My understanding is you must consider where you plan to launch: if you launch in Washington, you must abide by any Washington-specific rules when there are differences in the Oregon vs Washington rules. As long as the rules as the same for both states, either license will do while you are in the mainstem of the Columbia. If you go up any tributaries, then you better have the correct state's license. I am no expert, but this has been discussed here multiple times. Hopefully someone who knows the subtlety of this will chime in.

 

Either will work. Oregon is more convenient because of App. Maybe WA has an App I don’t know. ????
I only buy WA because of drano and wind for Springers. If it wasn’t for that I would do Oregon regardless of what side I launch on.

 

But…. Washington doesn’t require buying a salmon tag too…. Regardless… you should think of a short term license unless multiple trips are in store.

 

Washington out of state is way cheaper. It’s even cheaper than my in-state Oregon license and tag. My non-resident Washington freshwater license, salmon / steelhead tag, and 2-rod endorsement cost me a total of $102 this year. You can use either state’s license on the mainstem CR regardless of where you launch.

 

Thanks folks. As long as the license requirement isn't determined by where you launch (we would most likely be out of the Oregon side) then it seems like Washington makes the most financial sense for the main channel of the Columbia.

 

Is doesn’t matter where you launch while fishing the mainstream. But it does if you’re fishing a tributary. Washington seems to have the better tributaries to fish.

 

Most definitely do the Washington if only going to fish the Columbia. Heck I'm an Oregon resident and don't even bother buying my Oregon license anymore, just buy my out of state Washington license.

 

Better double check the regs, but as far as I know, it does depend on where you launch. If an out-of-State angler (that is, neither WA or OR), wants to fish on the Columbia River, they must posses an out-of-State license from whichever State they are launching from. So if your Idaho friend is launching from Oregon, that angler needs an out-of-State Oregon license. Ditto for Washington.

But that does not apply to OR or WA residents. An OR or WA resident can launch from either side with the appropriate license (either in-State or out-of-State, doesn't matter).

 

Better double check the regs, but as far as I know, it does depend on where you launch. If an out-of-State angler (that is, neither WA or OR), wants to fish on the Columbia River, they must posses an out-of-State license from whichever State they are launching from.

Ok, where? Can't find anything like that and I believe you are mistaken.

 

Try this: "When angling within three miles of shore from Cape Falcon, OR to Leadbetter Point, WA, or in the waters of the Columbia River where it forms the Oregon-Washington boundary both Washington and Oregon resident fishing licenses are valid. Any anglers other than Washington residents must have a valid Oregon angling or shellfish license when landing fish or taking shellfish by boat in Oregon."

This is taken directly from the ODFW website. So if you're launching from Oregon, you are considered to be "landing fish or taking shell fish by boat in Oregon".

 

Try this: "When angling within three miles of shore from Cape Falcon, OR to Leadbetter Point, WA, or in the waters of the Columbia River where it forms the Oregon-Washington boundary both Washington and Oregon resident fishing licenses are valid. Any anglers other than Washington residents must have a valid Oregon angling or shellfish license when landing fish or taking shellfish by boat in Oregon."

This is taken directly from the ODFW website. So if you're launching from Oregon, you are considered to be "landing fish or taking shell fish by boat in Oregon".

Wow, thank you for posting this. I was 100% sure I was correct, but I stand corrected. I didn’t realize that there was distinction on license reciprocity depending on state of residence. Hopefully the OP will read this before buying the Washington license.

 

my buddy from Hawaii always gets the WA license, its cheaper.. we fish B10 and moorage at west basin

 

wdfw app since there re model has been working nice for me

 

I believe I was incorrect in my earlier post. As I read the regs posted above ( #11), ALL anglers fishing in Oregon waters must have a valid Oregon license. There is one, and only one exception: Washington RESIDENT anglers who are fishing the Columbia River where it forms the OR/WA border and the ocean between Cape Falcon and Leadbetter Point.

In other words, Oregon residents must have a valid Oregon license while fishing B-10. An Oregon resident who is fishing B-10 with an out-of-State Washington license is likely fishing with an invalid license. It may seem cheaper for Oregon residents to buy an out-of-State Washington license to fish B-10. But if the license is not valid, it’s essentially worthless.

That would include anglers from Idaho or Hawaii too. If they are launching from, and returning to, Oregon they better have an Oregon license.

 

That would include anglers from Idaho or Hawaii too. If they are launching from, and returning to, Oregon they better have an Oregon license.

thanks for info, I always thought the Columbia was a shared river and you could launch from any side and fish..and return to either side.. I guess all this time my buddy, from hawaii, has been in violation, using a WA out of state license.. good thing I'm not the captain, just the cabin boy

 

Hmmm, so I found the passage quoted by Cohoangler:

(PS - it's incredibly obnoxious to have non-stop pop-up ads obstructing and distracting when trying to read and decipher legal language!)


