Virginia’s first Fall Free Fishing Days are Sept. 25–27

Virginia added a fall free-fishing weekend. DWR’s free-fishing page sets Sept. 25, 26, and 27, 2026, as the inaugural Fall Free Fishing Days. No recreational fishing license of any kind is required for rod-and-reel fishing in fresh or salt water. Facilities-use permits are waived. Designated stocked trout waters — more than 2,900 miles of streams plus ponds and small lakes — may be fished without a trout license those three days.

Size, season, bag, and gear rules still apply. DWR fee-fishing areas (Clinch Mountain, Crooked Creek, Douthat State Park) still charge. Catchable trout stocking itself does not start until Oct. 1, so this weekend is access, not a fall plant.

Lake Anna State Park has a Fall Free Fishing Day workshop Sept. 25; Bear Creek Lake State Park has a free-fishing morning Sept. 27. Confirm the live DWR page before you skip the license booth.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Virginia DWR — Inaugural Fall Free Fishing Days, September 25–27, 2026.