By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) says “Step aside, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, as you just can’t top the 100 percent discount on fishing licenses being offered during the first weekend of June.”
Take your family to the water on June 7-8 and enjoy fishing for free both days.
KDFWR notes that the weekend pass doesn’t entitle you to hop your neighbor’s fence and access their pond. You always need permission to fish private waters. It’s also not an excuse to ignore daily limits, size limits or other regulations set by the state.
However, it does mean that anyone fishing in Kentucky on Saturday and Sunday won’t need a license or permit. It doesn’t matter whether you hail from Louisville or Louisiana, everybody fishes for free.
Communities all across Kentucky participate in the fun with special events for anglers, especially the youngsters in the crowd. Click on the
Free Fishing Weekend webpage
to search for a list of events.
If you’ve never fished before, plenty of resources are available on the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources’ website at
fw.ky.gov
to help get you started:
• Get the basics: Search “
Learn to Fish
” for instructional videos covering
knot tying
and
how to fillet fish
.
• Get equipped: Look up “
loaner poles
” for locations of free loaner fishing pole locations.
• Learn the rules: See the annual “
Kentucky Fishing & Boating Guide
.”
• Where to go: Visit the
Fishing in Neighborhoods
(“FINs”) page for lists of easily accessible, specially stocked lakes.
• Get inside information: Peruse the “
fishing forecast
” for intel on fish around the state.
• Find the fish: Search “
fish attractors
” for habitat maps at various lakes – you can even download GPX files from there.
For those on the go, there’s an app anglers can use to find directions to local lakes, read fishing reports, learn about regulations, find stocking schedules, locate the nearest boat ramp and more. To download the app to your phone, search for “
Fish Boat KY
” in your preferred app store.
KDFWR adds, “Be careful – you just might enjoy it so much that you’ll want to go again and again.”