JACKSON, Wyo. — For the first time since 1989, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) is beginning oversight of commercial fishing outfitters in the state through regulations and permits that will go into effect next year.
All commercially guided fishing boats that use Wyoming waters will be required to display a registration sticker starting on Jan. 1, 2026, according to WGFD. The decals are currently available for purchase online, and will be available in person at WGFD regional offices starting Jan. 2, 2026. Two stickers — one for a boat and one for its trailer — will cost a total of $325, which is a flat rate for resident and nonresident commercial anglers. Registration stickers must be renewed annually. The newly developed regulations state that permits are transferrable between boats, trailers and vehicles owned by the same entity, as long as watercraft and equipment display valid stickers when being used for guide services.
“The department used the best data available to set the boat registration fee at the minimum level needed to try to recoup expenses associated with implementation and oversight of the commercially guided fishing boat registration program,” WGFD Public Information Officer Amanda Fry told Buckrail in an email. “Most recently, costs have included the printing of boat and trailer stickers and computer programming associated with sticker sales, the Department website and online reporting.”
Along with the decals, permit-holders will receive a slip to be displayed on the dashboard of the vehicle used for guiding. Proof of purchase will serve as registration for the first 30 days, allowing time to receive permits in the mail. The new rules also require outfitters to submit detailed reports to WGFD twice a year, including information about when and where guided grips were taken. These reports should be completed on the agency’s website.
Owner of Westbank Anglers Mike Dawes, who attended a WGFD meeting in Thayne regarding the changes, told Buckrail that not everybody is happy about the new rules. In Teton County, commercial outfitters are already required to have permits for guided service within Grand Teton National Park and on all stretches of the Snake River from Jackson Lake to Palisades Reservoir (permits are administered by the National Park Service, Teton County or the U.S. Forest Service). Dawes said it’s difficult to get on board with the new system when he already spends money on permits. But he does believe that the industry needs some kind of oversight in the state.
“It will definitely affect us, but if it’s for the sake of trying to move the industry forward in the state of Wyoming, then I can’t really complain about that,” Dawes said. “I think it’s smart to get the data before just implementing something that you would have to reinvent right away.”
In February, the state Legislature passed Wyoming House Bill 005, which was signed into law, and required WGFD to appoint an advisory board to oversee and develop rules for commercial fishing outfitters. The board developed the new set of regulations — Commercially Guided Fishing Boats, Chapter 71 — which the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission approved in September.
Before 1989, Fry said, the state statutes required hunting and fishing outfitters to be licensed through WGFD. However, the fishing statute was repealed in 1989 and no fees or regulations have been associated with commercial angling operations, guides or boats since then.
“The pre-1989 statute gave the Department authority to require some reports [from fishing outfitters], however, detailed reports were not required,” Fry wrote. “The new reporting requirement is intended to provide the Commercially Guided Fishing Boat Advisory Board with information necessary to determine if and where commercially guided trips should be limited or otherwise regulated.”
