Freshwater (Page 2)

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

Latest in Freshwater

A big largemouth bass that sucked down a frog.

How to Fish Frog Lures to Catch Giant Bass

By Joe Cermele, Alex Robinson, Kristine Fischer

An angler sets the hook on a bass under a boat dock.

How to Fish a Dock for Giant Bass and Panfish

By Derek Horner

Fall 2025 hunt + fish media trip hosted by Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters, a non-profit group working to halt the proposed Twin Metals sulfide-ore copper mine and protect clean water in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness near Ely, Minnesota. Attendees: Rob Drieslein, Ben Ryder Howe, Nate Ptacek, Alex Robinson, Durrell Smith, Land Tawney, Lukas Leaf, Katie McKalip, Matthew Schultz

Twin Metals Paid Former Trump Officials $380K. Their Controversial Mine Proposal Near the Boundary Waters Is Now Advancing Against Public Opinion

By Alex Robinson

A bluegill caught on a popper.

Bluegill Fishing

The Best Baits for Catching Bluegills (and Other Panfish)

A big brown trout caught on a streamer.

Quick Strike Podcast: Why You’re Missing Out on the Biggest Brown Trout of Your Life

An emaciated lake trout.

The Bizarre Rise of Lake Superior’s Deep Water ‘Zombie’ Trout

crappie fishing

Crappie Fishing

Is It OK to Keep a Trophy Crappie? Here’s What the Fisheries Biologists Say

By Scott Einsmann

Largemouth Bass

How to Fish a Drop Shot Rig — and Catch More Bass During the Spawn

By Derek Horner

Joe Cermele with a tautog caught on an ultralight jig.

The Best Tasting Fish Species You’ve Never Eaten (But Should Definitely Try)

an angler with a large smallmouth he caught on a squarebill

How to Fish a Squarebill Crankbait for Giant Spring Bass

By Derek Horner

A big flathead caught while noodling

Catfish Fishing

The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Noodling Catfish

By Natalie Krebs

A colorado fisherman casts into a pool.

Colorado’s Trout Fishing Forecast Is Grim After Minimal Snow Pack and Record Heat. These Are the Bright Spots

fly fishing for carp

The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Fly Fishing for Carp

A trout angler with a giant rainbow from Connecticut.

Derby Fisherman Catches a State-Record Rainbow with a Vintage Rod and a Live Worm

An Atlantic salmon jumping over a waterfall.

Salmon and Steelhead Fishing

Salmon Swim Harder and Live Longer When They’re on Cocaine, Study Shows. But There’s a Catch

A nice bluegill held in front of a green short with a torso.

4 Affordable Summer Fishing Slams Anyone Can Do

A bass boat runs in the San Francisco Bay Delta.

Boat Crash at High-School Fishing Tournament Injures Six, with One Adult Still Hospitalized

Catfish Fishing

Hot Dogs Are Still the Best Bait for Catching Channel Catfish

Bailey Eigbrett with a big bass caught from a kayak

Quick Strike Podcast: Think You’re Ready for a Kayak Tournament? Read This First

best bass lures main

Largemouth Bass

The Best Bass Lures: The Ultimate Guide to Every Type of Bass Bait

By Derek Horner

The author releases a smallmouth bass caught on a neko rig.

How to Fish the Neko Rig, One of the Best Ways to Catch Big Bass

By Derek Horner

brown trout lure

Trout Fishing Tips: A Quick Guide for Catching More Trout

The essentials needed for a wacky rig

Largemouth Bass

How to Fish a Wacky Rig: One of the Easiest Ways to Catch Big Bass

By Derek Horner

A big bluegill held up on the edge of a boat

Bluegill Fishing

Dink Bluegills Are Insufferable. Here’s How to Catch Big Bulls This Spring

Crappie Fishing

How to Catch Crappies from Shore

an illustration of a man fishing and a trout

My Secret Guide to the Legendary Catskill Streams Where American Dry Fly Fishing Was Born

By Cecil E. Heacox

A bass angler holds up three fish caught on one rig.

Largemouth Bass

How to Fish the Alabama Rig: One of the Best Ways to Catch a Pile of Pre-Spawn Bass

By Derek Horner

The author uses forward facing sonar to catch crappie and learn about their behavior.

Crappie Fishing

When Do Crappie Spawn? Just Follow This Water Temperature Guide

By Cory Schmidt

An american shad with a rainbow sheen

Quick Strike Podcast: The Secret Spoon for Catching Big Shad

A teenager with a pending state-record trout.

‘Too Fat to Jump.’ West Virginia Teen’s Massive Golden Rainbow Trout Is a Pending State Record

An illustration of an owl swooping at a grown man and his son

Catfish Fishing

For His First Camp Out, I Took My Son to an Old Bootlegger’s Island in the Bayou

By Earl E. Guess

Two vintage bass photos

Old-School Tips for Catching Big Bass Right Now

A bass angler with a big Toledo Bend largemouth.

