Fishing and travel

docque

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2022
Messages
631
How much of a pain is it to travel and fish at different parts of the US? Like I assume if you are at a Park that has their own body of water no license is required.

Just want to know because we are getting ready to head out for a month or so and fishing would be fun.
 
In Oklahoma you can buy non-resident fishing licenses online.

Annual Fishing License - $55 (valid Jan. 1 - Dec. 31)
6-Day Fishing License - $35 (valid six consecutive days of choice)
1-Day Fishing License - $15 (valid one day of choice)

I have bought non-resident licenses in several other states as we have traveled. It was all online using my phone.
 
It's not really a pain. It's just a question of whether you find the money spent on licenses to be worthwhile. For some, yes, others, no. For me, I figure if I can spend however much to fill tanks of fuel getting across a state, spending a nominal fee on a license even if only for a day or two is justified. But, I like fishing enough to spend the extra $$.
 
It's not really a pain. It's just a question of whether you find the money spent on licenses to be worthwhile. For some, yes, others, no. For me, I figure if I can spend however much to fill tanks of fuel getting across a state, spending a nominal fee on a license even if only for a day or two is justified. But, I like fishing enough to spend the extra $$.

I am thinking the same thing. Nothing funnier that someone complaining about the cost of fuel while they are in a Tiffin. If I was concerned about the cost, I wouldn't have an RV.
 
Ca. has two (I think) free fishing days a year. You can also buy 1 to 3 day non-resident licenses. Knowing Ca.
 
I am thinking the same thing. Nothing funnier that someone complaining about the cost of fuel while they are in a Tiffin. If I was concerned about the cost, I wouldn't have an RV.

Well in that case, you'll have to check regs for each state because they do vary quite a bit. In most state parks when you pay for the permit to enter you can fish without a state fishing license if the water is fully surrounded in the park. If the park adjoins a public water, then you would need a state fishing license. I am not aware of similar situations for national parks, but there could be. I know Voyageurs Nat'l Park requires the state license but the waterway is not entirely within the park. Any other national park I've visited I just haven't attempted to fish to date. The nice thing is that these days you can pretty much handle all of that online so it makes it a lot easier than in the "old" days.
 
Well in that case, you'll have to check regs for each state because they do vary quite a bit. In most state parks when you pay for the permit to enter you can fish without a state fishing license if the water is fully surrounded in the park. If the park adjoins a public water, then you would need a state fishing license. I am not aware of similar situations for national parks, but there could be. I know Voyageurs Nat'l Park requires the state license but the waterway is not entirely within the park. Any other national park I've visited I just haven't attempted to fish to date. The nice thing is that these days you can pretty much handle all of that online so it makes it a lot easier than in the "old" days.

Just will have to add it to the "very short" list of things to research when traveling.
 
Well in that case, you'll have to check regs for each state because they do vary quite a bit. In most state parks when you pay for the permit to enter you can fish without a state fishing license if the water is fully surrounded in the park. If the park adjoins a public water, then you would need a state fishing license.

I hadn’t heard of that before, and when I searched for more information the only thing that came up was about Texas and Minnesota having that rule. Do you know of any other states where that’s the case?
 
I hadn’t heard of that before, and when I searched for more information the only thing that came up was about Texas and Minnesota having that rule. Do you know of any other states where that’s the case?

Perhaps I was mistaken. Maybe things have changed over the years or I just projected what I know from MN. I guess you would just have to check first. Apologies for the misinformation. We don't stay in a ton of state parks so I buy a license if I want to fish in a state we're visiting. I thought that was a common rule but must not be.
 
Tl;dr - Presume you need a license unless specifically told otherwise by someone official.

Colorado/New Mexico - you need a license. Heck, you may need a trout stamp. Same with state parks and (at least most) national parks.

While some parks may have private fishing lakes that don’t need licenses, there’s more to it than just being entirely in the park boundary. If theres a stream running to or from the lake it’ll almost undoubtably need a state license.

Also - even if fishing is legal without a license you need to follow the regs for that particular body of water. One state park we stay at fairly often has a number of small lakes that DON’T have the same regulations. Literally, walk across the road from where you were using worms and it’s artificial bait only.

Finally - there are places like where I’m staying right now that are on reservation land… and the reservation needs a license.

All that said - I pretty much always have two or more setups with me anywhere I go, and at least for me fishing is as much a part of camping as campfires.
 
It's usually not a problem because if you go somewhere that has a bait shop and if you need a license for that body of water, they'll be able to sell it to you. It's the money from place to place that might get spendy.

Now theres an idea......... a FEDERAL fishing license for those of us that galavant the country. The Feds could issue the license, take a fee and split the rest with the states. I'll be back, gotta write my Senator :)
 
It's usually not a problem because if you go somewhere that has a bait shop and if you need a license for that body of water, they'll be able to sell it to you. It's the money from place to place that might get spendy.

Now theres an idea......... a FEDERAL fishing license for those of us that galavant the country. The Feds could issue the license, take a fee and split the rest with the states. I'll be back, gotta write my Senator :)

I am thinking about that and laughing. I live in NY and of course they would want a big slice of that pie. I mean it is NY. Oh, the arguing over that would be fun to watch.
 
It's usually not a problem because if you go somewhere that has a bait shop and if you need a license for that body of water, they'll be able to sell it to you. It's the money from place to place that might get spendy.

Now theres an idea......... a FEDERAL fishing license for those of us that galavant the country. The Feds could issue the license, take a fee and split the rest with the states. I'll be back, gotta write my Senator :)

IF they could get all the states to agree on allowing it, my bet is that once you added up how much each state wanted for their share, the federal fishing license would cost more than the out-of-state licenses at the six most expensive states combined.

But given how hard it is to get even a group of neighboring states to agree on something, it’s doubtful that you could get all 50 states (or even the 48 contiguous states) to agree to this.
 
most states you can by a 5day or 7 day up to 10 days fishing license. yellowstone park is 45.00 dollars for 7 days i think been along time since i fished in the park. I,ve fished washington, montana, idaho, utah, colorado, new mexico and wyoming. Rob
 
Some parks may have special rules or exemptions, so it's a good idea to check ahead.
 
Check each states wildlife management website for yourself. The rules vary widely from you must have the license on your person to it is allowable to be in your tacklebox. There are even different classes of license based on fresh or salt water and even the type of fish or structure you are fishing on.

My experience has been most states offer short term visitor license very reasonably. Not sure if you are a catch and release guy or not, but if you intend to catch and cook look over the bag limits and length limits, I got in trouble because I didnt assumed neighboring states has the same size limits on the gulf coast.
 

Try RV LIFE Pro Free for 7 Days

  • New Ad-Free experience on this RV LIFE Community.
  • Plan the best RV Safe travel with RV LIFE Trip Wizard.
  • Navigate with our RV Safe GPS mobile app.
  • and much more...
Try RV LIFE Pro Today
Back
Top Bottom