The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the list of Free Fishing Days for 2026. The first two are this weekend, February 14-15. The Sullivan County Conservation Club’s annual King of the Ice (KOTI) contest is Sunday, so folks can come participate even if they don’t have a license.

Since 1991, New York has held Free Fishing Days as a way for people that don’t have a license to try out the great sport of freshwater fishing. The DEC has a number of resources available to help folks get started.

The DEC has a guide called The I Fish NY Beginners’ Guide to Freshwater Fishing which is available on their website and contains a wide range of information to help someone learn about the sport. Their YouTube channel has a series of free videos that complement the guide.

The DEC HuntFishNY cell phone app and web pages now have a section called The Tackle Box. It gives anglers a lot of information about fish stocking, boat access, regulations, etc. The Tackle Box uses a map-based interface for ease of use.

The DEC also hosts free fishing hands-on clinics to help educate folks. Information about them is available on their website. The DEC has also partnered with many libraries in the state to offer the Fishing Rod Lending Program so that people that are interested in learning to fish don’t have to buy expensive gear in order to give it a try.

This year the Free Fishing Days will be February 14-15 (this weekend), June 27-28, September 26, which is National Hunting and Fishing Day, and November 11, which is Veteran’s Day. On these days the requirement to have a freshwater fishing license is waived. Please note that Free Fishing Days does not apply to saltwater fishing. Please note also that everyone is exempt from the need to have a license on these days, including residents of other states like our friends across the Delaware River in Pennsylvania.

Fishing and learning to fish are a part of the Governor Hochul’s “Get Offline, Get Outside” initiative for families and children. I’m a strong supporter of that program, as I have said many times in this column. Check out the DEC’s list of 50 fun activities for the program on their website.

As I mentioned earlier, this weekend is the Sullivan County Conservation Club King of the Ice contest on Sunday. It is held at White Lake by the fire house. The Hurleyville Fire Department annual ice fishing contest is on Saturday at Morningside Park. Come on out and support these great organizations. You don’t even need a fishing license. Good luck, and hopefully you’ll get hooked on the great sport of fishing!

Let’s all enjoy the outdoors!

John S. Van Etten is the current president of the Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs of Sullivan County, Inc.