New license year.

[Fishy Fishy]

New license year starts March 1st.  Anyone think it's weird that licenses are not available for purchase until 5:00am,on March 1st?  Five hours of unavoidable illegal fishing. Pull in those tip ups!

[PerchPounderMT]

Just when you though they couldnt come up with more BS.....   

[wirehairman]

We're headed to Fort Peck for the weekend, so I made some calls to find out what we should do since there is no way we can get a new license on Sunday and can't buy them early.  The warden from Region 4, Quinn, that I spoke with said they recognize the conundrum with the new system and the fact that March 1st falls on a weekend.  She told us to just fish through Sunday and not worry about it.  They have been instructed to give everyone a grace period by the Chief of Enforcement, according to her.

This is all verbal, so take it for what it's worth.  She did tell me to call her back if we got hassled and would help us out if we got cited, so I believe her.

[Born Late]

That’s good to hear although it seems like it would have made more sense to declare all of Sunday an official grace period for anglers (like the summer free fishing day) rather than just the midnight to 5:00 AM time period. I’m all for the modernization and synchronization...but here’s hoping the system doesn’t crash Sunday.

https://helenair.com/outdoors/licensing-changes-will-cause-a--hour-lapse-for-montana/article_5acc9cc9-82aa-5e46-89e6-42c04fb1b760.html

[gf hardwater guy]

Quinn is a proverbial good egg and actually a breath of fresh air when it comes to enforcement personnel with FWP. Some of her predecessors not so much. I would trust her far and above several others and would find it terribly surprising if her word ended being no good. This is yet another example of our FWP creating themselves a mess.

 

[MT204]

Only the government could screw things up as badly as they do.
In fact I just took my fishing lic out to check something and yep I have one of the pretty blank yellow pieces of paper from last year.
No problem I'll down load it from their web but in fact they have broken that also and it's not available?
 

[Unclegillhunter]

Our license year starts on 1-1 and we can get them like a week before. Can’t understand why they didn’t take this into consideration.
Keep it safe! JDL

[mtnfisher]

In the past, we could get our license a week early. This year, with the new system, we have to wait until the 1st.

[G fish]

Just think if we didn’t buy any for a month they would be writing tickets for anything and everything.

[meandcuznalfy]

Just think if we didn’t buy any for a month they would be writing tickets for anything and everything.

Yep, why'd they change, wasn't nothing wrong with the old system. It was better than most states that I have used.

[G fish]

Would be amazing if you could buy it as a permanent license like your drivers license.
Now it’s on your mobile device that has batteries or a print out from your computer at hm, good luck with those two.

[meandcuznalfy]

Would be amazing if you could buy it as a permanent license like your drivers license.
Now it’s on your mobile device that has batteries or a print out from your computer at hm, good luck with those two.

Printing at home probably be better than the disappearing ink they use here at the stores.

[Fishy Fishy]

I did hear from a game warden they will not issue citations on March 1st due to the "glitch".

[PerchPounderMT]

All they had to do was announce March 1st as one of their FREE fishing days....instead create mass confusion and concern with this BS.

[gf hardwater guy]

For the individual that asked why they changed the system, there are multiple reasons. The significant one being the disappearing ink debacle of last year. That cost FWP thousands just in the raw cost of the supplies to provide replacement licenses for those that had gone blank. With that being said, the ongoing cost of that specific paper, the ink and the cost of maintaining the printers was making the old system overly cost ineffective. Furthermore, if the state is anywhere close to being an efficiently operated machine, the state could actually generate a bunch of additional cash on the people doing the whole print at home thing. If they haven't done so already, they surely generate enough credit/debit card charges annually to negotiate a better fee from the processors of such transactions where they could keep the difference between what they are charged to accept the type of payment and what they charge us. It is the very fee that causes a significant number of businesses around this country not to accept American Express cards. 

I agree completely with PP's Free fishing day concept. What a great way to promote it and while they are at it, why not make it a week long thing. Other than the ice fisher people and some hearty die hard fly throwers, the number of folks out fishing in early March are minimal anyhow.

[Born Late]

Had the 1st not been on a Sunday, I can’t imagine the switch would be much of an issue.

