It happens twice a year and this is one of them — a free fishing weekend in Michigan.
It means you can fish without buying a license or paying for entry into a state park this weekend.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has just proposed increasing fees for hunting, fishing, and boating licenses to raise $29 million for the budget. Marcee Wardell with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division says this a good time for free fishing, although the DNR does need more for its conservation programs.
“Costs everywhere are increasing,” Wardell said. “As people know, inflation is hitting everyone hard, and that’s true for the DNR as well. And in order to maintain our really excellent resources, we have thousands of miles of Great Lakes shoreline, thousands of inland lakes, thousands of miles of rivers and streams. It’s important that we have sustainable funding.”
Wardell says fishing pumps $3.9 billion into the state economy each year.
Fishing is free on Saturday and Sunday.
