a river access point is as normal as booking a campsite online. They see technology not as a shortcut, but as another way to get on the water more often.

The river doesn’t care how you get there. What matters is that you show up, respect the fish, and leave it better than you found it. If technology can widen the circle of who gets to do that, maybe that’s progress.

Closing Cast

The stranded angler at the take-out might someday watch headlights crest the hill, a car with no driver, just a system that knows the way home. It sounds futuristic, but so did hailing a stranger from your phone not long ago.

Access has always been the invisible current running through fly fishing. The next evolution might not be in rods, reels, or materials. It might be in how we reach the water itself.

For now, it’s worth imagining what a future in this could look like.