Article in northern Ohio’s News Herald paper the other day said that sales of Ohio resident fishing licenses are off 9.5% this year, or 56,871 licenses worth more than $1 million.
On the non-rez front, annual licenses were down by 1,945, 3-day licenses were down 3,298 and 1-day fishing licenses dropped by 4,563. Presumably that’s a low 6-figure amount to add to the $1-mil rez total. At a time when all DNRs are struggling for dollars, that’s a tough blow.
Vicki Ervin, spokeswoman for OH DNR, told the paper, “It was pretty much weather-related. It’s been a tough year weather-wise, that’s for sure.”
It’s a fact that tackle doesn’t sell as well during rainy, cooler springs, so I guess I get the relationship. But a 10% drop – does anyone have any other state numbers to compare that to?
Ohio’s always been a bassin’ stronghold: Are there fewer tourneys in Ohio these days?
Interesting to note that sales of hunting licenses and deer tags are already up vs. last year, and surely the fall weather in Ohio is the same as everywhere else: iffy. And that’s football season too.
Anyone have any intel?
9 Comments
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Rich Arnold
August 30, 2011 at 1:44 pm
Ohio a bass strong hold!?!? That’s an over exageration if I have ever heard one. The Ohio River is a very tough fishery and your average fish is pretty small in comparison to some neighboring states. Now there are some good pro sticks from that area, but Ohio is not a bass stronghold IMHO. When you talk to guys like Lowen, Thomas, and Scalish…they talk about the tough conditions and the fewer and smaller fish. Combine that with a rough year of weather and that explains a lot about why the liscense sales are off!
admin (mostly Jay)
August 30, 2011 at 2:03 pm
Should have clarified: OH is a BASS stronghold.
Rich Arnold
August 31, 2011 at 10:17 am
Well, in that case….you are correct!!
Wayne Hutson
August 30, 2011 at 6:04 pm
From what I’ve seen on the redo of Ohio fish license requirements by the State, it’s no wonder that sales have been down. At a local tackle store in Dayton, fishing licenses weren’t available till late July. I saw customers come in and left shaking their heads because they couldn’t get their licenses. Not everyone has a computer to purchase their own. I put a lot of blame on the ODNR for not implementing the new rules sooner.
admin (mostly Jay)
August 31, 2011 at 10:58 am
Seriously? That’s nuts!
Mike
August 31, 2011 at 8:20 am
Maybe because Ohio’s biggest lake, Grand Lake St. Mary’s, has been shut down due to toxic algae and warnings on numerous other lakes? Maybe because of OH DNR’s policy of no bass stocking?
PJ
August 31, 2011 at 11:39 am
Yea – it was about near impossible to get a license for much of the spring. The state instituted a new “technology” for printing the licenses and collecting information, and it became a mess. In order to sell licenses, shops had to purchase the new computer/hardware to use the new system, which cost in the thousands of dollars. A lot of places that always sold licenses didn’t want to buy that equipment, and it became harder to find a place that did. Those that did had frequent issues with the system. It took me personally over 3 weeks to get a license, after visiting about a dozen places. A complete mess.
admin (mostly Jay)
August 31, 2011 at 11:47 am
Crazy. Also crazy the newspaper article didn’t bother to mention that….
PJ
September 1, 2011 at 3:48 pm
Yes, talking to some ODNR this spring, they admitted that it turned out to be rather embarrassing for them