Freshwater (Page 2)

The top freshwater fishing destinations and tips for catching bass, panfish, walleyes, muskies, and more.

Latest in Freshwater

An angler holds up a huge Texas bass.

Largemouth Bass

This Fisherman Just Caught the Same 14-Pound Bass from the Same Dock for the Third Time in 4 Years

A fisherman holds up a nice Great Lakes steelhead.

Salmon and Steelhead Fishing

Quick Strike Podcast: Secrets of a Great Lakes Steelhead Guru

An angler with a big muskie caught from Green Bay.

Pike and Muskie Fishing

Wisconsin’s Muskie Record Was Broken 3 Times in 2025. This One Took the Crown

A photo of an ice fisherman holding up two white perch.

Panfish Fishing

Quick Strike Podcast: How to Crush Slab White Perch Through the Ice This Winter

A kayak fisherman holds up a nice sea trout

Quick Strike Podcast: How Experienced Kayak Fishermen Stay Alive in Winter

A photo of a blue-gloved hand holding a winter trout caught from a river.

Quick Strike Podcast: Shake the Winter Freestone Fishing Blues

A fishing guide holds up a giant bass on Lake Okechobee

Largemouth Bass

Quick Strike Podcast: How to Catch Giant Bass on Lake Okeechobee This Winter

Two spearfishermen surface with walleyes.

Podcast: Spearfishing for Walleyes Is Coming to the Great Lakes. And That’s Not a Bad Thing

Blue catfish caught on shad chunk

Catfish Fishing

Quick Strike Podcast: How to Catch Trophy Blue Catfish In Winter

Screenshots of trout eating flies through the ice.

This Video of Trout Smashing Flies Through the Ice Will Keep You Fired Up All Winter

A tournament bass angler holds up a fish; a man sits for a photo.

Alabama Bass Tournaments Are Getting Canceled After Deadly MLF Boat Crash

A bass boat with a cutout of a kayak mounted to the stern platform, and an inset pic of bass.

Fisherman Caught Staging Kayak Pictures in a Bass Boat Banned from Tournaments for Cheating

A record striped bass on a measuring board; an angler holds up a big striper.

Perch Fisherman Catches a State-Record Striped Bass on Light Line

A collection of hated worms

Quick Strike Podcast: Trout Flies We Love to Hate (But Keep Using)

A photo of a big brown trout being released.

It’s Time to Rethink Catch-and-Release Trout Fishing — or Get Much Better at It

By Christine Peterson

Two fishermen filming themselves on the river.

Salmon and Steelhead Fishing

These Salmon Fishermen Just Demonstrated the Absolute Dumbest Way to Get a Ticket

A huge muskie caught on the fly

Pike and Muskie Fishing

Quick Strike Podcast: Tips for Targeting Muskies on the Fly

Polish anglers kneel behind a massive Wels catfish.

Catfish Fishing

Watch: Polish Anglers Say This Enormous Catfish Is a New World Record

A Nebraska fisherman holds up a giant blue catfish.

Catfish Fishing

‘We Were Hunting for That Fish.’ Nebraska Guide Breaks 21-Year-Old Catfish Record

A fish hatchery in Arkansas.

Arkansas Cuts Trout Harvest on Famed Tailwaters as Key Hatcheries Crash

By Kris Millgate

Walleye Fishing

Video: A Fishing Legend Explains How to Catch More Walleyes Without Forward-Facing Sonar

By Alex Robinson

A close-up picture of a spotted gar that broke an Oklahoma record.

This Fisherman Might’ve Just Broken a World Record. He Definitely Broke His Rod

A fishing guide holds up a state-record bass in Tennessee.

Tennessee Fishing Guide Catches Record Bass that Officials Say Shouldn’t Be There

A photo of a fisherman holding up crappies.

Crappie Fishing

Quick Strike Podcast: Tips for Catching More Crappies This Fall

A fisherman holds up a nice steelhead

Salmon and Steelhead Fishing

Quick Strike Podcast: Breaking Down Bead Selection for Fall Steelhead

A tournament bass angler holds up a fish; a man sits for a photo.

Pro Bass Fisherman Indicted on Manslaughter Charges as Officials Release Deadly Boat Crash Footage

A college angler holds up his plaque after winning the Bassmaster College Bracket.

The Top College Angler of 2025 Just Donated Every Cent of His Cash Winnings to This Good Cause

A man holds up a nice smallmouth bass caught in the fall.

Quick Strike Podcast: Understanding Lake Turnover Can Rescue Your Fall Fishing

mcmanus at the bass masters classic

Largemouth Bass

Pat McManus Once Sabotaged the BASS Masters Classic

By Patrick F. McManus

A fisherman in New York holds up a big pink salmon.

Salmon and Steelhead Fishing

Fisherman Stripped of His Salmon Record Because of This Odd Technicality

A man holds up a nice peacock bass in Florida.

