Topic
Fishing
Species, water reading, knots, lures, and backcountry angling.
About this topic
From alpine brook trout to big-water walleye: rigging, presentation, seasonal patterns, and the packable tackle that earns its weight on a trip.
31 articles
The Complete Guide to Fishing the Boundary Waters
Fishing the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is an experience unlike any other. This guide covers everything from target species and ideal seasons to the right tackle and effective canoe-fishing tactics, ensuring a successful and memorable trip.
· 10 min read
Responsible Lake Fishing: Fish Handling, Invasive Species, and Clean Access
Responsible angling protects fish, habitat, access, and the people sharing the water. The work is practical: know regulations, use appropriate tackle, handle fish efficiently, keep legal harvest cool, clean and drain equipment, dispose of l
· 2 min read
How to Catch Walleye by Understanding Light, Depth, and Structure
Walleye are adapted to low-light feeding and often relate to bottom structure, current, and baitfish. They can be shallow, deep, suspended, or tucked along subtle edges depending on season and conditions. Anglers improve by tracking light,
· 2 min read
Marine Weather for Anglers: A Go/No-Go Checklist
Marine weather decisions must consider wind direction and speed, gusts, wave height, period, swell direction, thunderstorms, visibility, temperature, currents, tides, and the vessel. A two-foot sea can be comfortable or punishing depending
· 2 min read
Catch-and-Release Fly Fishing: Better Handling From Hookset to Swim-Away
Catch-and-release begins before the cast. Tackle, hook style, water temperature, landing plan, net, photography, and angler restraint all affect the fish. The goal is to land efficiently, keep the fish wet, minimize handling and air exposur
· 2 min read
Surf Fishing Basics: Read the Beach, Time the Tide, and Cast Safely
Surf fishing is less about casting beyond the horizon than identifying troughs, cuts, bars, points, and current where fish travel. Waves reveal the bottom: breaking water often marks shallow bars, while darker lanes or gaps can indicate dee
· 2 min read
Fly-Casting Accuracy Matters More Than Heroic Distance
Most fly-fishing opportunities are won by placing the fly in a useful lane with controlled slack, not by throwing the entire line into another postal code. Distance can help on lakes, salt water, and broad rivers, but accuracy, line managem
· 2 min read
How to Find Fish in a Lake Using Structure, Cover, and Temperature
Structure is the shape of the lake bottom; cover is the vegetation, wood, rock, docks, or other objects fish use; temperature and oxygen determine which parts of that habitat are comfortable. Productive locations often combine all three wit
· 2 min read
Fly Fishing in the Wind: Safer Casts and Better Presentations
Wind exposes inefficient casting and creates real hook hazards. The answer is not simply more force. Adjust stance, casting plane, loop shape, trajectory, leader, fly size, and position. When gusts become unpredictable or hooks cannot be ke
· 2 min read
Lake Trout Fishing: Temperature, Depth, and Responsible Release
Lake trout are cold-water fish that can move from shallow spring and fall habitat to deeper summer water as temperatures change. Finding them requires attention to temperature, structure, forage, and suspended depth. Releasing fish from dee
· 2 min read
Ocean Fishing Boat Safety: Life Jackets, Float Plans, and Crew Readiness
Fishing creates distraction on a moving platform surrounded by cold water, waves, traffic, hooks, and machinery. Boat safety must be established before the first line goes out: properly fitted life jackets, required equipment, weather limit
· 2 min read
Saltwater Fishing for Beginners: Start Inshore and Learn the Water
Saltwater fishing adds tides, current, waves, corrosion, larger tackle, sharp-toothed species, and regulations that may change by season and zone. Beginners learn fastest by choosing one accessible inshore fishery, using a simple rig, check
· 2 min read