Area residents wishing to give Indian Lake or other public fishing areas a try will have the opportunity this weekend as the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is offering its annual free fishing weekend Saturday and Sunday.
Ohio residents may fish for free in any of Ohio’s public waters, including Lake Erie and the Ohio River, during the weekend. It is the only weekend of the year when those 16-years-old or older are not required to obtain a fishing license to fish in the state’s public waters.
“Ohio offers extraordinary fishing opportunities in its lakes, reservoirs, rivers and streams,” said ODNR director Mary Mertz. “I invite all Ohioans to get outside and create lasting memories with family and friends during our free fishing days weekend.”
Fish are abundant in Ohio waters. The Division of Wildlife’s six fish hatcheries stocked more than 69 million sport fish in public waters in 2019, including walleye, saugeye, yellow perch, steelhead, rainbow trout, brown trout, muskellunge, channel catfish, blue catfish and hybrid-striped bass. An estimated 1.3 million Ohioans fish in the Buckeye State every year.
The free fishing days weekend offers Ohioans of all ages the chance to experience the fun of catching a fish. The ODNR offers the following tips when taking a child fishing:
• Keep the trip simple by considering a child’s age and skill level.
• Choose a pond, lake or stream where children will be able to easily catch a few fish.
• Use live bait to increase the chance of catching a fish. Live bait is also more interesting for children.
• Take a camera and snacks.
• Be patient – plan on spending time untangling lines, baiting hooks, landing fish and taking pictures.
• Most of all, keep the trip fun.
Anglers 16 years and older are required to have a valid fishing license to take fish, frogs or turtles from Ohio waters when not fishing on Ohio’s free fishing days weekend. Fishing licenses are available from participating agents and at wildohio.gov.