Cost of Fishing License

[LDUBS]

Some interesting info on cost of fishing licenses.

I was just looking at an article at Best On Tour about how much it cost to fish in your state. The average annual resident fishing license is $25 but the difference from state to state is pretty big. Lowest license fee is Hawaii at $6. Highest is California (no surprise here) at $53. Highest non-resident fee is Alaska at $145.

I also read one of their articles comparing earnings of anglers, bowlers, and bull riders. The top professional angler earned about twice as much as the top bowler. And the top bull rider earned about three times as much as the angler. But the bull rider did about three times as many events. And of course, we know that sometimes the fish wins but the outcome is usually different when the bull wins.

 

[maintenanceguy]

And some states offer a 3-day, 7-day, or something similar, non-resident fishing license. Perfect when you're on vacation and want to fish for a few days. But others require the full, sometimes very expensive, non-resident license if you're only going to fish a day or two.

 

[Attwanl]

Does California charge for a fishing license over 65 yrs old?

 

[LDUBS]

Does California charge for a fishing license over 65 yrs old?

No discounts for seniors. However there is a heavy discount applied to low income seniors as well as disabled veterans.

MaintenanceGuy, the non resident fee here is $142. You can get a 2, 3, or 10-day license for $17, $26, and $53 respectively.

California also has some supplemental fees for things like a second rod, steelhead, sturgeon, or certain salmon fisheries.

They also offer a lifetime license. I'm turning 70 this year. I could get a lifetime license for $579 not including any supplemental fees.

 

[topdsm0138]

17 bucks in FL for freshwater. But I just get the Military Sportsman Gold for 20 bucks instead.

 

[topdsm0138]

Does California charge for a fishing license over 65 yrs old?

No discounts for seniors. However there is a heavy discount applied to low income seniors as well as disabled veterans.

MaintenanceGuy, the non resident fee here is $142. You can get a 2, 3, or 10-day license for $17, $26, and $53 respectively.

California also has some supplemental fees for things like a second rod, steelhead, sturgeon, or certain salmon fisheries.

They also offer a lifetime license. I'm turning 70 this year. I could get a lifetime license for $579 not including any supplemental fees.

In FL once you turn 65 no license needed just a Valid FL ID or Drivers License.

 

[Frankenfish]

One of my most prized possessions is my lifetime Kansas fishing license. They are up to $500+ now, but my parents bought it for me when I graduated highschool and it was much more reasonable.

The downside is that you're making a bet you'll fish in that state most years. My buddy bought one a number of years ago, then got married and moved to Arkansas. At least he comes back to Kansas frequently enough for it to be useful.


A side note of a story because it makes me happy. Kansas year fishing licenses used to expire on December 31st every year, regardless of when during the year you bought it. My family is full of pretty avid fisher-folks so since I was a baby, our tradition was to spend every New Years Day driving to Marion Lake, buying our new fishing licenses, and then spending the day fishing at the indoor heated dock for crappie. You get to squeeze every drop out of your year's worth of fishing and you get some really great memories with the family. To mine and my parent's memory, no fish was ever caught by us out of that dock.
Kansas has since switched to a license that lasts the full year from when you buy it so we don't have all family licenses expiring on the same date, but we still try and meet up at a heated dock every late winter.

 

[Rumblejohn]

Florida residents 65+ don't need hunting or fishing license, just be sure to carry your drivers license or ID

John

 

[Crazyboat]

Fishing should be free, you can't turn a right into a privilege.

 

[MrGiggles]

$12 here in MO. Trout is another $10. They also offer a border lakes permit if you want to fish any of the lakes in the southern end of the state that cross into Arkansas, so you don't need to buy a nonresident permit.

They expire for everyone at the same time every year, the only time I've ever been checked for one is shortly after that date. I've got mine set up to auto renew, since running around on the lake searching for cell service to buy a permit quick-like when you forget isn't much fun.

Since most of our lakes are USACE impoundments, there is also typically a fee to use the launch during the "in-season". I buy an annual pass for $40, good at any COE ramp, otherwise it's $5 per day.

I am not really bothered by it, $40 a year is not much to use a nice cement ramp with a dock/restroom, and the conservation department certainly has it's purpose.

If you want to fish for free, feel free to dig your own pond and stock it, no license required for that here. If you want to fish public waters, better pay up.

 

[eeshaw]

I've got lifetime hunting and fishing privileges. One nice thing about getting older. I also have a Federal Seniors Pass for using boat launches. About all I have to buy any more is stamps for trout (which I never fish for), deer and turkey tags, and duck stamps with the federal components, i.e. stamps.

 

[LDUBS]

$12 here in MO. Trout is another $10. They also offer a border lakes permit if you want to fish any of the lakes in the southern end of the state that cross into Arkansas, so you don't need to buy a nonresident permit.

