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Freshwater (Page 5)

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

Latest in Freshwater

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

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

An angler in Idaho holds up a state-record lake trout.

Record Lake Trout Caught in Idaho Is a Sign of a Fishery Reborn

A bass hair popper on a log

Quick Strike Podcast: The Old-School Bass Fly That Still Slays

Two backcountry paddlers with a New York record brook trout.

Canoe Tripper Catches Record Trout in the Backcountry, Finds a Creative Way to Preserve It

illustration of two men in a canoe

I Was Floating One of the West’s Great Trout Rivers. Then the Governor Dropped in on His Helicopter

By Erwin A. Bauer

An illustration of a boy fishing at night with his dad.

Largemouth Bass

Nights Were the Only Time My Dad Had Time to Himself. He Took Me Fishing Anyway

By Jerry Dennis

A black carp being harvested in a boat.

Want to Make Thousands by Fishing? Arkansas Just Put a Bounty on Black Carp

guided fishing trip

How to Book a Guided Fishing Trip, Without Getting Ripped Off

A spotted bass on a boat deck

A Florida Man Caught This Fish During a Tournament. It Broke a 40-Year-Old State Record

the qualified captain

Quick Strike Podcast: Don’t Be That Guy at the Boat Ramp, with ‘The Qualified Captain’

A young teen holds a huge king salmon.

Salmon and Steelhead Fishing

An Alaska Teen Just Landed a 51-Pound King Salmon. It Could Have Won the Local Derby, But He Was Too Young

By Alice Jones Webb

record whitefish

North Dakota Angler Breaks 40-Year Record With This Giant Missouri River Fish

Paddlefish that swam 925 miles

Bowfisherman Shoots Paddlefish That Swam Nearly 1,000 Miles from South Dakota to Kentucky

A man wearing sun glasses holds up a massive common carp.

Tournament Angler Smashes Connecticut Record with 58-Pound Carp from Lake Zoar

By Alice Jones Webb

record tiger trout

Wyoming Angler Caught This Record Trout on a Tiny Fly Rod

bent fishing hook

8 Sneaky Reasons You Keep Losing Big Fish

A Maryland bowfisherman with a world-record snakehead.

Maryland Man Arrows a World-Record Snakehead on a Charter Trip

Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life's fishing editor, holds up a snakehead.

Quick Strike Podcast: Don’t Make These Common Snakehead Mistakes

A high school angler with a rainbow trout; a biodegradable lure fresh out of a mold.

This Angler Won His Science Fair for Biodegradable Fishing Lures. Now He’s Selling Them

An Idaho bowfisherman holds up a giant grass carp.

This Idaho Record Carp Was So Big It Broke the Bowfisherman’s Arrow

A Minnesota angler with a bigmouth buffalo.

Minneapolis Fisherman Lands State-Record Bigmouth Buffalo from a Bridge in the ‘Burbs

Trout fishermen bump into canoes.

My Buddies and I Caught 500 Wild Trout in 3 Days on an Old-Fashioned Canoe Trip

By Robeson Bailey

Rainbow fry in a hatchery pond.

Massive Fish Kill at California Trout Hatchery Will Impact Stocking Efforts for Years

Assorted photos about the American Bass Association check bouncing lawsuit.

Tournament Anglers Say Their Checks Keep Bouncing. Now They’re Suing

A Philadelphia fisherman lays next to a huge catfish he caught.

Catfish Fishing

Philly Fisherman Catches Huge Flathead from Pedestrian Bridge. He Says It Weighed More Than the State Record

a blue illustration of a man fishing in a storm

My Buddy Caught His Personal Best Bass During a Lightning Storm

By Arthur Grahame

A trout fisherman looks at his buddy catching bait

We Wanted to Fly Fish. The Trout Wanted Live Bait

A pair of spawning bass

Largemouth Bass

Quick Strike Podcast: How to Ethically Target Spawning Bass

A man holds a record common carp

This New State-Record Carp Is the Heaviest Freshwater Fish Ever Caught in Connecticut

By Alice Jones Webb

A group of bass boats on the water in the fog.

A Team Won Thousands in a Bass Tournament. Then Their Checks Bounced

A fisherman hooks into a bass near a dock.

Largemouth Bass

I Lost My Favorite Bass Lake to Development. A Stranger Helped Me Find It Again

Daniel Mayer with a big blue catfish

Catfish Fishing

If It Checks Out, This Giant Blue Catfish Would Be the New Kansas State Record

By Natalie Krebs

A man catches trout fishing

A ‘Slow’ Day on God’s River Was Still the Best Fishing of My Life

A u.s. soldier in korea who was trout fishing waves his hat on the end of his rifle.

We Had a Week Off from Active Combat, So I Went Trout Fishing. I Got Pinned Down by a Sniper

By Elwayne Carter

A composite image of fishing and wwii

Right Before We Shipped Out to the Front Lines of WWII, a Local Took Us Bass Fishing

By Frank Woolner

A blue catfish caught by a commercial fisherman.

Catfish Fishing

These Photos and Videos Reveal Why Maryland’s Blue Catfish Must Be Killed

Photos by Jay Fleming, Story by Natalie Krebs

Catching a spring lizard

Sometimes Catching Live Bait Is More Fun Than Catching Fish

By Charles Elliott

Fishing superstitions

The 6 Biggest Fishing Superstitions That Could Ruin Your Day on the Water

A California fisherman with a huge brown trout.

Huge Brown Trout Caught on Light Line Just Misses the 38-Year Old California State Record

A man holds up the giant blue catfish record.

Catfish Fishing

This Same Blue Catfish Just Broke the West Virginia State Record — for the Third Time

A Virginia angler with a slab black crappie.

Crappie Fishing

Slab Virginia Crappie Just Misses World-Record Status Due to a Technicality

A big cubera snapper

Quick Strike Podcast: How to Beat Monster Fish with Mind Control

A canal in florida not far from where a pacu was caught

Watch: Florida Man Catches Unofficial State-Record Pacu from a Canal, Where Neighbors Feed It Daily

By Alice Jones Webb

A kayak angler moves across a large lake.

Kayaker Dies During California Fishing Tournament, Cause of Death Under Investigation

A crowd gathers to watch a man weigh muskies in an illustration

Pike and Muskie Fishing

The Most Insane 12 Days of Muskie Fishing in Wisconsin History

By Gordon MacQuarrie

prespawn smallmouth

Smallmouth Bass

The Best Way to Catch Pre-Spawn Smallmouth Bass? Slow Play a Jerkbait

Thousands of salmon stacked up in a creek in Alaska.

Salmon and Steelhead Fishing

Viral Video of Epic Salmon Run Is a Glimpse of What the Old Timers Still Talk About

A collection of 3D printed baits.

Largemouth Bass

This Texas Fisherman Is 3D Printing Duckling Brood Lures — and Catching Bass on Them

By Alice Jones Webb

an old photo of a bass fisherman unhooking a fish

Largemouth Bass

How a Dollar-Store Bag of Balloons Saved Our Bass Fishing Trip