PA Non Resident 1-day license too $$$$?

[bigslackwater]

In PA it's $26.70 for out-of-staters to fish for one day. Last week I fished two days in VA at $8 per day. I think our State charges way too much. MD charges a reciprocal rate, so We would have to pay $26.70 to fish there for a day, because our state charges so much... I live minutes from the MD line and would love to fish there (legally) but I'm hesitant because of the price and my limited time to get out fishing. What do you think?

 

[3wt7X]

Totally agree, as a current MD resident and former Ohio resident. PA has always charged too much for a non resident license. Especially considering that you are paying those steep prices to stock fish that the Erie clubs are making big bucks off of. (Sorry had to go there). I think Homewaters has an amazing business model, privatize publicly funded fish and cash in on people that have too much money to know what to do with). Sad, but an impressive little racket. Sorry for the rant long week, and I will continue buying a pa license, cause the fishing is pretty amazing in your state for an average joe with an average paycheck.

 

[albud1962]

I agree entirely. I recently posted that part of Pennsylvania's problem is not developing fishing tourism to make up for the shortcomings in resident license sales. Tariffs never work in the end and jacking the cost of non resident licenses will decrease revenues not increase them. The only problem is you MD guys bring Didymo and snakeheads and should be charged extra!

 

[geebee]

imho one day non resident licenses should be free - you should have to have one, but lets face it a visitor to the state is probably be going to buy gas, food, drink, lodging, maybe tackle etc. and pay some State tax that way.

Due to work, i am currently non-resident in PA, DE and MA. those licenses plus my Saltwater Reg. costs me $$$ but then I fish a lot - if you want to bring people into the state and into the sport who are only going to fish occasionally then don't penalise 'em !

 

[boychick]

Ya, PA's out of state daily license is not cheap. I buy an annual PA license each year, two days fishing pays for the annual license.

 

[Fishidiot]

Yep.
As a PA resident who buys a full year, non res license (most years) for Maryland......I agree, the costs are way too high, particularly for the one day tourist license and trout stamp.

MD and PA should have a cometojesus moment on this one.

 

[bigslackwater]

Totally agree with Albud about it hurting fishing tourism. With the way one can purchase a license instantly on the internet these days, it really should be cheaper and easier for a daily license. I like the idea of a cheap daily rate...you should have to go 4-6 times before you start considering the cost effectiveness of a yearly license not 2 outings and "well I might as well pay for the whole year!"

 

[Squaretail]

I also like the idea of cheaper day passes, throw some chum out there for goodness sake.
Those other states should be cheaper.

 

[tomitrout]

They should raise the rates, the anti-spotburnzz.

 

[Six-Gun]

The non-resident 1-day license cost is pretty absurd. It's exactly why I decided to exploit the military resident license/trout stamp exemption in the fishing regs when I came back this month. If it were cheap for a non-resident 1-day license, I would've simply bought the damned thing to keep things simple and support the system. But, when I saw a cost in excess of $26, I said "screw it" and printed all of the required exemption documents, keeping them in my chest pack while I was out fishing in case game warden strolled by and asked why my license wasn't prominently displayed.

If you're curious, here's a link to the exemption I used in consideration of the insane 1-day pricing:

http://fishandboat.com/faqlice.htm#14

Specifically, since I live out of state but am a PA resident, I complied with this part:

Certain active duty military personnel are exempt from Pennsylvania's fishing license requirement. To be eligible for the military waiver, an angler must:

•be a bona fide Pennsylvania resident,
•be on active duty,
•be stationed outside Pennsylvania, and,
•be here on authorized leave.

While in the act of fishing, the military personnel must carry proof of each of these requirements, such as a Pennsylvania driver's license, a military ID, and valid military orders showing the place of assignment and leave status.

Under the law, a qualifying soldier, sailor, airman or marine does not receive a free Pennsylvania fishing license. Instead, eligible active duty military personnel can legally fish without a license under the limited circumstances outlined in the law. The Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission recommends that anyone taking advantage of this provision display a military ID while in the act of fishing in much the same way as one would display a conventional fishing license.

Persons who are exempt from license requirements are similarly exempt from the requirements for a trout/salmon permit (58 Pa. Code section 63.20(e)) and a Lake Erie permit (30 Pa. C.S. section 2907.2(c)).

 

[salmonoid]

How much does a round of golf cost? Do golfers balk at paying that? If someone can afford to buy the necessary gear, and afford the travel to get to and stay in PA, is $26.70 a high barrier to entry?

Agree that it is higher than in surrounding states, but I'm wondering if it really is a significant barrier to the majority of folks who have the need to buy a one-day license?

