Top 10 Fishing Destinations in North America

Straddling the Minnesota-Ontario border, Lake of the Woods has 14,552 islands and 65,000 miles of shoreline — more than Lake Superior. It's the walleye capital of the world, producing fish over 10 pounds routinely, alongside monster muskies, smallmouth bass, and lake sturgeon that can exceed 100 pounds. Ice fishing season draws just as many anglers as summer.

The Kenai holds the world record for king salmon — a 97-pound, 4-ounce monster pulled from its glacial-turquoise waters in 1985. Five species of Pacific salmon run this river annually, and the sockeye run in July draws tens of thousands of anglers standing shoulder-to-shoulder in "combat fishing." It's raw, wild, and produces fish that make lower-48 catches look like bait.

The Outer Banks sit where the warm Gulf Stream meets cold Labrador currents, creating a collision zone that concentrates bait and predators. Blue marlin, bluefin tuna, and wahoo patrol the offshore canyons, while the inshore sounds produce giant red drum that can top 50 pounds. Cape Hatteras is called the "Blue Marlin Capital of the World" — and the fall drum run is a sight that belongs on every angler's calendar.

The largest estuary in the United States, Chesapeake Bay is a 200-mile-long nursery for striped bass (rockfish), blue crabs, and over 350 species of fish. The fall striper run produces fish over 40 pounds that chase bunker schools to the surface in dramatic blitzes. Light-tackle jigging for stripers on the Bay is one of the most accessible trophy fisheries in America — you can catch a 30-inch fish within sight of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Lake Erie's western basin is the walleye factory of North America — the Ohio Division of Wildlife stocks over 10 million walleye fry annually, and the result is a fishery that produces limits of 6+ pound walleye with startling consistency. The smallmouth bass fishing along the rocky northern shore rivals anything in the Great Lakes system, and the yellow perch are the sweetest-eating freshwater fish on the continent.

The Columbia is the mightiest salmon and steelhead river in the lower 48, draining 259,000 square miles from the Rockies to the Pacific. Spring Chinook are the most prized — their fat content from the long upstream journey makes them the finest-eating salmon in the world. The river also holds giant white sturgeon exceeding 10 feet that have been swimming these waters since the Jurassic period.

One million acres of pristine wilderness with over 1,100 lakes connected by portage trails — no motors allowed. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness offers smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike, and lake trout fishing in water so clean you can drink it straight. The experience is as much about the solitude as the fishing: paddling into a glassy lake at dawn with no other humans in sight.

Montauk Point is the epicenter of Northeast surf fishing, where striped bass and bluefish stack up against the rocky shoreline during fall migration. The offshore canyon fishing for yellowfin tuna and bigeye rivals anywhere on the East Coast, and the annual shark tournaments draw hundreds of boats. It's the only place where you can catch a 50-pound striped bass in the morning and be in Manhattan for dinner.

Where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific, Cabo's warm waters host the densest population of billfish on Earth. Striped marlin are so abundant that 20-fish days are documented. The annual Bisbee's Black & Blue tournament offers over $4 million in prize money — the largest payout in sportfishing. Cabo is where serious offshore anglers go when they want guaranteed action with world-class marlin, dorado, and roosterfish.

Straddling the Minnesota-Ontario border, Lake of the Woods has 14,552 islands and 65,000 miles of shoreline — more than Lake Superior. It's the walleye capital of the world, producing fish over 10 pounds routinely, alongside monster muskies, smallmouth bass, and lake sturgeon that can exceed 100 pounds. Ice fishing season draws just as many anglers as summer.

The Kenai holds the world record for king salmon — a 97-pound, 4-ounce monster pulled from its glacial-turquoise waters in 1985. Five species of Pacific salmon run this river annually, and the sockeye run in July draws tens of thousands of anglers standing shoulder-to-shoulder in "combat fishing." It's raw, wild, and produces fish that make lower-48 catches look like bait.

The Outer Banks sit where the warm Gulf Stream meets cold Labrador currents, creating a collision zone that concentrates bait and predators. Blue marlin, bluefin tuna, and wahoo patrol the offshore canyons, while the inshore sounds produce giant red drum that can top 50 pounds. Cape Hatteras is called the "Blue Marlin Capital of the World" — and the fall drum run is a sight that belongs on every angler's calendar.

The largest estuary in the United States, Chesapeake Bay is a 200-mile-long nursery for striped bass (rockfish), blue crabs, and over 350 species of fish. The fall striper run produces fish over 40 pounds that chase bunker schools to the surface in dramatic blitzes. Light-tackle jigging for stripers on the Bay is one of the most accessible trophy fisheries in America — you can catch a 30-inch fish within sight of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Lake Erie's western basin is the walleye factory of North America — the Ohio Division of Wildlife stocks over 10 million walleye fry annually, and the result is a fishery that produces limits of 6+ pound walleye with startling consistency. The smallmouth bass fishing along the rocky northern shore rivals anything in the Great Lakes system, and the yellow perch are the sweetest-eating freshwater fish on the continent.

The Columbia is the mightiest salmon and steelhead river in the lower 48, draining 259,000 square miles from the Rockies to the Pacific. Spring Chinook are the most prized — their fat content from the long upstream journey makes them the finest-eating salmon in the world. The river also holds giant white sturgeon exceeding 10 feet that have been swimming these waters since the Jurassic period.

One million acres of pristine wilderness with over 1,100 lakes connected by portage trails — no motors allowed. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness offers smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike, and lake trout fishing in water so clean you can drink it straight. The experience is as much about the solitude as the fishing: paddling into a glassy lake at dawn with no other humans in sight.

Montauk Point is the epicenter of Northeast surf fishing, where striped bass and bluefish stack up against the rocky shoreline during fall migration. The offshore canyon fishing for yellowfin tuna and bigeye rivals anywhere on the East Coast, and the annual shark tournaments draw hundreds of boats. It's the only place where you can catch a 50-pound striped bass in the morning and be in Manhattan for dinner.

Where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific, Cabo's warm waters host the densest population of billfish on Earth. Striped marlin are so abundant that 20-fish days are documented. The annual Bisbee's Black & Blue tournament offers over $4 million in prize money — the largest payout in sportfishing. Cabo is where serious offshore anglers go when they want guaranteed action with world-class marlin, dorado, and roosterfish.