Best Time to Go Fishing: National Get Outdoors Day

By Tom Keer

Jun 14, 2017

We anglers seldom need an excuse to go fishing.  But if you do, then use Great Outdoors Month, National Get Outdoors Day, Free Fishing Days, outstanding weather and hot action to motivate you to pack your bags.  Adding in a tent, camping gear, and a kayak is always a good idea, too.
 

It’s quite common to wonder what the best times for when to fish, and the standard answer is whenever you can.  Some times or tides are better than others, but the combination of this month's great weather, hot freshwater and saltwater bites, Great Outdoors Month, and National Get Outdoors Day makes now the best time to go.

School is out in many states, and that means that summer vacation has started.  Trade your sneakers for waders, fill your backpack with tackle instead of books, and go fishing.  There is no reason to rush and that means you can stay out late.  With time on your side you can go fishing more often, or heck, why not take a trip?  One extra day turns a long weekend into a fishing holiday.

Combine outdoor fishing with other outdoor activities.  Camping and canoeing really compliment fishing, but so does hiking and kayaking.  All you'll need to do is to camp along a river, stream, pond lake and you can walk to the water and catch a fish.  If you like the salt then head to the coast.  If you're stumped for a place to go then come to New England.  The striped bass and bluefish fishing is off the hook. 

Now is a great time to visit any of the National Parks.  Crowds are lighter than they'll be in July and in August, and the fishing is in full swing.  Hmmm...light crowds and fishing means you might have a river or stream to yourself.  What's better than that? 

Happy Mother's, Happy Father's Day, and Happy Fourth of July, but Happy National Get Outdoors Day?  It's true; June 10th is National Get Outdoors Day.  And to cap it off, 2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the national program aimed at getting folks to experience traditional and non-traditional outdoors activities.  Nearly 150 official sites sponsor events across the country.  Many states also offer free fishing days on June 10th.  If you're taking a non-fisherman out in Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Michigan, and Louisiana among other states they get to fish for free.  

Before you move on the backyard bar-be-cues, ice cream and baseball games go fishing.  Take your family, take your friends, and get outdoors fishing.
 
Tom Keer
Tom Keer
Tom Keer is an award-winning writer who lives on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.  He is a columnist for the Upland Almanac, a Contributing Writer for Covey Rise magazine, a Contributing Editor for both Fly Rod and Reel and Fly Fish America, and a blogger for the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation’s Take Me Fishing program.  Keer writes regularly for over a dozen outdoor magazines on topics related to fishing, hunting, boating, and other outdoor pursuits.  When they are not fishing, Keer and his family hunt upland birds over their three English setters.  His first book, a Fly Fishers Guide to the New England Coast was released in January 2011.  Visit him at www.tomkeer.com or at www.thekeergroup.com.