Freshwater

High-end Father’s Day Gifts for the Fly Angler Who Deserves the Best; Where to Fly Fish for Wild Trout in New Mexico; The Big Guns: How One Family's Crappie Obsession Evolved Into the South's Most Deadly Trolling System

Fly Fishing

High-end Father’s Day Gifts for the Fly Angler Who Deserves the Best; Where to Fly Fish for Wild Trout in New Mexico; The Big Guns: How One Family's Crappie Obsession Evolved Into the South's Most Deadly Trolling System

Recent Articles

Gear Reviews

Father’s Day is almost here, but you still have time to get Dad something he’ll actually use. If he's a fisherman, these five Orvis gifts are practical, well-made, and something he would enjoy receiving.

A crappie goes airborne as Les Smith hoists a 20-foot rod clear of its holder — no reeling required. The second lure on the rig swings free in the air above it.

Freshwater

Les Smith inherited his dad's legendary crappie trolling system — 8 long rods, precise depth control, zero casting. Then Church Tackle planer boards made it even deadlier.

My Van Staal VR75. The more I beat it up, the better it looks. Earned scars.

Gear Reviews

High-end Father’s Day gifts for the dad who deserves the best, with premium fishing, outdoor, survival, and adventure gear worth going all out for.

Fly Fishing

Fly Fisherman’s 2026 Father’s Day Gift Guide: Gear He’ll Actually Use; Where to Fly Fish for Wild Trout in New Mexico; Shopping for a Fishing Dad? Here's What We Actually Want.

Trout fishing in New Mexico's Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

Destinations

Northern New Mexico offers a unique trout fishing experience, from the high-desert canyons of the Rio Grande to native cutthroats in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

The common ground of "fishing" is sometimes where the best connections happen between fathers and sons.

Gear Reviews

Skip the predictable Father's Day gifts this year. Every item in this guide is gear I've tested and continue to use. Some are inexpensive, others cost more, but all have earned a place in my fly-fishing and outdoor system.

Fly Fishing

How to Fly Fish for Brown Trout In the Moonlight; The Strange Spiny Lure Taking Over Bass Fishing in 2026; Here's Why the Abu Garcia VoltiQ is a Must-Buy Baitcast Reel

Freshwater

At Just $80, How Good Could These New H2OX Carbon Rods Be?; How to Fly Fish for Brown Trout In the Moonlight; Is this the Year of the Coike? The Strange Japanese Bait is Silencing Its Doubters

Big brown trout are out and about at night.

Fly Fishing

Night fishing for brown trout is often your best shot at the biggest fish in the river. Here’s where they feed and how to catch them after dark.

As Sam Moultrie, Sr., guides a flat-bottomed boat he built by hand, Sam R. Brown, Jr., casts a net into a St. Helena Island creek.

Destinations

Through November 1, 2026, Mingei International Museum presents “To Catch a Fish,” a temporary exhibition featuring 60+ artifacts and artworks, including handcrafted fishing gear and cultural pieces exploring the bond between humans and fish.

Guide Jacob Thomason with a barely hooked smallmouth bass from Lake Ontario.

Fly Fishing

The smallmouth bass bite is entering one of its best windows of the year. Rivers are warming, fish are active, and fly anglers from the Midwest to the Northeast have their hands full with one of the hardest-fighting fish in freshwater.

An unusually warm winter in the Eastern Sierras meant more fishable water on Opening Day, like Twin Lakes in Mammoth Lakes

Freshwater

Fishmas arrives in the Eastern Sierra with hopes for trophy trout, heavy optimism for a great season, and a family-friendly opening day atmosphere.

Bass Fishing

The Bassmaster Elite Series Lost Two Anglers in One Day—A Reminder of How Fast Everything Can Change; Can a Luxury Ski Resort in Utah Also Be a Great Summer Fly Fishing Destination?; Randy Moss Has a 25-Year Bass Fishing Obsession Most Fans Never Knew

Fly Fishing

Can a Luxury Ski Resort in Utah Be a Great Fly Fishing Destination; Hardest-Fighting Fish in Your Local Water; and “It’s Not the Technology”—Jacob Wheeler Pushes Back

Opening day walleyes aren’t always aggressive, but the right presentation can still get them to bite.

Freshwater

Wisconsin’s walleye opener is here. Use this simple, proven game plan—based on water temps and lake type—to find and catch more fish on day one.

Utah guide Sammy Elam taking the scenic route to the river.

Destinations

When anglers think fly fishing destinations, ski resorts rarely make the list. But a fall stay at Montage Deer Valley in Utah revealed great trout water, a walkable mountain town, and enough outdoor adventure to make off-season ski towns a great choice.

Bass Fishing

“It’s Not the Technology”—Jacob Wheeler Pushes Back on Critics of Young Anglers; You’re Ignoring the Hardest-Fighting Fish in Your Local Water; and What’s the Best Way to Improve Your Fly Cast?

The Berkley Dough Rider spinner has a unique Scent Vent pocket in the body, designed to hold scented Berkley PowerBait dough to attract more fish.

Gear Reviews

The Berkley Dough Rider Spinner adds scent to a classic inline design. Here’s what happened when one angler fished it below a dam after a cold front.

When the white bass make their spring spawning run, anglers can catch a lot of fish in no time.

Freshwater

White bass stack up in rivers each spring, creating fast action for anglers. Learn where to find them, what to throw, and how to fish the run.

Rough fish like this buffalo are widespread and incredibly powerful, often using current to extend fights far beyond what most anglers expect.

Freshwater

Rough fish like carp and buffalo fight harder than bass and are found almost everywhere. Here’s why more anglers should be targeting them.

Tenkara rods are compact and easy to use, perfect for squeezing in some extra fishing on a road trip

Fly Fishing

Travel light and fish anywhere. Discover why tenkara is the perfect compact rod for spontaneous trout fishing in the Eastern Sierra.

Freshwater

A Fly Fishing Trip to Africa Took an Unexpected Turn on Safari; The Strange Spiny Lure Taking Over Bass Fishing in 2026; I Didn’t Expect the Best Bass Fishing of My Trip to Happen at Disney World.

A few overlooked checks can turn your first launch of the season into a delay for everyone at the ramp.

Freshwater

Avoid delays at the boat ramp with these simple spring boat checks. Learn the most common maintenance mistakes boaters make before their first trip.

Fly Fishing

Fly fishing is hard to explain. The Madison shows why it matters.