Quick Strike Podcast: Why You Need to Fish for These Hard-Fighting Florida Exotics Before You Die

A fishing guide with a state-record muskie caught in Wisconsin.

Pike and Muskie Fishing

Giant Muskie Caught and Released in Green Bay Is a New Wisconsin Record

An angler chases a huge Atlantic salmon down a river.

Salmon and Steelhead Fishing

Watch: ‘Ginormous’ Atlantic Salmon Takes Angler on a Mile-Long Run Downriver

A fisherman with a sunfish caught on a cane pole.

Panfish Fishing

‘Marathon’ Angler Who Broke 24-Hour Fishing Record on 9/11 Didn’t Stop Until He’d Caught 2,977 Sunfish

A noodler supports a heavy trophy flathead with two hands.

Catfish Fishing

18 Wild Photos of Catfish Noodlers Wrestling Giant Flatheads

By Natalie Krebs

An Idaho angler with a state record flathead catfish.

Catfish Fishing

She Just Landed Idaho’s New State-Record Catfish. The Old Record Belonged to Her Husband

Trotliner pulls in large blue catfish from white river

Catfish Fishing

24 Fascinating Photos of the Master Catfish Trotliners Who Are Keeping This Southern Tradition Alive

Photographs by Rory Dole, story by Natalie Krebs

Largemouth Bass

Widow Sues Major League Fishing After Deadly Boat Crash

By Alex Robinson

bassmaster tournament

Largemouth Bass

Bassmaster (Partially) Bans Forward-Facing Sonar for the 2026 Season. Fans Love It — and Hate It

By Derek Horner

Fisherman Jimmy Fee holds up a bowfin to the camera.

Quick Strike Podcast: This Is the Secret to Catching More Bowfin

A vintage illustration of a fisherman fighting a pike in a small raft.

Pike and Muskie Fishing

I Waited 20 Years to Fish This Wilderness Lake. It Was Better Than I Dreamed

A Minnesota kayak fisherman with a state-record bowfin.

This Kayak Fisherman Found a Bowfin Honey Hole, Then Landed a State Record

An Ohio angler with a big muskie.

Watch: This Might Be the Sickest Muskie Eat You’ll Ever See

A mugshot of an elderly Florida man arrested for assault on a kid who was fishing

‘Not Very Neighborly.’ Florida Man Arrested for Assaulting Kids Fishing a Neighborhood Pond

A freshwater drum fisherman.

Quick Strike Podcast: The Most Underrated Fish in America Will Beat the Hell Out of You

cane pole fishing

Largemouth Bass

Flipjacking: We Uncover the Lost Art of Cane-Pole Fishing for Bass

By Erwin A. Bauer

night time smallmouth

Smallmouth Bass

Night Fishing Secrets: 4 Species You Should Be Targeting After Sunset This Summer

A giant alligator gar hanging on scales; a group of alligator gar fishermen.

This Giant Gar Weighs 20 Pounds More Than the State Record, But It Won’t Qualify

Largemouth Bass

Gollywompers: A Secret Old Bait for Giant Bass

By Robert E. Price

live bait species

The 6 Best Live Bait Species You Can Catch Yourself

A young angler holds up a double-digit largemouth bass.

Largemouth Bass

Texas Kid Catches Record Breaking Bass

An angler with a giant brown trout from New Zealand.

Beast of a Brown Trout Caught at Night in New Zealand Is a New World Record

The Texas Rig Explained in 90 Seconds

By Derek Horner

big trout small flies

Quick Strike Podcast: How to Catch Giant Trout on Tiny Flies

smallmouth bass

Smallmouth Bass

Old School Tactics for Catching Fall Smallmouth Bass

The author testing the best walleye rods.

Walleye Fishing

The Best Walleye Rods of 2026, Tested and Reviewed

Largemouth Bass

Old-School Tips for Catching Giant Bass in Small Ponds

By Anthony A. Ciuffa

An Arizona angler with a record-sized largemouth bass.

Monster Largemouth Bass Caught in Tournament Should Be a New State Record

world record muskies

Pike and Muskie Fishing

The World-Record Muskie That Turned Out to be a Hoax — and the Investigation That Brought It Down

By John Dettloff

A fisheries official reaches into a net filled with stocker rainbow trout.

Stocking Fish Is Getting So Expensive that Kansas Is Slashing Its Trout Season

By Kris Millgate

An Arizona fisherman with the new state-record redear sunfish.

Giant Redear Sunfish that Fought Like a Bass Is a New Arizona Record

Three Black Bears in Montana

We Rented a Forest Service Cabin for Our Fishing Trip. We Spent the Weekend Battling Problem Bears

By Leon Copenhaver

Two anglers with a big lake trout from the Midwest.

Michigan Lake Trout Floors Biologists, Who Say It’s the Oldest Fish They’ve Ever Seen

Kansas blue catfish state record.

Catfish Fishing

Kansas Just Certified a New Record Blue Catfish, and It’s a Giant

By Natalie Krebs