Cooking Your Catch: Cleaning and Filleting Fish
There is a deep satisfaction in eating a fish you caught yourself. A meal of fresh fillets is the natural finish to a good day on the water, and it connects…
Fishing Licenses and Regulations Explained
Every angler, from the first-timer to the seasoned veteran, has to deal with one piece of fishing that has nothing to do with lures or technique: licenses and…
Farm Ponds and Small Waters: Hidden Gems
Anglers spend fortunes chasing fish on massive reservoirs and famous rivers, while some of the best fishing in America sits quietly behind a barn, in a…
Bank Fishing: Catch More Without a Boat
There is a myth in fishing that you need a boat to be successful. Plenty of anglers believe their best days are behind them because they sold the boat or never…
How Weather and Barometric Pressure Affect Fishing
Two anglers fish the same lake with the same lures on the same spot. One has a great day and one gets skunked. Often the difference is not skill or luck, it is…
Best Times of Day to Fish
Every angler has heard it: "You should have been here yesterday" or "The bite was on this morning." Timing matters in fishing, sometimes more than your lure…
Winter Fishing: Cold-Water Tactics
Most anglers hang up their rods when the temperature drops, and that is exactly why winter can be so good. The lakes are quiet, the crowds are gone, and the…
Fall Fishing: The Feeding Frenzy
Ask experienced anglers when they catch their best fish, and many will say fall. As the days shorten and the water cools, fish sense that winter is coming.…
Summer Fishing: Beating the Heat and Finding Fish
Summer fishing is a study in contrasts. The weather is gorgeous, the days are long, and there is no better time to be on the water. But the fishing itself can…
Spring Fishing: The Spawn and Where to Find Fish
Spring is the season every angler waits for. After months of cold water and slow bites, the fish wake up, the days grow longer, and suddenly the lake feels…
Pike and Muskie: Chasing Apex Predators
Most fish nibble. Pike and muskie attack. These two members of the esox family sit at the very top of the freshwater food chain across the northern United…
Inshore Saltwater Fishing: Redfish and Trout
Along the warm coastlines of the southern United States, from the Carolinas down around Florida and across the entire Gulf of Mexico, lies some of the most…
Catching Bluegill and Panfish with Kids
If you want to turn a child into a lifelong angler, don't take them bass fishing. Take them bluegill fishing. Panfish, bluegill, sunfish, redear, and other…
Walleye Fishing Tactics That Actually Work
Across the northern United States, the walleye holds a special status. In the Great Lakes region, the upper Midwest, and the northern plains, it's the most…
How to Catch Crappie Through the Seasons
If you want a fish that's easy to catch in numbers, fights with a feisty headshake, and tastes absolutely outstanding in the frying pan, the crappie is hard to…
Catfishing: Baits, Rigs, and Spots
Catfish don't get the glamour of bass or the elegance of trout, but ask anyone who's hooked a 40-pound flathead in the dark and they'll tell you nothing else…
Trout Fishing for Beginners
Few fish are as beloved by American anglers as the trout. They live in the kind of places we all want to be: cold, clear mountain streams, tumbling freestone…
How to Catch Largemouth Bass Year-Round
The largemouth bass is America's fish. From farm ponds in Georgia to mountain reservoirs in California, it lives almost everywhere there's warm, fertile water.…
Finesse Fishing When the Bite Is Tough
Every angler has lived through it: bluebird sky, high pressure, water like glass, and fish that act like they've taken a vow of silence. Your confidence baits…
Surf Fishing from the Beach
There's something timeless about standing in the wash with a rod planted in the sand, watching a tip nod in the breeze. Surf fishing is one of the most…
Ice Fishing: Gear and Safety Basics
Ice fishing turns a frozen lake into a fishery again. While most anglers winterize their boats and wait for spring, ice anglers drill a hole, drop a line, and…
Night Fishing: Tips for After Dark
When the sun goes down, a lake transforms. The pleasure boaters go home, the water calms, the air cools, and fish that were buried in deep water or thick cover…
Fly Fishing for Absolute Beginners
Fly fishing has a reputation for being difficult, expensive, and a little intimidating—a sport of tweed, technique, and secret knowledge. The truth is much…
Bottom Fishing Explained
Bottom fishing is the oldest, simplest, and arguably most universal way to catch fish. Long before crankbaits and forward-facing sonar, anglers were dropping…
Trolling 101: Cover Water, Catch More Fish
Casting puts your lure in one spot at a time. Trolling—pulling lures behind a moving boat—puts them in front of fish across acres of water until something…
