Curated Fishing Waters
These 245 fisheries are the hand-curated set inside Current — the rivers, tailwaters, spring creeks, freestone canyons, and saltwater flats whose conditions are most frequently asked about by serious anglers. Each entry threads together a real-time stream gauge or NOAA tide station, a calibrated insect hatch calendar (where applicable), regional monthly outlooks written by anglers who fish those waters, and a list of nearby fly shops.
The collection covers all five major freshwater fishery archetypes — high-altitude western freestones (Yellowstone, Madison, Big Hole), classic eastern limestone and Catskill streams (Penns Creek, Letort, Beaverkill, Willowemoc), Rocky Mountain tailwaters (San Juan, South Platte, Bighorn), Pacific Northwest steelhead and salmon rivers (North Umpqua, Skagit, Skeena), and southeastern wild trout streams (Smokies, Davidson, South Holston) — alongside a deep saltwater catalogue spanning the Florida Keys, Bahamas atolls, Belize, Yucatán, Seychelles, Christmas Island, and beyond. International freshwater destinations from Argentina's Tierra del Fuego sea-run browns to Mongolia's Eg-Ur taimen round out the dataset.
Fishing somewhere not on this list? Current's app and web forecast work for any body of water in the world — drop a pin or paste a location name and Current generates a fresh AI outlook with weather, flow estimates, seasonal patterns, and recommended techniques. The 245 below are the editorially-deep set; AI fills in everywhere else.
United States
Alabama
1 waterAlaska
4 watersBristol Bay Region
Kvichak · Naknek · Alagnak
Bristol Bay's rainbow trout grow to world-record sizes by gorging on salmon eggs and flesh — a 10-lb rainbow is not uncommon in peak July conditions…
Kenai River
Cooper Landing to Soldotna
The Kenai produced the IGFA all-tackle world-record king salmon — Les Anderson's 97-pound, 4-ounce fish from 1985 — a record that has stood for…
Kenai River
Soldotna to Skilak Lake
The world record king salmon — 97 lbs, 4 oz — was caught on the Kenai River in 1985, a record that stands decades later as testimony to this river's…
Naknek River
King Salmon · Bristol Bay
The Naknek-Brooks system supports the largest sockeye salmon run in the world — over 100 million fish entering Bristol Bay annually — and the…
Arizona
1 waterArkansas
3 watersLittle Red River
Below Greers Ferry Dam · Heber Springs
The Little Red River produced the IGFA all-tackle world record brown trout — 40 lbs 4 oz — caught in 1992, a record that has stood for over 30 years…
Norfork River
Below Norfork Dam
The Norfork tailwater holds the world record brown trout for many years — a 38-pound, 9-ounce fish landed by Rip Collins in 1992 that stood as the…
White River
Bull Shoals · Cotter · Trophy Tailwater
The White River has produced multiple line-class world record brown trout — including the IGFA all-tackle record at various times — making it one of…
East Walker River
Below Bridgeport Reservoir
The East Walker's Miracle Mile produces wild brown trout exceeding 30 inches annually — among the largest stream-resident browns in the western…
Fall River
McArthur · Spinner Falls
Fall River's unique geology — fed entirely by underground springs — gives it one of the most stable water temperatures of any river in the western…
Hat Creek
Fall River Valley · Wild Trout Section
Hat Creek's wild trout become conditioned to reject standard patterns — they require precise size and color matching that challenges even expert…
Hot Creek
Mammoth Lakes · Geothermal Spring Creek
Hot Creek is one of the few significant geothermal spring creeks in the United States — warm springs maintain trout-friendly temperatures even in…
Merced River
Yosemite Valley · El Portal · Merced Gorge
The Merced through Yosemite Valley offers fly fishing in front of Half Dome — one of the most photographed natural settings on Earth provides the…
Owens River
C&R Section · Benton Crossing · Hot Creek Gorge
The Owens Gorge tailwater section flows through a 700-foot-deep volcanic canyon — among the most dramatic settings in California fly fishing…
Pit River
Powerhouse #3 · #4 · #5 · Wild Trout
The Pit River is widely regarded as having the most treacherous wading of any major California trout river — a fishery that selects for anglers…
Upper Sacramento River
Dunsmuir to Delta
The Upper Sacramento's recovery from the 1991 Cantara Loop chemical spill — a tank car derailment that killed nearly every fish in 40 miles of river…
Arkansas River
Salida to Cañon City · Browns Canyon
The Arkansas hosts the Mother's Day caddis hatch — one of the most prolific caddis emergences in the West, with billions of grannom caddis lifting…
Blue River
Below Green Mountain Reservoir
Despite running through a ski resort town, the Blue River's dam-regulated flows produce remarkably consistent fishing even during peak summer tourist…
Cache La Poudre River
Fort Collins Canyon
The Poudre is Colorado's only federally-designated Wild and Scenic river, protected from damming for the entirety of its trout-bearing canyon stretch.
