Fishing

Neutral buoyancy bass baits may be one of the more interesting tackle developments to come out of the 2026 tournament season, and not because anglers suddenly need another strange-looking soft plastic. The real attraction is what happens after the bait reaches the fish: instead of dropping hard or rising aggressively, it can remain suspended and…

Maryland Striped Bass closure recap: dates, no-targeting rules, September limits, and what local clubs should carry forward.

A cautious look at white seabass regulations, proposed gill net standards, recreational size-limit uncertainty, and local fishing impacts.

ESA Fish Management faces a narrower habitat standard after 2026 ESA rule changes, with local fishing impacts still uncertain.

St. Lawrence River bass fishing did not ease into Bassmaster’s season finale. It opened with so much smallmouth weight that a 20-pound bag, the kind most tournament anglers would gladly take almost anywhere else, suddenly looked like survival weight instead of statement weight. That is what makes Tucker Smith’s Day 1 lead more than a…

St. Lawrence River smallmouth are carrying the biggest promise of Bassmaster’s regular-season finale, but promise is not the same as a safe tournament plan. The Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River has record-weight potential, yet Lake Ontario weather may decide whether anglers can reach the fish that make those records possible. That is what…

A bass that kicks away from the boat can look perfectly fine and still be in trouble later. Good catch and release bass fishing is therefore not defined by whether the fish swims off; it is defined by how much avoidable stress the angler creates between the hookset and release. That distinction matters most when…

Mineral Lake anglers may get an October season if WDFW adopts the rule, with gains for access, local trips, and trout care concerns.

Bass water temperature is one of the fastest ways to stop fishing yesterday’s pattern. A shoreline that produced in May can look almost identical in July while the fish have shifted to a weed edge, rock break, shaded cover or deeper structure because the water around them has changed. The thermometer is not a magic…