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Big Waters
Deep dives on the marquee rivers, lakes, and bays.
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.
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.
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.