This past Saturday’s Free Fishing Day in Vermont surely went over well in promoting both the sport of angling and the need to support the state’s wildlife initiatives. We encourage you all to read this piece from the Rutland Herald, written by Peter Hirschfeld of the Vermont Press Bureau.

State celebrates fishing tradition with free fishing day

Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach him to love fishing, feed the state’s wildlife coffers for a lifetime.

On Saturday, the state of Vermont opened up its abundant waterways to anyone with a line, a hook and some bait. Unlicensed residents, and even out-of-state visitors, were free to go fishing without risk of sanction in what wildlife officials here say is the best fishery in New England.

“The whole concept is designed to give folks an opportunity to get out and enjoy fishing at least once during the year to discover how much fun it is, how relaxing it is and how great it is,” says John Hall with the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife.

The promotion, which is part of this weekend’s Vermont Days, isn’t without ulterior motives. Hall says his department hopes that many of those first-timers will take a liking to the pastime and purchase a $20 resident license (the cost is $41 for nonresidents).

The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department derives the lion’s share of its annual operating budget from license sales and federal taxes on fishing and hunting equipment. That revenue had until recently been on a steady decline. In 1987, Hall said, the state sold about 160,000 fishing licenses. In 2005, the figure hit an all-time low of 118,000. Since then, Hall says, sales have risen modestly, up to about 122,000 in 2008.

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