Dolores River
McPhee Tailwater · Cahone · SW Colorado
The Dolores below McPhee remains one of the most controversial fisheries in the West — when flows allow, it's exceptional; in drought years, ongoing…
Frying Pan River
Ruedi Reservoir to Basalt
A survey section near Ruedi Dam once recorded over 4,000 trout per mile — one of the densest wild trout fisheries in the Rocky Mountain region.
Gunnison River
Black Canyon · Blue Mesa Tailwater
Black Canyon of the Gunnison's walls reach 2,700 feet — the deepest narrow canyon in North America — making the trout water below among the most…
Rio Grande
Creede · Upper Box Canyon
The Rio Grande's headwaters in the Weminuche Wilderness include some of the highest-elevation wild trout water in the lower 48 — small streams above…
Roaring Fork River
Aspen to Basalt
The Roaring Fork's confluence with the Frying Pan near Basalt creates exceptional fishing year-round — both rivers contribute cold, clear…
South Platte River
Deckers · Cheesman Canyon
Cheesman Canyon is widely regarded as one of the toughest pieces of trout water in America — fish here are extraordinarily selective even by…
Taylor River
Below Taylor Park Reservoir
The Taylor's Hog Trough produces documented rainbow and brown trout exceeding 30 inches and 15 pounds annually — among the most reliable trophy water…
Connecticut
6 watersFarmington River
Riverton to New Hartford
The Farmington's PTMA section produces wild brown trout densities estimated at over 2,000 fish per mile — the highest documented for any Connecticut…
Housatonic River
Cornwall Bridge · TMA
The Housatonic Iso hatch — large dark mayflies emerging in July through September evenings — produces some of the most reliable summer dry-fly…
Long Island Sound
Connecticut Shore · North Fork
The Connecticut River — the largest river system in New England — creates a massive nutrient plume at its mouth that concentrates stripers throughout…
Natchaug River
Chaplin · Diana's Pool · Windham County
The Natchaug runs through Natchaug State Forest — Connecticut's third-largest state forest — providing one of the state's largest contiguous…
Salmon River
Colchester · Fly-Fishing-Only Gorge
Despite the name, the Salmon River no longer hosts native Atlantic salmon runs — the river earned its name from Connecticut's lost salmon fisheries…
Willimantic River
Windham County · Upper Reaches
The Willimantic's TMA stretch through Stafford Springs is one of the most-fished trout management areas in Connecticut due to its proximity to…
Biscayne Bay
Virginia Key · Key Biscayne
Biscayne Bay offers one of the only urban permit fisheries in North America — anglers regularly sight-fish to permit on shallow grass flats within…
Boca Grande Pass
Charlotte Harbor · Lee County
Boca Grande Pass holds the largest concentration of adult tarpon documented anywhere on Earth — biologists estimate tens of thousands of fish moving…
Dry Tortugas
Garden Key · Loggerhead Key
The Dry Tortugas spring permit migration in April–May is considered by many guides to produce the highest density of permit encounters per day of any…
Florida Keys Flats
Islamorada · Upper Keys
The Florida Keys Grand Slam — tarpon, permit, and bonefish in a single day on the fly — is one of the most coveted achievements in all of saltwater…
Homosassa Flats
Crystal River · Citrus County
Homosassa held the IGFA all-tackle world record tarpon for decades — Tom Evans's 202-pound fish from 2001 — and remains the historic capital of giant…
Indian River Lagoon
Space Coast Estuary · Titusville to Stuart
The Indian River Lagoon system hosts over 4,300 species of plants and animals — including the largest manatee population and the greatest bird…
Key West
Lower Keys · Backcountry
Key West's night tarpon fishing under the bridges — particularly the old Bahia Honda Bridge and Boca Chica Channel — is among the most unique fly…
Mosquito Lagoon
New Smyrna · Canaveral National Seashore
Mosquito Lagoon's redfish flats hold the highest documented density of redfish in the United States — biologists estimate over 30 fish per acre on…
Tampa Bay
Apollo Beach · Port Manatee
Tampa Bay's tarpon migration moves through one of the most heavily-populated coastal areas in Florida — adult tarpon hold under the Skyway Bridge in…
Ten Thousand Islands
Everglades City · Chokoloskee
The Ten Thousand Islands form one of the largest contiguous mangrove ecosystems in North America — and the entire fishery sits within Everglades…
Georgia
3 watersChattahoochee River
Below Buford Dam · Blue Ribbon
The Chattahoochee tailwater is the southernmost cold-water trout fishery on the US East Coast — entirely created by the Buford Dam releases, with no…
