Get hooked on fishing with FREE Fishing Days in both Kansas and Missouri.
FREE Fishing Days is an annual event where some states allow anglers to fish without a license on designated days. The 2024 dates for Kansas and Missouri are as follows:
- Kansas: June 2-3, 2024
- Missouri: June 8-9, 2024
FREE Fishing Days give beginners a chance to try out fishing for the first time or just a new location in a participating nearby state. If you already have a fishing license, this could be a good time to take someone from your household who has never been fishing.
Although permits are not needed to fish in public bodies of water in Kansas or Missouri on these designated days, all other fishing regulations remain in place. This means you must abide by size and number limits. Special permits may still be required at some county, city, or private fishing areas. FREE Fishing Days does not allow you to forgo those types of fishing permits. Trespass laws remain in effect on private property.
Fishing in Kansas City
Kansas: There are several urban lakes that are great locations for a quick fishing trip. These include:
Douglas:
- Clinton State Park
- Clinton SP – Lake Henry
- Lawrence – Mary’s Lake
Johnson County:
- Olathe Black Bob Park Pond
- Olathe-Cedar Lake
- Olathe-Frisco Lake
- Olathe East High School Pond
- Olathe – Mahaffe Farmstead Pond
- Olathe Stagecoach Park Pond
- Olathe – Waterworks Lake
- Overland Park – Kingston Lake
- Overland Park Regency Lake
- Overland Park Wilderness Pond
- Overland Park South Lake
- Lenexa Lake Lenexa
- Lenexa Mize Boulevard Pond
- Lenexa Rose’s Pond
- Leawood Tomahawk Parkway North Pond
- Leawood Tomahawk Parkway South Pond
- Leavenworth County
- Lansing City Lake – 1 1/4 acres, East edge of Lansing
Wyandotte County:
- Bonner Springs – North Park Lake
Missouri: Urban lakes, including several in Kansas City, are stocked on a seasonal basis by the Missouri Department of Conservation. For the latest updates, contact the Fish Stock Hotline at 816-525-0300.
- Kansas City (Blue Valley Lake)
- Kansas City (Chaumiere Lake)
- Kansas City (Englewood Lake)
- Liberty (Fountain Bluff Pond)
- Raymore (Johnston Lake)
- Kansas City (Lake of the Woods)
- Kansas City (Lakewood Lake)
- Kansas City (Migliazzo Lake)
- Kansas City (North Terrace Lake)
- Kansas City (Penn Valley Lake)
- Kansas City (Troost Lake)
Resources and Regulations for Fishing in Missouri
Missouri has more than a million acres of surface water, and most of it provides great fishing. More than 200 different fish species are found in Missouri, with more than 20 of them being game fish for the state’s more than 1.1 million anglers.
Here are resources that may be helpful for fishing in Missouri.
2024 Summary of Missouri Fishing Regulations: Provides information on Missouri fishing regulations, fish identification, and more. Available online or wherever Missouri fishing permits are sold.
Missouri Department of Conservation Fishing Mobile App: This FREE app helps anglers find the best places to fish in Missouri, access regulation information, identify fish by species, and more. Anglers can also buy, store, and show fishing permits right on their mobile devices. MO Fishing is available for download through Google Play for Android devices or the App Store for Apple devices. Learn more here.
Learn more about fishing in Missouri here.
Resources and Regulations for Fishing in Kansas
2024 Kansas Fishing Regulations Summary: Anglers will find license and permit pricing, current regulations, length and creel limits, and more. This guide also provides top fishing locations in Kansas, the game warden directory, and a look at the Kansas fishing forecast. To get a copy, click here and choose “Download Fishing Regulations Summary.