Drop Shot Rigging and Technique
The drop shot rig is the rig you reach for when fish are being difficult. Pressured water, clear conditions, cold fronts, suspended fish, finicky bites—these…
How to Fish a Jig
If a tournament angler could keep only one lure, a huge number would choose a jig. The jig is the lure that catches big fish—it produces some of the largest…
Topwater Fishing: A Complete Guide
There is no thrill in fishing quite like a topwater strike. The water erupts, your heart skips, and for a half-second you forget how to set the hook. Topwater…
Best Coolers for the Boat and the Bank
A cooler is one of the most-used pieces of gear an angler owns, yet most people give it almost no thought. They grab whatever is in the garage, throw in a bag…
Best Fishing Apps and Tech for 2026
Twenty years ago, a smart angler carried a paper lake map, a thermometer, and a notebook. Today, all of that fits in your pocket—and it works harder than ever.…
Best Waders for Cold-Water Fishing
When the water turns cold, fishing doesn't have to stop — but staying out there comfortably and safely depends heavily on one piece of gear: your waders. Good…
Best Polarized Sunglasses for Fishing
Sunglasses might not seem like "fishing gear," but ask any experienced angler and they'll tell you a good pair of polarized glasses is one of the most valuable…
Must-Have Tackle for a Beginner's Box
When you're new to fishing, the wall of lures and tackle at the store can be paralyzing. Thousands of products, every one promising more fish. The truth is…
Best Fishing Kayaks for Anglers
A fishing kayak opens up water that bank anglers can't reach and boat owners can't access — skinny backwaters, quiet coves, narrow creeks, and protected flats.…
Best Tackle Boxes and Bags
Every angler accumulates gear — lures, hooks, weights, line, tools, terminal tackle — and without a good way to organize it, fishing turns into rummaging. The…
How to Choose the Right Fishing Line
Fishing line is the single connection between you and the fish, yet it's one of the most overlooked pieces of tackle. Anglers will agonize over rods and reels,…
Best Spinning Reels for Every Budget
The spinning reel is the most versatile, most forgiving, and most popular reel design in fishing — and for good reason. It handles light lures and live bait…
Best Baitcasting Reels for the Money
A baitcasting reel is the tool of choice when you need power, precision, and the ability to throw heavier lures with accuracy. Once you've put in the time to…
Best Fish Finders Under $500
A fish finder turns guesswork into information. Instead of casting blindly and hoping, you can see the bottom contour, spot structure, mark baitfish, and find…
Best Beginner Rod-and-Reel Combos
Walking into a tackle shop or scrolling through pages of fishing gear online can feel overwhelming when you're just getting started. Rods, reels, line weights,…
Catch and Release Done Right: Keeping Fish Alive
Catch and release is one of the best things to happen to American fishing. It lets us enjoy the sport, protect fish populations, and pass healthy fisheries on…
How to Hook, Fight, and Land a Fish
The bite is just the beginning. Plenty of anglers feel a fish, get excited, and then watch it come unbuttoned halfway to the bank. Hooking, fighting, and…
Fishing Line Explained: Mono, Braid, and Fluorocarbon
Fishing line is the most overlooked piece of equipment an angler owns. People obsess over rods and reels, then spool up with whatever's cheapest and wonder why…
How to Cast Farther and More Accurately
Every angler has watched someone effortlessly launch a lure twice as far as their own best cast and wondered what the secret is. Here's the reassuring news:…
Live Bait vs Artificial Lures: When to Use Each
Ask ten anglers whether live bait or artificial lures catch more fish, and you'll get ten passionate answers. The honest truth is that both work, both have…
How to Set Up a Fishing Rod Step by Step
There's a particular kind of frustration that comes from finally getting to the water and realizing you don't quite know how to put your gear together. Setting…
Spinning vs Baitcasting: Which Reel Should You Choose
Walk into any tackle shop and you'll see two main families of reels staring back at you: spinning reels that hang below the rod, and baitcasting reels that sit…
How to Read Water: Where Fish Hide
Two anglers can fish the same lake on the same day and have completely different results. The difference usually isn't gear or luck — it's that one of them…
The 7 Essential Fishing Knots Every Angler Should Know
You can own the best rod money can buy, but if your knot fails, the fish wins. Knots are the single most overlooked link in an angler's setup — and the most…
Fishing for Beginners: Everything You Need to Start
There's a reason fishing has stayed popular for thousands of years. It gets you outside, it's affordable once you have the basics, and the moment a fish pulls…