Why It Matters: A critical challenge that sportsmen and women face today is passing on the outdoor traditions that we cherish to new generations. Broadening the base of conservationists in our fields and on our waters is paramount to securing the legacy of the American outdoors, and free fishing days aim to do just that.
Highlights:
- Free fishing days allow folks that have never picked up a rod, or at least haven’t in a while, to enjoy their states’ natural resources without being required to hold a license.
- While most states offer their free fishing opportunities in the summer, Indiana is the only state in the Great Lakes region that allows for free fall fishing, which will coincide with National Hunting and Fishing Day on September 28th.
- The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) supports efforts to broaden the base of participating sportsmen and women, which increases the financial resources available to state fish and wildlife agencies and allows them to better manage the resources that sportsmen and women have long pursued.
By allowing limited days that anglers need not possess a fishing license to hit the water, state fish and wildlife agencies hope to introduce newcomers to the state’s waters – and hopefully convert them into lifelong anglers. Sportsmen and women play a significant role in supporting these agencies through the American System of Conservation Funding (ASCF), and a handful of free fishing days each year is a small investment compared to the potential revenue that newcomers could contribute to the agency in the long term.
Approximately 80% of funding to state fish and wildlife agencies is derived through the unique “user pays – public benefits” structure of the ASCF, which relies on revenue from hunters and anglers purchasing sporting licenses as well as excise tax revenue that is levied on firearms, ammunition, and other outdoor goods including bait and tackle, fishing rods, and motorboat fuel. Since 1939, state fish and wildlife agencies have received over $56.9 billion from sportsmen and women through this funding structure. Removing the license barrier that may be keeping folks from casting their first line – or their first line in a while, for lapsed anglers – should be seen as a worthwhile investment that has the potential to hook newcomers and create a lifelong passion that can bolster the resources available to state agencies. With those increased resources, state agencies can better manage their waters and thereby create an improved experience for all anglers in the state.
Although Indiana is the only Great Lakes State that offers free fishing during the fall, there are still other opportunities on the horizon, as Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin each offer free ice fishing days. These are chances to bring along newcomers or lapsed anglers with minimal barriers to experience the peaceful thrill that only fishing can deliver.
