Get Your 2015 PA Fishing License at RFS

Fishing licenses are sold by license issuing agents through an electronic point-of-sale (POS) system. This system brings increased efficiency, more options, and easier upgrades for anglers. A current license, signed in ink, is required of persons age 16 and over to fish or angle for any species of fish and to take fishbait, baitfish and species of amphibians and reptiles from Commonwealth waters by those legal methods described in the Pennsylvania Fishing Summary of Fishing Regualtions and Laws (Summary Book). FISHING is defined as the act of angling, or to catch, take, kill or remove, or the attempt to catch, take, kill or remove, from any waters or other areas within or bordering this Commonwealth any fish by any means or method for any purpose whatsoever. CASTING and/or RETRIEVING, whether by rod, reel and line, or by handline, for oneself or for others, requires a current license, unless specifically exempted by law. See “Assistance to Children” for specifics on when a license is required when assisting a child (12 years of age and under).

2015 FISHING LICENSES Annual licenses are valid from December 1, 2014, through December 31, 2015. WHILE FISHING, your license must be signed in ink and must be displayed on an outer garment. In addition, anglers must be prepared to furnish positive proof of identification Code Type of Fishing License or Permit Age Cost* 101 Resident (Annual) (price includes $1 discount) 16-64   $21.70 104 Senior Resident (Annual) (price includes $1 discount) 65 & up 10.70 105 Senior Resident (Lifetime) 65 & up 51.70 108 1-day Resident (not valid March 15-April 30) 16 & up 11.70 102 Non-resident (Annual) (price includes $1 discount) 16 & up 51.70 106 1-day Tourist** not valid March 15-April 30) 16 & up 26.70 103 3-day Tourist 16 & up 26.70 107 7-day Tourist 16 & up 34.70 150 Trout/Salmon Permit 16 & up 9.70 151 Lake Erie Permit 16 & up 9.70 152 Combination Trout-Salmon/Lake Erie Permit 16 & up 15.70 135 Alternate Display Annual Fishing License Button*** All ages $5.00 109 Mentored Youth Day Permit 15 & below $0.00 110 Voluntary Youth Fishing License 15 & below $2.70

3-YEAR & 5-YEAR FISHING LICENSES

2015 MULTI-YEAR FISHING LICENSES WHILE FISHING, your license must be signed in ink and must be displayed on an outer garment. In addition, anglers must be prepared to furnish positive proof of identification Code Type of Fishing License or Permit Age Cost* 030 3-Year Resident 16-64   $64.70 031 3-Year Non-Resident 65 & up 154.70 032 3-Year Senior Resident 65 & up 31.70 033 3-Year Trout/Salmon Permit 16 & up 25.70 034 3-Year Lake Erie Permit 16 & up 25.70 035 3-Year Combination Trout-Salmon/Lake Erie Permit 16 & up 43.70 050 5-Year Resident 16-64 106.70 051 5-Year Non-Resident 65 & up 256.70 052 5-Year Senior Resident 65 & up 51.70 053 5-Year Trout/Salmon Permit 16 & up 41.70 054 5-Year Lake Erie Permit 16 & up 41.70 055 5-Year Combination Trout-Salmon/Lake Erie Permit 16 & up 71.70 140 1-Year Trout/Salmon Permit**# 16 & up 9.70 141 1-Year Lake Erie Permit** 16 & up 9.70 142 1-Year Combination Trout-Salmon/Lake Erie Permit** 16 & up 15.70

MULTI-YEAR FISHING LICENSES: A 3-year fishing license is valid through 2017 and a 5-year license is valid through 2019. Customers who buy multi-year licenses save money by not having to pay transaction and processing fees each year. For example, a customer who buys a 5-year license will save $6.80. Anglers can also purchase multi-year trout/salmon, Lake Erie and combo permits and experience similar savings or purchase single year trout/salmon, Lake Erie and combo permits. For December 2014 only, a $3 discount for 3-year licenses and a $5 discount for 5-year licenses will be available. To order and for more information on licenses, including receiving a free subscription to the digital version of Pennsylvania Angler & Boater magazine: www.GoneFishingPa.com.

MULTI-YEAR LICENSE UPGRADE CARDS: Anglers are able to purchase a durable plastic card version of the multi-year license. This upgrade is available for $11.70. Complete form PFBC-L-167S and send to the address indicated. Forms are available from the Commission’s website at:www.fishandboat.com/forms_fishing.htm. Upgrades can also be purchased through either the PFBC Outdoor Shop (www.pa.wildlifelicense.com) or from a license issuing agent.

