Best Fishing Spots in the U.S.

You’ll have a great time fishing at any of these places.

Best Fishing Spots in the U.S.

Fishing in Firehole River, Yellowstone National Park

Want to relax and get excited at the same time? Go fishing. You can go fishing pretty much anywhere there’s water, but not all fishing spots are the same.

When taking a fishing trip, you want to make sure you go somewhere with a variety of sports fish to catch. The spot also should have nice scenery that is worth spending hours looking at while you wait for a fish to take the bait.

There are many nice fishing spots in the United States. These are the best.

15. Lake Austin, Texas

Location: 12.5 miles north of Austin

Best time to fish: Spring and fall

Best catch: Smallmouth bass, blue catfish

Why Lake Austin Is Great for Fishing

Texas has many interesting fishing spots, but Lake Austin takes the prize.

The manmade reservoir is a favorite fishing spot for the Austin area and makes for a convenient trip from the city.

You'll be able to catch bluegill, redbreast, blue catfish and largemouth bass.

14. New River, West Virginia

Location: Southern West Virginia on the southern border with Virginia

Best time to fish: Spring and fall

Best catch: Carp, smallmouth bass

Why New River Is Great for Fishing

New River Gorge was made a national park in January 2021 and revolves around New River, one of the oldest bodies of water in North America.

There are many activities to do here, but fishing is one of the most popular ones, mostly because of the wide variety of fish you can find.

You can catch carp, bluegill, perch and even (if you’re lucky) paddlefish.

13. Montauk Point State Park, New York

Location: Northern tip of Montauk in Long Island

Best time to fish: April through October

Best catch: Porgy, cod

Why Montauk Point State Park Is Great for Fishing

Aerial view over Montauk Point State Park

Don’t let the reputation of the nearby Hamptons fool you. Montauk is a small quiet village that is perfect for a remote fishing trip.

At the Montauk Point State Park, you’ll find a great surf fishing spot with calm water teeming with albacore, bluefish and bass.

If you want to venture offshore, you’ll also find tuna, shark, swordfish, pollock and marlin.

12. Key Biscayne, Florida

Location: South of Miami Beach

Best time to fish: Year-round

Best catch: Tarpon, snook, shark

Why Key Biscayne Is Great for Fishing

The warm waters of Biscayne Bay don’t just attract swarms of tourists. They’re also quite attractive to tarpon, bonefish, snapper, grouper and shark.

You also don’t have to worry too much about the time of the year. The relative warmth of the region makes it easy to fish year-round.

The views of the beautiful Atlantic Ocean aren’t too bad either.

11. Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts

Location: Barnstable County

Best time to fish: April to November

Best catch: Cod, dab

Why Cape Cod Bay Is Great for Fishing

When a place is named after a fish, is there really a need to explain why it’s a prime fishing spot?

Cape Cod is considered the birthplace of sports fishing and boating, with abundant amounts of bass, bluefish, flounder, cod and more.

The Cape is also dotted with pretty little New England towns where you can find things to do when you’re not using your fishing rod.

10. Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota

Location: Mille Lacs Kathio State Park, 90 minutes north of Minneapolis

Best time to fish: Summer and winter

Best catch: Walleye, northern pike

Why Mille Lacs Lake Is Great for Fishing

Mille Lacs means "Thousand Lakes" in French, and it is the second-largest inland lake in Minnesota. The state is known for its hundreds of lakes, so that’s quite impressive.

Here, you'll get tullibee, walleye, northern pike and smallmouth bass. The best part is that the lake is an hour and a half from the Minneapolis-St.Paul area, which makes it accessible yet remote enough to be away from the noise of the city.

9. Mission Bay, California

Location: East San Diego

Best time to fish: Year-round

Best catch: Halibut, bat rays, leopard sharks

Why Mission Bay Is Great for Fishing

San Diego usually makes it to the top of best fishing spots and it’s no surprise, given that it has the largest sport fishing fleet in the world.

Mission Bay is one of the best places in the city to go fishing, with places like Point Loma being very popular. You’ll find bat rays, sharks, halibut, corvina and other species in these shallow waters.

8. Central Puget Sound, Washington

Location: East Seattle

Best time to fish: Year-round

Best catch: Pacific halibut, sockeye salmon

Why Puget Sound Is Great for Fishing

Located right in the city, Central Puget Sound is a convenient public fishing spot.

