Saltwater Fishing License!
 

I hear and read more and more about towns which happen to be on the water turning beaches, parking areas and such into "Resident Only" areas......so if they do institute a saltwater fishing license.....where the hell is a surf guy who does not reside in a shoreline town supposed to go???

I will never pay to fish the salt.....is there anything left in this world to do that is free??:realmad:

i just returned from Florida where i paid paid 32 dollars for a years fishing license.so i have no problem paying for a license to fish.anyone who has fished florida will tell you that there fishing has improved over the years due to fishing regulations which are strictly enforced.the FMP was out checking just about everyday that i fished.if a license in the northeast meant an enforcement of the regulations i am all for it.nothing in life is for free.

well surf casting should remain that way! i can somewhat understand tryin to regulate beach buggies and such because they think that driving on a beach will ruin it? but payin money to be able to enjoy a beach wherever is rediculous. granted i would pay but would be mad if if i had to.:lossinit:

Rhode Island has state constitutional guarantees to access the water while fishing so we are lucky in that respect... Expect to see (or at least fight) a federal mandate for saltwater licensing with the premise being if your state does not require one than the feds will...

The thought of a license really rattles my cage. :poke:

ok , let's see ..
fla , nc , va have one now .
de is getting ready to pass one .
nj you have to have a 'tag' to even walk on their beaches in the summer ; will a fishing license be far behind ??
i may be mistaken , but isn't a license gonna be required to get federal money from the magneson ferguson act ??
that's the reason for de putting one into effect ...
i guess the best that can be hoped for is an 'east coast' saltwater license so we don't get nickeled and dimed to death ......
derf

That's true what vt said about the enforcement in FL. They are all over the place. I've been checked every time I have fished down there, so at least they are spending the money in the interest of the sportsman. That being said, it would be nice to find a way to fund that level of presence without selling licenses.

When they start vigorously enforceing the present laws (which they won't) then maybe. We're already paying all outdoors for no help from the authorities. On the Cape I see people freshy fishing EVERYDAY without a displayed license. I also see EPO trucks driving around to do not a friggin thing. I feel that we surfcasters (and boatmen) are generally more conservation minded that those we hire to enforce the laws. pant,pant,pant...I'm done...

Well if they ever want to see a penny from me they better do a couple of things first!!
1. Access has to be given for free!! and more of it!
2. All dragger's better be banded from the 3 mile limit to protect the inshore fishery!
3. Size limits, (I will use Fluke cause thats what I like to do most) Commercial allowed 14" 200 to 300 pounds a day while recreation has to go 17.5 bag limit of 5 fish?
Recreation guys have had to pay the price for the commercial fleet long enough!!

whats the big deal ?

the one thing that will iritate me about the r.i. saltwater license would be that the funds collected would go into the general, read slush, fund. fla. fishing in the keys are a surf dream. plenty of parking and access. trash barrels p.u twice a day. special bridges to fish off of. then look at r.i., where they seem to go out of there way to restrict access. my 02.

MA no longer displays the license. It must be carried on your person and produced when asked. Sort of makes it easy to fish without one.

What about the poor folks that have no cash, disabled, elderly, unemployed. Really poor folks that are basicly "subsistance" fishermen. Not a good idea.

s w license
 

Hey guys we might not like to have to purchase a license for s w fishing but it's coming. We talked about this at the barnstable county league of sportsman's club the other night. It's supposed to happen by 2009. They tried to do this before but they couldn't say where the money would go so we fought against it and put it off for a while. From what I heard if the states don't do it the feds will step in and we'll have nothing to say about anything. On the up side, they'll be able to track the number of us and have a handle on just how much power is behind the recreational anglers.

Although I might not like it,if one is needed I will get one...My luck Phil Schwinds(sp) ghost will get me..Just like he used to chase me around Eastham when I was a kid..lol

Well that adds meat to my point. Used to have to display so the Warden could check you out through his binos. Now that he's an EPO he doesn't even do that. The last time that I was interviewed by an EPO, he wasn't even real. Just some JQPublic risking a beating by pretending that he was. That was in 1985. That is also very sad..

Then there are those that invite their spouces, children, family or friends fishing once a year which otherwise would never fish. That would make for an expensive outing.

