Frequently Asked Questions

We get a lot of questions. We post here answers to questions we're being asked frequently. If you have a question not answered here, please contact us. Urgent questions should be directed to your nearest office. Some answers change over time; please take note of the "answered" date.

Displaying 3126 - 3150 of 3534 questions

A: 

The winter stream season ends March 31 - except in the Panhandle Region, where it runs through May 22. Until then trout fishing is catch-and-release only, but whitefish and brook trout may be harvested in streams open during the winter stream season. Except that whitefish in the Big Lost River are protected and may not be harvested at any time. Fishing gear or bait restrictions that apply to a river or stream section during the general season, also apply during the winter stream season. See regional exceptions in the Idaho 2008-2009 Fishing Seasons and Rules for waters open to winter stream fishing. Fish may be taken in the many rivers and streams open to fishing all year; other streams closed for the winter, open to fishing May 23 for the Memorial Day weekend.
answered 3/23/2009

A: 

Some serious sturgeon anglers have asked Fish and Game to consider requiring circle hooks because they rarely hook the large fish anywhere but the mouth. Sturgeon fishing is catch-and-release only, so many of the long-lived fish are caught many times. Circle hooks would reduce injuries to the fish. Fish and Game is not proposing any rule changes for sturgeon fishing. But fisheries managers are gathering ideas from the public that later this spring may develop into proposals for the Fish and Game Commission to consider for the next rules cycle in 2011.
answered 3/8/2009

A: 

No. An archery permit is required to hunt any of the "archery-only" seasons. But no archery permit is required to hunt in an "any weapon" season. To hunt in muzzleloader-only hunts, hunters also need to buy a muzzleloader permit.
answered 2/22/2009

A: 

You will have to wait a bit but the application period for controlled hunts for deer, elk, pronghorn and fall bear runs from May 1 through June 5.
answered 2/12/2009

A: 

Yes. The lifetime license is valid regardless of where you live. Over years, you will save serious money on the license itself. But tag fees for nonresidents would apply if you become a resident of another state or country.
answered 2/1/2009

A: 

No. Ice fishing rules are slightly different than general fishing for public safety and general crowding. Fishing is allowed only through a hole up to 10 inches in diameter. This reduces the risk of someone falling through holes. (The only exception is on Bear Lake in Southeast Idaho where anglers can dip net cisco through any size hole.) There are no restrictions on the number of holes, but an angler can fish with up to five poles or lines at a time, and up to five hooks per line. A two-pole validation does not allow more than five lines while ice fishing. All lines must be attended by the angler. Anglers also should check the rule book for regional restrictions.
answered 1/25/2009

Q: When I hunted in Oregon, I had to pay for the federal harvest information validation. Then I come back to Idaho and had to pay it again so I could hunt doves last fall. What's the deal with that?

It is for a federal program, so why do the states charge for it and every one of them charges for it individually? It's not a lot of money but it doesn't seem right.

A: 

You're right; the Harvest Information Program is a federal program. It is aimed at gaining better information on the hunter harvest of migratory birds. But the individual states do the collection of information, so they charge to cover costs incurred because most state wildlife agencies, like Idaho's, are almost completely funded by what amounts to user fees.
answered 1/15/2009

A: 

Idaho Fish and Game has gone to a simpler pricing structure, eliminating the package deals. The new Super Hunt prices are $6 for the first ticket of each species and $4 for each additional ticket for that species purchased during the same transaction. For Super Hunt Combo tickets, the first one is $20 and each additional ticket purchased during the same transaction is $16. Drawings will be in June and August, and as always, the proceeds go toward compensating willing landowners for hunter and angler access to or across private land.
answered 1/11/2009

A: 

This license allows 10- and 11-year-olds to hunt upland game birds, migratory birds, cottontail rabbits, and unprotected and predatory birds and animals, as well as turkeys and sandhill cranes. They must have a hunter education certification, and the holder of an adult Idaho hunting license must accompany the youth in the field. For more information refer to general hunting license regulations or visit the Fish and Game website at: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/licenses/
answered 1/4/2009

A: 

State code includes several laws on trespassing with different requirements for different situations, but most require permission to enter another person's land to hunt, fish, trap or retrieve game if it is cultivated, fenced or posted with signs or orange paint. Unposted fenced land may be open to hunting and fishing access. But posting is not required if the landowner or agent asks the person to leave. (There is, however, a penalty for falsely claiming public land as private.)
answered 12/21/2008

A: 

They should be available in early April. The 2009 books will go to the printer right after the Idaho Fish and Game Commission sets the 2009 seasons for deer, elk, pronghorn, black bear and mountain lion at a special meeting March 23 and 24. They will be sent out to license vendors as soon as they come back from the printer.
answered 12/16/2008

A: 