Chattooga River
Walhalla · Burrell's Ford · Wild & Scenic
The Chattooga was the first river east of the Mississippi to receive federal Wild and Scenic designation (1974) — protecting its Blue Ridge gorge and…
Toccoa River
Below Blue Ridge Dam · Fannin County
The Toccoa River is the only tailwater trout fishery in Georgia to sustain significant wild brown trout reproduction — demonstrating that the cold…
Big Wood River
Ketchum to Bellevue
The Big Wood Trico hatch through August produces some of the most demanding small-fly fishing in the West — broad, slow runs through the valley…
Clearwater River
Orofino to Confluence
The Clearwater is famous for its 'B-run' steelhead — a unique strain that spends an extra year at sea before returning, growing to over 20 pounds and…
Henry's Fork
Last Chance to Ashton · Railroad Ranch
The Henry's Fork Green Drake hatch in late June is one of the great spectacles in fly fishing — vast carpets of drakes lifting off the Last Chance…
Henry's Lake
Fremont County · Idaho
Henry's Lake regularly produces trout over 10 pounds — among the largest cutthroat hybrids documented in North America — fueled by the lake's…
Middle Fork of the Salmon
Frank Church Wilderness Float
The Middle Fork canyon contains over 100 named hot springs accessible directly from the river corridor — evening soaks in natural hot pools are as…
Silver Creek
Picabo · Nature Conservancy
Ernest Hemingway fished Silver Creek regularly and praised it as among the finest trout streams he'd encountered anywhere in the world.
South Fork Boise River
Below Anderson Ranch Dam
The South Fork Boise's Pink Albert hatch — a salmon-pink mayfly emerging through summer afternoons — is one of the few significant western mayfly…
South Fork Snake River
Palisades Dam to Heise
The South Fork is world-famous for its bank-eating cutthroats during the summer hopper season — fish charge banks without hesitation.
Teton River
Driggs to Teton Canyon
The Teton Valley meadow stretch is considered one of the finest dry-fly waters in the Northern Rockies — broad shallow runs with consistent insect…
Iowa
1 waterKentucky
1 waterLouisiana
1 waterMaine
4 watersKennebec Estuary
Bath · Popham Beach · Merrymeeting Bay
The Kennebec's stripers feed heavily on Atlantic herring concentrations that form around the river mouth in July — fish stacking in the current seams…
Kennebec River
The Forks · Upper Kennebec
The Kennebec's landlocked salmon stocking program, documented from the 1860s, is one of the oldest continuously-running fisheries-management programs…
Rapid River
Richardson Lakes · Pond in the River · Fly Only
The Rapid River produces the largest documented native brook trout in the lower 48 — fish exceeding 22 inches caught annually, in a fishery that has…
Roach River
Moosehead Region · First Roach Pond · Landlocked Salmon
The Roach River fall salmon run draws the largest concentration of fly fishers to any small stream in Maine — drift-boat-less, wade-only access…
Maryland
4 watersBig Gunpowder Falls
Below Prettyboy Reservoir · Cockeysville
The Big Gunpowder Falls' catch-and-release section holds wild brown trout population densities that rival western spring creeks — an extraordinary…
Chesapeake Bay
Susquehanna Flats · Eastern Shore
The Chesapeake produces ~80% of the Atlantic striped bass population — every striper caught from Cape Hatteras to Maine has an 80% chance of being a…
Gunpowder Falls
Prettyboy Tailwater · Baltimore County
The Gunpowder Falls supports wild brown trout reproduction within sight of Baltimore's metropolitan area — a tailwater fishery within commuting…
Savage River
Garrett County · Bloomington Tailwater
The Savage tailwater section was one of the first east-coast tailwaters to be managed exclusively for wild trout — a 1980s-era program that pioneered…
Massachusetts
3 watersCape Cod
Monomoy · Race Point · Pleasant Bay
The Cape Cod Canal's ripping currents concentrate migrating stripers in numbers that allow shore-based anglers to sight-cast to hundreds of fish — a…
Deerfield River
Below Fife Brook Dam · Charlemont
The Deerfield River corridor through Charlemont and Shelburne Falls is the most accessible world-class tailwater fishery in New England — within 2…
Swift River
Below Quabbin Reservoir · Belchertown
The Swift River below Quabbin holds a fish-per-mile count that rivals famous western spring creeks — MDWiF surveys have documented over 3,000 trout…
Au Sable River
Grayling to Mio · Holy Water
The Au Sable's Hexagenia mayfly hatch — the world's largest mayfly species — brings 20-inch brown trout to the surface at midnight in late June.
