Drop a line on free fishing weekend

Iowa’s free fishing weekend begins Friday giving any Iowan who doesn’t have a license a chance to drop a line in the water through Sunday.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources has offered a free fishing weekend on the first weekend in June for many years. It is a way to encourage more people to try fishing without having to purchase a license. The Iowa DNR requires anyone 16 or older has to have a license but anyone under that age can still fish.

“Iowa residents can go out fishing without having to purchase a fishing license,” Jasper County Conservation naturalist Katie Cantu said.

Normally, coinciding with free fishing weekend JCC hosts a fishing derby. Focused on education, JCC would have stations to learn about topics such as different types of fish, boat safety and even cleaning the fish.

“Then we would provide lunch and then in the afternoon people could fish then and we rotated to different parks,” Cantu said.

The initial plan was to have the Mariposa Park grand opening along with free fishing weekend but the COVID-19 restrictions changed those plans. Instead, JCC will have a virtual fishing derby for people to participate in from Friday through Sunday.

All children up to age 18 are invited to participate, submitting only one photo per child while fishing. Photos entries will be accepted until 8 p.m. Sunday.

A prize package will be given to a randomly selected winner. JCC asks for a brief description with the date and general location of the photo.

“Whether you catch a fish or not, take a picture of it and then share that on our Facebook page and we want to see everybody out enjoying the areas that we have and taking their families out and having some fun catching fish,” Cantu said.

Additionally, Quarry Springs Outfitters in Colfax has donated a fishing kayak that also will be given away as a prize. Those who participate will also be eligible to win the fishing kayak.

“We are super excited and like more reasons for people to go out fishing,” Cantu said.

The coronavirus pandemic also has seen activities like fishing increase as the Iowa DNR issued a press release stating an increase in the purchase of hunting and fishing licenses. This also applies to Jasper County as JCC has noticed an increase of people at the parks.

“All of our staff has commented on that, seeing a lot more people,” Cantu said.

In terms of fishing spots, there are plenty in Jasper County. Unfortunately, Mariposa won’t quite be the place to go this year as the fish that were recently stocked in the lake are small and there aren’t very many. Whether it is a farm pond or a park pond, there are many places to go.

“Jacob Krumm Nature Preserve has been really popular,” Cantu said.

The virtual fishing derby hopes to find plenty of Jasper County residents in Jasper County spots dropping a line in the water, and hopefully catching some fish.

“Whether you catch a fish or not there is never a bad day fishing,” Cantu said.

The Iowa DNR would like to remind Iowans while the weekend allows all ages to fish without a license, anglers still need to follow all other fishing rules and regulations.

Contact Dustin Teays at 641-792-3121 ext. 6533 or dteays@newtondailynews.com