Going Fishing... Or Not

[eddiememphis]

I cleaned out my storage unit recently and have been consolidating all my outdoor gear. I have three nice rods- fly, spin and bait. Living less than 5 minutes from Cherry Creek, I thought I should get back into it. When I have nothing to do, go across the street and chase some walleyes.

Today I looked at fishing license cost. $41.83!

I had to look twice to make sure that was the resident price. Yup. Non-resident is $117!

Time to compare prices. Colorado is one of the highest states, 4th after California, Oregon and New Hampshire (according to one list I found).

I know that hatcheries need money and all the other services the CPW provides are nice, but the costs seem unusually high compared to the rest of the country.

I also realize that forty bucks isn't a huge hardship, having wasted way more than that on much more frivolous nonsense (Charter Arms).

It just struck me as excessive and wanted to see what others think, especially any avid anglers.

[Hummer]

oh, just go fishing.

and don't forget to vote for jared polis and his new underlings on the wildlife commission.

[def90]

I don't think $40 is out of the ordinary for the fishing license alone, you do have to also buy the habitat stamp which is BS though. I grew up in Minnesota, there are specific seasons for fishing specific species so there is a 2-3 month period of the year where you cannot fish. Colorado there are no closed seasons. Also other states break out trout as a separate license or stamp whereas in Colorado everything is included.

[eddiememphis]

oh, just go fishing.

and don't forget to vote for jared polis and his new underlings on the wildlife commission.

Oh, I bought it. I just wanted to bitch a little bit.

[Hummer]

Oh, I bought it. I just wanted to bitch a little bit.

I know and I get it. The trickle down Bidenomics effects everyone and only .gov benefits.

(I'm quietly bitching here too.) I had to buy a fishing license in order to go hunting. I ought to go fishing since there's a trout steam outside my door.

[buffalobo]

Result of combining DOW and Parks. CO DOW used to be a good example of relatively successful gov/bureaucracy until they hung it with parks(the conservationists were slowly being replaced by socialist environmentalists even 40 yrs ago)

I despise the result but still pony up all the fees to fish/hunt/camp.

Colorado "outdoors/back country/mountains/plains" of 40-50 years ago were the best in the world and am glad I got to experience it as a youngster. Am hugely disappointed that I cannot give my grandkids the same experiences but still do what I can.

Used to be easy to walk off into the wilderness and not see another human until you chose to. Now our challenge is to see if we can sneak off into the wilderness and dodge other humans for 3 days.

If you're unarmed, you are a victim.

[JohnnyDrama]

Forty-two dollars is crazy! When I had to start buying a license, I think they cost $20.00. A small game license cost the same. Or, you could buy a combination license for $30.00 and save $10.00. No habitat or search and rescue fees. I bought a combo license with an extra rod stamp last month and spent $85.00. The cost increase has been incremental. Lots of people thought the SAR fee was stupid. Then the habitat fee... It started cheap enough but has gone up a lot. Buffalobo is correct. The bug increase happened when DOW and Parks were combined. But I get out a lot so despite the steep cost, I don't feel bad. As stated earlier, Colorado is pretty easy going compared to some other states.

[kidicarus13]

It started cheap enough but has gone up a lot.

Sounds like most things in government.

[Clint45]

$42 is a lot cheaper than the fines you'd face if caught fishing without a license... but if you leave your ID at home and tell the Game Warden "No hable englais" they'll probably just let you go... unless of course they're bilingual, then you'll get several more citations, lol.

[TEAMRICO]

I actually pony’d up for mine so I could use the range near the Chaffee county landfill. As long as you have a fishing, hunting or parks pass you can use the range. Since the boy goes to school in Gunnison I plan to stop to and from when I head up there.
Also gave me a reason to bust out the fly rod to have in the truck.