What WOULD You Be Willing to Pay For a Year Long PA Fishing License?

$100 , $200 , $300 , All I know is I would pay A lot more than most people. Like A number of others said its also how I keep my sanity. Over the last 20 years I average about 90 days A year of fishing and usually about 80 days of that is in PA. I do realize that not many people are like me and would pay that. I spent most of my life struggling to even pay what the fish commission wanted and probably have become A fisherman if the price was a lot higher in previous years.
 
I buy an out of state license. I would say right now if the out of state license was raised to $200 ~ $300 I would pay it and then pay 3% increase each year.
I'm probably only fishing 7 to 10 days a year now in PA.
It's worth it to me.
 
I already spend a lot more than the cost of a regular license & trout stamp so it's a non-issue to me.

Currently I buy a license & trout stamp, about a dozen or more license buttons annually (including the $10 SOS buttons) for all of my fishing hats and I make a donation to the C.A.P. fund every year and other funds that appeal to me.

None of that would change even if the regular license went up to $100 or more.

Bottom line, the cigars I smoke and the booze I drink before, during and after I fish cost me a whole lot more than a license and I'm not about to give those up unless the doctor tells me to! ;-)
 
It would be interesting to know how many Opening-Day-type trout anglers would buy a license and trout stamp if, when the PFBC is finally authorized to raise the price of a license and trout stamp, the PFBC offered a one or two day Opening Day or Opening Weekend license/trout stamp for the current price as an alternative?
 
You might find this hard to believe, but I'm going to take a position contrary to most of you. LOL. I have purchased a license and trout stamp in Pennsylvania for 34 years. Over the last 15 years I don't think I spent 25 days on the water trout fishing in Pennsylvania. So, my stamp money goes to raise trout for others ......don't care who "utilizes the fish" as the PFBC calls it. Up until 3 years ago, I wasn't even bass fishing in the state anymore. I was paying for a license that saw virtually no use. My out of state license got 95% of my fishing use.

The day the cost of a PA resident license matches or exceeds the cost of my out of state license, I'm probably done fishing here. I'm trying to justify buying a trout stamp for 2017.
 
I like most others here would pay a lot more. Certainly several hundred dollars.

However I concur with Dave_W above that a super high price tag would be counterproductive for the PFBC. They need to find a spot on the supply and demand curve that maximizes their income without making the sport unattractive to newcomers.
 
I'd like to see a lifetime option for several hundred made available.

I would buy at least three right off the bat -
 
tomitrout wrote:
I'd probably be ok with spending up to the $100 range for an annual resident license, more than that and I'd be reluctant to buy one, depends what I'm getting for my money at that point. Doesn't necessarily mean I'd give up fishing at that point though..
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Agreed. I wouldn't go much above $100. After that, it turns out it's pretty easy to make and display counterfeits of the PA license.
 
I would not pay $100 for a FL. In fact, if the price got above $60 for the license/trout stamp, the reality is, I'd have an uphill battle, perhaps, w/ the wife. That's half our weekly grocery budget that I'd have to shell out in one pop, and for what? So that I can indulge my hobby and be away from my wife and kids? I gotta convince her THAT'S a good use of our money? And don't get me wrong. My wife's not cruel. She knows how much fishing means to me and my family. She'd never say "no", but maybe I'm uncomfortable with spending that much scrap for the reasons given above as well...

And then there are my friends who don't fish much. Those guys who I take fly fishing a few times a year, trying to get them into the hobby. The ones who already say, "how much is a fishing license, plus a trout stamp!?" I'd be willing to bet that getting them to pay even $50 would be a deal breaker.

Call me cheap and stingy, whatever. It's just the reality. I'm no "casual" fisherman who's out there on opening day and that's about it. It's as big a part of my life as most everyone else here, but at some point it's a matter of priority. I'm a fly fisherman, but I'm a husband and father first and I have to think what's a good use of my family's resources.
 
