Fish for Free Kentucky, June 4 & 5, 2016!

Hey, guess what? This weekend it's FREE to fish in Kentucky! You may have thought it free to fish anwyay, but as with most states, you have to have a valid Kentucky fishing license to fish the waters of our fine state. It's 20 bucks for a resident, so don't be a cheapo. Get a fishing license. You can even do it online. Easy Peasy. And the money you spend on fishing and hunting licenses, or for boat registration, goes directly toward making The Bluegrass State one of the finest wildlife habitats in our country. The fines incurred for not doing so will be a lot worse than the 20 bucks you'd spend on four or five extra value meals at the MacDonalds.

But, for those who might be new to fishing, this is your chance to save 20 big ones and cast a line this weekend, June 4 and 5, 2016.

There is a reason why those from Ohio, affectionately referred to as The Buckeye Navy, come in droves to Kentucky to boat and fish. According to www.kentuckytourism.com, just our Southern Shorelines Region alone has more freshwater shoreline than Florida's entire coastline!

And fishing is easier than you think. Go to your local Walmart and pick up an inexpensive rod and reel. Load up on some strike indicators (bobbers), a container of night-crawlers, some small hooks, and some split shot to put on your line to allow the hook and worm to sink about a foot or two below your bobber. Cast the line out and wait for a fish to jump on.

Where to fish? Check out the The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife website for a list of public fishing areas within a short drive of wherever you are. During the free fishing weekend, you will need to observe all of the same fishing regulations that apply any other time of the year, so make sure to familiarize yourself with these rules while you are on the state's website.

In an upcoming blog, I will highlight a new man made creek below the Wolf Creek Dam on the Cumberland River that is ramping up to be one of the hottest trout fishing streams in Kentucky, if not on the entire East Coast. So get off your Butt Kentucky and get some free fishing in this weekend!

Photo: A delicious bass I caught out of my bass boat (canoe) on Taylorsville Lake last summer (2015). Caught on a night-crawler under a strike indicator. No worries, he was given early parole and is ready for you to catch him again.