...wow.

[OSIDEfish]

So I go out this morning to pick up a licence to get in on some of this trout action. I'm moving back to sunny So. Cal. this week so I only need a day license... But to my suprise I find out that a day fishing license doesn't cover trout... Ok that seems really stupid to me but no problem- I'd rather fish bass anyway. No dice there either. Apperantly 5 fish are on the "list". The people at the store told me that they didn't even know of this "rule" and had been selling day licenses for two days before anyone let them know. So basically a day license is worthless to the fresh water fisherman for the first month or so of the season. There's a lot about Wa that I will miss, but the rediculous regulations in this state is not one of those things. Good bye WA... Back to the land of giant bass and normal rules.




Osidefish.

[FishingFool]

wait wait wait. You're going back to California and you're saying that's the "land of the normal rules."?!?!?!

Maybe to fishing but that's about it.
LOL

[jbball50]

That's pretty ridiculous, I never knew that about the 1 day thing that you're talking about.

[hewesfisher]

Direct from the regs off the WDFW website....

1-5 Day Combination Licenses: These short-term licenses work just like a combination license.
This license is NOT valid for game fish (see: page 31) for the 8-day period beginning the last
Saturday in April, unless you are active duty resident military personnel.

My guess is WDFW wants to get the biggest bang for hatchery fish program buck, because a huge majority of all fish caught (trout specifically) in the first 8 days of the season are all going to be fresh from the hatcheries.

[Shad_Eating_Grin]

as long as I can remember, there has always been the fine print in the regs that say the temporary licenses are not valid for the time period around opening day.

[racfish]

Our state aint gonna lose a dime if it can help it.I hear you Oside.I've lived here my whole life and never really understand our state politics.We saved an owl to put many out of work.Just to name one.

[Matt]

My girlfriend and I went to fish lake this weekend and I was going to buy her the temp license too and found out it was a no go! I was ticked off for 2 reasons, reason 1 fish lake is a year round fishery and is NOT affected by the april opener, and reason two it is an eastside lake so it is not even part of the opening batch for lowland PS Lakes..... needless to say I had to buy her the whole 26$ freshy permit. I was pretty perturbed by the whole thing, quite stupid.

[Marc Martyn]

I've got an email into the game department asking them to clarify this more and the reasons for such a rule. I'll post their reply.

It usually takes a few days for the reply, but they always do reply. It will be interesting to read their reasoning behind this.

[Matt]

I am not sure what their excuse will be but I am fairly certain they do it because of the shear volume of fisherman that buy licenses during the opener. I'm sure that many people who don't fish very often would opt for the cheaper temp permit just to fish the opener as a tradition. The lowland lake opening day is one of the biggest revenue producers for the WDFW anually, not really a "bad" thing since this revenue goes to habitat rehabilitation and othe important stuff.

[OSIDEfish]

I understand wanting to make all the money possible from opening weekend as far as trout are concerned... They are spending money and the time and all. But do bass and panfish need to be included? And what about the year rounders and lakes that aren't stoked with trout? How about a catch and release only period for trout if you have a short term license? I ALWAYS C&R anyway. How about spreading out the trout plants so all the fishing lasts longer? Sure you may not get a limit in 10 minutes but there will be fish in the lake until they mush up. In So Cal they stock big trout every two weeks during the winter (and up to twice a week some places). They do charge for a fishing pass (usually $5) but there's always fish and if you buy a fishing license, for one day or the year, you can actually fish! Just thinkin out loud.

[OSIDEfish]

I understand wanting to make all the money possible from opening weekend as far as trout are concerned... They are spending money and the time and all. But do bass and panfish need to be included? And what about the year rounders and lakes that aren't stoked with trout? How about a catch and release only period for trout if you have a short term license? I ALWAYS C&R anyway. How about spreading out the trout plants so all the fishing lasts longer? Sure you may not get a limit in 10 minutes but there will be fish in the lake until they mush up. In So Cal they stock big trout every two weeks during the winter (and up to twice a week some places). They do charge for a fishing pass (usually $5) but there's always fish and if you buy a fishing license, for one day or the year, you can actually fish! Just thinkin out loud.

[Shad_Eating_Grin]

I understand wanting to make all the money possible from opening weekend as far as trout are concerned... They are spending money and the time and all. But do bass and panfish need to be included? And what about the year rounders and lakes that aren't stoked with trout? How about a catch and release only period for trout if you have a short term license? I ALWAYS C&R anyway. How about spreading out the trout plants so all the fishing lasts longer? Sure you may not get a limit in 10 minutes but there will be fish in the lake until they mush up. In So Cal they stock big trout every two weeks during the winter (and up to twice a week some places). They do charge for a fishing pass (usually $5) but there's always fish and if you buy a fishing license, for one day or the year, you can actually fish! Just thinkin out loud.