Bass Angler Who Lied About Where He Caught a 12-Pounder Now Facing 10 Years in Jail

5 old school trout flies on a beige background.

5 Overlooked, Old-School Trout Flies to Throw This Spring

Side by side photos of a kid with giant catfish

Catfish Fishing

11-Year-Old Battles a 72-Pound Catfish and Just Misses Catching a State Record

how to catch channel catfish

Catfish Fishing

How to Catch Channel Catfish — and Why You Should Target Them This Spring

A landlocked salmon fisherman

Salmon and Steelhead Fishing

Quick Strike Podcast: The Early-Season Salmon Bite Most Anglers Miss

hellgrammite best live baits

The Best Live Baits Most Anglers Ignore (But Fish Can’t Resist)

A blue illustration of a tornado sweeping away a barn

I Set a Bass Fishing Record, Then Was Nearly Killed By a Tornado

By August Manweiler

An angler with a huge Texas largemouth.

Largemouth Bass

Texas Trophy Bass Program Ends Season with 19 Huge Fish Recorded, Including This 14-Pounder

A plethora of spinnerbaits and a rod and reel for fishing them.

How to Fish a Spinnerbait: This Classic Bass Lure Is Just as Effective as Ever

By Derek Horner

A largemouth bass caught on a texas rig

Largemouth Bass

How to Fish a Texas Rig — The One Rig Every Bass Angler Needs to Know

By Derek Horner

A rusty revolver located in a river.

5 Wild Things We’ve Found While Fishing in Rivers

A young Texas angler with a pending record crappie.

Crappie Fishing

This 11-Year-Old Angler Took His Record Crappie Home for Dinner

American alligator split image in the everglades

We Fished a Hidden Spot Deep in the Everglades. It Was the Most Violent Fishing I’ve Ever Experienced

By Charles Elliott

An ice fisherman with a 49-inch muskie caught through the ice in Vermont.

Pike and Muskie Fishing

This Angler’s First Muskie Nearly Spooled Him. It’s the Biggest Caught in Vermont in Decades

Cans of spam on the shelf

The Best Bait You Can Buy at the Dollar Store

By Raymundo Ruiz Jr.

An aerial view of an ice-fishing derby in Saskatchewan.

Walleye Fishing

An Ice Fisherman Was Booted from a Canadian Walleye Derby Over Cheating Accusations. There Was $100,000 on the Line

Group of nightcrawlers in soil.

How to Catch Nightcrawlers for DIY Live Bait

A composite photo of an angler with three trophy bass.

‘My Adrenaline Was Pumping.’ Bass Guide Makes Texas History with Two 13-Pounders in One Day (and Three This Month)

A bass guide holds up a 13-pound largemouth.

Largemouth Bass

Texas Guide Catches His Second 13-Pound Bass in Two Weeks

An illustration of loggers throwing a rope to rescue swimmers.

We Risked Everything for the Best Fishing of Our Lives — and It Almost Cost Us

A walleye fisherman holds up a fat early-spring walleye.

Walleye Fishing

Quick Strike Podcast: Secrets for Catching Huge Early-Spring Walleyes in Any Scenario

An illustration of a man named muskie joe

Pike and Muskie Fishing

The Legend of Muskie Joe, the Man Who Searched His Entire Life for a 6-Foot Fish

An illustration of a man punching another man with a net of pickerel during a historic run.

The Day Millions of Pickerel Saved My Starving Town — and Nearly Ruined My Favorite Fishing Hole

An illustration of a whale swimming straight for a group of canoers

Pike and Muskie Fishing

I Paddled 850 Miles to Hudson Bay in a Canoe, and Fished to Eat Along the Way

By David Jarden

A green yellow illustration of a man descending a cliff.

It Took Rescuers Days to Find Us in a Remote Canyon. It Took Even Longer to Figure Out How to Get Us Out

By Keith E. Oveson

A teen angler with a huge largemouth bass.

Largemouth Bass

‘I Thought It Was All Over.’ Teen Wins Bass Tourney with a 10-Pound Largemouth He Hooked Twice

An Idaho angler with a state-record cutthroat trout.

Idaho’s Deepest Lake Kicks Out Another State-Record Trout

A fishing guide holds up a stud rainbow in front of a client.

We Got in a Full-Blown Feud with a Rival Fishing Lodge. It Ended with a State Trooper Sting

Joe Cermele holds up a nice trout on a cold day between winter and spring.

Quick Strike Podcast: The Secret to Fishing the Weirdest, Trickiest Time of the Year

Whitewater rapids on a little known river in Alaska.

Salmon and Steelhead Fishing

In Alaska, Even a Seemingly Unremarkable River Can Offer the Adventure of a Lifetime

By Christine Peterson

A man holds up a huge brown trout.

These 6 Full-Time Fish Bums Are Living the Dream — But Not Without Sacrifices

An angler and a fisheries biologist with a massive muskie.

Pike and Muskie Fishing

Pending State-Record Muskie Rejected Over a Border Dispute