We couldn’t find an LGBTQ+ fishing or hunting club in Austin, or anywhere in Central Texas. Other places have them, and a few take beginners online or for free.
I haven’t fished since I was a young teenager, so this guide starts where I’d start: with what’s out there, what’s missing here, and how to get a line in the water in Austin without buying anything first.
The Short List
| Group or place | What it is | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Kinfolk Hunting Collective | Free mentored hunts and fishing, especially for queer folks, BIPOC and women | New York |
| FlyCurious | Fly fishing lessons for LGBTQ+ people | Central Oregon, or online |
| LGBTQ Outdoors | Queer outdoor events that can include fishing | Texas chapter, with an organizer in Austin |
| Rainbow Ranch | An LGBTQ+ campground with a fishing pier | Lake Limestone, near Groesbeck |
| McKinney Falls State Park | No license needed from shore; ask about borrowing a rod | Austin |
| Neighborhood Fishin’ | Two city ponds stocked with catfish and trout | Austin |
What Exists Elsewhere
Kinfolk Hunting Collective
A New York group that runs mentored hunting, angling and outdoor skills programs. Its community is “open to all who share our values, but especially BIPOC, Queer folks, and Women,” and it says its mentorship is “entirely free of charge to participants.” Each mentee is paired one on one with an experienced hunter.
It’s a long way from Austin, but it’s the clearest model of what a queer-welcoming hunting group can look like. Its next events are a crossbow deer hunt on Shelter Island, November 6 to 8, 2026, and a muzzleloader hunt December 18 to 20.
FlyCurious
FlyCurious says it plainly: “FLY FISHING IS GAY!” It teaches fly fishing to “folks from the LGBTQ+ community, and anyone feeling ‘othered’ in the outdoors,” and works with fly shops on making them welcoming.
Its calendar showed no group events in October 2026. You can still book a four-hour private intro workshop, in Central Oregon or as an online meeting, which is the version that works from Austin.
- More: FlyCurious
LGBTQ Outdoors
A national queer outdoor group with volunteer-led state chapters. Its chapters page says events “may include hiking, biking, camping, climbing, fishing, paddling, and much more.” The Texas chapter lists an ambassador in Austin. Its fall 2026 Texas events are hikes and outings, not fishing trips, so a fishing day here would need someone to ask for it or host it.
Rainbow Ranch
Not a club, but a place to fish with other queer people around. Rainbow Ranch is “an LGBTQ+ campground” outside Groesbeck on Lake Limestone, with “fishing at our pond or off our pier.” It has tent sites, RV sites and cabins.
- Book: Rainbow Ranch, 254-729-8484
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Programs That Aren’t Queer-Specific
iFishiBelong is a national nonprofit “dedicated to creating a diverse, inclusive fishing community,” with free fly fishing education and low-cost weekend events. In June 2026 it ran a piece on how queer anglers are changing fly fishing. Artemis, from the National Wildlife Federation, is a community of women hunters and anglers.
How to Start Fishing in Austin
You can try it before you buy a rod or a license. Texas Parks and Wildlife makes the first trip easy.
McKinney Falls State Park
The simplest first outing. TPWD’s park page says, “You do not need a license to fish from shore in a Texas state park,” and to “ask about borrowing … fishing rods and tackle.” You fish Onion or Williamson creeks.
- Cost: park entry, $6 a day for adults
- Watch for: Onion Creek floods after rain, so check with the park before you go
Neighborhood Fishin’ Ponds
TPWD stocks two Austin ponds, Bullfrog Pond and Kingfisher Lake, through its Neighborhood Fishin’ program. Catfish go in from mid-April through October, skipping August, and rainbow trout from Thanksgiving to early March. TPWD calls them “the perfect places to get started” if you’ve never fished, with parking, shoreline access and restrooms.
Adults need a license there. A one-day, all-water license is $11, and an annual freshwater package is $30, per TPWD’s license page. Anyone under 17 doesn’t need one.
More Ways In
- Free Fishing Day. On the first Saturday in June, you can fish any public water in Texas without a license. It was June 6 in 2026
- Borrow gear. TPWD’s Tackle Loaner Program lends rods, reels and tackle like a library lends books. Call a site before you go, since gear runs out
- Find a spot. TPWD’s Go Fishing page has an Austin map of easy-access fishing and a free app that finds water near you
If You Want to Hunt
Start with hunter education. TPWD’s hunter education page lists a six-hour classroom course for $15, an online course with a field day, and an online-only course for adults 17 and older. The same page links to TPWD’s answer on who has to take it.
We’re Looking for an Organizer
We’d like to see a queer fishing group in Austin, built for people starting from zero or starting over. Once a month at a stocked pond with borrowed gear would do it. It needs somebody who knows how to tie a knot, or is willing to learn alongside everyone else.
What’s missing is one person to put it on the calendar. If that could be you, write us. We’ll help with the rest and point people your way from this page. Our guide to starting a queer group when privacy matters covers the setup. Tell us through the contact form.
Two Ways to Help This Page
Know an LGBTQ+ friendly fishing guide, outfitter or hunting mentor? Write us with the name and where we can see it: their site, a booking page, or a public post. We check before we list.
Want to start a queer hunting, fishing or shooting group, or already run one? We’ll put up a page for it. Send the group’s name if it has one, what you want to do, how people meet or connect (a Facebook group, a group chat, a range day), and the text you’d like on the page. You write it, we publish it and point people your way. A first name or a pseudonym is fine.
Both go through our contact form. If shooting’s more your thing, see our guide to queer-friendly gun clubs and ranges.
Last checked: October 2026. Group details read from each group’s own website, and fishing rules and programs from Texas Parks and Wildlife pages, on October 13, 2026. Fees and stocking dates change, so check TPWD before you go.
Coming early 2027
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Small, peer-led, free. A place where people remember what you said last week.