Col. River Basin Endorsement

new for 2014:

Starting Jan 1, anyone fishing Columbia river, or it's tributaries must purchase a $9.75 annual endorsement with your fishing license (or $1 per day for daily tags). 

 quoted from regs:
"Money from the endorsement will help fund the transition to eliminate non-tribal commercial gill nets on the lower mainstem Columbia river and provide additional salmon and steelhead for sport fishing."

    what if I want my money to go to something effective to provide additional salmon and steelhead for sport fishing?  like getting rid of the tribal gill-netting, or starting bomb a seal day.

maby someone can shed some light on how ODFW can charge everyone a fee to cripple a commercial fishery?  I'm guessing something passed in Prop 81?  if people what to donate 10 bucks to get gill netters off the river, go for it - don't make it mandatory for people to support something they may not agree with.  this fee is BS.

Welcome to Washington fishing regulations done lite.

Hope you get your answers. Sounds totally bogus to me too

wow, this would cover at least 75% of the state. 

watch this money go into some A-holes pocket.

Map of affected area near the top of this:

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/docs/2014/Willamette_v11-18-13.pdf

I am a "play by the rules" kind of guy but this really has me considering the risk/reward ratio of not getting the endorsement. I don't fish for salmon/steelhead much (like 10 times in the last 10 years), and yet I get my harvest tag because I like to fish C&R sturgeon (more years ago, much less the last few years). So I never get the benefit of the tag (harvesting fish) but I have to have it even though I'm not retaining.

Now in addition to that, I have to spend another $10 to exercise my right to fish C&R for sturgeon, and the money isn't even going towards sturgeon recovery. WHAT??? 

I realize my "use case" is in the vast minority, but still, tacking this fee on just points out how broken the fee structure is. Why not just a license and then a tag for harvest of affected species (salmon, steelhead), and no tag for C&R?

When they outlaw fishing only outlaws will be fishing...

Where did all the fees collected b4 go?same as where this one will go.this one won't be enough eather.then a few years from no it will be the same BS.

These corrupt Mo'Fos need punched in the pee hole.

It looks like you're required to have it if your fishing for Salmon, Sleelhead or Sturgeon.  I wonder how many people I know over here that won't buy one of those tags now because they refuse to pay for this....

I imagine they are going to lose some money there.  Also, where does the money go for the tickets that are written because people don't know/purchase one?

It certainly seems like sneaky way to get some more 'fun time' tax money out of us   Agree with you keta, may not buy a harvest card next year, instead I will be fishing for catfish more often and if a dino happens to like catfish bait oh well.

Watch the money. Puget Sound Anglers had to fight for years to get an audit on the crab tag funds. All worked out in the end but it was a battle. That money removing commercial gillnets will go to waste if you do not learn from the pass.