Pa fishing license

[jifigz]

I was trying to drum up some fish on a cold January night, with maybe a foot of snow on the ground, trying to fill in a January nightfishing catch (still 0-fer, for January, February and March in that category).

I've never gone for trout at night during those months, but I used to target night time walleye on the fly in the winter. As I age, I definitely want to only fish when the temp is above that magic number of 32°.

 

[TimMurphy]

I've never gone for trout at night during those months, but I used to target night time walleye on the fly in the winter. As I age, I definitely want to only fish when the temp is above that magic number of 32°.

Dear jifigz,

When I was your age, I fished the Douglaston Salmon Run when it was -10 F. The river was filled with slush, and nothing was happening, so I sat my wet neoprene covered arse down on a mid-stream rock.

I Guaran-Damn-T you your hands have never been so cold as mine were that day as I shoveled water onto the rock to release my frozen behind.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[Bamboozle]

My 2015 button was/is somewhere along Spring Creek around the Benner Springs hatchery. I was trying to drum up some fish on a cold January night, with maybe a foot of snow on the ground, trying to fill in a January nightfishing catch (still 0-fer, for January, February and March in that category). Even thought the air temp was below freezing, I was hoping the slightly warmer spring influenced water would make a trout move if they saw some food at night. But the only thing memorable was during the outing, I realized my button wasn't on my fishing pack anymore. I retraced some of my steps but never found it. No warden checked me that night, so I guess I got away with fishing without a license for a bit.

I bought a ten-year license in 2017, along with the hard card, and haven't bought a button for the past 4 or 5 years.

The buttons have never been considered a license, only an alternate way to meet the display requirement until that was abolished for the 2020 season.

Bottom line, if you purchased a regular license, even if you didn't have it with you, the worst you were guilty of was not meeting the display requirement. 😉

 

[Jmac]

Does anyone know where I can find how many fishing licenses were sold in 2024? This discussion has got me thinking. I want to see how much competition I have out there nowadays and see if it matches my suspicions. Seems like more people on water.

 

[wildtrout2]

Does anyone know where I can find how many fishing licenses were sold in 2024? This discussion has got me thinking. I want to see how much competition I have out there nowadays and see if it matches my suspicions. Seems like more people on water.

That depends greatly on what type of streams you're fishing, and where. I've fished a few particular remote freestone streams over 40 times each, and I could count on one hand the number of times I've encountered other fishermen on either of them.

 

[jifigz]

Pennsylvania fishing license fees to remain same in 2025 because of increased sales

The executive director of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, speaks about the number of anglers in the state and the future of license fees.

www.goerie.com

That link talks a little bit about the number of licenses sold in recent years, and it acknowledges that there was an uptick during the pandemic. All in all, license sales have been decreasing for quite a while. The perceived pressure you may be experiencing is most likely due to YouTube, Facebook, etc. Knowledge is too easily shared now, and people travel to the "hot spots." If you're fishing Penns, Spring, and the Little J, you're going to see a ton of people. Also, most stocked trout streams see at least some decent levels of pressure, at least for the first 2-3 weeks.

I would say by and large, I rarely see anyone when I go fishing, and on certain streams, it better stay that way.