Hillbilly Redneck
wishin I was fishin
There's fishing regulations in Washington State? Apparently only the people on this site are aware of this.
Does the WDFW mobile app just kinda suck?
- Thread starter Josh
- Start date
I really like the regs here in Montana. Just look at the regs, find where I live and fish. It tells me what I can keep and what I can't keep. But since I don't keep fish I'm safe. Just for shits and grins I keep a copy at home and one in my truck.
I fished in Washington for almost 60 years. Got tired of the changing the regs every year. Plus the closing of the Skinny water, just didn't sit right with me. When I started fishing in Washington the catch cards were free that was in the middle 50's. The N/F Stilly used to be open all year around. It just changed to gear in December and back to Fly fishing in April. What could of been simpler. Now your lucky to be able to fish it for three months. Plus they keep changing their mind on where a piece of Skinny waters is open or closed. Theirs regs just suck.
I fished in Washington for almost 60 years. Got tired of the changing the regs every year. Plus the closing of the Skinny water, just didn't sit right with me. When I started fishing in Washington the catch cards were free that was in the middle 50's. The N/F Stilly used to be open all year around. It just changed to gear in December and back to Fly fishing in April. What could of been simpler. Now your lucky to be able to fish it for three months. Plus they keep changing their mind on where a piece of Skinny waters is open or closed. Theirs regs just suck.
^ This. This app exists, so why do I have to carry a flipping paper catch card and license everywhere is beyond me. The receipt paper is shit; it fades rapidly in the sun, goes black in the heat, and the text rubs off in my wallet. I have to replace it a few times a year.
Also, why is it downloading updates every time I open it if those updates don’t always reflect what the rules currently are?
A couple of features I'd love in addition to accurately reflecting the regs:
1. Better visibility of wdfw access points
2. Enabling the ability to turn on the shellfish beaches toggle. It's there, but greyed out.
Well, they do. More than one. I don’t want to post up someone’s linked in page but you could easily search it and they do- mobile app developers/software engineers.
IT App Development--Journey - Hatchery Data Mobile Application Developer - Permanent - *11909-22
FULL-TIME/PERMANENT HATCHERY DATA MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPER IT APP DEVELOPMENT - JOURNEY Fish Program – Fish Science Division Olympia, Washington This is a key position within the WDFW Fish Program, Science Division Biological Data Systems Software and Technology (BDS SwaT). The applications...
www.governmentjobs.com
wanderingrichard
Life of the Party
ThatGuyRyRy
Life of the Party
Still nowhere near the staffing of any tech company who would be supporting an app. The adoption of new modern development technologies is glacial in government.Well, they do. More than one. I don’t want to post up someone’s linked in page but you could easily search it and they do- mobile app developers/software engineers.
IT App Development--Journey - Hatchery Data Mobile Application Developer - Permanent - *11909-22
FULL-TIME/PERMANENT HATCHERY DATA MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPER IT APP DEVELOPMENT - JOURNEY Fish Program – Fish Science Division Olympia, Washington This is a key position within the WDFW Fish Program, Science Division Biological Data Systems Software and Technology (BDS SwaT). The applications...
No argument there!
The app sucks, it's true. I'm no WDFW apologist, but they probably deserve a bit of a pass on this one.
Our fishing regulations might be the most complicated, frequently changing in the world, largely due to endangered runs of anadromous fish and way too many stakeholders fighting over who gets to kill the last one. The states with "better" apps don't have to deal with many regulation changes during the year, and when they do, they are generally applied wholesale (take hoot owl hours for an example). Just to keep the regs current (let alone add a digital catch record feature) would require a dedicated program, complete with a fisheries person, a member of the team that addresses regulation changes, at least one developer, a program analyst, someone to manage them.... Under better circumstances (not post-COVID), it might be more feasible to hire people to do something like that. As it stands, the State is going through the same staffing (and budget) shortage as the private sector, so the people left and the new ones who don't know what they're doing yet are struggling (and apparently failing) to keep the lights on.
Don't get me wrong; I had high hopes for the app, and I think it should be better than it is by now, but I don't think the poor quality of the app registers anywhere near the top of my concerns about WDFW this morning.
Our fishing regulations might be the most complicated, frequently changing in the world, largely due to endangered runs of anadromous fish and way too many stakeholders fighting over who gets to kill the last one. The states with "better" apps don't have to deal with many regulation changes during the year, and when they do, they are generally applied wholesale (take hoot owl hours for an example). Just to keep the regs current (let alone add a digital catch record feature) would require a dedicated program, complete with a fisheries person, a member of the team that addresses regulation changes, at least one developer, a program analyst, someone to manage them.... Under better circumstances (not post-COVID), it might be more feasible to hire people to do something like that. As it stands, the State is going through the same staffing (and budget) shortage as the private sector, so the people left and the new ones who don't know what they're doing yet are struggling (and apparently failing) to keep the lights on.
Don't get me wrong; I had high hopes for the app, and I think it should be better than it is by now, but I don't think the poor quality of the app registers anywhere near the top of my concerns about WDFW this morning.
We know that the fisheries in Washington are complex and extremely political. I know there are members of the PNWFF community that have been-are way more actively engaged providing feedback with valuable hard data to WDFW about our fisheries than I. But I have provided feedback to the district bios about the first big changes to freshwater regulations for ESA and subsequent emergency regs providing no ESA benefit from a couple of fisheries that helped justify reopening them under "emergency" and permanent rules. I have been told there is even governance (agency policy, possibly codified) that limit how soon new changes to (permanent?) rules can be implemented after a previous change. But honestly I know little else of what goes on within the agency.
I also received emails from WDFW about the Fish Washington beta and provided feedback. To get the regulation changes published I am guessing it takes a Change Control process involving a fisheries business analyst and IT systems analysts plus workflow with tracking for IT tasks to the teams that manage the
Washington Fishing Seasons & Rules
Official Washington Fishing rules and regulations. License and permit information, season dates, size and creel limits and more.
www.eregulations.com
I am also guessing that adding functionality to the Fish Washington app such as a Catch Record starts with a business case showing it provides value that could include greater - more accurate - timely reporting and/or cost savings when added to or replacing the current pen and paper method to justify both the projected startup and ongoing manhour and systems costs for management approval and the budget to implement. Then fisheries has to provide the requirements to IT.
I doubt that "Oregon did it" and that some anglers want it is going to carry much weight.
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