You know the state will take most of it for new vechichles or what ever and the rest of the money will be going to the boat launches.The surf fishermen will keep getting SCREWED as more and more good fishing spots become private.

I have lived in Mass for 4 years now and love that I do not have to pay for a sw license. Before moving here I lived in Texas and would have to pay to fish in sw. about 30 dollars for the licence and a redfish tag. The game wardens would patrol the fishing very heavily. I thought that was great it kept our waters and shore cleaner. It did not bother me paying because the wardens were doing their jobs and it was great to feel the fishing grounds were gonna be there intact for my children and future fisherman. I just hope if we get a fishing license that the people who enfoce the laws do it well and if so we will see a difference. But it will take years to see.

this is a very true statement. i talked with some guys at the dep in ct and they basically said the same thing.

i really hope that our area states come up with some kind of reciprocity act. us, new england fishermen do not have the coastal linear miles that the bigger southern states have.

living in ct, i am going to have to buy 5 licenses? that sucks.

It's not a big deal.

Send me $35 a year and I will do what our DEM has been doing for as long as I can remember....:sleeps: :sleeps:

The license would not be a bad thing but you know what is going to happen with the money? Even with the hiring of enforcement police they could be funneled of for more important duties. The fact that we already pay for the boat ramps that are in, we also pay again to use them. If Mass is to put in any parking spots, they will be shut down by the locals because of the kids.

should be like a car registration
 

if you have to pay for it.... (eventuality)

a second tag for the license plate or bumper
should come with it....

to circumvent that residents only garbage
allowing you access to fish...

I don't have a problem with a SW license, as long as the money goes towards conservation...

-spence

I don't have a problem (too much) with a saltwater license provided that the funds raised do not just free up more money for the general ledger. The RI state constitution does not allow for creating dedicated receipt accouts, ergo any money raised by one particluar user group cannot be guaranteed allocated back to that group... One of the chief reasons a previous RI license intiative failed, there was no guarantee the money would remain with DEM...

I agree with the general consensus. General fund = no, back to fishing, enforcement etc. yes.

agreed
 

you can't take our fishing license money
and collect millions of dollars!!!
and then say at the same time
that you don't have the money
for enforcement
or improvements for access

like whatever.....

not throwin this at you bloo. just gets tiring every year having to hear this gob.

We will still be able to fish. I am more concerned about $ 4-5 p/ gallon of fuel ! :wall:

I will agree to a SW licence if we get the money (local) and it dosent go in a State Parks General Fund . Then they can hire more people to enforce the rules.

Dead Mike

Heard that New Hamshire might get into a SW fishing license. If it would help enforcing laws and fix up ramps etc, I'd have no problem giving up $10 to $20 a year for SW Fishing license with no restrictions.

Lee

I'll be happy to part with the $ as soon as I see the Stocking truck go by!

I heard vermont wanted in on this too . they hate being left out . next thing ya know idaho will want to do it too .

Ct is going to add $5 to our freshwater license . which is fine but if we dont have a license for all of new england Im going to be stuck here fishing for strippers ( no access to fish in ct ) . I am not forking over cash to every state I fish saltwater . At least when I buy a freshwater license in other states , they stock fish and try and patrol . what can they do but inforce saltwater laws that they dont do now . which is nothing in my opinion !

So, you going to stop fishing ?

You for the fishing license Steve?? You don't seem to say which side of the fence you are on just that you want to make this more stupid than it is??!!!? And no....I will not be stopping fishing!

Ditto to the general consensus-not a big deal if the money will go toward enforcement.

It is sad with on the freshwater scene. Since you no longer have to "display" on your person I often times forget in in my wallet now and it stays in the truck while I fish. I havent been checked for a license in so long it doesnt even seem worth it to bother bringing it with me!

