Post by Woody Williams on Jan 9, 2006 9:25:38 GMT -5
New Indiana licenses bound to stir some confusion, anger
By STEVE FORD, Staff writer
January 8, 2006
Just when it looks like those scamps at the Indiana Department of Natural Resources have installed a new and better license system, they blow it.
Someone, somewhere with the Indiana DNR must have seen the new system was working and decided to throw a large monkey wrench into the system.
Look at your 2005 license toward the upper right-hand corner where it says "valid period." t lists the dates 01/01/05 through 02/28/06.
But noooooo! A memo out of Indianapolis says our buddies at the DNR decided to make the 2005 license valid through March 31. Why? That's anybody's guess.
That means the 2006 license (which is on sale now to further confuse things) will not be valid until April 1, 2006.
"I just know this is going to be a real problem," said Jimmy McCormick, the second-generation operator of the Bait Bucket in Evansville. "I know what's going to happen with my people when we reopen sometime around the middle of February.
"They aren't going to have their 2005 license. They're going to tell me they cleaned out their wallet or threw it away or whatever. I think there's going to be a lot of people fishing illegally in Indiana and not know it."
But we must also consider that because we're dealing with the Indiana DNR that they might not know Indiana residents are fishing illegally, either!
Unfortunately for the public, while that might be true of the typical DNR bureaucrat, one group in their loop that's always up-to-date and keenly aware of Indiana's fickle, ever-changing regulations is its conservation officers.
They'll know what's going on, and as most would be quick to tell you, ignorance of the law is no excuse.
Which gives me another thought. Maybe this is simply a marketing ploy - along the well-thought lines of "New Coke" - to increase citation revenue for illegal fishing in Indiana.
But we know better than that. If Indiana had someone that scheming, they'd never last here. Some other, better-paying state would snap them up in a heartbeat.
So hold onto your 2005 Indiana license of choice. Or, if you're like me, one of the dozen or so copies you made (remember, it's a computer printout now) and placed in every vehicle, tackle box, hunting vest and fishing jacket you own. There were even a couple of crisp copies still on my desk at work.
"There's already been a lot of confusion," said McCormick, "and I know there's going to be a lot more. I'm going to have some really mad people in here the first of March that didn't see this. I don't think they're not going to like it when I tell them they're going to have to wait till April 1 to go fishing."
Another thing to consider when that 2006 license becomes valid April 1 is the cost. It went up about 20 percent.
The resident fishing license that was $14.25 went up to $17. Resident hunting is the same increase and same price ($14.25 to $17), while the combination hunting and fishing license went from $20.75 to $25.
The only thing that didn't go up was the resident youth combination hunting and fishing license. It remained $7.
"I think it's going to get a little crazy around here in a couple months," said McCormick. "I don't know why they did this."
I think I've got it figured out. They couldn't resist the date - April Fools' Day.
www.courierpress.com/ecp/sports/article/0,1626,ECP_735_4371477,00.html
By STEVE FORD, Staff writer
January 8, 2006
Just when it looks like those scamps at the Indiana Department of Natural Resources have installed a new and better license system, they blow it.
Someone, somewhere with the Indiana DNR must have seen the new system was working and decided to throw a large monkey wrench into the system.
Look at your 2005 license toward the upper right-hand corner where it says "valid period." t lists the dates 01/01/05 through 02/28/06.
But noooooo! A memo out of Indianapolis says our buddies at the DNR decided to make the 2005 license valid through March 31. Why? That's anybody's guess.
That means the 2006 license (which is on sale now to further confuse things) will not be valid until April 1, 2006.
"I just know this is going to be a real problem," said Jimmy McCormick, the second-generation operator of the Bait Bucket in Evansville. "I know what's going to happen with my people when we reopen sometime around the middle of February.
"They aren't going to have their 2005 license. They're going to tell me they cleaned out their wallet or threw it away or whatever. I think there's going to be a lot of people fishing illegally in Indiana and not know it."
But we must also consider that because we're dealing with the Indiana DNR that they might not know Indiana residents are fishing illegally, either!
Unfortunately for the public, while that might be true of the typical DNR bureaucrat, one group in their loop that's always up-to-date and keenly aware of Indiana's fickle, ever-changing regulations is its conservation officers.
They'll know what's going on, and as most would be quick to tell you, ignorance of the law is no excuse.
Which gives me another thought. Maybe this is simply a marketing ploy - along the well-thought lines of "New Coke" - to increase citation revenue for illegal fishing in Indiana.
But we know better than that. If Indiana had someone that scheming, they'd never last here. Some other, better-paying state would snap them up in a heartbeat.
So hold onto your 2005 Indiana license of choice. Or, if you're like me, one of the dozen or so copies you made (remember, it's a computer printout now) and placed in every vehicle, tackle box, hunting vest and fishing jacket you own. There were even a couple of crisp copies still on my desk at work.
"There's already been a lot of confusion," said McCormick, "and I know there's going to be a lot more. I'm going to have some really mad people in here the first of March that didn't see this. I don't think they're not going to like it when I tell them they're going to have to wait till April 1 to go fishing."
Another thing to consider when that 2006 license becomes valid April 1 is the cost. It went up about 20 percent.
The resident fishing license that was $14.25 went up to $17. Resident hunting is the same increase and same price ($14.25 to $17), while the combination hunting and fishing license went from $20.75 to $25.
The only thing that didn't go up was the resident youth combination hunting and fishing license. It remained $7.
"I think it's going to get a little crazy around here in a couple months," said McCormick. "I don't know why they did this."
I think I've got it figured out. They couldn't resist the date - April Fools' Day.
www.courierpress.com/ecp/sports/article/0,1626,ECP_735_4371477,00.html
I see very little information on Hunting or Shooting since Howard-Script took over the local paper.