New to fishing? Start here
Fishing for Beginners: Your First Day, From License to First Fish
Fishing for beginners in one day: the kit, the license, where bluegill bite, the bobber rig, the first cast and fish, and a box on taking a child.
fishing.info
Fishing, explained properly.
Find the fish, choose what to throw and know your gear. Every page is researched from the sources and written for the angler who has to use it on the water.
Free card: what 26 species do at your water temperature
Plus one email a week on what's biting now. No sales pitches. Privacy.
Species
Which fish do you want to catch?
Every fish worth chasing: how to identify it, where it lives, when it bites.
Techniques
How do you fish for it?
Rigs, knots, casting, and the disciplines from fly to ice to surf.
Lures
What do you throw?
Crankbaits to soft plastics: how each one works and when to throw it.
Bait
What bait do you use?
Live, cut and prepared bait, how to rig it and how to keep it.
Start with Best Catfish Bait.
Gear
What gear do you need?
Rods, reels, line, hooks and electronics, compared on the numbers.
States
What are the rules where you fish?
Licenses, seasons and the best water, state by state.
Four guides that answer the big questions
Where the bass are, what the water temperature says, which lures to buy first, and what the words mean.
species
How to Fish for Bass: A Beginner's Season-by-Season Guide
How to fish for bass from the first cast: one rod and reel, five lures, where bass are at each water temperature, and a numbered method for a day on the water.
techniques
Ideal Water Temperature for Fish: The Chart for 26 Freshwater Species
The best water temperature for fishing is 65–75 °F for most freshwater fish; trout want 50–65 °F, catfish 75–85 °F. One chart for 26 species.
lures
Best Fishing Lures: The Ten to Buy First, by What Each One Does
The best fishing lures for a first box: ten that cover every season and depth, with what the pros threw in 2025, a season table, a species table and colors.
techniques
Fishing Terms: 690+ Words, Slang and Acronyms Anglers Use
Fishing terms and slang, A to Z: 690+ words in plain English, from bail and drag to hawg, dink and honey hole, plus 32 acronyms anglers use.
Latest
species
Is Bass Good to Eat? Yes, If You Keep the Small Ones and Check the Water
Yes, bass is good to eat: mild, white and firm. Which bass to keep, what mercury advice says about bass against panfish, and why most go back.
species
Wels Catfish: Europe's Giant, Its Records, and Why It Is Banned in the US
The wels catfish: how to recognize it, the 297 lb record, the Ebro line-class book, how anglers fish for it, and why it is an injurious species in the US.
species
Rock Bass: How to Identify, Find and Catch the Goggle-Eye
How to tell a rock bass from a warmouth or a smallmouth, where it lives, what it bites, how big it gets and the 3 lb world record that is a tie.
gear
Shimano Reels: Every Spinning and Casting Reel, Sienna to Stella
Every Shimano spinning reel and baitcaster on one price ladder, $35 to $895: what each step buys, which size fits your fishing, and the reel to buy.
species
World Record Smallmouth Bass: The Hayes Fish and the False Affidavit
The world record smallmouth bass weighs 11 lb 15 oz, caught at Dale Hollow in 1955. How it was struck off and restored, the IGFA records, the state records.
species
Crappie Fishing: Where They Are Each Season and How to Catch Them
Crappie fishing season by season: how deep the fish sit, what to throw, the light tackle that works, and why a jig a foot too low gets ignored.
gear
Fishing Pole: Pole or Rod, the Six Kinds, and What a First One Costs
A fishing pole and a fishing rod are the same thing. The six kinds, from a bamboo cane pole to a fly outfit, who each one suits, and what a first one costs.
species
Brown Trout: Identification, History, Habits and Records
Brown trout from the agency data: how to tell one from a rainbow or brook, the 1883 import, night feeding, the fall spawn and the 44 lb record.
How fishing.info works
- One answer per question. Every page is written to be the best answer to the question in its title: where the fish are, what to throw, which rod, what the rules say.
- Researched, then written for you. Every article starts with the people who know: state fish and wildlife agencies, record keepers, the makers' own numbers and the anglers who fish for a living. The sources sit at the bottom of every page; the explanation of what it means for you is ours.
- Honest about how it is made. Research-driven, drafted with AI assistance, reviewed before it goes live, and edited by an angler who has fished since he was a boy. We never claim tests we have not done. About this site and its author.