New to fishing? Start here
Fishing for Beginners: Your First Day, From License to First Fish
Fishing for beginners, step by step: the $65–80 starter kit, who needs a license, where to go, the bobber rig, the cast, the bite and the rules.
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 PDF · Water temperature chart Which fish are biting at today's water temperature?
One reading, and the 16-page chart shows which of 26 fish are spawning, feeding hard or slowing down; for bass, crappie, bluegill and walleye, where they sit and what to throw. Every number sourced.
Enter your email, confirm it with one click, and the PDF is in your inbox. Plus one email a week on what's biting. Unsubscribe anytime. 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 step-by-step plan for day one.
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, 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
gear
Forward Facing Sonar: How It Works, What It Costs, and the 2026 Rules
Forward facing sonar shows fish and your lure ahead of the boat, live. LiveScope 2, MEGA Live 2, ActiveTarget 2 compared, from $999, plus the rules.
gear
Dobyns Rods: Every Series From Colt to Xtasy, Prices and the Warranty
Dobyns rods from the $94.99 Colt to the $669.99 Xtasy: every series and price, the warranty and its replacement fees, and which rod to buy.
lures
Rapala Lures: The Classic Models Compared, and Which One for Which Fish
Rapala lures from the 1936 cork minnow to the DT: sizes, weights and depths from the maker, balsa or plastic, and which one for trout, walleye or bass.
species
Spinnerbait for Bass: Blades, Weights, Colors and Six Retrieves
How to fish a spinnerbait for bass: Colorado, Indiana or willow blades, the weight for the depth, skirt colors, and six retrieves by water temperature.
species
Arapaima: How Big They Really Get, and Where You Can Catch One
The arapaima breathes air, tops out near 10 ft and 440 lb, and is legal to catch in only a few places. Its real size, the record, and where to fish.
species
Lake Sturgeon: Size, Age, Where They Live and When You Can Fish
Lake sturgeon grow to 7 ft and may live centuries. How to identify one, where they live, the Winnebago spearing season and where you may keep one.
species
Muskie Fishing: How to Catch Musky From Spring to Fall Turnover
Musky fishing: 7 to 9 ft rod, 50 to 80 lb braid, 100 lb leader, the figure eight on every cast, where muskie sit by season, and how to release one safely.
species
Walleye: The Fish, Its Look-Alikes, the Record and How to Catch One
The walleye: how to tell it from sauger and saugeye, where it lives, when it spawns, how fast it grows, the 25 lb record and the rules anglers ask about.
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.