KEN'S KORNER - MAY 2005
FREE FISHING DAYS
By Author, Educator
and Big City Driver Ken Skaggs
Most truckers love
to fish but usually don’t have the time. Or, they happen to be in a
different state every day and it wouldn’t make sense financially to
go around buying multiple fishing licenses just to fish for a day or
two. I know I’m not alone when I say that I wish there was a National
Fishing License. There is no National Fishing License yet but there
are Free Fishing Days.
A National Fishing
License would just make sense, especially in this business of trucking,
because you just never know where you’ll be when you get a day off and
it sure would be nice to go and get a lure wet for a while and maybe
reel in a big bass or something. It would surely beat sitting around
at a truckstop. Well, if you’re like me and love to fish but can’t afford
fifteen different fishing licenses, I have some great news for you:
Free Fishing Days are coming! Almost every state has them (I’ll list
the specific dates at the end of this column). They only come once or
twice a year, depending on the state, but on these few special days,
nobody needs a fishing license.
Like most anglers,
I take pride in buying my annual fishing license in my home state, because
I know that the money goes to a good use; to replenish lakes and streams
with more fish and to support Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
personnel and facilities. I think it’s important to support the cause,
because I love to fish and I want there to be fish in those lakes and
streams for my children and grandchildren. And speaking of children,
this would be a great time to take a kid (or two) fishing. They will
never forget who taught them how to fish and they will cherish the memory
for the rest of their lives - and you will too.
There are many organizations
who advocate a National Fishing License - from trucking organizations
to RV clubs - but, nobody that I know of is really fighting for it.
So, if anyone out there wants to start an advocacy group and fight for
this, www.nationalfishinglicense.com is still available (I checked).
I’m sure you can get a lot of support from truckers, RV’ers and just
about anyone else who travels a lot (and loves to fish). Norway, England
and Australia already have a National Fishing License, so why not us?
Many states would
probably argue against a National Fishing License because they would
worry that they wouldn’t get their fair share of the money. After all,
it can’t be too expensive because then nobody would buy one. And if
they had to split the money between forty-eight states, well, it could
only be about a dollar each. I can’t see a National Fishing License
costing more than about forty-eight dollars, so it wouldn’t be very
profitable for the states (I say forty-eight states because Alaska has
no free fishing days and Hawaii has every day free).
The fact that Hawaii
has no fishing license blows me away. It’s just too bad that you can’t
drive a truck there. I’d bet that the fishing is great there too. I
was also surprised to learn that Montana has no free fishing days. Imagine,
a huge state like that, with all of its wilderness and natural resources,
holding out on us like that. What’s a trucker to do? And who’d have
thought that Washington D.C. would allow a full week of free fishing
days? I didn’t even know they had any water there. Take a look at the
states and dates below and you will see that most of them are on June
11th. You’ll have a pretty good chance (about 50-50) of getting some
free fishing in on that day, wherever you may be.
So, next time you
stop at home, don’t forget your fishing pole and tackle box. Keep them
with you for a month or two, along with this issue of 10-4 Magazine
(as a reference) and hopefully you’ll get a chance to spend some quality
time with Mother Nature somewhere along the route. I know I will. Or,
better yet, bring a couple of fishing poles and invite another trucker
to go along. He’d sure appreciate the chance and who knows, you might
even make a friend. It can get pretty boring sometimes when you’re out
on the road, and this would be a great way to break the monotony and
have some excitement instead. If you don’t have a pole, then stop and
buy one (a cheap one is only about fifteen bucks).
I think they ought
to allow truckers to fish for free everywhere in the country, at any
time. After all, most of us would catch-and-release, so they wouldn’t
really be losing any fish. I’m sure there are a few who would bring
along a skillet and eat one on the spot, but not many. We are the backbone
of this country - the least they could do is let us have a little fun
between inspections and other hassles. Well, at least we have Free Fishing
Days. Here are the states and dates:
Alabama: June 11.
Alaska: none. Arizona: June 11. Arkansas: June 10-12. California: June
11 and Sept. 24. Colorado: June 4-5. Connecticut: none. Delaware: June
11-12. Florida: April 2-3. Georgia: June 4, June 11 and Sept. 24. Hawaii:
always free. Idaho: June 11. Illinois: June 10-13. Indiana: June 11-12.
Iowa: June 3-5. Kansas: June 4-5. Kentucky: June 4-5. Louisiana: June
4-5. Maine: Feb. 19-20 and June 4-5. Maryland: June 4-5. Massachusetts:
June 4-5. Michigan: Feb. 19-20 and June 11-12. Minnesota: May 7-8 and
June 10-12. Mississippi: June 4-5, June 11-12 and July 4. Missouri:
June 11-12. Montana: none. Nebraska: May 21. Nevada: June 11. New Hampshire:
June 4. New Jersey: June 11-12. New Mexico: June 4 and Sept. 24. New
York: June 25-26. North Carolina: July 4. North Dakota: June 4-5. Ohio:
May 7-8. Oklahoma: June 4-5. Oregon: June 11-12. Pennsylvania: May 28
and June 5. Rhode Island: June 4-5. South Carolina: June 11-12. South
Dakota: June 11-12. Tennessee: June 11. Texas: June 4. Utah: June 11.
Vermont: June 11. Virginia: June 3-5. Washington (State): June 11-12.
Washington DC: June 6-12. West Virginia: June 11-12. Wisconsin: June
4-5. Wyoming: June 4.
I hope you get the
chance to take advantage of these Free Fishing Days throughout the year.
Fishing is a great way to unwind, relax and get completely unplugged
from trucking - if only for a while. Be sure to visit www.bigcitydriver.com
the next time you are surfing the net.
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