By Matt Kelley (Radio Iowa)
Warmer weather is finally here and Iowans who love to fish are getting out on — or beside — their favorite bodies of water, casting lines and seeing what they can catch. Nate Carr, a state DNR conservation officer from Eldora, says besides your fishing pole and the tackle box, there’s one other important thing you should bring along.
“If you’re 16 or older and you’re fishing in public water, you’re required to have a fishing license,” Carr says. “All that goes to help promote and manage the fisheries that we do have. There’s a lot of work from our fisheries bureau that goes towards surveying lakes, trying to understand how our population is doing, and how to best manage that body of water.” Fishing regulations do change from year to year, and Carr says you’ll want to keep up or risk getting a fine.
“Depending on where you’re fishing, length limits and daily limits, you may see some differences whether you’re fishing in the river or a lake,” Carr says. “So it’s a good idea to find yourself a fishing reg booklet for 2023.” He says you don’t need to look far to get the full rundown of state fishing regulations.
“Honestly, one of the easiest ways to come across that is, just to go on our website — iowadnr.gov — and you can search ‘fishing regs’ and download a copy to your phone or your laptop or whatever you have handy,” he says.
The annual Iowa Free Fishing Weekend is scheduled for June 2nd through the 4th.