They expire for everyone at the same time every year, the only time I've ever been checked for one is shortly after that date. I've got mine set up to auto renew, since running around on the lake searching for cell service to buy a permit quick-like when you forget isn't much fun.

Since most of our lakes are USACE impoundments, there is also typically a fee to use the launch during the "in-season". I buy an annual pass for $40, good at any COE ramp, otherwise it's $5 per day.

I am not really bothered by it, $40 a year is not much to use a nice cement ramp with a dock/restroom, and the conservation department certainly has it's purpose.

If you want to fish for free, feel free to dig your own pond and stock it, no license required for that here. If you want to fish public waters, better pay up.

I think I live in an alternate universe! The annual pass at my old go-to lake was about $180 for launching/parking. That was with the Senior discount. I didn't renew this year because the lake is so far down due to the drought. This morning I paid $20 to launch at my new go-to lake. That includes a $5 senior discount. To be fair, I would normally pay $5 at my normal ramp at this lake, but it is high and dry right now.

 

[Jim]

$27.50 here in Massachusetts and an additional $10 for saltwater. The fee might be going up next year as well.

 

[eeshaw]

Our DNR (Iowa) is proposing a 65.00 fee for a lifetime trout stamp for fishing. Right now they're soliciting pros and cons from the public. I don't trout fish but it doesn't sound too bad.

 

[LDUBS]

Our DNR (Iowa) is proposing a 65.00 fee for a lifetime trout stamp for fishing. Right now they're soliciting pros and cons from the public. I don't trout fish but it doesn't sound too bad.

California dropped trout stamps somewhere along the line. I can't remember when. We do have steelhead report cards, but that is different. I'm turning 70 this year. A lifetime license for me would only be $579.25. Add another $390 for the second rod allowance and Salmon & Steelhead report cards.

 

[MrGiggles]

$12 here in MO. Trout is another $10. They also offer a border lakes permit if you want to fish any of the lakes in the southern end of the state that cross into Arkansas, so you don't need to buy a nonresident permit.

They expire for everyone at the same time every year, the only time I've ever been checked for one is shortly after that date. I've got mine set up to auto renew, since running around on the lake searching for cell service to buy a permit quick-like when you forget isn't much fun.

Since most of our lakes are USACE impoundments, there is also typically a fee to use the launch during the "in-season". I buy an annual pass for $40, good at any COE ramp, otherwise it's $5 per day.

I am not really bothered by it, $40 a year is not much to use a nice cement ramp with a dock/restroom, and the conservation department certainly has it's purpose.

If you want to fish for free, feel free to dig your own pond and stock it, no license required for that here. If you want to fish public waters, better pay up.

I think I live in an alternate universe! The annual pass at my old go-to lake was about $180 for launching/parking. That was with the Senior discount. I didn't renew this year because the lake is so far down due to the drought. This morning I paid $20 to launch at my new go-to lake. That includes a $5 senior discount. To be fair, I would normally pay $5 at my normal ramp at this lake, but it is high and dry right now.

We also get iced out a couple times every winter and it's usually too hot most of the time from late June through September to really enjoy fishing, it's not all sunshine and roses here. :mrgreen:

 

[LDUBS]

$12 here in MO. Trout is another $10. They also offer a border lakes permit if you want to fish any of the lakes in the southern end of the state that cross into Arkansas, so you don't need to buy a nonresident permit.

They expire for everyone at the same time every year, the only time I've ever been checked for one is shortly after that date. I've got mine set up to auto renew, since running around on the lake searching for cell service to buy a permit quick-like when you forget isn't much fun.

Since most of our lakes are USACE impoundments, there is also typically a fee to use the launch during the "in-season". I buy an annual pass for $40, good at any COE ramp, otherwise it's $5 per day.

I am not really bothered by it, $40 a year is not much to use a nice cement ramp with a dock/restroom, and the conservation department certainly has it's purpose.

If you want to fish for free, feel free to dig your own pond and stock it, no license required for that here. If you want to fish public waters, better pay up.

I think I live in an alternate universe! The annual pass at my old go-to lake was about $180 for launching/parking. That was with the Senior discount. I didn't renew this year because the lake is so far down due to the drought. This morning I paid $20 to launch at my new go-to lake. That includes a $5 senior discount. To be fair, I would normally pay $5 at my normal ramp at this lake, but it is high and dry right now.

We also get iced out a couple times every winter and it's usually too hot most of the time from late June through September to really enjoy fishing, it's not all sunshine and roses here. :mrgreen:

I have to admit we are very spoiled by the weather. Temps below freezing is pretty rare. We do have hot summers and some days at 100 or more, but the humidity is low compared to a lot of other places. That makes it a easier to handle. But, I think most would agree, we pay a pretty high price for that in a lot of other ways besides high fees.