Iowa’s free fishing weekend is currently underway. 

Greene County Conservation Director Dan Towers says the Iowa Department of Natural Resources free fishing weekend allows all Iowans the opportunity to fish without a valid fishing license in public waterways, and it encourages youth to experience the sport of fishing. However, Towers points out there are limited public options for people to fish in Greene County.

“Spring Lake is really the one lake that we have. It’s not the greatest fishery in the world but it’s easy to get access to. It’s a great place for kids to go. The shoreline is so level and easy access, it is very popular for that reason.”

Towers says the Raccoon River is another great public fishing area, with at least six boat ramp access points.

“The dry weather that we’re in has resulted in the river being really, really low. The fishing accesses that we have, most of those have fishing riffles that create a pretty deep pool below the riffle. That’s where the fish congregate in these times of low water. Fishing really should be better than it normally would be in early June, just because the fish are forced to be in that deeper water.”

The free fishing weekend is Friday through Sunday.