Free Fishing Day returns June 6

The annual Free Fishing Day across public waterways in the state of Texas returns in two weeks for state residents and out-of-state visitors without a fishing license.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said in a 2025 release that the state has six million acres of public waterways which support recreational opportunities for two million licensed anglers spending an estimated $9 billion annually on fishing-related expenditures.

“Free Fishing Day is an annual event that encourages Texans to get outdoors, enjoy nature, and go fishing with family and friends,” said Tim Birdsong, TPWD Director of Inland Fisheries in a previous release. “Our hope is that experienced anglers will use this opportunity to take others fishing and share their knowledge, skills, equipment and love of the sport to recruit new anglers.”

TPWD offers Fishing 101 videos on its website at tpwd.texas.gov along with a lake finder to help find lakes by region or alphabetically. The website also shows community fishing lakes and rivers accessible for kayak fishing. 

Although Saturday, June 6 is designated as Free Fishing Day in the state, fishing is complementary year-round at every Texas State Park.

State residents can also purchase fishing licenses which help to support stocking and conservation efforts across the state.

“Anglers help sustain sport fishing opportunities through their purchase of a fishing license, which is one of the primary sources of funding available to TPWD to manage and conserve Texas fisheries resources,” TPWD stated in a release. “Conservation efforts such as fisheries monitoring, fish stockings, fish habitat improvements and angler access improvements are supported through the purchase of fishing licenses, and these efforts