Hunting season often began before the opener for me since I’d inevitably end up hunting around the house for at least one of my tags that trickled in via snail mail. Consequently, I do like the idea of having immediate one-stop access to all of my licenses and tags as my mind descends into the feebleness of its golden years.

[Perch-Eye]

I did hear from a game warden they will not issue citations on March 1st due to the "glitch".

This doesn't help for people that are out for a week of fishing that couldn't get their new licenses before they left.

[MT204]

If a private business had bought boxes of paper and there was a problem with the paper they would have gone to the supplier and got a refund. As far as ink, nope they were thermal printers. I've got thermal printers in my business that are 10 years old and never been touched much more cleaned. In the Government sector they change the whole system, I wonder how much the software programming etc that go with this cost? The bottom line is again the State has screwed up.

[gf hardwater guy]

I stand corrected on the ink, however, I do know that these problems last year were a huge factor in the change. I'm not saying its a good thing or a bad thing, but saying that at least part of the change was driven by this.

Agree with all that state the obvious that it takes the government to screw thing up, but just like the ALS system, it had some challenges, but once they got worked out that was better.

Tight lines everyone and please stay safe on the spring ice.

[G fish]

Good luck with a ziplock baggy n computer paper. 😂👎👎. Where does the thousands of dollars go for license and permits.  Just another way to catch people in a f up. Watch n lurn. Next year they will change it.

[PablitoPescador]

I’m just trying to picture how badly my carcass tags are going to get destroyed and throughout the season. Regular paper, even in a plastic baggy is not going to be resistant to the elements of the western style of hunting we do out here. We’re all gonna end up paying $5 multiple times for reprints and a few unfortunates are gonna get in trouble for not having a tag that can be read. Also, I’m trying to imagine how a punched tag is going to hold up on a blood soaked animal during a pack out in the rain or snow or on the drive home. This is going to be a disaster

[BigSage]

We should all give it some time.  Maybe it will be better, maybe it won't.  A digital copy of your fishing license will be a valid form of a license.
The carcass tags might be a bit of an issue.  As soon as I print out my hunting tags, I will immediately include a handful of zip-locks in my hunting pack.
I've always thought it's pretty easy to be legal and much cheaper that not!

[lundin-loading]

I don't have any issues with it. I already store all of my hunting tags in a Ziploc inside my kill kit that goes in my pack. Ill just throw a few extra ziplocks in my kill kit and keep on keeping on. I really love the idea of electronic non carcass tags, birds, fishing license conservation etc.

[Born Late]

We should all give it some time.

Exactly.

I don't have any issues with it. I already store all of my hunting tags in a Ziploc inside my kill kit that goes in my pack. Ill just throw a few extra ziplocks in my kill kit and keep on keeping on. I really love the idea of electronic non carcass tags, birds, fishing license conservation etc.

And exactly.  A ziplock-bagged carcass tag does not leave the protected confines of my pack until an animal is on the ground and after notching it’s completely Gorilla taped to a leg or antler, or to the meat bag containing evidence of sex in the case of a boned-out antlerless animal. The routine will be the same this year except for the benefit of being able to attach a printed tag to each meat bag when making multiple trips.

I too keep an electronic copy of my main license on my phone and a zip-locked paper copy in my flasher case pocket.

[BobberdownMT]

FNA

[Nockdown]

Just make a few copies of your tags 😁

[JH57]

I keep my license and carcass tags in my wallet.  Learned that lesson one day when I was 12 and went out with dad.  Somehow my license stayed home.  I got to wander around through the woods all day without my gun following dad around.  I still think he hid them to teach me a lesson, though he denied it to his dying day.

Hopefully they can either be laminated or folded into a credit card sized package and vacuum sealed.

[MT204]

Though i'd try the online way of buying fishing lic and yep there was/is a 8.5% up charge to buy and pay for it with a credit card on line!
Not this boy.
What a rip.

[Born Late]

Better re-check your math. Mine was 3.5% as expected. Under 2% if you choose the electronic check option.

[Icephishwyo]

Been printing out and covering my annual license with packing tape for a number of years now always in my tackle box or float coat