The language seems fairly clear, but the only thing I find somewhat confusing is this passage is specifically under the 'Endorsement and Validation' subsection of the regulations. You think this language would be under the licensing subsection of the regulations.

I was strongly considering purchasing only the WA non-resident license next year as we spend 98% of our time fishing the Columbia, folks say it's cheaper than an Oregon resident license, and then we'd be able to fish Drano and the Wind, but after reading the passage above, it seems that would not be legal if we wanted to launch on the Oregon side. Then again, we could fairly easily launch and retrieve strictly from the WA side, it may just add a small amount of commute time.

 

Thanks for posting the page from the ODFW website. That’s very helpful.

However, you made the same mistake I did. As I read it now, an out-of-State Washington license is NOT a valid Oregon license. So it cannot be used by Oregon residents when fishing the Columbia River (downstream of the Tri-Cities, including B-10). Note that the first sentence says nothing about out-of-State anglers. It only covers resident anglers with resident licenses. The second sentence covers ALL anglers (including Oregon residents), with one exception: Washington residents. So Oregon residents must have a valid Oregon license when fishing B-10, regardless of where you launch.

So , as I interpret the regs, if an Oregon or Washington resident is boarded by a game warden while fishing B-10, they MUST have a valid license from the State in which they reside. (BTW, this has happened to me three times.). Again it may be cheaper for an Oregon resident to buy an out-of-State Washington license when fishing B-10, but if it’s not a valid Oregon license, they may be fishing without a license.

Also, on a related note….. I’m a Washington resident. The reg also means that I cannot cast for surf perch or dig clams at Cannon Beach with my Washington resident license, even though Cannon Beach is north of Cape Falcon, and south of Leadbetter Point. But I can bring home a limit of 12 crab or any other species of fish, provided I’m fishing from a boat. Go figure…….

 

Thanks for posting the page from the ODFW website. That’s very helpful.

However, you made the same mistake I did. As I read it now, an out-of-State Washington license is NOT a valid Oregon license. So it cannot be used by Oregon residents when fishing the Columbia River (downstream of the Tri-Cities, including B-10). Note that the first sentence says nothing about out-of-State anglers. It only covers resident anglers with resident licenses. The second sentence covers ALL anglers (including Oregon residents), with one exception: Washington residents. So Oregon residents must have a valid Oregon license when fishing B-10, regardless of where you launch.

So , as I interpret the regs, if an Oregon or Washington resident is boarded by a game warden while fishing B-10, they MUST have a valid license from the State in which they reside. (BTW, this has happened to me three times.). Again it may be cheaper for an Oregon resident to buy an out-of-State Washington license when fishing B-10, but if it’s not a valid Oregon license, they may be fishing without a license.

Also, on a related note….. I’m a Washington resident. The reg also means that I cannot cast for surf perch or dig clams at Cannon Beach with my Washington resident license, even though Cannon Beach is north of Cape Falcon, and south of Leadbetter Point. But I can bring home a limit of 12 crab or any other species of fish, provided I’m fishing from a boat. Go figure…….

I think you're misinterpreting things.

The first sentence, in the snippet from the regulations that I posted, is speaking specifically of a Columbia River Endorsement.

I'm fairly certain, as an Oregon resident, I could buy a WA non-resident license and fish all up and down the Columbia for salmon. The key is, I would have to land all those salmon in Washington state.

 

Here is another scenario for you. An Oregon resident that has both an Oregon license and a non-resident Washington license fishing the Columbia and records their salmon catch on the Washington catch card. I know someone who has done this in the past AND has been checked by fish and game and they never said a thing. Quite a few more spots available on a WA catch card than an Oregon one. I think one can hang their hat on the fact that the regs say the Oregon residence must have a valid Oregon license - no mention of an Oregon harvest card.

 

So heres my question. If you live in Oregon and buy an Oregon license, can you then buy a Washington license if you plan to do some fishing in Washington. And then also fish the Columbia and tag fish on your Washington license??

 

I would say yes, if you land those fish in Washington. In other words, launch and return to a WA port; though, technically, you don't actually have to launch from the WA side, you'd just need to land the fish there, but no one does that.

 

According to RU1234 in post #18 above, yes.

 

By either license, go fish and don’t look back. We are not all attorneys

 

Yep good thing I read this. Only makes sense. I would of probably been ticketed eventually and felt really dumb.
That’s why it’s important to read the fine print.