Larry, you know, that is a good question. I have been fishing my entire life. My grandfather had a cottage on Town Beach in Sandwich and I remember him taking me and my mum to the canal when I was just a baby (my mum would go with him and bring me in the stroller). He made lures out of old broomstick handles and screw eyes (he was the night foreman at Bird Machine in Walpole, a good machinist as far as I can tell). My mum tells me stories about rowing the boat all over Scituate harbor while he caught a couple buckets of flounder, more than 70 years ago. My dads father raised nightcrawlers to supplement his retirement income. He lived in Braintree. I remember going to Weymouth Landing and fishing for smelts off the dock with him. My old dad (he is 86) said him and my grampa would go clamming at Wolliston Beach and fish at Houghs Neck and Hull. Vacation summers were spent at Bourne Scenic Park and York Beach, I fished every day. I have always fished. I grew up in Foxboro on the Neponset Reservoir and as a kid had a small Jon boat. My younger brother and I would catch calico bass and snapping turtles and sell them to the black folks for candy money who would come to the boat livery to buy our catch. Those were the days. My brother has always owned a "saltwater" boat, his first being a 14 foot 1959 Lone Star. We put a lot of fish in that. We fished the Weweantic River every chance we had, caught (and sold) a ton of fish. Made many trips across Cape Cod Bay in that small boat. He has a 21 foot machine now and takes me out a couple times a year (when he got married he got a new fishing buddy). I showed my kids how to catch bass in the canal, they go there when they can and they like fishing too. I will take my 3 year old grandson with me next season (with his mum and dad of course). I also enjoyed hunting, mostly for ring neck pheasant, but I liked to hunt duck and deer too. When you met me, you saw how I had "slowed down" due to my disability, but I still fish when I can, the "itch" is always there.
Well getting back to your question, do I support a saltwater fishing license ? I believe I posted a thread about that subject when I first started visiting this site (most people said I was..well, I wont say what they said). I know my comments are somewhat colorful (some would say inane) but I do it to make people think about the
wonderful resources we have here in New England. Yes, I am in favor of a license for recreational fishing. It is really a small price to pay for such enjoyment. Like most other serious fishermen that frequent this and other fishing sites, I have seen many people not following the rules and regulations, taking short fish, poaching, taking as many fish as they can take home, littering. People are disrespectful. Hopefully, with a license, we will see much less of such activity. I am completely serious about "certification" prior to issuing a fishing license. I doubt it will happen but I don't think it would be a bad thing at all. I hope any money will go towards increased access, access for disabled, enforcement, education... but I doubt it will. Traditionalist say "the ocean must be free" but there are so many people fishing these days, some agency really needs to know the numbers. When the bass got scarce back in the day, we found the Squeteague to fill in the "void" in the bass. Now the bass are back but the squet are scarce, so cycles and overfishing are a real concern. Yes a license sucks but as I see it, there is too much abuse of the resource by novices and people that just blatantly don't care or are completely unaware
The scup fishing was pretty good this past season so limits seem to be working. I would be happy to see the commercial take of bass be less than 40 fish a day, like 10 a day, but let them be taken 6 days a week (all good fishermen go to church on Sunday) I am not in favor of a slot limit but think that the size of a keeper should be 34" minimum (bass get big, as we all know, let them grow so a keeper can be a decent sized fish) and 1 fish per person a day for recreational fishermen (who needs 2 fish a day ?)

I will get off the pulpit now.

I just want to know....why now do we have to pay for the "wonderful resources we have here in NE"??! Is nothing free but air???? And that comes at a price and I am sure soon enough we will have a "TAX" on that!!! I find it a shame......that folks can't do something as simple as walking to the waters edge......and wetting a line?? Its a shame......you can put any spin on it you want about how you think the tax money will make things better and help with.....blah, blah, blahhhhhhh........WE PAY ENOUGH GODDAMN TAXES.....WHEN WILL IT END?

I liked your post too Steve.....very interesting.....sounds like you have a great passion for fishing and I respect that and your opinion.:)

Are kids excluded below a certain age like for the freshwater licenses?

Oh , btw , I just heard there is a big push in the legislature for a pee in the ocean license. This would apply to peeing directly into the water and on the tidal area up to mean high water.

There was a proposal to have a "look at the ocean license" required but they decided that it would be hard to prove whether someone was actually looking at the ocean or just day dreaming. One local representative was adament about the look at the ocean license and he said that people would just have to stay at home to daydream or learn to look at the sky when they daydreamed or face a possible fine if they didn't have the proper look at the ocean license. A federal aviation director the stood up and said he didn't want to get involved with all the looking into the sky traffic control issues and recommended the state solve its own look at the ocean issues rather than puch them off onto a federal agency.

I liked reading your post Steve. Thank you

I only pee above the high water line anyway....but I pee alot!!!:uhuh: