Idaho Free Fishing Day
The June Saturday when no Idaho fishing license is needed, with the 2026 event sites.
For weighing a catchPiscifun Lip gripper with digital scale27% OFFSale $39.99 Photo of Meridian: Tamanoeconomico, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Idaho Free Fishing Day, June 13, 2026
Idaho held Free Fishing Day on June 13, 2026. For that one day nobody needed a fishing license, resident or visitor, though every bag limit and rule still applied.
About 243,000 catchable rainbow trout stocked statewide in the month before (IDFG hatchery manager, same release).
The same release notes that kids 13 and younger never need a license in Idaho, any day of the year.
Idaho Fish and Game news release as published by The Outdoor Wire (June 2026) (source), read November 8, 2026.
Free Fishing Day events IDFG listed for 2026
- Rathdrum: Rathdrum City Park
- Troy: Spring Valley Reservoir
- Lewiston: Kiwanis Park Pond
- McCall: Rowland Pond
- Cascade: Fischer Pond
- Meridian: Kleiner Pond
- Mountain Home: Legacy Park Pond
- Hagerman: Riley Pond Hagerman
- Pocatello: Bannock Reservoir – Wellness Complex
- Grace: Grace Fish Hatchery
- Victor: Trail Creek Pond
- Idaho Falls: Ryder Park Pond
- Salmon: Kids Creek Pond
- Stanley: Sawtooth Fish Hatchery
- Challis: Blue Mountain Pond
Idaho Fish and Game news release as published by The Outdoor Wire (June 2026) (source), read November 8, 2026.
Idaho Free Fishing Day 2027
The 2027 date had not been announced when this page was built, and idfg.idaho.gov, where IDFG posts it, was down for maintenance on 6 to 8 November 2026. This page will carry the date once IDFG publishes it.
Reservoir, alpine and canyon scenes for Idaho Free Fishing Day
Photo: BLMIdaho, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Bureau of Reclamation, CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: Idaho Fish and Game, CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: Cecelia Alexander, CC0 1.0
Idaho Free Fishing Day questions
When was Idaho Free Fishing Day in 2026?
June 13, 2026.
When is Free Fishing Day in 2027?
Not announced yet; IDFG had not published it when this page was built.
Do I need a license on Free Fishing Day?
No license is needed that day; all other rules, including bag limits, still apply.
Does it cover steelhead and salmon?
The release says all other rules apply; steelhead and salmon fishing is open only where a Commission season is open.
What about kids the rest of the year?
No, per the IDFG release: kids 13 and younger never need one.
Where were the 2026 events?
15 event sites, including Rathdrum City Park, Spring Valley Reservoir and Kiwanis Park Pond.
Were ponds stocked for it?
About 243,000 catchable rainbow trout stocked statewide in the month before (IDFG hatchery manager, same release).
Where did this date come from?
An Idaho Fish and Game news release, as published by The Outdoor Wire in June 2026, with a second news report agreeing.