BATON ROUGE - Sherly Hunt fishes at the LSU Lakes at least twice a week.

But the $9.50 she pays for her fishing license, which allows her to fish from a boat and along the lakes, could soon go up to $13.

The Secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Jack Montocet told reporters Monday that hunting and fishing licenses have not been increased in 18 years.

"And nothing has been done to address the cost of doing business," Montocet said.

Montocet is proposing a 30-percent increase for the permits, as well as reducing the 117 different licenses the state has down to 30.

"With some of the licenses, we can offer a cheaper price with consolidation."

The secretary also says the fee increases will also allow Wildlife and Fisheries to qualify for federal matching dollars. Money that is now being left on the table.

The state can't get that money because it offers free licenses to teenagers and seniors.

"When we give a free license we actually leave about $35 on the table of a federal match that would come down to our state."

Hunt says she'll keep on fishing, even though she might have to pay a few more dollars.

"I really don't like it, but we have a way to get the money to keep our city going," Hunt said.