Nonresidents can buy licenses, deer and elk tags beginning Monday, December 1. Residents also can buy 2009 hunting licenses starting Monday, and they can buy a receipt for deer and elk tags, which don't go on sale until after deer, elk and pronghorn controlled hunt drawings. Hunters can redeem the receipt for a deer or elk tag after the controlled hunt drawings in July so those whose names were drawn don't have to exchange their general season tags for controlled hunt tags at a Fish and Game office. Instead the controlled winners are simply issued a controlled hunt tag at any license vendor. The rest are issued general season tags.
answered 11/23/2008

A: 

You must have an Idaho hunting license and tag, and you must stay within the season rules that Fish and Game has set up for the unit. All game belongs to the residents of Idaho, even when it is found on private property.
answered 11/9/2008

A: 

Stop. Anyone who has been hunting or fishing is supposed to stop. All hunters and anglers passing through Idaho are required to stop at Idaho Fish and Game check stations on their side of the road if they have been hunting, whether in Idaho or another state. Fish and Game has no way of knowing where they are coming from. A quick stop to let officials know that they have been hunting or fishing outside of Idaho will meet this requirement - even if no fish or game is present in the vehicle.
answered 11/2/2008

A: 

Yes, and you don't need a steelhead permit. But any steelhead caught must be released unharmed immediately, and you could be cited if you're fishing with steelhead gear. A steelhead is a rainbow trout more than 20 inches long in steelhead waters.
answered 10/26/2008

A: 

All big game hunters are required to file harvest reports, but only hunters of deer, elk or pronghorn can file electronically. Others must bring in antlers, horns or the entire animal to be checked at Fish and Game offices, an official check point or to a conservation officer. Moose hunters must bring in the antlers within 10 days of the kill. All hunters who have harvested either an antlered or antlerless moose also must complete a big game mortality report, available at Fish and Game regional offices, from conservation officers, and in some areas from taxidermists and meat processors, within 10 days.
answered 10/9/2008

A: 

No. The daily limit in Henrys Lake is two trout, including brook trout. The possession limit, however, is the same as the daily limit; therefore the most fish you can have in your possession is two. Parts of the lake are closed to fishing. Check the fishing rules book for additional details.
answered 10/5/2008

A: 

Idaho does not have a rule limiting the number of cartridges in a hunting rifle, nor for a shotgun while hunting non-migratory game birds.
answered 9/28/2008

A: 

To buy a license to hunt big game, a person must have completed a hunter education program - unless he or she was born before January 1975 - and must be 12 years old. But youths may buy a license while still 11 to apply for a controlled hunt, provided they turn 12 before the hunt. The tag, however, can't be issued until they turn 12. They must be 12 to buy a general season deer or elk tag.
answered 9/14/2008

A: 

There is no set deadline. But she must buy the tag before she goes hunting.
answered 9/7/2008

Q: I have a question about what constitutes an aggregate of eight grouse after opening day if four is the daily limit. Is that eight in an aggregate of a group of hunters?

Eight in personal possession at a time, i.e. in my fridge? Do I need to eat those eight before shooting more?

A: 

Eight in the aggregate means each hunter can have a total of eight grouse in any combination of dusky (blue), ruffed or spruce, in his or her possession, "while in the field or being transported to final place of consumption or storage." The refrigerator doesn't count.
answered 8/28/2008

A: 

Yes, it is legal to carry a handgun while archery hunting. But it's illegal to use any firearm to take an animal or finish off a wounded animal in an archery-only season.
answered 8/24/2008

A: 

The current Idaho equipment rules for muzzleloader-only big game hunts require that the weapon be "loaded only with a patched round ball or conical non-jacketed projectile comprised wholly of lead or lead alloy. Sabots are not allowed." The Idaho Fish and Game Commission and Fish and Game staff have confirmed the plastic gas check on the pure lead series Powerbelt bullet does not meet the definition of sabot - defined as "a sleeve placed around a projectile so that it can be fired from a weapon with a larger bore." The bullet specifications meet the minimum diameter, lead or lead alloy, and non-jacketed requirements.
answered 8/17/2008

A: 

To register a boat contact Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, at http://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/recreation/permits/boating.aspx or call 208-334-4199. To register the trailer, contact the Idaho Transportation Department at http://itd.idaho.gov/dmv/vehicleservices/registr.htm, or call 208-334-8663.
answered 8/10/2008

A: 

No. Non-biological hunting rules, including the use of scopes on muzzleloaders only for visually disabled hunters, approved by the Idaho Fish and Game Commission in Post Falls last week will not go into effect until 2009. In the past, this type of rule went to the commission in January, but a moratorium blocks proposed rulemaking from mid-November until the end of the legislative session. The change gives Fish and Game more time to make the public aware of changes and more time for public comment before 2009 seasons begin.
answered 8/3/2008