WDFW Digital license

CRO said:
What if you dont own a phone. Is a smart phone gonna be required of anyone 15yrs old to fish in this state? Plain paper tags could be easily reproduced allowing a hunter to produce multiple tags.
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My sentiments exactly but more and more necessary functions are being pushed to the phones.
 
Yard Sale said:
Just got off a 7 day JD float. About halfway through my phone fell out of my front pocket getting out of the boat. It was about 4' deep with about 1' of viso. There goes not only my fishing license and boat tag but also my river permit(they stopped paper permits at the put in this year). Fortunately I was able to feel around with my feet and find it and it was still alive.

A digital option is great, but for the love of god just let me print my own paper if I want to. Those crazy fukrs over at Ziplock are on to something...
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I'm pretty sure if you get checked you can show them your drivers license they can just look up your fishing license. I'm sure that dropping your phone isn't an uncommon occurrence while fishing. I had one friend who was fishing on a rock, up high on the Sky and dropped his phone into a gap between the rocks.. I was close enough to hear the splash! It was probably 14 ' down so he didn't try to recover it. Thank God for insurance!!
 
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flybill said:
I'm pretty sure if you get checked you can show them your drivers license they can just look up your fishing license. I'm sure that dropping your phone isn't an uncommon occurrence while fishing. I had one friend who was fishing on a rock, up high on the Sky and dropped his phone into a gap between the rocks.. I was close enough to hear the splash! It was probably 14 ' down so he didn't try to recover it. Thank God for insurance!!
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All they need is your name and DOB to look up your license.
No need to show them your drivers license.
SF
 
Brian Miller said:
Glad you got your phone back Yard!
If I may, I'd suggest an IP68 waterproof phone pouch, or if you want to take pictures, a form fitted case; $20 to $50. They either come with or have an anchor point that will accept 20lb backing or braid to connect to a neck lanyard that will keep it at your fingertips and prevent loss. Tucked into a pocket, into a shirt, or under a pfd it won't be a bother.

A case's stick-on fingerprint feature may be quirky or quit working but I just press the power button once, quick swipe, and enter my 4 digit PIN. Takes less than 5 seconds, works every time.

Also keeping the phone in airplane mode when in poor or no cell coverage will still allow GPS for navigation and WIFI and BT for connecting devices but stops the heavy cell radio battery drain

And for around $20 to $40+ a lightweight pocket sized power bank in a dry bag or pouch will charge your phone 2+ times if you are using it for pics and navigation.
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Yeah, I have one of those covers but it’s so bulky I don’t use it. Probably should for my floats. Surprisingly my phone was under water for a solid half hour and had no issues.

Airplane mode and low battery mode as soon as I lose cell service. I only use it for pics and music and get 4 days easy. I have a small solar panel that keeps my phone and speaker charged even in cloud cover but also carry a small battery bank. In 8 days I never went under %75.

Ice is the big challenge on long floats!
 
After one day of use I can surely say the wdfw app sucks bad.

It constantly logs me out and demand a pin number to log back in. I have no pin number for it
And was never prompted to create one.
 
Rob Allen said:
After one day of use I can surely say the wdfw app sucks bad.

It constantly logs me out and demand a pin number to log back in. I have no pin number for it
And was never prompted to create one.
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Weird. The app does ask me for my user name and password to log in, but never a PIN.

Do you possibly use a PIN to unlock your phone and that's what it's asking for?
 
Snopro said:
Weird. The app does ask me for my user name and password to log in, but never a PIN.

Do you possibly use a PIN to unlock your phone and that's what it's asking for?
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The pin to unlock my phone doesn't work.. the worst part it gets stuck on the enter pin screen with no way out
 
A question for those that have bought their new license on line and dont have a paper copy. What do you now use for a vehicle access pass that must be displayed at WDFW boat launches to avoid being ticketed? I was wondering if anyone has tried to buy a paper discovery pass from a licensed dealer now. I know of one person in the Lynnwood area that was unable to get a paper License from 4 dealers in the area. I would assume any regional office for WDFW should be able to sell you licenses and make a paper copy for you.
 
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CRO said:
A question for those that have bought their new license on line and dont have a paper copy. What do you now use for a vehicle access pass that must be displayed at WDFW boat launches to avoid being ticketed? I was wondering if anyone has tried to buy a paper discovery pass from a licensed dealer now. I know of one person in the Lynnwood area that was unable to get a paper License from 4 dealers in the area. I would assume any regional office for WDFW should be able to sell you licenses and make a paper copy for you.
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I just printed mine on the home printer.

and here’s some online info in case you’re unable to do so👇

IMG_9879.png
 
CRO said:
A question for those that have bought their new license on line and dont have a paper copy. What do you now use for a vehicle access pass that must be displayed at WDFW boat launches to avoid being ticketed? I was wondering if anyone has tried to buy a paper discovery pass from a licensed dealer now. I know of one person in the Lynnwood area that was unable to get a paper License from 4 dealers in the area. I would assume any regional office for WDFW should be able to sell you licenses and make a paper copy for you.
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That raises an interesting question. I always buy my Discover Pass from the machine kiosks located at state parks. Those use the similar type of paper as the fishing licenses I believe. So are all those units going to be obsolete? How are folks going to pay if they only need to buy a daily pass?
Not all parks have staff on hand or open offices to be able to print out the other version of the Discover Pass, which is a printed window placard.
SF
 
M_D said:
I just printed mine on the home printer.

and here’s some online info in case you’re unable to do so👇

View attachment 183273
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I
Matt B said:
Yep, I just wrote that in sharpie on a couple sheets of 8.5x11 paper folded it in half and stuck one in the glove box of each vehicle.
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the printed pass only had space for 2 license plates. This method appears to make as many vehicles as you want able to park or access WDFW land. I wonder what else you purchase and self print at home (ie catch records) could be duplicated multiple times.
 
CRO said:
I

the printed pass only had space for 2 license plates. This method appears to make as many vehicles as you want able to park or access WDFW land. I wonder what else you purchase and self print at home (ie catch records) could be duplicated multiple times.
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winning lottery tickets 🤔???😁😁😁
 
Stonedfish said:
That raises an interesting question. I always buy my Discover Pass from the machine kiosks located at state parks. Those use the similar type of paper as the fishing licenses I believe. So are all those units going to be obsolete? How are folks going to pay if they only need to buy a daily pass?
Not all parks have staff on hand or open offices to be able to print out the other version of the Discover Pass, which is a printed window placard.
SF
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AI response from Google when I asked about the kiosks being able to print on different paper...🤓
"Based on current legislation, Washington State Park kiosks will still be able to print Discover Passes on paper receipts after July 1, 2026, though with updated requirements. According to Senate Bill 5390 (passed in 2025), beginning July 1, 2026, the Discover Pass—whether printed at a kiosk or a vendor—must contain space for up to three motor vehicle license plate numbers." 🤞
 
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