Field Notes
Big Waters
Deep dives on the marquee rivers, lakes, and bays.
Yellowstone River, MT
How to Fish the Yellowstone River: A Beginner's Guide to Cutthroat, the Salmonfly Hatch, and the Longest Wild River in the Lower 48
The Yellowstone is the longest undammed river in the lower 48 — a legendary wild-trout river up top and an overlooked walleye and catfish river on the plains. Here's the whole-river guide, from park cutthroat to prairie sauger.
Tampa Bay, FL
How to Fish Tampa Bay: A Beginner's Whole-Bay Guide to Snook, Redfish, Trout, and Tarpon
Tampa Bay is Florida's largest open-water estuary — the inshore big three of snook, redfish, and seatrout, a world-class tarpon migration, and structure snapper, grouper, and sheepshead. Here's the whole-bay guide to the flats, bridges, and seasons.
St. Lawrence River, NY
How to Fish the St. Lawrence River: A Beginner's Whole-River Guide to Smallmouth, Muskie, and Pike
The St. Lawrence River and its Thousand Islands are one of North America's finest multispecies fisheries — arguably the best smallmouth bass river anywhere, plus world-class muskie, pike, walleye, and sturgeon. Here's the whole-river guide.
Puget Sound, WA
How to Fish Puget Sound: A Beginner's Guide to Salmon, Bottomfish, Crab, and the Inland Sea
Puget Sound is an inland sea with four salmon runs, rocky-reef bottomfish, and world-class crab and spot prawns — fishable from boat, beach, or pier year-round. Here's how to fish it, what's in season, and how the Marine Areas work.
Pamlico Sound, NC
How to Fish Pamlico and Albemarle Sound: A Beginner's Whole-Estuary Guide to Red Drum, Trout, and Striped Bass
North Carolina's Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds are the largest lagoon estuary on the East Coast — trophy red drum, speckled trout, and tarpon in the salty south, famous striped bass and largemouth in the fresher north. Here's the whole-estuary guide.
Mobile Bay, AL
How to Fish Mobile Bay: A Beginner's Guide to Trout, Redfish, Flounder, Bull Reds, and the Jubilee
Mobile Bay is the heart of the Alabama Gulf Coast — the inshore trio of trout, redfish, and flounder, bull reds and tarpon at the pass, freshwater bass in the delta, and the famous Jubilee. Here's the whole-bay guide.
Mississippi River, MN
How to Fish the Mississippi River: A Beginner's Guide to Walleye, Smallmouth, Panfish, and Giant Catfish
The Mississippi is America's great river — 2,300 miles and 119-plus species, from cool-water walleye and smallmouth up north to 100-pound catfish down south. Here's the whole-river guide to its pools, wing dams, backwaters, and tailwaters.
Long Island Sound, CT
How to Fish Long Island Sound: A Beginner's Guide to Striped Bass, Fluke, Blackfish, and the Fall Run
Long Island Sound is a great mixed-bag estuary between Connecticut and Long Island — striped bass and bluefish, fluke and porgy, blackfish and false albacore. Here's the whole-Sound guide to the rips, the reefs, and the seasons.
Lake Superior, MN
How to Fish Lake Superior: A Beginner's Whole-Lake Guide to Lake Trout, Steelhead, Salmon, and Smallmouth
Lake Superior is the greatest of the Great Lakes — the world's best lake-trout fishing, storied North Shore steelhead, a wild salmon mix, and the surprising trophy smallmouth of Chequamegon Bay. Here's the whole-lake guide.
Lake Ontario, NY
How to Fish Lake Ontario: A Beginner's Whole-Lake Guide to King Salmon, Trout, and Trophy Walleye
Lake Ontario is the Great Lakes' trophy salmon capital — some of the biggest king salmon in fresh water, the legendary Salmon River fall run, and the world-class walleye of the Bay of Quinte. Here's the whole-lake guide.
