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Fishing without a license

SandEagle

SandEagle

Lifer
i'm thinking of taking up fishing as a hobby, but i don't see why i have to pay $20 for the license. are we the only country that does this? has anyone actually got ticketed for fishing without a license?
 
Canada requires licenses, too. Plus you need an "Outdoors card" in Ontario before you can buy the license.
 
Yes I have know a few people to get a ticket, if you plan on doing it as a hobby dont be a cheapass and just buy the license. The game and fish commissions do great work and this license fee helps with that, out of all the bs taxes and fees this is one I dont mind
 
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As part of a regular beach patrol, the cops / park rangers will ask anyone with a fishing pole to show their license.
 
waggy said:
odds are no you won't get caught. but i hope you try it and you do. heh
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I thought so too, but almost every fisherman I know has had a ranger find them and check their license at least once over a few years. This is true of people I know from Colorado, Indiana and Michigan.

Just get it. It's only $20.
 
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Depending on how/what your fishing, you could lose your car, boat, and any other equipment you used to violate the law. I'm no fan of laws, but fish and game laws benefit everyone, and help ensure resources will be there for everyone in the future.
 
Unless you're fishing on your own property, get a license. They pay for the state parks, fish and game officers, and stocking the lakes.
 
waggy said:
odds are no you won't get caught. but i hope you try it and you do. heh
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i didn't say i was going to do it. learn to read man. i don't want to pay $20 to find out that i hate fishing. it's a stupid license to have anyway. fishing should be free.
 
waggy said:
odds are no you won't get caught. but i hope you try it and you do. heh
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I am 43 years old, been fishing for most of my life, and have never been asked for my fishing license.


SandEagle said:
but i don't see why i have to pay $20 for the license.
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The license fees help pay for game wardens, wildlife studies, education programs,,,,, all kinds of stuff.

In south Texas the state did a study on mountain lions. The study provided some very good information about mountain lions, how far they moved, breeding seasons, hunting areas,,,,,,. Its stuff like that that your dollars help sponsor.

Depending on how old you are, it might be worth it to buy a lifetime hunting and fishing license.

The best thing to do is buy your license, and help support your states wildlife.
 
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Its something like $40ish here in California. It used to be $30ish like 4-5 years ago. And if you want to do specific types of fishing, e.g., salmon fishing, its extra.
 
I think having to purchase a license to fish is just plain wrong. However, I do buy one every year and the DNR does, for the most part, do good work to support fisheries and wildlife. The finesfor fishing without a license can be very costly so, while I despise having to, I buy a license.

Another option is that many States have free fishing weekends throughout the year. I would find out if and when the next one is and fish for free.
 
Find a private landowner if you want to find out if you like it, or go with someone and just watch for a day. Like has been said before, the fee helps pay for wildlife conservation/management and really does benefit everyone.

SAWYER said:
Yes I have know a few people to get a ticket, if you plan on doing it as a hobby dont be a cheapass and just buy the license. The game and fish commissions do great work and this license fee helps with that, out of all the bs taxes and fees this is one I dont mind
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+1

edit: In a lot of states they also offer 1-, 3-day, etc. licenses if you don't want to pay as much
 
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When you go to a river or a lake and they talk about what they stock it with... where do you think the money comes from for that and the other protections on wildlife? It comes from the money you bought your license with. Do you think your states division of wildlife is just a bunch of dudes hangin' out?
 
i started fishing more often this year and purchased a license. i've been 4 times so far to state park lakes and never once been asked about it.

i know someone who has gotten a ticket for it though.
 
Buy the license. I bought one religiously for 10 years, never got checked and then one summer decided I didn't need it and guess what? I got busted by DWR, slapped with a $150 fine and a misdemeanor for fishing without a license on my record. Not cool.
 
Those license fees fund your states department of wildlife.

They are the ones that put the fish in there for you to catch and set sustainable limits so you can keep taking fish to eat.

Get your license.
 
DestinyKnight said:
Buy the license. I bought one religiously for 10 years, never got checked and then one summer decided I didn't need it and guess what? I got busted by DWR, slapped with a $150 fine and a misdemeanor for fishing without a license on my record. Not cool.
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You got off lucky. In some places they take your boat. Serious. The reason given is the same as when the police take your car if you use it to pick up hookers. Something about "used in the commission of a crime" or something like that.


It's like having sex with hot 15 year olds. There's a 99% chance you get away with it, but you're in big trouble if you get caught.
 
Fishing licenses are one of the best targeted "taxes" the gov't ever came up with.......and a little history of how the licensing fees and excise tax on fishing equipment evolved.

The Sport Fish Restoration Program was established in 1950 by the Dingell-Johnson Act with the support of the sportfishing industry, state and federal fish and wildlife agencies and anglers and boaters. The act established a 10 percent excise tax on certain fishing equipment to fund various projects designed to enhance sportfishing in all 50 states. The Recreational Boating Safety Program was established in 1971 to fund boating safety and education programs, and amended in 1980 to draw its funding from taxes on motorboat fuels. These programs were combined in 1984 under the Wallop-Breaux Act.


Did you know...


  • More Americans fish than play basketball (24.0 million) and football (8.9 million) combined.


  • Three times as many Americans fish as play tennis (10.8 million).


  • More American women fish than play basketball (7.5 million), volleyball (6.4 million) or softball (5.9 million).


  • The National Sporting Goods Association ranks fishing number 11 out of 45 recreation activities. It is outranked by exercising, camping, swimming, bowling, bicycle riding and hiking.


  • If fishing were ranked as a corporation in the Fortune 500, it would outrank Sears, Pepsi, Apple and Intel.


  • The more than one million jobs supported by anglers are more than the number of people employed by Home Depot, Target and General Electric combined.


  • The total sales in the fishing industry roughly equal United Parcel Service’s 2010 revenue which is ranked 44 in the Fortune 500.


  • Fishing as a leisure-time activity ranks higher than playing golf, target shooting, hunting with firearms, backpacking and wilderness camping, baseball, mountain biking and skiing.


  • The number of jobs supported by anglers could employ all attendees of the last seven Super Bowls – TWICE!


  • There are five anglers for every viewer of the 2010 Indianapolis 500.


  • The economic activity generated by sportfishing is greater than the gross state product of 23 states.

The Economic Facts of Fishing


  • America’s anglers and boaters are one of the largest contributors to conservation and job creation in the country. Each year, America’s nearly 40 million anglers generate:
    • $600 million for fisheries conservation and water access improvements through special federal excise taxes.
    • $45.3 billion in retail sales.
    • $125.0 billion in overall economic output.
    • $16.4 billion in state and federal taxes.
  • Recreational fishing in America supports over one million jobs.


  • The amount of federal tax revenues generated by anglers spending in 2006 – $9 billion – is roughly equal to the entire 2006 budget for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
 
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