MO Free Fishing Days June 9-10

JEFFERSON CITY–The best things in life are free, sometimes. The weekend of June 9 and 10 is one of those times, as the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is suspending fishing-permit requirements for those two days.

MDC designates the weekend after the first Monday in June as Free Fishing Days in Missouri each year. The idea is to encourage people to explore the state’s fishing opportunities without having to purchase permits, trout stamps or trout park daily tags.

Fishing is a lifetime sport, something equally doable whether you are 9 or 90. Free Fishing Days is designed to encourage lapsed anglers and first-time fishers to wet a line at one of Missouri’s more than 300 MDC-owned or managed fishing lakes, ponds or stream accesses. Carefully managed fisheries at these areas produce an abundance of opportunities to catch fish ranging from crappie and catfish to trout and muskellunge.

Normal fishing regulations, such as limits on size and number of fish, remain in effect during Free Fishing Days. Regulations are outlined in the 2012 Summary of Missouri Fishing Regulations, which is available wherever fishing permits are sold, or online at www.mdc.mo.gov/node/6108. Special permits may still be required at county, city and private fishing areas. Free Fishing Days exempts anglers from MDC permit and tag fees only, not parking or other park fees.

Public fishing areas are available in every county in Missouri. Many offer disabled-accessible facilities. For more information about places to fish, visit mdc.mo.gov/node/2478 or contact the nearest MDC office.