Au Sable River
Grayling · Holy Waters
The Au Sable's Hex hatch — Hexagenia limbata, the largest mayfly in North America — emerges in late June through early July nights, producing some of…
Boardman River
Scheck's Place · Traverse City
The Boardman River was the site of one of the largest dam-removal projects in the Midwest — three dams removed between 2012 and 2018 — restoring 160…
Manistee River
Below Tippy Dam
The Manistee's Tippy Dam tailwater is one of Michigan's most consistent fall steelhead fisheries — Lake Michigan-run fish stacked below the dam…
Muskegon River
Newaygo to Croton Dam
The Muskegon below Croton Dam is one of the largest and most consistent Great Lakes-run steelhead tailwaters — comparable in scale and productivity…
Pere Marquette River
Baldwin to Walhalla
The PM's spring steelhead arrive with March snowmelt and can exceed 15 lbs — fish the lower sections with large egg and streamer patterns during peak…
Pigeon River
Vanderbilt · Pigeon River Country · Native Brook Trout
The Pigeon River Country State Forest holds the largest free-roaming elk herd east of the Mississippi — anglers fishing the river share the watershed…
South Branch Manistee
Luther · Chase · Wild Trout
The Mason Tract on the South Branch — a fly-fishing-only catch-and-release section — was one of the first conservation easements in Michigan history…
Two Hearted River
Upper Peninsula
The Two Hearted is one of the few rivers in the lower 48 still supporting native coaster brook trout — Lake Superior-going brookies that grow large…
Minnesota
2 watersDriftless Area
SE Minnesota spring creeks
Minnesota's Driftless trout streams support some of the highest wild brown trout densities in the Midwest — fish-per-mile estimates for premier…
Root River
Lanesboro · Preston · Chatfield
The Root River runs through Lanesboro — Minnesota's official Trout Capital — a town built around its riverside cycling trail and its trout fishery in…
Missouri
1 waterBeaverhead River
Clark Canyon Dam to Dillon
The Beaverhead routinely produces trout over 5 lbs — it's one of the top big-fish destinations in the entire Northern Rockies.
Big Hole River
Big Hole Valley · Divide to Melrose
The Big Hole is home to one of the last wild Arctic grayling populations in the continental United States — the Upper Big Hole above Wisdom is their…
Bighorn River
Fort Smith · 13-Mile Reach
The Bighorn's fish-per-mile count in the prime section below Yellowtail Dam is among the highest measured for any river in the Rocky Mountain West…
Bitterroot River
Bitterroot Valley · Hamilton to Missoula
The Bitterroot's October streamer fishing for large brown trout during the fall spawning migration is one of the region's most productive — and…
Blackfoot River
Blackfoot Canyon · Johnsrud to Bonner
The Blackfoot River Coalition has led one of the most successful river restoration programs in the American West, bringing the fishery back from…
Boulder River
Natural Bridge Canyon · McLeod to Big Timber
The Boulder's water clarity is so exceptional that anglers can sight individual fish in pools 4-5 feet deep — a rare and exciting characteristic that…
Clark Fork River
Missoula to Alberton
The Clark Fork's recovery from a century of upstream mining contamination — including the largest Superfund cleanup in US history — has produced one…
Flathead River
Glacier National Park · Middle & South Forks
The Flathead drainage holds one of the last strongholds of native bull trout in the lower 48 — a federally threatened species protected by mandatory…
Gallatin River
Gallatin Canyon · Big Sky to Bozeman
Parts of the canyon featured in A River Runs Through It, giving the Gallatin iconic status among fly fishing films.
Hebgen Lake
Madison Arm · West Yellowstone
Hebgen Lake's 'gulper' fishing — large rainbow and brown trout cruising the surface to feed on Trico spinners through summer mornings — is one of the…
Jefferson River
Twin Bridges to Three Forks
The Jefferson's confluence with the Madison and Gallatin at Three Forks forms the official headwaters of the Missouri River — three of Montana's…
Kootenai River
Libby Dam Tailwater · NW Montana
The Kootenai produces the largest documented rainbow trout in Montana — fish exceeding 30 inches and 15+ pounds are caught annually below Libby Dam.