Lake Okeechobee, FL
How to Fish Lake Okeechobee: A Beginner's Whole-Lake Guide to Trophy Bass, Crappie, and Bream
Lake Okeechobee — the Big O — is Florida's inland sea of grass and one of the greatest trophy largemouth bass fisheries on earth, with a legendary winter crappie run and summer bream beds. Here's the whole-lake guide.
Lake of the Woods, MN
How to Fish Lake of the Woods: A Beginner's Whole-Lake Guide to Walleye, Muskie, and More
Lake of the Woods is a 14,000-island border lake shared by Minnesota, Ontario, and Manitoba — the Walleye Capital, plus trophy muskie, smallmouth, pike, panfish, and world-class ice fishing. Here's the whole-lake guide.
Lake Michigan, MI
How to Fish Lake Michigan: A Beginner's Whole-Lake Guide to Salmon, Trout, Smallmouth, and Green Bay Walleye
Lake Michigan is a world-famous salmon-and-trout troll and a superb nearshore fishery for trophy smallmouth, perch, and Green Bay walleye and muskie. Here's the whole-lake guide across all four states.
Lake Huron, MI
How to Fish Lake Huron: A Beginner's Whole-Lake Guide to Walleye, Lake Trout, Salmon, and Smallmouth
Lake Huron is a Great Lake of dramatic comebacks — the world-class walleye of Saginaw Bay, rebounding native lake trout, a rare multi-species salmon mix, and the smallmouth of Georgian Bay. Here's the whole-lake guide.
Lake Erie, OH
How to Fish Lake Erie: A Beginner's Whole-Lake Guide to Walleye, Perch, Smallmouth, and Steelhead
Lake Erie is the most productive Great Lake — the Walleye Capital of the World, a jumbo-perch factory, a trophy smallmouth lake, and the heart of Steelhead Alley. Here's the whole-lake guide across all three basins and five jurisdictions.
Laguna Madre, TX
How to Fish the Laguna Madre: A Beginner's Guide to Sight-Casting Texas's Hypersaline Flats for Redfish and Trophy Trout
The Laguna Madre is one of the world's few hypersaline lagoons — 130 miles of gin-clear seagrass flats behind Padre Island. Here's how to sight-cast it for redfish and trophy speckled trout, from Baffin Bay to the Land Cut to the Lower Laguna.
Kenai River, AK
How to Fish the Kenai River: A Beginner's Whole-River Guide to King Salmon, Sockeye, and Trophy Trout
The Kenai River is the crown jewel of Alaska fishing — the turquoise glacial river that grew the world-record king salmon, turns red with millions of sockeye, and grows giant rainbow trout. Here's the whole-river guide.
Columbia River, OR
How to Fish the Columbia River: A Beginner's Guide to Salmon, Sturgeon, Walleye, and the Great River of the Northwest
The Columbia is the great river of the Pacific Northwest — millions of salmon and steelhead, prehistoric sturgeon, world-class walleye and bass, and springtime shad. Here's the whole-river guide, from Buoy 10 to the Hanford Reach.
Columbia River Gorge, OR
How to Fish the Columbia River Gorge Tailwaters: A Beginner's Guide to Sturgeon, Salmon, and Walleye
The Columbia River Gorge tailwaters — the dam pools and tailraces from Bonneville to John Day — grow prehistoric white sturgeon, the great salmon and steelhead runs, a staggering spring shad flood, and world-record walleye. Here's the guide.
Chesapeake Bay, MD
How to Fish the Chesapeake Bay: A Beginner's Guide to Rockfish, the Bay's Species, and Blue Crabs
The Chesapeake is the largest estuary in the U.S. and the striped bass nursery of the East Coast. Here's the whole-bay guide — Maryland to Virginia — to rockfish, the Bay's deep cast of species, blue crabs, prime spots, and the seasons.
California Delta, CA
How to Fish the California Delta: A Beginner's Whole-Estuary Guide to Bass, Stripers, and Sturgeon
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is the West Coast's great tidal estuary — a thousand-mile maze of sloughs famous for world-class largemouth bass, sea-run striped bass, and giant white sturgeon. Here's the whole-Delta guide.