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 3376 - 3400 of 3534 questionsA:
The Fish and Game Commission changed the spring 2003 limits only, when they made the rule change on December 12, 2002. Anglers can keep 20 steelhead this spring on the first steelhead permit. If you are good enough to catch more (or have a big enough freezer) you may purchase a second steelhead permit for this spring and take home another 20. So it's 40 for this spring only.Right now the limits for the fall 2003 stand at two per day, four in possession, and 10 for the season (See page 59 in the current rules). Even though you may have two permits in your wallet, the season limit will only be 10 this fall unless it is changed by the Commission. We will not know how strong the fall run will be until the fish start entering the Columbia River this summer. Steelhead entering fresh water from the ocean this year, and coming to Idaho, will spawn during the spring 2004.answered 3/10/2003
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The drawings are done and cards are in the mail to those lucky hunters who drew. If you think maybe the dog ate your mail, you can check (your license number will be required) on the Fish and Game Internet web site at www2.state.id.us/fishgame. Tags will be available for purchase March 6 and thereafter.answered 3/2/2003
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No, the lifetime license is just the license. Tags must be purchased separately. Residents with a lifetime license can get a Sportsman's Package at a discount or buy tags separately. Residents with a lifetime license can get a Sportsman's Package at a discount upon recertification at Fish and Game offices only. Lifetime licenses or recertifications are only available at Fish and Game offices.answered 2/23/2003
Q: I've lived in Idaho for more than six months, so I qualify for a resident hunting license. I showed my utility bills to the vendor but he wouldn't issue it because I still have my Iowa driver's license. Aren't my utility bills enough?
The utility bills show I've been here 10 months.A:
Only non-drivers—those who do not possess any driver's license—can use utility bills, rent receipts, or mortgage statements to prove residency for fishing and hunting purposes. Drivers must have a valid Idaho driver's license to prove residency.answered 2/13/2003
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Yes, for some folks. All junior/senior/Disabled American Veteran turkey tags are reduced to $9.75. For the rest of us, the first spring turkey tag will still cost $18 but the second tag (the late spring/fall) general season tag will cost only $12 each. This is the only fall tag, so if it is used in the late spring season, there will be no fall turkey hunting.answered 2/9/2003
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The drawing for the 10 Supertags will be held about the end of March. If you are one of the lucky ones, you will be notified shortly thereafter by phone or mail.answered 2/3/2003
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Yes, you are. The new rule exempts all consideration of the once-in-a lifetime rule in the case of leftover tags.answered 1/26/2003
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Indeed you may. A procedure for allocating southeast deer tags (for units 75- 76, 77, and 78) works a lot like a controlled hunt, but it is not officially a controlled hunt. The new procedure is simply aimed at making allocation of the coveted southeast tags more orderly than it has been in the past.answered 1/16/2003
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Yes, but not this year. Fish and Game has delayed imposing a fee of $1.50 when hunters fail to file their reports on time and the license vendor must file the report by computer before a new license can be issued. The delay will give hunters time to see the rule printed and become familiar with it. The fee is now scheduled to go into effect for 2004. The fee will not, of course, apply to those who have filed their reports in a timely manner. The fee pays the vendor for providing the service.answered 1/12/2003
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It's only free for graduates of an Idaho hunter education course who have never had a hunting license, age 10-17. Call your regional Fish and Game office and find out when the next registration day is. On that day, sign her up for a course. After successfully completing the course she will receive the free license. It is good for hunting upland game and waterfowl. It is not good for turkeys or sandhill cranes. If she is interested in hunting turkeys or sandhill cranes, she needs to get the Youth Small Game Hunting License for $6.50. For big game, she'll have to wait until she's 12 and get the Junior Hunting License.answered 1/5/2003
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The new Idaho license plate featuring a native cutthroat trout in a mountain scene will join the popular bluebird and elk plates at your county assessor's office early in 2003 but not at the first of January. The graphics for the new plate were not delivered to the Idaho Department of Transportation as quickly as was anticipated, so it looks like something around a month's delay. Patience: The license plate is bound to look fine on anglers' and fish fanciers' favorite rides.answered 12/29/2002
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The new steelhead season begins on the first day of the new year. A new fishing license and steelhead tag is required. What you hear about the run is right. The run over Lower Granite Dam has exceeded 205,000 steelhead, the second largest run on record. Your Fish and Game Commission recently raised the limits for the spring season to three per day and nine in possession. If you do so well that you want to buy a second tag, you can legally have 40 fish in the new season.answered 12/22/2002