Madison River
Upper Madison · Quake Lake to Ennis
The upper Madison's salmonfly hatch — typically late June into early July — draws anglers from across the country. The hatch begins downstream near…
Madison River
Lower Madison · Bear Trap Canyon to Three Forks
Bear Trap Canyon is the only federally designated Wild and Scenic section of the entire Madison River — a roadless gorge accessible only on foot or…
Madison River
Between the Lakes · West Yellowstone
'Between the Lakes' is one of the few big western rivers where wading anglers routinely cast to 20+ inch fish rising in open flat water.
Missouri River
Holter Dam to Cascade · Blue Ribbon Tailwater
Fish density studies have recorded over 5,000 catchable trout per mile in some sections — among the highest of any western trout river.
Missouri River — Wild & Scenic
Upper Missouri Breaks · Fort Benton to Robinson Bridge
The Wild and Scenic Missouri runs through the White Cliffs — the same landscape Lewis and Clark described as being among the most striking they saw…
Paradise Valley Spring Creeks
Armstrong's · DePuy's · Nelson's
A single day's fishing on all three Paradise Valley spring creeks — achievable with careful scheduling — is one of the most coveted experiences in…
Rock Creek
Rock Creek Canyon · Philipsburg Road
Rock Creek's salmonfly hatch in late May is one of the most concentrated in Montana — huge golden stoneflies blanket the canyon walls and surrounding…
Ruby River
Ruby Valley · Alder to Twin Bridges
Despite flowing through private ranch country in its lower reaches, the Ruby River has excellent public access in the upper canyon via BLM land — a…
Smith River
Permit-Only Float · Camp Baker to Eden Bridge
The Smith River permit lottery is one of the most competitive in Montana — demand far exceeds supply, reflecting the extraordinary quality of this…
Stillwater River
Absarokee to Columbus
The Stillwater's upper canyon is classified Wild and Scenic — one of the most pristine undeveloped river canyons in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem.
Yellowstone River
Paradise Valley · Livingston to Gardiner
The salmonfly hatch starts on the lower river near Livingston in late June and moves upstream toward Gardiner over a 2-week window as water temps…
Yellowstone River
Lower Yellowstone · Livingston to Big Timber
Montana's premier hopper-dropper water — grasshopper populations along the agricultural banks are enormous, and brown trout attack foam hoppers with…
Nebraska
1 waterNevada
1 waterNew Hampshire
1 waterNew Jersey
1 waterNew Mexico
3 watersCimarron River
Cimarron Canyon · Palisades · Philmont Ranch
The Cimarron flows through the Philmont Scout Ranch country and remains one of the most photographed small trout streams in the Southwest.
Rio Grande
Taos Box · Lower Gorge · Orilla Verde
The Rio Grande Gorge through the Wild Rivers area is 800 feet deep — the deepest gorge in New Mexico — and the fly fishing access requires hiking…
San Juan River
Navajo Dam · Quality Water Tailwater
NM Game and Fish surveys put the Quality Waters section at roughly 15,000 trout per mile with fish averaging 17 inches — among the highest documented…
Ausable River
Upper & West Branch · Adirondacks
The Ausable Wulff dry fly — designed by Lee Wulff for these very waters — has arguably influenced more fly tyers and anglers worldwide than any other…
Beaverkill River
Roscoe · The Catskills
The Junction Pool, where the Willowemoc meets the Beaverkill, is one of the most photographed and storied pieces of trout water in America.