And then there are my friends who don't fish much. Those guys who I take fly fishing a few times a year, trying to get them into the hobby. The ones who already say, "how much is a fishing license, plus a trout stamp!?" I'd be willing to bet that getting them to pay even $50 would be a deal breaker.
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This hits the nail on the head. Pricing licenses needs to consider the barrier to entry for folks thinking about getting into the hobby.
 
The_Sasquatch wrote:
I would not pay $100 for a FL. In fact, if the price got above $60 for the license/trout stamp, the reality is, I'd have an uphill battle, perhaps, w/ the wife. That's half our weekly grocery budget that I'd have to shell out in one pop, and for what? So that I can indulge my hobby and be away from my wife and kids? I gotta convince her THAT'S a good use of our money? And don't get me wrong. My wife's not cruel. She knows how much fishing means to me and my family. She'd never say "no", but maybe I'm uncomfortable with spending that much scrap for the reasons given above as well...

And then there are my friends who don't fish much. Those guys who I take fly fishing a few times a year, trying to get them into the hobby. The ones who already say, "how much is a fishing license, plus a trout stamp!?" I'd be willing to bet that getting them to pay even $50 would be a deal breaker.

Call me cheap and stingy, whatever. It's just the reality. I'm no "casual" fisherman who's out there on opening day and that's about it. It's as big a part of my life as most everyone else here, but at some point it's a matter of priority. I'm a fly fisherman, but I'm a husband and father first and I have to think what's a good use of my family's resources.
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Well said.

It's cool that there's a bunch of rich dudes here, but I'm pretty sure that the number of items costing $1000 that I own outright is zero. A fishing license is never going to be one of them.
 
Whats sad is that 16 year olds and up need a license. At what point do not as fortunate families say I can't afford a license for my son/daughter? What about college students? I know when I was in college $5 was hard to come by at times.

I keep thinking about the number of times I have been checked for a license or anything for that matter. If I was the occasional fisherman I don't think I'd even bother getting a license and just take my chances if it got to be too expensive. If that ends up being the case then the Fish Commission is the one really missing out.
 
As little as humanly possible as long as the wild trout improvement trend continues. The actuaries know how to crunch these numbers and keep prices down, as hard to believe as that may seem. This takes into consideration legacy costs and demographics.

I would hate to see private for profit fishing actually look like a viable option as a result of high license fees.
 
DGC wrote:
As little as humanly possible as long as the wild trout improvement trend continues. The actuaries know how to crunch these numbers and keep prices down, as hard to believe as that may seem. This takes into consideration legacy costs and demographics.

I would hate to see private for profit fishing actually look like a viable option as a result of high license fees.
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Pretty much 100% agree.
 
I'm one of those that generally gets a new license last week of December and buys all the stamps even if I don't intend to use em. As some point when the costs go up I'll start dropping the stamps I really don't use and possibly wait to till later in the year to buy the license.
 
They have to pay those pensions somehow.
 
Whats sad is that 16 year olds and up need a license. At what point do not as fortunate families say I can't afford a license for my son/daughter? What about college students? I know when I was in college $5 was hard to come by at times.
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BigJohn, hits the nail on the head. We should be looking at this as what it's worth to ALL of us and not just what we would individually be willing to spend. It's an interesting topic in the hypothetical sense but if the cost continues to rise drastically, I would hope many of us here would let our voices be heard for those less fortunate: The teenagers, college kids, and lower income family folks that simply want to fish but get priced out of the sport.
 
I'd be willing to pay probably double what it is now for all of the opportunities a PA license offers, so long as the extra funds are used efficiently by the PFBC, which...? However, I know many people wouldn't and in many cases, couldn't, pay so much to fish, so if a standard license rises above $50, I'll start complaining.
 
I’ve said it many times but I think the PFBC would generate more revenue developing and selling a fishing video game versus spending energy with mentored youth programs and the like. I think they are fighting a losing battle with kids who just seem to be not interested in fishing.

Besides, those “not as fortunate families” who I am sure are paying $50 a month for junior’s smart phone and $100+ monthly for cable & Internet service, but cry poverty when it comes to ponying up for a fishing license ‘could join in too…
 
The thread is what would you be willing to pay not what should they charge.
 
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