About The Saltwater Florida Fishing License

A question I here go around a lot is do you need a fishing license to fish from a boat in Florida ? Well that depends on several factors, but in most cases the answer is yes. Some exceptions to this rule are as follows. If you are under the age of 16 you do not need a license to fish from a boat, although some type of identification might be needed to prove that you are under the age of 16. They do however have to follow all of the regulations such as bag limits and size limits. Senior residents over the age of 65 are another exception, and also any active duty military personnel do not need a Florida license to fish from a boat. If you fall in any of these categories, you still have the option to purchase a Florida fishing license, doing so will benefit the conservation of saltwater game fish that are over fished.

If you happen to be on a boat and other people are fishing you do not need a fishing license in Florida, although you should not contribute by helping out the ones that are fishing on the boat. Like netting the fish or taking the hook out of them. If you are fishing from a dock, beach, or a pier you do not need a Florida fishing license, unless, you plan on keeping the fish for wither food or bait. In other words if you plan on taking or killing the fish you need to have a saltwater Florida fishing license.

If you are on a commercial fishing vessel such as a certified fishing charter, you do not need a license to fish from a boat in Florida. Make sure to clarify this with the agency or fishing captain first to make sure that they have the permit.

Every time somebody purchases a license in Florida, most of the money goes to the FWC, which is the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. I know we all want to get greedy and keep all 20 snook we catch in one day, but if everyone did this snook would be extinct within a couple of years. When a species of fish dies out, what do you think that does? It does not just affect that species of fish, it really screws up the food chain bad. All of the bait fish that were eaten by snook would multiply like crazy, causing more chaos in the food chain in the land of Florida fishing, guess what else it would screw up. Florida fishing in general, as tourism and fishing charters and captains that make a living off of taking people out snook fishing, it would not help the economy at all by breaking any of the florida fishing regulations. I just used snook as an example, which you will need a 2 dollar permit stamp on your fishing license to keep one, but this is the same case with all species of fish.

When you pay money to fish legally, not only do you save some money from the game warden when you get caught fishing without a license, but that money goes into research so the fish cycle in Florida doesn’t get all screwed up. Florida fishing licenses can be purchased at your local tax collection office, online or at some bait and tackle stores, although the cheapest way is the tax collectors as they do not charge any service fees as everywhere else will. You can also get one over the phone. If you are a Florida resident its about 17 bucks for one year, 79 for 5 year. If you want to get it cheaper, go to your tax collectors office, if you are lazy like me then order one on the phone or search around on the internet, although it may confuse you some. Please do not ask me questions about freshwater fishing or hunting licenses, I don’t do either and I really don’t know too much about them. If you do it all there are many types of plans and deals you can get for Florida fishing and hunting licenses.

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