Catskill Region
Delaware, Beaverkill & tributary system
Junction Pool in Roscoe — where the Willowemoc joins the Beaverkill — is widely regarded as the most historically significant pool in American fly…
Esopus Creek
Phoenicia · Catskills
The Esopus's rainbow trout are believed to be descendants of California rainbows stocked in the late 1800s — a strain that escaped the original…
Montauk
The Point · Block Island Sound
Montauk's fall blitz — bass, blues, and albacore pushing bait to the surface simultaneously around the lighthouse point — is one of the great…
Salmon River
Pulaski · Premier Eastern Steelhead
The Salmon River at Pulaski produces more trophy steelhead catches (fish over 15 lbs) than any other river in the eastern US — with fish regularly…
West Branch Delaware
Deposit to Hancock · Upper Delaware
The West Branch's Green Drake hatch in late June is the largest mayfly emergence in the Northeast — drakes covering the water surface for hours…
Willowemoc Creek
Livingston Manor · Catskills
The Willowemoc holds the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum — the institutional home of American fly fishing history — directly on its banks, a…
North Carolina
4 watersCape Lookout
Core Sound · Harkers Island
Cape Lookout's emerging tarpon fishery represents one of the few growing tarpon destinations in the United States — the fish populations have…
Davidson River
Brevard · Pisgah National Forest
The Davidson is the home water of the Pisgah Forest Cradle of Forestry — the birthplace of American forestry — making the river a witness to the…
Davidson River
Pisgah National Forest · Brevard
The Davidson's wild rainbow trout are descendants of late-1800s stockings that have been wild-reproducing for over 130 years — among the…
Outer Banks
Oregon Inlet · Hatteras
Cape Hatteras's fall albacore run is among the most explosive light-tackle fly fisheries on the East Coast — schools of tunny exceeding 15 pounds…
Crooked River
Below Bowman Dam
The Crooked River canyon below Bowman Dam holds redband densities estimated at over 4,000 fish per mile — among the highest documented trout…
Deschutes River
Maupin · Lower Deschutes
The Deschutes Redsides are genetically distinct from hatchery rainbows — wild fish that have evolved in one of the most demanding river environments…
Grande Ronde River
Troy to Confluence
The Grande Ronde is widely considered one of the finest Spey-rod steelhead rivers in the lower 48 — its consistent gradients and swung-fly water have…
McKenzie River
Leaburg to Springfield
The McKenzie River drift boat — a flat-bottomed wooden craft with a high prow and stern — was developed on this river in the 1930s and remains the…
Metolius River
Camp Sherman · Spring Creek System
The Metolius emerges from the ground at over 50,000 gallons per minute — one of the largest single-source springs in the United States — creating a…
North Umpqua River
Steamboat to Glide
The North Umpqua's Steamboat section is credited with inspiring the development of Spey casting techniques in North America during the mid-20th…
Owyhee River
Below Owyhee Reservoir · Malheur County
The Owyhee River canyon below the reservoir is one of the least-visited fly fishing destinations in the Pacific Northwest — a world-class tailwater…
Rogue River
Grants Pass to Gold Beach · Wild & Scenic
The Wild and Scenic Rogue from Grave Creek to Foster Bar — 34 miles of canyon water through old-growth forest — was one of the original eight rivers…
Williamson River
Klamath Marsh to Agency Lake
The Williamson regularly produces redband trout exceeding 10 pounds — the largest documented native rainbow trout in the United States — drawn out of…
Pennsylvania
6 watersBrodhead Creek
Pocono Mountains · East Stroudsburg
Brodhead Creek near Henryville was the home stream of Theodore Gordon, the American angler who adapted British dry fly techniques to US trout fishing…
LeTort Spring Run
Carlisle · Classic Limestone Spring Creek
The LeTort Spring Run is where Vince Marinaro developed the 'Jassid' pattern — a tiny imitation of leafhoppers and Japanese beetles — establishing…
Little Juniata River
Spruce Creek · Williamsburg
The Green Drake hatch on the Little Juniata in late May is one of the most reliable and prolific in Pennsylvania — hatches that turn even the most…
Penns Creek
Coburn to Weikert
The Penns Creek Green Drake hatch — Ephemera guttulata — brings trout averaging 15+ inches to the surface in evenings of late May through a stretch…
Pennsylvania Limestone
Cumberland Valley spring creeks
Pennsylvania's limestone spring creeks gave American fly fishing its identity — the techniques developed on these waters in the 1940s–60s by…
Spring Creek
Centre County · State College
Spring Creek flows through the Penn State University campus at State College — generations of students have learned to fly fish here, making it…
Rhode Island
1 waterSouth Carolina
1 waterSouth Dakota
1 waterTennessee
6 watersCaney Fork River
Center Hill Dam Tailwater
The Caney Fork's brown trout grow exceptionally large for a southern tailwater — 20+ inch fish are not uncommon in the deep pools below Center Hill…
Clinch River
Below Norris Dam · Anderson County
The Clinch River's tailwater section holds the highest density of wild trout in Tennessee — a TWRA electrofishing survey found over 2,800 trout per…
Great Smoky Mountains
GSMNP backcountry streams
The Smokies hold the largest wild brook trout population in the southern Appalachians — the only place in the southern range where native specks…
Hiwassee River
Below Apalachia Dam · Polk County
The Hiwassee River is one of the rare Appalachian tailwaters where the combination of float fishing through a designated scenic gorge and excellent…
South Holston River
Bristol · Weaver Creek · Dam Tailwater
The South Holston's sulphur hatch from May through October produces evening rising fish as thick and consistent as virtually any tailwater in the…
Watauga River
Siam · Hunter Bridge · Tailwater
The Watauga is one of very few TVA tailwaters where brown trout grow to trophy size consistently — 20-inch fish are legitimately common in the…
Texas
3 watersGuadalupe River
Below Canyon Lake Dam · New Braunfels
Guadalupe bass — a species found only in Texas Hill Country drainages — also inhabit the river and can be caught on small streamers even during trout…
Laguna Madre
Port Mansfield · Lower Texas Coast
The Texas Laguna Madre is one of only six hypersaline coastal lagoons on Earth — saltier than the open ocean — a distinctive ecosystem that supports…
San Antonio Bay
Seadrift · Tailing Redfish Flats
Texas redfish are among the most accessible large saltwater gamefish for sight-fishing anywhere in the world — wading the San Antonio Bay grass flats…
Utah
3 watersGreen River
Flaming Gorge Dam · A, B, C Sections
The Green's A Section is rated as one of the best sight fishing tailwaters in the western United States — gin clear and full of 20+ inch fish.
