Unicoi Outfitters is north Georgia's premier guide service and fly fishing outfitter, located on the Chattahoochee River near alpine Helen. Look for fishing reports, gear and book reviews, and general musings here from our staff and guides.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

New License Fees Go Into Effect

The Georgia General Assembly passed HB326 in their last session, and the Governor signed the bill into law - this law went into effect today. There are a number of changes, but of primary interest to our customers is the new license fee structure.

First, for Georgia residents, there are no changes to the one-year fishing license fees. The base fees are still $9 for fishing and $5 for trout, totaling $14 plus "convenience fees" for annual fishing including trout. The resident WMA fee remains the same as well - for those few fishing spots in the state that require it.

Georgia residents now have the option of a two-year term for these licenses as well. The rates are double the one year rate, except the fishing license is discounted $2 for the two year period.

Non-residents have a different set of options now:

Gone are the one-day and seven-day non-resident fishing licenses; the only short-term license is a three-day license for $20. There is now a short-term trout license available for $10, making the total for three days of non-resident trout fishing in Georgia $30 plus "convenience fees". Also, the three-day fishing license is now actually a hunting/fishing combo license - perfect if you want to visit for a cast & blast!

The non-resident annual fees have changed as well, and are now $45 for fishing and $20 for trout, for a total of $65 plus "convenience fees" for a year of Georgia trout fishing for non-residents. The non-resident WMA is unchanged at $73 per year.

There are a lot of other hunting and fishing license changes that you can read about here.

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