Quote Originally Posted by Southern OH Percid angler View Post
Hello all,
I am a new poster, but I have lurked here for some time to see what is happening on the best Walleye Lake in the world. I was content to just lurk, but this thread finally pushed me to registering so I could comment.

I will not argue for or against the extra permit fee. but I'd like to offer a little clarification. All fishing license fees in Ohio go directly to the division of Wildlife and are used for management of the resource. They pay for everything from research, hatcheries to law enforcement of Wildlife codes. Ohio's fees are quite reasonable compared to many states. In addition many of the shoreline and boat access construction is paid for by excise tax on fishing and boating gear from the federal government. No, let me repeat no general fund tax dollars are spent on fishing or Division of Wildlife funding. Actually the politicians are always trying to steal our money. As for boat registration: boats are registered by the resident state of the owner, non-residents may use their boats in Ohio waters and do not pay an extra registration. If they register as an Ohio boat the fee is the same for all. I do not know the reasoning behind the extra fee, but the Kasich administration has raided the DOW funds and they are in serious need of funding. The money absolutely will pay to manage the fishery. This was once a dead lake if your old enough to remember, the Dow has done a miraculous job managing this lake. So it erks me to see mis-information posted. Believe me I am in a position to know absolutely what I am talking about!
Well said. As Jules posted from the Ohio Regulations "Money generated by this permit will be used for specified purposes related to the protection and improvements of Lake Erie, such as combating invasive species, securing public access and providing for fish management projects in Lake Erie." Small price to pay for access to the tremendous spring fishing.