Logan River
Logan Canyon · First Dam · Bear River Range
The Logan holds one of the strongest remaining native Bonneville cutthroat populations — a subspecies once thought near extinction, now recovering…
Provo River
Jordanelle to Deer Creek · Middle Provo
The Middle Provo holds documented wild brown trout populations exceeding 3,500 fish per mile — among the highest densities for any tailwater in the…
Vermont
3 watersBattenkill River
Manchester to Salem
The Battenkill is the home water of Orvis — the company's headquarters and flagship store sit a few hundred yards from the river — making it one of…
Battenkill River
Manchester · Arlington · Salem
The Battenkill is one of only a handful of rivers that crosses a state line and remains a Blue Ribbon-class fishery on both sides — Vermont and New…
Mad River
Waitsfield · Moretown · Mad River Valley
The Mad River runs through the heart of Vermont ski country — its valley anchored by Sugarbush and Mad River Glen — making it one of the few trout…
Virginia
5 watersJackson River
Below Gathright Dam
The Jackson has been at the center of one of America's most contentious river-access legal battles — a decades-long debate over whether the public…
Mossy Creek
Bridgewater · Shenandoah Valley Limestone
Mossy Creek is one of fewer than a dozen true limestone spring creeks east of the Mississippi — water emerging from limestone aquifers at…
New River
Galax to Radford · Smallmouth
The New River is geologically the oldest river in North America and the second-oldest in the world — flowing through terrain that is itself older…
Smith River
Below Philpott Dam · Martinsville
The Smith River below Philpott Dam produces brown trout averaging larger than almost any other Virginia stream — VDGIF surveys have documented brown…
South Fork Shenandoah River
Luray · Elkton · Shenandoah Valley
The South Fork Shenandoah is widely regarded as one of the top smallmouth bass fly fisheries in the eastern United States — broad gravel-bottomed…
Hoh River
Upper River
The Hoh drains the Hoh Rainforest — one of the largest temperate rainforests in the Western Hemisphere — and the river's glacial source means it runs…
Hoh River
Olympic Peninsula · Winter Steelhead
The Hoh River's wild steelhead have returned to the same pools for thousands of years — they navigate 70 miles of river through one of North…
Methow River
Twisp to Pateros
The Methow's upper basin is one of the wildest watersheds in Washington — over 70% of the headwaters lie within wilderness areas, supporting some of…
Skagit River
Concrete to Sedro-Woolley
The Skagit gave its name to the Skagit casting technique — the modified two-handed stroke developed on this river to handle short heads and heavy…
Skagit River
Wild Winter Steelhead
The Skagit casting system — the foundation of modern two-handed spey fishing — was developed on this river specifically to handle the heavy sink-tip…
Sol Duc River
Olympic Peninsula
The Sol Duc is one of the last wild winter steelhead rivers in the lower 48 with self-sustaining populations — a status protected by some of the most…
Yakima River
Cle Elum to Ellensburg
The Yakima is Washington's only state-designated Blue Ribbon trout stream — a single river holding the entire status in a state better known for…
West Virginia
1 waterWisconsin
3 watersBois Brule River
Brule · Northern Wisconsin
Five US Presidents have fished the Brule — Grant, Cleveland, Coolidge, Hoover, and Eisenhower — making it the most presidentially-fished trout stream…
Driftless Area
Southwest Wisconsin spring creeks
Wisconsin's Driftless region holds over 5,000 miles of designated trout streams — more cold-water trout habitat per square mile than anywhere else in…
Namekagon River
Cable to Trego · National Wild & Scenic
The Namekagon flows through one of the original eight rivers in the 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act — the same legislation that protected the Rogue…
Firehole River
Yellowstone National Park
The Firehole is the only major trout river in the world running through an active geyser basin — anglers fish within sight of erupting geysers and…
Lamar River
Lamar Valley · Yellowstone NP
The Lamar Valley is the most-photographed wildlife viewing area in Yellowstone — anglers fishing the river share the meadow with bison herds, wolves…
Madison River
Yellowstone National Park
Fishing the Madison inside Yellowstone means sharing the meadow with bison herds that regularly cross the river — one of the most spectacular…
North Platte River
Saratoga · Miracle Mile
'Miracle Mile' earned its name from the impossibly dense trout population — studies have recorded over 3,000 trout per mile in the prime sections.
