State waives fees for fishing on the Fourth

America's independence from the British isn't the only freedom worth celebrating this July Fourth — North Carolinians and visitors to the state can celebrate their freedom to fish without a license for 24 hours.

This Saturday, from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m., anyone — resident and non-resident — can fish in any public water in North Carolina without purchasing a fishing license or trout privilege license.

Authorized by the N.C. General Assembly and started in 1994, North Carolina's annual free fishing day, which always falls on July 4, was created to encourage people to go fishing and promote North Carolina's vast aquatic resources.

Some people in the area already take advantage of Hickory's many water-access points.

"I just love fishing," said Eva W. "Mother" Jennings, an 85-year-old Long View resident who fishes on the shore of Lake Hickory three or four times a week.

Jennings said she loves the relaxing combination of water and wildlife fishing provides. She also enjoys fishing with her family when they aren't working.

"They come with me every chance they get," she said. "We have a wonderful time."

Though she had yet to catch anything Wednesday while she fished from the shore at Geitner –Rotary Park, she wasn't worried.

"Doesn't matter if I catch anything or not," Jennings said. "It's just a relaxing place."

Many people looking to enjoy this relaxing activity on Independence Day don't know about the free fishing day, though. According to David Blackburn, owner of the Northlakes Dock & Shop on Grace Chapel Road, a lot of people come in asking to buy fishing licenses on the Fourth.

"The people that need to know about it don't know," Blackburn said. "We have to tell them."

Despite not knowing they can fish for free, Blackburn says a lot of families still come in the shop on the Fourth to buy equipment for their children.

"More families are headed to the lake as an activity together," he said.

There is no shortage of places where anglers of all ages can go to reel in a variety of fish in the Hickory area. On Lake Hickory, there are several public access areas where people can put in their watercraft and, at Geitner-Rotary Park, fish from a pier or the shore. Local anglers can also take advantage of boat accesses to Lake Norman, Lookout Shoals Lake and Lake Rhodhiss, and canoe access and shore fishing on the Catawba River.

If you're traveling within North Carolina on the Fourth and still want to take advantage of the free fishing, there are a number of places to fish, no matter where you are in the state. There are public access areas to coastal rivers, mountain streams and Piedmont reservoirs filled with a variety of fish.

Traveling anglers can even find public access to free fishing in urban areas at one of 40 Community Fishing program sites featuring universally accessible piers and periodic stockings of channel catfish from April through September.

North Carolina residents ages 16 and older who are interested in fishing the remaining 364 days of the year can purchase a one-year comprehensive inland fishing license for $20.

"Even with the cost of fishing licenses, fishing is a relatively inexpensive family pastime that can be enjoyed year-round by children and adults," said Kyle Briggs, a fisheries program manager with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

To find out more about free fishing-access areas in the Hickory area and across the state, or to inquire about fishing licenses, go to www.ncwildlife.org or call the Wildlife Resources Commission at 1 (888) 248-6834.