2022 license

[Casting Call]

New England population 14.8 million of 2021 vs Oregon population of 4.25 million of 2021. It sure would be dumb if Oregon did. Even if only 2% buy licenses. Tony

 

[TheKnigit]

That is an awesome gesture @Casting Call!

To the original topic. I am a combination of the two mindsets that seem to have been voiced currently. I just finished purchasing my Sports pack. I tend to dabble in a little bit of everything ODFW has to offer so it makes sense for me. It doesn't take long to add up the cost of a combination license, bird validations, a spring turkey, deer and elk tags to add up. I think the prices are ridiculous and way to high for resident sportsman. Especially with how ODFW has handled some of our fish and wildlife issues and populations.

That being said.......hunting and fishing are both huge passions. I love the experiences, memories made, and the food when I actually connect. The excitement of my two boys alone is well worth the price.

I run paper tags as I am technologically inept and barely know how to use my phone. They are easier for me and I don't have to worry about keeping a phone charged.

 

[Snopro]

Thanks for Clerks.

 

[Banjo]

I think a basic course in sales and marketing would help the ODFW do better in license sales.
They raise the price so fewer people buy licenses, so they raise the price to make up for the shortfall and fewer people buy a license. It's the definition of insanity.
Lower the price to where people will buy a license "just in case" they decide they want to go fishing. Give them a break on tags if they buy them with their license. Why buy a salmon tag with your license if you are not sure you're going to go and the cost is the same? Knock $5 or $10 off the tag price when purchased with my license and I'm more willing to roll the dice and have more incentive to go salmon fishing since I already have the tag. I've given up on deer and elk hunting. They've made it next to impossible to hunt where you want when you want...

 

[jamisonace]

Exactly.....I have 4 other people in my family that MIGHT go fishing this year. We used to buy everyone licenses for Christmas but not anymore. I buy me a license and we wait to see what else people want to do. They usually just end up getting a shellfish license because it doesn't make sense to get them a license and tag for a day or two of fishing. They just aren't that interested. If I could get my entire family licenses and tags for around $200 I'd do it but it costs in the neighborhood of $400. I still get one for my youngest and then bribe her to come be a second rod in my boat when I'm fall chinook fishing on the Umpqua. After giving her $10 every time to come with me so we can catch a second fish I probably get close to the $400 anyway but at least it goes to her and not OR.

 

[TheKnigit]

I haven't hit the point where I am buying license for my kids as they are all 4 and under....my bank account is not looking forward to that day.

 

[Casting Call]

Exactly.....I have 4 other people in my family that MIGHT go fishing this year. We used to buy everyone licenses for Christmas but not anymore. I buy me a license and we wait to see what else people want to do. They usually just end up getting a shellfish license because it doesn't make sense to get them a license and tag for a day or two of fishing. They just aren't that interested. If I could get my entire family licenses and tags for around $200 I'd do it but it costs in the neighborhood of $400. I still get one for my youngest and then bribe her to come be a second rod in my boat when I'm fall chinook fishing on the Umpqua. After giving her $10 every time to come with me so we can catch a second fish I probably get close to the $400 anyway but at least it goes to her and not OR.

WOW! cheap second rod license for all year. To use others, license by way of bribery $$$ is poaching second hand? I might try that! I just hope I don't have to go in front of a judge. Tony LOL

 

[GaryP1958]

I haven't hit the point where I am buying license for my kids as they are all 4 and under....my bank account is not looking forward to that day.

My dad never paid for my license I did and worked since I was 8 yo!

 

[shiverfix]

It's funny to me, when I travel I like to try and get some fishing in, and have spent a fair amount of time on different state fishing forums before I go, and people complain about their fish and wildlife in every state. I still visit the fishing forum I was on in Colorado before I came here, and have replied to some people complaining about the license cost and the regulations that Oregon blows it away. Of course I wish it was less expensive here, but I look at it this way. From what I can see $80 is on the low end to go to a Trailblazer game. A movie with popcorn and soda pushes $30. Going to see a concert can be above a hundred. And those are prices for a single event. The fishing license gives me access to something I love doing for 365 days. I also love when people compare how things are managed in different states. I can't count how many times someone would get on the forum and say something about how well Minnesota managed fish, why can't Colorado mange like them, without taking into account that the Colorado front range has no natural lakes, and none of the game fish are native. It's silly to me to compare states. I am still learning about the ins and out of Oregon fish and game, and all the politics. I'm sure it lies somewhere in between the worst people think and the best.