No system is perfect. Here are some answers to some of your questions:

- Q. But do bass and panfish need to be included? And what about the year rounders and lakes that aren't stoked with trout?

A. It seems to me that the easy answer if you want to just target panfish at these lakes, is to just fish for them before or after the 8 day period around opening day. The bass/panfish do not get fished out by opening day and don't bite well anyways until well past opening day, and so there really is no need to get the 1 day license to target panfish during the opening day period.


- Q. How about spreading out the trout plants so all the fishing lasts longer?

A. The WDFW already spreads out the trout plants. Most year round lakes are planted 1 or more times before opening day. And so anglers have plenty of opportunity to catch trout and other fish at these year round lakes well before opening day, instead of choosing to join the masses at a few select lakes that don't open until opening day.

It used to suck about 10 years ago, when most lakes did not open till April. It just increased the madness at opening day. What a relief when they changed most lakes to year round lakes, and planted them with trout before opening day. I can fish for as much trout as I want in March and April with fewer people around, whether I use a year round license or a temp license. By the time opening day comes around, I am/would be sick of trout and can choose to stay at home.

[Marc Martyn]

Here is my email to WDFW :

Could you please clarify the regulations on a 1-5 day Combination License (page 18- 2009-2010 Sport Fishing Rules).

"These short-term licenses work just like a combination license. The license is NOT valid for game fish (see: page 31) for the 8-day period beginning the last Saturday in April, unless you are active duty resident military personnel. "


As I read it, if a person who is a resident wants only to go fishing for trout in a lake like West Medical the week after opening day, a temporary license is not valid? Do they have to buy a season license to fish for even one day the week after opening day?

If this is true, can you explain why the state enacted such a ruling. It seems odd that the state would put a restriction like this on people who only want to go fishing on opening day.
Thank you,
Marc Martyn

Their reply to my question:

Sorry we didn’t get back to you sooner. You may not fish with a temporary license for the first 8 days after the April 24 opener, so May 2 is the first day you can use a temporary license. We restrict the one-day license holder to allow those who pay full price for their licenses to fish the opener and near days.

[Matt]

...sooo.... they cut of a source of revenue for themselves in order to "help" the full price paying patrons who already have a license. Yah, that makes sense . More like they want to entice those choosing to buy a temp license to shell out the extra green for the year long permit and make a few more pennies.

[Blackmouth]

Good bye WA... Back to the land of giant bass and normal rules.




Osidefish.

Don't forget to shut the door on your way out....

Cali's nice and all, but having experience living there, Californian's sure talk their state and everything about it up.... The outdoor opportunities, particularly fishing, in Cali versus Washington is much worse. There's a reason why I'm back in Washington....

[OSIDEfish]

You've got to be kidding me. Really guy? We are talking about fishing regs. I don't care if you can't handle CA. Next time if you have nothing at all to add- don't add it.

[hewesfisher]

My guess is WDFW wants to get the biggest bang for hatchery fish program buck

Now I'll add they also want those paying full price to get the best option for enjoying the opening day (and subsequent 7 days) experience.

[Fish On!]

I'd much rather see new people out fishing the opening weekend than forcing them to buy a year long license. All this rule does is discourage people from getting out opening weekend and perhaps becoming interested in the outdoors.

If you look at how much the State is losing in revenue by all the nickle and dime rules they've enacted it boggles my mind.

[Marc Martyn]

I replied back to the WDFW with this question:

Are the vendors who are selling these 1 day licenses to people, during that time period, telling the customer that they are not valid?

Their followup reply was:

Dealers are reminded yearly through messages on their sales equipment.

[hewesfisher]

I'd much rather see new people out fishing the opening weekend than forcing them to buy a year long license. All this rule does is discourage people from getting out opening weekend and perhaps becoming interested in the outdoors.

If you look at how much the State is losing in revenue by all the nickle and dime rules they've enacted it boggles my mind.

While I don't disagree with the context of your concern, I can't help but wonder how much "lost revenue" is really experienced by the 8-day restriction? Just how many folks refuse to buy a one-day license strictly for opening day? I honestly don't believe the number to be significant.

A one-day permit costs $10.18 plus dealer fee, while a freshwater license is $24 plus dealer fee. Since we're talking about the lowland lake opener, we're also talking freshwater fishing, hence no need to use combo license fee. A one-day permit is almost half the cost of a year long license, so, IMO, not much of a bargain.

Don't forget the $24 license fee also includes a vehicle use pass for all WDFW access sites, which is required to park in any WDFW access site. By itself, the vehicle use pass costs $14 and the temporary permit does not include one (or at least does not say so in the regs). Many folks enjoy sitting along the shoreline for picnics, sightseeing, or boating and need the vehicle use pass just to utilize the access sites even if they never wet a line.