That Time Again – 2018 ODFW Angling License

As 2017 comes to an end, I look at the fishing that was and the fishing to come.

My tally last year was not great, but not too bad for mostly fishing a little in July and one week in August.

Personal:
1 wild Chinook
3 hatchery Chinook
3 hatchery Coho
1 hatchery Steelhead
2 Albacore tuna

Boat total:
9 wild Chinook
17 hatchery Chinook
21 hatchery Coho
7 Albacore tuna

This is a far cry from the 200+ fish we landed in August alone back in 2015.

Getting ready to sell the house and keeping the house ready for showings this year has obviously cramped my fishing style.  I see now that my priorities were a little out of whack.  The house did not sell and I caught few fish.  Good thing is I know how to fix this.  Fish more.  🙂

It is now time to go out and get my license and tags for the 2018 season.  As with all things, the prices have gone up.

On top of the prices going up, the ODFW has been charging us an endorsement fee for fishing the Columbia River and its Tributaries for a few years now.  This fee was to go towards getting the gill net fishing off the water because it is a method of fishing that does not target a specific species of fish and has contributed to the decline of our protected fish.  Well, special interests got involved and needless to say, the ODFW failed to deliver, gill nets are still on the water and they are still charging us this endorsement fee.  I love government.  I will leave it at that.  I do not want to turn this BLOG into a political soapbox.

The annual license for resident this year is $41.00.  If you purchase the endorsement with your license, the endorsement is $9.75.  The combined angling tag is $40.50.  And one cannot forget the shellfish license at $10.00 for a grand total of $101.25.

Now, as the year progresses, I might add a two-rod validation for specific areas that will allow two rods per angler $24.50 and as my combined angling tag gets filled, I will purchase hatchery tags for $28.50 per 10 fish.

It looks like in 2018, the ODFW will be getting $154.25 from me and because my wife loves fishing more than I do, we can just double that.  🙂

Tight lines and Happy New Year!!!!!!