 

[Casting Call]

s_____f thanks for your input and I subscribe to what you also believe in. Tony

 

[jamisonace]

It's funny to me, when I travel I like to try and get some fishing in, and have spent a fair amount of time on different state fishing forums before I go, and people complain about their fish and wildlife in every state. I still visit the fishing forum I was on in Colorado before I came here, and have replied to some people complaining about the license cost and the regulations that Oregon blows it away. Of course I wish it was less expensive here, but I look at it this way. From what I can see $80 is on the low end to go to a Trailblazer game. A movie with popcorn and soda pushes $30. Going to see a concert can be above a hundred. And those are prices for a single event. The fishing license gives me access to something I love doing for 365 days. I also love when people compare how things are managed in different states. I can't count how many times someone would get on the forum and say something about how well Minnesota managed fish, why can't Colorado mange like them, without taking into account that the Colorado front range has no natural lakes, and none of the game fish are native. It's silly to me to compare states. I am still learning about the ins and out of Oregon fish and game, and all the politics. I'm sure it lies somewhere in between the worst people think and the best.

But it's not silly to compare fishing to a blazers game?

 

[shiverfix]

Nope. People have budgets. If you spend your money on a Blazers game, you don't have that money to spend on something else. It's about the choices and decisions we make. I choose to spend my money on a fishing license instead of other things. That license gives me access to something I want to do every day of the year, which costs me less than 50 cents a day. If people are on a limited budget, but want to spend their money on going to movies, Blazers games, or concerts, or even a daily Starbucks, then those things are more important to them than fishing.

And to answer the OP, it is worth it to me, and I think everything should be electronic. I love having my license on my phone.

 

[jamisonace]

This is true but it still doesn't make sense to call out people that compare states as silly but not see it in your own comparison. Blazers games were created with the sole intent of making money while fishing existed for centuries without being monetized and in my opinion should still exist as such. Blazers ticket prices are also much more subject to free market constraints than ODFW. That is why we've seen what was once a free activity go up in price by as much as a 20% a year.

By your logic, when the government is charging you for the air you breath, you'll be saying....but it's only costing me 50 cents a day to stay alive....what a deal!

 

[Snopro]

...fishing existed for centuries without being monetized and in my opinion should still exist as such.

And there were no regulations. Should it be the same today?

How about hunting, should it be free too?

 

[jamisonace]

And there were no regulations. Should it be the same today?

How about hunting, should it be free too?

No

 

[Snopro]

No

Interesting.

Why would hunting be different than fishing?

If rules changed on regulation why shouldn't they change for licensing?

 

[Shaun Solomon]

I guess for me, I understand state agencies are going to be involved in management, and that management costs money.

It’s the same as taxes for me. I don’t mind paying taxes, even high taxes, IF I feel good about the way the taxes are spent. I almost never feel good about the way taxes are spent.

As an angler, I want to feel that the agencies are at least factoring my interests. My interests might not align perfectly with those of the angling public, and the discrepancy is likely the source of my dissatisfaction.

 

[jamisonace]

Interesting.

Why would hunting be different than fishing?

If rules changed on regulation why shouldn't they change for licensing

I'm not sure they should be different but I'm not a hunter so I haven't given it a micro second of thought.

 

[shiverfix]

But I am paying for a service. I am paying for stocking, rules enforcement, rescue, etc... Yes, we could go around and around all day about if the money is being managed well or not, that is not an argument I am going to get into because I don't know the history of ODFW well enough to speak to it. But without stocking and regulation, there wouldn't be any fish to catch anymore. And I do pay for clean air and water, through my taxes, which are used to enforce regulations that keep people and industry from dumping pollution and waste into the air and water. Again, we could argue about the way it is being managed, but without pollution regulation we literally had rivers catching fire in this country.

 

[jamisonace]

I guess for me, I understand state agencies are going to be involved in management, and that management costs money.

It’s the same as taxes for me. I don’t mind paying taxes, even high taxes, IF I feel good about the way the taxes are spent. I almost never feel good about the way taxes are spent.

As an angler, I want to feel that the agencies are at least factoring my interests. My interests might not align perfectly with those of the angling public, and the discrepancy is likely the source of my dissatisfaction.

Yeah, I get that.

I'm always happy to pay higher prices for better quality. More expensive camping means less crowds and better amenities as an example. In this case more expensive fishing doesn't mean better fishing. I know you're not a steelheader but we are in our 2nd year in a row of the worst steelhead fishing this state has ever seen. I would expect better for the high licensing costs.

It is what it is.....I just like to complain about it.