How to Sharpen Fishing Hooks
A dull hook point costs you fish that bite but never stay on. How to test a point on your thumbnail, which file or stone to use, how to sharpen single and treble hooks with a few strokes in one direction, and when a hook is better replaced.
Fishing Licenses and Regulations Explained
How fishing licenses and regulations work in the United States, what you need to know, and how to stay legal wherever you fish.
Trout Fishing for Beginners
Stream and stocked-water trout for beginners: the three common trout, simple spinning gear and leaders, baits and lures, drift, float and bottom fishing, reading pockets, pools and runs, and careful release, following New York DEC and the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Bag Limits and Slot Limits, Explained
What bag, possession and slot limits are, why fisheries managers use them, how to measure a fish the way the regulations do, how to release protected fish unharmed, and how to find your local regs - with examples from state agency rules.
Catch More Fish from Shore
You don't need a boat to catch fish. Reading bank structure, fan-casting, staying mobile and quiet, and finding the best shore spots, following the Missouri Department of Conservation's guides to fish habitat and fishing tips.
Catch to Kitchen: Clean & Cook
You kept a fish - now what? A beginner's guide to dispatching, cleaning, filleting and cooking your catch so it tastes its best.
How to Pan-Fry Fish
Why your pan-fried fish turns out soggy and oily, and how to fix it: drying the fillet, a light dredge, the right oil temperature, skin-on technique and when to flip.
Must-Have Tackle for a Beginner's Box
The wall of tackle at the store can be paralysing. The short list a beginner needs - hooks, weights, bobbers, a few lures and the tools - following the Missouri Department of Conservation's beginner gear and bait guides.
Choosing a Beginner Rod-and-Reel Combo
Why most beginners should start with a spinning or spincast combo, the rod lengths and line strengths state agencies suggest for bass, trout, panfish and inshore fish, graphite vs. fiberglass, and the drag, following New York DEC, the Missouri Department of Conservation, South Carolina DNR and Wikipedia.
Fishing for Beginners
A license, a short gear list, bait, a bobber rig and where to look for fish - then how to hook, land and handle your first one, following the Missouri Department of Conservation's beginner guides.
Fly Fishing for Absolute Beginners
How fly fishing differs from spinning, the short list of gear a beginner needs, New York DEC's starter rod, line, leader and flies for stream trout, the basic overhead cast step by step, where trout hold in a stream, and releasing fish.