Enjoy the best deal of the year

​​​​​FRANKFORT, Ky. (June 2, 2025) — Step aside, Black Friday. You just can’t top the 100% discount on fishing licenses being offered during the first weekend of June.

Take your family to the water June 7-8 and enjoy fishing for free both days. ​

But be careful—you might enjoy it so much that you want to go again and again.​​​

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. ​​​

It does mean that anyone fishing in Kentucky doesn’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 or go online to fw.ky.gov for a list of events.

​​​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 fish filleting.
• Get equipped: Look up “loaner poles” for locations of free loaner fishing poles.
• 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 KYM” in your preferred app store.

The water is calling. Pack up your family on the first weekend of June and enjoy fishing in Kentucky - for free.​