By Chuck Woodbury
Until a national fishing license is available (maybe never), it will continue to be inconvenient for RV anglers to fish legally when traveling around the country.
A separate license is required for each state, and it’s often difficult finding where to buy one. An annual license can be expensive. Permits for a few days are usually inexpensive, but it’s often inconvenient to get one.
One solution is to stay at private RV parks where no license is required. Typically, the only requirement to fish these lakes is that you’re a registered guest.
I have fished from coast to coast and in many places in between and never had to buy an out-of-state license. A good number of RV parks have their own private lakes. No streams feed these lakes and no public money goes to stock fish. So an RV park owner can make his or her own fishing rules. Most have a “catch and release” policy: Have fun landing your whopper, but then throw it back to be caught another day. Other parks will allow you to keep a fish, but you’ll either pay per fish or by weight.
The fish may be tiny perch, great for kids’ fishing, or trout and whopper bass. I caught my largest bass ever at a KOA in Florida, and, at age 3, my daughter caught her first fish, a 5-inch perch at an RV park in Dayton, Ohio.
You can find RV parks with no-license fishing by searching Google or by reading ads and descriptions in printed RV campground directories. But be warned: Just because an RV park advertises fishing or a fishing lake, it doesn’t mean you can fish without a license. If a stream feeds the lake or pond or it’s not entirely on the RV park’s property, then a license is probably required. So call first to get the scoop.
##RVT825
Would Rvtravel be interested in helping in the push for a national fishing license for seniors? Many of us are living on limited income ..some only on Social Security…and we can’t always partake of the area’s entertainment offerings. However, for the initial price of, for example, $100, we could spend a day at the local fishing hole and return to our camper in a fresh, renewed frame of mind…and maybe even some dinner!
The initial $100 would be split with 5 states we would designate as our “fishing states”. For $200, we could designate 10 states. No, this is not a good way for a state to make money but I was taught it’s easier to make a little money from a lot of people than to make a lot of money from a handful of people.
My husband and I were just discussing this. Universal Fishing License, and seniors either free or at reduced cost. We love to sit and fish and clear our heads, but cannot afford to buy a license in each state we visit to fish for a day or two.
That is more than I can afford!
What about National Parks ?
Scott Louisiana KOA has a huge water area and allows you to keep up to 3 of what you catch.. but it would be cool to have easier access to getting a fishing license when traveling
Really don’t need the federal government involved in fresh water and close to shore ocean fishing with a national license. States have traditionally regulated sport fishing with their residents getting a price break since they pay state taxes which subsidize fish and game departments. Do you also advocate federal hunting licenses? Same answer.