VOLUNTARY YOUTH FISHING LICENSE

To participate in a Mentored Youth Fishing Day, anglers 16 years of age or older (adult anglers) must possess a valid Pennsylvania fishing license and be accompanied by a youth (less than 16 years of age) who has obtained a Mentored Youth Fishing Permit OR a Voluntary Youth Fishing License.The Mentored Youth Fishing Permit is free, and the Voluntary Youth Fishing License is $2.70. While both the permit and the Voluntary Youth Fishing License provide the opportunity for youth to fish on Mentored Youth Fishing Days, the Voluntary Youth Fishing License provides an extended return for both Pennsylvania’s youth and the Commission. For each license purchased for $2.70, the Commission receives $5 back in funding as a federal reimbursement. The same applies for each Voluntary Youth Fishing License Voucher, once it is redeemed. The Commission receives no federal reimbursement for Mentored Youth Fishing Permits. The funds received from the sales of the license reimbursement are then dedicated toward investment in youth outreach and education programs. While both the permit and the license provide the opportunity to participate in Mentored Youth Fishing Days, the Commission encourages anglers to purchase either a Voluntary Youth Fishing License or a Voluntary Youth Fishing License Voucher—for the future of fishing!

ALTERNATE DISPLAY ANNUAL FISHING LICENSE BUTTON

The annual buttons are available to all current, adult and youth Pennsylvania fishing license customers who possess a valid Pennsylvania fishing license that enables them to fish for the entire year. Lifetime Senior License and Multi-Year License holders can also purchase the buttons. For all eligible customers, the buttons are NOT required by law, and they are an optional purchase. The fee is $5.00 per button.Use of a valid Alternate Display Annual Fishing License Button meets the fishing license display requirement as long as the angler has a license certificate in their possession.

Best Live Bait for Spring Trout

Meal Worms: Best Live Bait for Spring Trout

Article by Joe Cermele

I always carry garden worms and mealworms during the early days of trout season, and I reach for the latter more often. These small, golden-yellow beetle larvae are more buoyant than earthworms, so they're easier to keep in feeding lanes. They show better in murky water. And their size, which matches that of most trout forage, screams Eat me!

My technique has always been straightforward: Stick a hook through the middle, crimp on a split shot, and kerplunk. Connecticut angler Matt Wettish, however, has turned drifting mealworms into an art form, and he claims these baits will catch the biggest trout in any given river, no matter how pressured.

The Perch Bug–Cahill Connection
Wettish learned light-tackle stream fishing from his grandmother, who used to collect what she called "perch bugs"—a type of aquatic larvae—and drift them for trout on 4-pound-test line in Connecticut's Farmington River. As he grew older, Wettish took up flyfishing, and as he got more proficient, he put together a strategy that combined what he knew about presenting flies with what he learned from Grandma.

"You can't effectively present a size 18 Cahill on 4-pound-test. You need 6X or 7X tippet, which is incredibly light," Wettish says. "I realized that the same rule applies to baitfishing. If you can't create a good drift, you're not going to catch as many fish."

That's when he started experimenting with different lines, hooks, and worms in clear, shallow water. Standard bait hooks were too heavy, causing worms to lag. Two-pound mono worked well, but 2-pound fluorocarbon, with its faster sink rate and disappearing qualities, was better. Wettish found that mealies provided the most natural drift.

"They are the closest readily available match to forage that trout eat most often, like aquatic larvae, stoneflies, and inchworms," he says. "I'm really not doing anything that different from what every other angler does. But my technique and presentation is subtly different." Here's how it breaks down:

• Worms: "I like giant mealworms, which measure between 11⁄4 and 11⁄2 inches."

• Hooks: "A size 12 scud hook used for fly tying is lighter and sharper than a standard small bait hook. It also takes less force to set one, which is important when using 2-pound-test."

• Rod: "I like a 61⁄2-foot ultralight spinning rod. Any longer and the rod is too whippy, which hurts accuracy and feeling. I want the rod to maintain a deep arc during the fight."

• Rig: "I insert the hook under the first ring behind the worm's head and thread it through until the eye and knot are completely hidden inside the bait. All that sticks out is the point and the barb. This keeps the bait perfectly in line with my fluoro. I use one or two BB-size split shot. The weights will get hung now and then, but what I want them to do is just skim or bounce along the bottom."

• Drift: "Cast upstream at a 45-degree angle, and drift until you reach a 45-degree angle. Don't let the bait hang downstream because it'll twist your line. I keep the line in my left hand while I high-stick with my right to keep better contact with the point where my line meets the water."

• Hook-set: "When I get a strike, I move the rod in one direction while lightly pulling the line in the other, like a fly set."

You can watch Wettish drift mealworms in every style of moving water, and see how he hooks and battles 20-plus-inch trout, on Real Outdoors TV (youtube.​com/​real​­out​doors​tv). As Wettish puts it, "Let the trout do what it wants to do. Get below the fish, and use the current to your advantage." Which is something else that his grandmother taught him.