What is "Fishing"? And what is "Practice Casting" ?
What would the Game Warden say if he walked up and ask for your fishing license... and you said: "I'm not fishing, I'm practice casting".
Let's say you had NO Flys, or Hooks of any kind on you... Just a piece of yarn tied to the end of your leader.

I would say common sense tells the game warden there will be people that practice casting expecially fly fishing.. Without any flies and no hooks he can't really argue that you're fishing. But no sense in arguing with them get a license every year and 30$ gives you all the freshwater fish to eat and peace of mind.

If you're practice casting, then you are an angler, unless you cast solely in competition, which would be rare. So just take your license with you when you practice cast; that shouldn't be an inconvenience. Remember, those game wardens get lied to every day; someone is always trying to put something over on them. You probably have the right (I'm not familiar with Hawaii's statutes) to practice cast without a license. And the warden has a duty to make sure you are complying with the law. Simply carrying your license will save everybody a lot of time.

Find a nice open field to practice cast. No liscense needed unless its stocked with grass carp.

Unless you are 65 or older it only costs $10.
Nice being "old" Hunting and fishing licence for the year $15.

Actually, in Hawaii a resident adult fishing license is $5 for the year.

I agree with the field, you can go to a nice open field free of trees and whatnot and practice all day, thats what I used to do all the time and now I have the confidence to do any cast even with low hanging trees

I would just show him my license and ask him for a few pointers.

Never hurts to have a warden for a friend.

Have fun with this stuff.

Big Dale

This is a question that I have had to deal with.

There is always the risk that a casting student may not have a license, especially beginner level group classes. One of the last things I want to do is to put a new fly fisher in a situation where they could get a ticket for fishing without a license.

I truely don't know if it would be legal to cast if you didn't have any hooks with you, but it sure looks like a high risk situation. I just don't want to be in the position to have that conversation with a game warden or a judge.

My personal solution has been to either teach on grass, ask if the student has a license (works best with individual private lessons), or teach the class in a state park where a license is not required.

While grass works for learning some of the casting techniques, it is easier to learn some casts such as roll casts and some of the spey style casts on the water. So, there are times when practicing on the water is better than on grass.

Does Hawaii have state parks?

I assume that the reason for your question refers back to the comment of fishing within a state park so a fishing license wouldn't be needed.

In Texas, when fishing within the boundaries of a state park (or as I understand, from the banks of a state park), no fishing license is needed. HOWEVER, this is a TEXAS policy and not necessarily true at parks in other states. In fact, I don't know of another state that has this policy, although there very well may be.

Of course, in many states, you don't have to pay a fee to enter/use the state parks either. So there are positives/negatives to each individual state's rules and policies.

I would of showed him my licence and thank him for doing his job We need to see them more often

buy the license. I was born and raised in Hawaii. It's a minimal cost for the license and it goes back to protect what, as an angler, you use and enjoy. Plus why not "practice" cast with a hook on. Could catch some moi or weke and have fish cakes fo dinna

If you put a law enforcement officer in a situation where he has to guess your intent, he might not guess in your favor.

A couple went on vacation to a fishing resort up north. The husband liked to fish at the crack of dawn; the wife preferred to read. One morning the husband returned after several hours of fishing on one of the Islands at the resort. He decided to take a short nap. His wife decided to take the boat out.

She was not familiar with the lake at all, so she rowed out a short distance, anchored the boat, and started reading her book. Along comes the game warden in his boat, he pulls up alongside her and says, "Good morning. What are you doing?"

"Reading my book," she replies as she thinks to herself, 'Is this guy blind, or what?'

"You're in a restricted fishing area," he informs her. "But sir, I'm not fishing. Can't you see that?"

"But you have all the equipment in your boat. I'll have to take you in and write you up."

"If you do that I will charge you with sexual harassment," snaps the woman.

"I didn't even touch you," says the game warden. "Yes, that's true.... but you have all the equipment"


At least you're not in Oklahoma. The last I checked, there were several scenarios where you had to have a license to fish even private water up there.