West Virginia Wildlife from Eyewitness News

Free Fishing Weekend

No license required...this weekend only!

June 10, 2009
Reporter: Patrick McMurtry
Videographer: Brad Rice

EYEWITNESS ONLINE WEBCAST VIDEO
C L I C K T O P L A Y

When it get's hot like it has been all week, kids love to get out on the water. This weekend, why not do a little free fishing?

Mike Shingleton/DNR Biologist
"This will be the 20th year for free fishing weekend in West Virginia. Free fishing days will be June 13 and 14, it will coincide with the 19th annual Bowden Fishing Derby near Elkins."

Twenty years of free fishing means thousands of kids who may never have grabbed a pole in their lives have been introduced to the sport. Taking your kids out to the lake or on the banks of a river can be just the introduction they need to get fired up about a sport that can give them a lifetime of excitement.

Mike Shingleton/DNR Biologist
"It's a great time to go out and fish for someone who maybe hasn't fished in a while, they don't need a license of any kind."

Kids 15 and under don't need a license, their parents don't need to wait for free fishing weekend for them to fish, they can fish any time they want.

So for this weekend at least, there's no reason not to grab the kids and get some bait. This is also a good chance for out of state anglers to sample our rivers and streams...anglers who pump a lot of money into our state.

Mike Shingleton/DNR Biologist
"Free fishing weekend is very popular, we have people that come here from out of state that may fish that weekend and then come back in the coming months or years and bring a license. They've discovered what kind of fishing opportunities we have here and so it's a great opportunity for them and for parents to take their kids."

It's free, it's fun and it's right here...what more could you ask for? For West Virginia Wildlife, I'm Patrick McMurtry, Eyewitness News.