Next weekend, Saturday and Sunday, everyone taking to our state’s vast waterways will be able to catch fish without having to have a fishing license.

Free Fishing Weekend is the way our state celebrates National Fishing Week.

These two “free” days come with the Wildlife and Fisheries advisory that all fishing regulations — size, season, daily creel limits and gear restrictions — will be enforced.

Offshore anglers will need to have a no-fee Recreational Offshore Landing Permit to keep a number of reef fish (including red snapper) along with billfish, swordfish, wahoo and mahi mahi.

As a reminder, the greater amberjack and gray triggerfish seasons closed effective June 1.

To add to this celebration, the agency’s Get Out and Fish! Program has stocked catfish in 17 ponds statewide. So, if you don’t have a boat, this is a chance to catch fish and take some home.

Stocked ponds in the area include Burbank Park, Baton Rouge; Zemurray Park, Hammond; Sidney Hutchinson, Walker; Bogue Chitto, Franklinton; Girard Park, Lafayette; I-10 Park, Jennings; Fabacher Field, Youngsville; Bayou Country, Houma; and, Joe Brown Park, New Orleans.

Red snapper

Through May 5, Wildlife and Fisheries’ managers estimated offshore fishermen have taken 219,286 pounds of red snapper from 2024’s allotment of 934,587 pounds. That’s 23.5% percent of the annual quota.

That May 17 report comes on the heels of FishingBooker’s report naming Venice as “one of the best red snapper fishing spots in the Gulf of Mexico for 2024.”

Don’t know how FishingBooker was able to single out Venice, because every offshore launch location along Louisiana’s coast is reporting four-per-angler limits on virtually every trip.

Don’t drink and boat

The advisory comes after Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division agents arrested 20 boaters for boating while intoxicated, 10 across the state on Memorial Day weekend.

The commission

There's no hot-button items on the agenda for Thursday’s Wildlife and Fisheries Commission meeting. It’s set for 9:30 a.m. at state Wildlife and Fisheries headquarters, 2000 Quail Drive in Baton Rouge.

For duck hunters, there will be a report on breeding waterfowl habitat projects in Canada. Another report will outline wildlife and fisheries-related bills in the current Legislative session.

The meeting will have a live audio/video stream via Zoom.

Teaching fishing

Educators and the public are included in upcoming Aquatic Volunteer Instructor Program workshops.

Spending a few hours with Wildlife and Fisheries’ Outreach and Education staff instructors and successful completion of the course will earn an Aquatic Volunteer Instructor certificate, which qualifies you to use materials and lesson plans to help further fishing in Louisiana.

The next workshop comes up Thursday in Lake Charles. It’s for educators and the general public.

After that, it’s June 18 for the public in Lacombe.

There’s no fee to register, but you must register: wlf.louisiana.gov/page/aquatic-vip.

Share the fun

The American Sportfishing Association is inviting anglers across the country to its Fishing Share the Fun.

ASA is billing the project as “a grassroots movement, driven by the passion and dedication of anglers everywhere.”

To get in on the plan, go the to ASA’s website: asafishing.org/fishing-share-the-fun.