You’ll find over 200 species of fish like sockeye salmon, cutthroat trout, green sturgeon, Pacific halibut, lingcod and more.

Part of the allure of this spot is that you’ll get amazing views of Seattle, as well as imposing Mount Rainier in the backdrop.

7. Kona, Hawaii

Location: Eastern Big Island

Fishing season: Year-round

Best catch: Tuna, mahi-mahi

Why Kona is Great for Fishing

Considered one of the best sport fishing spots in the state of Hawaii, Kona is a laid-back district with calm water and lots of cool catches.

Go deep-sea fishing for tuna, ono, sharks and mahi-mahi. Or fish from the Kailua-Kona Fishing Pier, a popular spot for those who want to fish without getting on a boat.

6. Bighorn River, Montana

Location: 13 miles from the Afterbay Dam to the Bighorn Access Site

Fishing season: Spring through fall

Best catch: Brown trout

Why Bighorn River Is Great for Fishing

The quiet and peaceful life in Montana makes it a preferred state for those looking for the tranquility and contemplation that often accompanies fishing. Bighorn River is a prime spot for this, and fishers from all over the country seek calmness in its waters.

But choosing this Montana destination is also practical, given its large ratio of fish per mile. The one caveat is that there are strict limits on catches, which you’ll want to research before your trip.

5. Eagle Lake, Maine

Location: Central Acadia National Park, southwestern side of the Bar Harbor business district

Fishing season: April through September

Best catch: Landlocked salmon, lake trout

Why Eagle Lake Is Great for Fishing

Some of the best fishing trips also include camping. This gives people the opportunity to really disconnect from the busyness of the world.

For a trip like this, Acadia National Park hits all the right marks. During the warmer months, you can camp near Eagle Lake, the largest freshwater lake in the park. The most popular catches are trout and salmon, which come for the cool waters of the lake.

4. Firehole River, Wyoming

Location: 33 miles south from Madison Lake in the western portion of Yellowstone National Park

Fishing season: Memorial Day weekend to first Sunday of November

Best catch: Trout

Why Firehole River Is Great for Fishing

Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park

Running completely within Yellowstone National Park, Firehole River crosses some of the park’s most iconic landmarks as well as numerous geysers, including Old Faithful. (This may be how the river got its name.)

This means that whether you go home with a catch or not, the experience will be worth it. Hiking may be required to get to the best and most secluded fishing spots, but that only adds to the fun of your fishing trip.

If you want to extend the trip over a couple of days, Yellowstone has some great campsites where you can set up shop.

3. Lake Erie, Ohio

Location: Northern Ohio, 30-mile radius of Sandusky

Fishing season: Spring through fall

Best catch: Lunker smallmouth

Why Lake Erie Is Great for Fishing

Lake Erie is a good fishing spot for many things. It’s great for fly fishing during the warmer months and ice fishing during winter. It is also arguably the best fishing spot in the state.

There are restrictions on the number of smallmouths you can take during certain seasons, but that doesn’t deter avid sport fishers to come here to enjoy the peacefulness of the lake and practice their skills.

2. Kobuk River, Alaska

Location: 6.2 miles in the northeastern side of Shungnak

Fishing season: July through September

Best catch: Sheefish, Arctic grayling, Arctic char

Why Kobuk River Is Great for Fishing

Meaning "Big River" in Inuit, Kobuk River spans over 200 miles, crossing two national parks: Gates of the Arctic and Kobuk Valley.

This isn’t the fishing spot for comfort. Here, it's a completely rugged wilderness. There a few villages scattered along the length of the river, and bears come to the river banks to fish and bathe.

But what you give up in comfort, you gain in the incredible scenery and unique catches. You’ll be fishing in the Arctic Circle and can go for the prized sheefish, which are notoriously slippery and difficult to hold on to.

1. Key West, Florida

Location: 20 miles west of Key West

Fishing season: Year-round

Best catch: Snapper and grouper

Why Key West Is Great for Fishing

Key West has numerous fishing hot spots around its shoreline — could you expect anything else from an island?

Fishing is intricately tied to the culture, survival and history of the Keys. And nowhere is this as apparent as Key West, one of the places fishing aficionado Ernest Hemingway called home.

What kind of catch depends on how far away from the shore you want to be. One of the best places for a unique fishing experience is the nearby Marquesa Keys, a collection of mangrove islands teeming with snapper, grouper, mackerel, barracuda and shark species.