Got ripped by the state

[Jim80]

A few weeks back with the Ice clearing off the water and all I headed down to grab my freshwater fishing license for the year to say the least I was shocked when they told me the price of it doubled to $40 instead of the $20 we have been paying . Well with trout season opening this weekend the wonderful state I live in has decided to drop the price of fishing licenses back down to 20 bucks and stated on their website that no refunds will be given to those who have already purchased their fishing licenses . What a load of **** is all i can say . It has been a while since I was this upset at the state .



Jim

[1/4 stick]

Originally Posted by Jim80

A few weeks back with the Ice clearing off the water and all I headed down to grab my freshwater fishing license for the year to say the least I was shocked when they told me the price of it doubled to $40 instead of the $20 we have been paying . Well with trout season opening this weekend the wonderful state I live in has decided to drop the price of fishing licenses back down to 20 bucks and stated on their website that no refunds will be given to those who have already purchased their fishing licenses . What a load of **** is all i can say . It has been a while since I was this upset at the state .



Jim

That's our government types at work for ya. Sorry to here that. All I can say is vote em out.

And they wonder why the tea party people are so angry and violent. geez!

[bassinbob]

What a load of crap. Vote em out.

[Abbeysdad]

NY jacked 'em up too AND now wants a special tax on soda pop to help fight obesity (bs). What we really need is a way to cut the fat outta government.

[Bender]

I know CT and NY both jacked up their non-resident fees this year, NY is $70! I've been reading of a lot of guys who are not fishing Candlewood this year because of the rate hike. I've never been down there but that fee kind of makes a one or two day trip out of the question. Where will it end? The worst part of all is that the money taken in by licenses does not stay in the DEC budget but goes into the general fund from what I have been told. I'm willing to pay more if the ramps are maintained, most of them around here I can't even use with my bass boat.

[BigBassin144]

Man, that really sucks.

Wow, $70 for a non-resident... and I thought Michigan's non-resident price was bad. I've still got $20 for my ohio, and $40 for my Michigan license.

BB

[PaulT]

Wow Jim, I can't believe they're not doing something for those that payed the doubled price. At least make it good for 2 years if they don't want to do refunds.

NH seems to be pretty decent for pricing

Res
Fishing
$35.00

Non Resident
$53.00

1-day Fishing
$15.00

3-day Fishing
$28.00

7-day Fishing
$35.00

[cassidyta]

I actually would not complain as much about our prices. (41.50 resident 65 with the add on stamps/114 non res) if the money actually did anything for fishing. So far all I have seen is cuts wildlife management programs. Personally, I would prefer that they pursue the poachers more aggressively and use the fines to offset costs rather than my lisence fees.

[MallenManson]

That really sucks, Jim! So far in this thread, it appears Michigan's prices aren't too bad.
28 bucks for the full license, including the trout stamp.
If Granholm reads this, we're screwed....

[Jim80]

This was the DEP's response to my angry email . They pretty much blew off the issue as if it did not matter at all .


Dear Mr. Piel:



We understand your concerns over having paid the higher fee. However, there were no provisions in House Bill-5545 to provide any type of refund or credit. The good news is that the lower fees will enable young anglers and hunters (such as those that turn 16 later this year) and those on a limited budget to afford to continue participating. We hope that people will recognize that the actions taken this past week by the legislature and the Governor are to the benefit of all of Connecticut’s sportsmen. These lower fees will benefit all anglers and hunters for years to come.



Many people have also expressed concern over the fact that the fishing and hunting license fees are going to the General Fund. While this is the case, it’s important to know that both state and federal law requires that any monies collected from the sale of fishing or hunting licenses, tags, stamps or permits come back to the agency specifically for the administration of fish and wildlife programs.



Thank you for your comments,

Elaine Hinsch

Program Specialist 2

[screwballl]

1) Here in FL it is still low because they not only have the freshwater licenses, they also have the saltwater license money coming in so they tend to keep it low BUT if you so far offshore (I think its like 2 or 3 miles) then you are in international waters and does not require any fishing license.

Freshwater, resident: $17.50/yr.,
Saltwater, resident: $17.50/yr.
Combo saltwater + freshwater for I believe $32/yr.
Then they also have a "shore saltwater" license that they just added in 2010 for $9 (not needed if you have the normal saltwater license). It used to be free to fish from the shore, dock or pier for saltwater as long as you did not leave land, or land attached structure.

2) We also have private government USAF reservation land (some 260,000 acres) which requires an additional permit. Enlisted or retired military, and disabled or senior residents used to be free, but now they started charging them as well.
- $12/yr for normal recreation (hiking, biking, but no sport activities like fishing or hunting), last year was $9, $7 in 2008
- $20/yr for fishing (senior $6, disabled $1, E4 and below enlisted $4, 10 day trip $6). Was $17 last year and $15 in 2008


3) Most states claim that the "sportmans permit" money goes towards the game fish and parks and related areas, but in reality, it does go into a general fund. They keep track of whats coming into it for that purpose but just use various "administrative fees" to use that money towards other things, and with this bureaucratic bulls*** has less than 40% of money collected actually going towards the game fish and parks, forest service, and the maintenance for the sportsman areas (hunting and fishing related).

[nofearengineer]

Now just wait til next year, when the annual $25 NOAA fee kicks in.

[Bender]

Originally Posted by nofearengineer

Now just wait til next year, when the annual $25 NOAA fee kicks in.

Is that per state or will it be a one time fee per angler?

[nofearengineer]

It will be an annual fee for all anglers over 17 who fish saltwater, coastal, or tidal waters.

The thing is, you can bet your a$$ it will be expanded to freshwater fishing within 5 years. Government agencies act like heroin addicts when it comes to money. more, more, MORE!!!!

[BassinBandit]

Sounds like something VA would do!

[MallenManson]

Originally Posted by nofearengineer

It will be an annual fee for all anglers over 17 who fish saltwater, coastal, or tidal waters.

The thing is, you can bet your a$$ it will be expanded to freshwater fishing within 5 years. Government agencies act like heroin addicts when it comes to money. more, more, MORE!!!!

I have a great response for this but there's young ears wandering around. Really, there is! I signed in and tripped over one!
I'll PM you

[barkelypup]

Here in Kentucky I pay 95 bucks for fishing, hunting, deer tags, spring and fall turkey, and non migratory water fowl. I never use the fall turkey or water fowl but we have the sportsmans license. Everything grouped into 1 saves me about 40 dollars and that is not counting the cost of the fall turkey tags and the water fowl.

[screwballl]

Originally Posted by nofearengineer

Now just wait til next year, when the annual $25 NOAA fee kicks in.

The information has not been finalized, it is expected to be $15-25.

https://www.countmyfish.noaa.gov/faq_registry.html

The part that really makes me mad:

10. How will the fee be determined?

According to Federal law, the registration fee will be calculated based on the cost to administer the program. That means that NOAA will look at the total amount of money it takes to run the registry, and divide that by the anticipated number of people registering. In other words, if the program costs $25,000 to operate and 1,000 people were registering, the fee would be $25 per angler.


11. Where will the money go?

Fees collected by the National Saltwater Angler Registry will go to the Federal treasury. They will not be designated for any specific purpose.