Ice fishing season will begin soon
Looking for that perfect gift for the angler or hunter on your Christmas list? If so, a Utah fishing or hunting license might be the answer. These licenses make great Christmas gifts. And they’re easy to buy.
Judi Tutorow, wildlife licensing coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources, says winter is a great time to give a license as a gift. “Some of the state’s waters are starting to ice over,” she says. “As soon as the ice is safe to walk on, another ice fishing season will be underway.”
And Tutorow says there’s still a chance to hunt in Utah. “Several hunting seasons,” she says, “including the cottontail rabbit, chukar partridge and snowshoe hare seasons, run through most of the winter.”
*Where to get one*
Buying a license at the DWR’s website (wildlife.utah.gov) is the easiest way to get one. You can also buy a license at DWR offices and from more than 260 fishing and hunting license agents across Utah.
Combination licenses—which allow the license holder to fish and hunt small game—are also available at the same locations and at the website.
Tutorow says buying a license for someone is easy. “The only information you need to provide is the person’s name, height, weight, eye color, hair color, date of birth, address and phone number,” she says.
*Order early*
If you buy a license at the website (wildlife.utah.gov), you can have it mailed to you (so you can wrap it and give it as a gift). Or, the license can be mailed directly to the person you’re buying it for.
It usually takes about five days for a license to arrive in the mail.
In addition to enjoying the outdoors in 2017, the person you give the license to will receive an added bonus: they won’t have to wait until Jan. 1 to use it. The license is valid starting the day you buy it. So, the person for whom you buy the license can start using it the day they receive it.
Annual Utah fishing and hunting licenses are 365-day licenses. That means they’re good for 365 days from the day you buy one.
**Costs**
Utah resident license and permit costs are as follows:
Combination license (ages 14 – 17) $20
Combination license (ages 18 – 64) $38
Combination license (age 65 and older) $29
Fishing license (ages 12 – 13) $5
Fishing license (ages 14 – 17) $16
Fishing license (ages 18 – 64) $34
Fishing license (age 65 and older) $25
Hunting license (age 13 and under) $11
Hunting license (ages 14 – 17) $16
Hunting license (ages 18 – 64) $34
Hunting license (age 65 and older) $25
**Two options**
In addition to buying a 365-day license, if the person you’re buying the license for is 18 years of age or older, you have two additional options:
– Instead of buying a 365-day license, you can buy a license that’s valid for two, three, four or even five years.
– If the person you’re buying for already has a license, you can extend the period of time when their current license is valid. For example, if the person you’d like to buy for has a license that will expire next April, you can buy a license extension for them now. The extension will keep their license valid for one, two, three, four or five years from the day the license was supposed to expire.
Please be aware, however, that a license extension may be bought only for a license that will expire within six months from the day you buy the extension. For example, if a license doesn’t expire until November 2017, the soonest you can buy an extension for it is June 2017, six months before it expires.
(One note: hunting and combination licenses do not include a deer or elk permit and do not allow someone to hunt deer or elk. Hunters can apply for a 2017 general buck deer permit in January. General elk permits will be available by mid-summer on a first-come, first-served basis.)
For more information about Utah fishing and hunting licenses, call the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office or the DWR’s Salt Lake City office at 801-538-4700.