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True, in muzzleloader-only and traditional muzzleloader seasons, Idaho rules on muzzleloaders require that they are "equipped only with a flint or percussion cap." If you are hunting in an any-weapon season with a muzzleloader, there is no restriction on primers or caps.answered 12/15/2002
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To report the band, call toll-free to 1-800-327-2263 (BAND). You can keep the band, as most duck hunters want to do. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will send you a certificate that tells you when and where the bird was banded, if you give a mailing address. Banding of migratory birds has been carried out for decades, providing biologists with valuable information about where birds go and where they find the right conditions along the way. The practice also gives some clues about waterfowl harvest levels.answered 12/10/2002
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Under Idaho law, a moose is a moose, bull or cow, and you can only take one in a lifetime.answered 12/1/2002
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Yes, in the restructuring of rules and costs for young hunters, nonresident youths from 12-17 will pay the same junior prices as residents pay in 2003. Youths must be accompanied and mentored by the adult holder of a valid Idaho license.answered 11/24/2002
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Yes, you need a new Idaho hunting license come January 1, 2003, but your federal waterfowl stamp is valid through the end of the current waterfowl season.answered 11/17/2002
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No, that would be entirely against the law. Fish and Game tries to accommodate folks who are not able-bodied with special license fees for the disabled and even with shoot-from-a-vehicle permits in some special cases, but shooting a game animal for someone else has always been unlawful. "Party hunting" with shooting until all the tags in the group are filled is one of the practices the law is intended to halt, and tickets are regularly issued when it is detected. Essentially, there would be no place to stop if hunters could legally shoot for someone else.answered 11/7/2002
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No, the deadline that was in effect for muzzleloader and archery permits several years ago has been eliminated.answered 11/3/2002
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No. The confusion comes from the fact that tag price lists show Jr./Sr./DAV, for Junior, Senior, Disabled American Veteran, on the same line. They are grouped that way because they are priced the same.answered 10/27/2002
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There is no provision in Idaho law for keeping roadkill and you do not want to be in possession of a dead deer out of season, no tag and so on. If you did keep a carcass, you would most likely wish you had not done so. Collisions with highway traffic usually leave carcasses sadly unusable for human consumption.answered 10/20/2002
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In that particular population of moose, the occurrence of pure albino moose is just one animal in 100,000. Considering that Idaho does not have 100,000 moose at any one time, it is not a common sight.answered 10/10/2002
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The rule is pretty simple but your choices in how to meet the law are not as easy as they once were. Lead shot is not legal for any kind of waterfowl hunting anywhere in the United States. The alternative, when the rule went into effect around 1990, was steel shot.Not everyone was happy with steel's performance and it could not be shot in many older, favorite shotguns. Ammunition manufacturers large and small went to work and have come up with several new types of shot that are legal in Idaho for waterfowl shooting. The legal types are listed in the waterfowl proclamation booklet.One type, bismuth shot, is advertised as safe for older guns that will not handle steel. Another, Hevi-shot, is actually heavier than lead shot and reputedly even more effective. A couple of types using tungsten have had good reviews. Steel shot has been improved in several ways, mainly by giving it higher velocity to overcome the problem of having less retained energy than other shot. The downside of the shotshells containing metals other than steel is that they are more expensive. The upside is that shotshells for waterfowling can be found to satisfy just about any need and getting the lead out is credited with saving more than two million birds every year.answered 10/6/2002
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You are strongly encouraged to wear as much as you need to make yourself visible to other hunters afield, but there is no law in Idaho that requires you to wear hunter orange at any time.answered 9/30/2002
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Forest Grouse represent an exception to the rules governing hunting of most game birds. Forest grouse may be taken legally with shot, rimfire, centerfire or muzzleloading firearms as well as with bow and arrow. Rocks and sticks are allowed for forest grouse. Unlawful are traps, snares, nets and crossbows. The reason for the liberal rules about taking forest grouse is that the birds are traditional camp food for big game hunters. Big game hunters often do not want to fire a loud firearm in their hunt area.answered 9/22/2002