Women can fish for free Sept. 13 at Maramec Spring Park’s Women’s Free Fishing Day event

St. JAMES, Mo. - Missouri is a great place to fish, especially in the crystal waters of one of the state's largest springs.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) invites women of all ages to Women's Free Fishing Day, a . The park opens at 6:30 a.m.; fishing will start at 7:30 a.m. and continue until 7:15 p.m. There is no cost to participate, and a special area of the spring branch will be roped off for use by event anglers only.

No regular fishing license or daily trout tags will be required for women. Special tags for this one-day event can be picked up at the reception building on Friday, Sept. 12. On the day of the event, tags can be picked up at the tent by the ADA accessible fishing location.

Not only is the event free, but there will be 100 tagged prize fish stocked in the fishing area. When an angler catches one of these fish they can win an assortment of prizes, like a fishing rod, vest, t-shirt, coupons, and nets. A number of lunker trout have also been stocked especially for this event.

To help newcomers discover the joys of trout fishing, informal instruction will be offered including basic trout fishing tactics, casting, cleaning and cooking your catch.

The World Bird Sanctuary will be at the event starting at 9 a.m. bringing a live bald eagle for visitors to meet and greet. This will be followed by an eagle educational program at 11 a.m.

Men are welcome to fish the rest of the park below the women's fishing area with the purchase of a daily tag. MDC encourages the whole family to come.

The Maramec Spring Hatchery is operated by MDC. Maramec Spring Park, which is owned and operated by The James Foundation, and can be reached by taking the I-44 "MO-8" exit at St. James, then travelling about six miles east on Highway 8.

The park-just a 90-minute drive from the metro St. Louis area-contains the fifth largest spring in the state, with an average water flow of 100 million gallons per day. For more information about the event, call (573) 265-7801. For more on trout fishing at Maramec Spring Park, visit https://http://short.mdc.mo.gov/4t2.