For those of you that know nothing about guiding or taking people out fishing that are from another state;

Just to set the record straight, for the guys that have friends from out of state that may come here to fish with you or if you have recommended them to have a fishing guide take them fishing, please try to member this; a very large percent of these people, or clients spend lots of "Big bucks" here locally. For many small river communities these fishermen are their life blood. When these people purchase their "2 day none resident fishing licenses", they do not know, nor are they usually ever told that they are required by law, to purchase a "Vehicle Use Permit" along with there none resident fishing license. 99% of the time they are NOT told by the people who sell them the 2 day fishing licenses that they must also purchase the Vehicle Use Permit if they intend to be parking along a boat ramp or WDFW river use parking area! This is really kind of an "entrapment" if you ask me! As just one example, both the Blue Creek and the Barrier dam boat ramp and parking lots are privately owned by Tacoma Power. You are not required to have a "Vehicle Use Permit" to park, fish or lunch a boat at either of these 2 public fishing areas.

That means that if a guy lunched his drift boat at Blue Creek, he would not be required to show that he had purchased the special permit. Now he takes his buddies rig down to the next boat ramp which would be the "mission boat ramp" and drops off his car so that he can run back and pick up the other guys rigs with the boat trailer when they have finished their drift.

When they get done fishing that day and they pull in to the ramp to run back and get there rig with the trailer . . . they are now welcomed to Washington with $66 ticket on his windshield! That's a bunch of crap in my opinion!

Most everyone who is a resident here already knows that he needs to show his yellow use permit sticker in his vehicle! Say what you may, but it’s a stinking trap in my view for the poor guy who comes to this state to fish!

But then again, for some of you, you can never get enough bureaucratic laws and rules can you!

I am not saying that they were right or wrong, but some of you need to get off your high horses and put yourself in their shoes! It could easily happen to you someday if you were going fishing in some other state!

So grandpa you next time you make statements like;

[ Please try to think twice!


Cowlitzfisherman