Free Fishing Weekend

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife encourages Oregonians to start a new family tradition during the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday weekend – take the family fishing.

The price will be right. On Friday and Saturday, Nov. 25 and 26, fishing, crabbing and clamming in Oregon will be free. That means no licenses, tags or endorsements are needed on those days. (Though all other fishing regulations apply.)

"Getting outside fishing and enjoying Oregon's natural areas is a great way to spend quality family time over the holidays," said Rick Hargrave, ODFW spokesperson.

That sounds great Tom.

While the weather can be challenging at Thanksgiving, fall can be a great time to go trout fishing: many ponds and lakes have been stocked this fall and fish are in a feeding frenzy for the winter. In addition, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is waiving day use fees at state parks (Friday only), some of which include great fishing opportunities.

Fall is a great time to be on the upstream stretches of your favorite river. Angler numbers are down but fish densities are up: those summer fish numbers have been added to by migratory browns and rainbows from the bigger waters below. And these fish will be above average in size.

I believe one reason so many good fish are caught in the fall is that, well, they're finally catchable: "The big fish spend a good part of the year on big, slow, featureless flats. There's not enough time in the year to cast efficiently to them. But once they come up in to the skinny water, they hold fast to structure and as a result are easier to fish to."

Longing for a brief escape from all of the football? Take yourself fishing – and maybe bring home fresh trout, because those turkey leftovers won't last forever.