Budget-Friendly Oklahoma Fishing Adventures For Kids This Summer

With Memorial Day Weekend ahead, it's the unofficial kickoff to summer in the Sooner State. If you haven't made your plans yet, what are you waiting for? If the family budget has a squeeze on your plans, enjoy the weekend how so many Oklahoma families do, get out and go fishing!

Fishing has to be a universal fun thing among kids. While it depends a little on age, little girls love fishing with mom and dad as much as the boys do. At least that's how it was growing up in my family. My sisters loved fishing below the dam, and when Dad's pickup wasn't broken down, we jumped at the chance to toss a line and play on the beach.

It was also one of the few family things we could afford with five of us in the fam.

What will you need?

While it's easy to quickly develop G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome), you really don't need much to hit the water.

You may think you need one of those sparkly $100k bass boats or a family-sized pontoon to toss a line, but you don't. In fact, I can guarantee your kids will have more fun fishing on the banks of Oklahoma's lakes.

You also don't need a whole lot of gear. Just a couple of rods, some hooks, and a little bait. Worms work great to entertain kids. And while this law recently changed, you, as the parent, will need a fishing license to accompany the kids.

The law is written weirdly, but if you help your kids bait hooks, cast line, or basically anything that requires you to touch their poles, you'll have to pay the state tax to do so. If you empower them kids to do it all themselves, you don't... but I've never taken a kid fishing who liked doing all the "work" to fish. They just love the catching part.

You'll also need a lake to go to.

Most lakes across the state require some sort of permit to fish, especially municipal city lakes.

If you live in Southwest Oklahoma, no worries. There are plenty of lakes down here that are 100% free to fish in, provided you meet the license requirements. I like the Wichita Mountains lakes.

Army Corps of Engineers lakes also generally require a cheap $1-$3 daily fishing fee, that information is available online and usually posted near the docks and boat launches.

If you really want to fish the richest waters in the Sooner State, pick one of these lakes to visit.

Oklahoma's Ten Best Fishing Lakes

If you know, you know. When it comes to fishing, not all lakes are equal. While you can fish and catch fish in just about every body of water in the Sooner State, there are only a handful of lakes Oklahoma anglers get serious about.

Here are the top fishing lakes in Oklahoma.

Gallery Credit: Kelso

Lake Altus-Lugert and SWOK's Underwater Ghost Town

Like most rare things, conditions have to be just right to see one of Oklahoma's hidden gems. In years of good and average rainfall, the lost town of Lugert stays buried beneath the waves... but in dry years, especially those stricken by drought, you can walk around this pre-statehood townsite while enjoying one of Oklahoma's prettiest areas, Quartz Mountain State Park.

Gallery Credit: Kelso

Oklahoma State Parks

Get out and enjoy one of Oklahoma's amazing state parks sometime. From the high desert of Black Mesa to the swampy lowlands and tall pines of Southeast Oklahoma, there's a place of recreation for everyone in the Sooner State.

Gallery Credit: Kelso