 

[Six-Gun]

I don't think the higher price becomes a barrier to fishing so much as it becomes a relative cost analysis and value assesment for similar services elsewhere. For instance, if you're used to paying $10 for a mantinee movie with your kids at a given theater, but a different theater is trying to charge $26 for the same ticket at the same time of day, you are clearly going to be deterred from going to see the movie at theater #2 vs. theater #1, despite the fact that in the grand scheme of life $26 really isn't an insane amount of money. It's the same way for folks who are used to paying $8 - $12 for your average 1-day fishing license.

If PA's idea is to make it so pricey that you just decide to buy an annual license instead, that's fine **IF** you are actually close enough to PA to do so. For a guy like me who get's MAYBE one day out of the year and literally just needs a 1-day license when they fly into town, that price may simply not be worth paying given that it's still fishing and you still may pay that higher price to catch exactly nothing. To put it in perspective, you can get a resident any-season antlerless deer tag in Nebraska (where I used to be stationed) for just a few bucks more than a 1-day PA non-res fishing license. Sure, I might go home empty-handed at the end of every single deer season - arhcery, regular rifle, muzzleloader, and late rifle - but I can TRY to get a doe for 4 months straight on that same $30 tag (and only $55 for a non-resident).

 

[NoMoreCornChuckin]

This is a little off topic but I agree with PA charging too much for non-resident licenses. My rant is in reference to the Hunting License fees. I was a life long resident of PA for 47 years. I own a cabin and 30 acres, for which I pay taxes. Last year I moved to Delaware and now I have to pay to pay $105.00 for a non-resident hunting license! According to PA Game Commission, if I owned 80 or more acres, I would qualify for a resident license. I don't get it, what difference does it make if it's 30 or 80? I think it sucks! Not sure I will hunt PA after this year.

 

[tomitrout]

girlfriend and I did a WV roadtrip back in May/June and bought licenses while there....$29 for the stamps alone, then it's $3 a day, purchase the days as you need 'em. So $32 for a single day there if non-resident. We got tags for three days of that week, only fished on one of 'em, but then re-upped for another day during another wknd trip. So we're at $41 each for four days...PA pricing doesn't seem that out of whack to me.

 

[icyguides]

There are certainly many cheaper states, but on the other hand there are also more expensive states. It'd be interesting to see exactly where our license prices fall in relation to the national average.

My friend from out of state who was born and raised in PA came home for the holidays last year and we wanted to meet up for a few hours on a stream. He has 1 kid, his wife is pregnant with twins, and he's in med school. He couldn't afford to pay $32 or whatever for a few hours fishing, so we didn't go. It was a big bummer and definitely an instance where the cost was prohibitive.

 

[DGC]

The lower part of the MD license application shows what other states charge, and therefore what MD charges using reciprocity.

MD Fishing License Application pdf

Note there is no such thing as a 1-day license in MD, so it has to be a 3-day at minimum. That makes it $26.70 (PA 3-day license reciprocity) plus $10 for a stamp. I don't like the prices either and so use fish-for-free days, but it is tough when the Potomac and Catoctins are calling like Sirens.

PA fishing License Sales History

In PA, note revenues are near all-time highs. The higher prices counter lower sales. They have been doing this for years.

Nevertheless, you can't argue when comes to trying to save money in this labor market. Price increases should be resisted and prices generally should be lower. Those in decision making positions should hear that.

 

[wsender]

I think they're appropriately priced, and I'm an out of state buyer.

I think the mentality is to get people to buy a full years license. The PFBC and the Commonwealth and general don't want people to come fish for a day and then not return. They want people to come and fish multiple times a year, to stay in hotel, eat at restaurants, etc. Instead of thinking of the 1-day as a bad deal, they want you to look at the full year and think you're getting a deal, which you are. The full year license is almost 15 dollars cheaper then the equivalent NYS license.

I know I make sure to return to PA to fish because I feel I want to get my moneys worth out of my yearly license.

 

[mikephl]

In Colorado, the visitors license is about $35 for 4-5 days (plus another $20 for Natl Park access). Yeah, I wish it was less, but probably would pay more. It's terrific water. Likewise, PA has terrific water in the mid-Atlantic region, with tons of miles and variety. Do the neighboring states offer such a rich choice? To use the movie theater analogy, a movie-goer will pick the lower priced theater, if all things are equal. What if one has 10 screens with the hottest movies, vs 2 screens. PA is a bargain.

 

[CRB]

It seams to me a round of golf is about the same. If you think it is too high don't fish here. Almost the same as a movie ticket and popcorn and soda.

 

[Gorosaurus]

It's too high. It's also too high most other places, but that doesn't make it okay here.

The yearly cost is fine- I have no problem with that. But you can bet that most out-of-state fishermen don't buy licenses because of the high fee. 5, 10, even 15 dollars is an appropriate donation in my opinion.