Snake River
Moran to Jackson · Grand Teton NP
The Snake's fine-spotted cutthroat subspecies is found only in this drainage — fishing them in the shadow of the Tetons is a bucket-list experience.
Upper Green River
Pinedale · Warren Bridge to Big Piney
The Upper Green is one of the strongest native Colorado River cutthroat strongholds in the West — a subspecies that has lost over 90% of its historic…
Wind River
Dubois to Boysen
The Wind River physically becomes the Bighorn River where it emerges from Wind River Canyon — the same water flowing under two names, a quirk of…
Yellowstone River
Yellowstone National Park · Buffalo Ford to Gardiner
Buffalo Ford — the legendary wade-fishing flat below Fishing Bridge — offers sight fishing to large native Yellowstone cutthroat in clear, shallow…
Canada
Alberta
2 watersBow River
Calgary to Carseland
The Bow River's brown trout fishery is world-renowned — the river's unique combination of tailwater flows and abundant food production creates fish…
Crowsnest River
Crowsnest Pass · Coleman to Lundbreck
The Crowsnest River drains Crowsnest Lake at the foot of Crowsnest Mountain in the southern Canadian Rockies — flowing east into the Oldman and South…
British Columbia
5 watersBabine River
Babine Lake Outlet · Summer Steelhead
The Babine River canyon below Nilkitkwa Lake is arguably the most productive wild steelhead water in the world by fish-per-mile — the entire Babine…
Bulkley River
Telkwa to Smithers · Summer Steelhead
The Bulkley is one of the only world-class steelhead rivers where a visiting angler can show up, purchase a licence at the local fly shop, and walk…
Elk River
Fernie · Sparwood to Elko
The Elk River is one of the few major rivers in North America managed entirely fly-fishing-only across its trout-bearing reach — a regulatory…
Kispiox River
Hazelton · Record Wild Steelhead
The Kispiox River has produced more world-record steelhead than any other river — the current IGFA fly rod world record for steelhead (33 lbs, 4 oz)…
Skeena River
Terrace · Wild Summer Steelhead
The Skeena system produces more wild steelhead than any other river system on earth — in good years, tens of thousands of wild fish enter from the…
New Brunswick
1 waterOntario
1 waterQuebec
2 watersBonaventure River
Gaspé Peninsula · Atlantic Salmon
The Bonaventure's exceptional clarity allows anglers to see individual salmon resting in pools from the canyon walkways above — spotting, planning a…
Grand Cascapedia River
Gaspé Peninsula · Quebec
The Grand Cascapedia produces some of the largest Atlantic salmon caught in North America — fish exceeding 40 pounds are landed annually, and the…
International
Argentina
4 watersJurassic Lake
Strobel Plateau · Trophy Rainbow Trout
The average catch weight at Jurassic Lake exceeds 8 lbs — a number that would represent an exceptional trophy trout at virtually any other fishery in…
Rio Gallegos
Santa Cruz Province · Sea-Run Browns
The Rio Gallegos sea-run browns travel thousands of miles from feeding grounds in the South Atlantic before entering the river — these…
Rio Grande
Tierra del Fuego · Sea-Run Browns
Río Grande sea trout are so large and powerful that the 7-weight trout rod you'd fish elsewhere in Patagonia is inadequate — most guides recommend 9…
Rio Limay
Lake Nahuel Huapi to Neuquen
The Rio Limay drains Lago Nahuel Huapi — one of the largest lakes in the Andes — and the lake-run brown trout that move into the river produce some…
Australia
2 watersCape York Peninsula
Saltwater Crocodile Country · GT · Barramundi
Barramundi (Lates calcarifer) is Australia's most iconic sportfish — a large-scaled, gill-rattling predator that can exceed 100 cm and 20 kg, leaping…
Ningaloo Reef
Bonefish · GT · Western Australia
Ningaloo is the largest fringing reef in the world accessible directly from the shore — no boats required for bonefish on the lagoon flats, making it…
Belize
1 waterBhutan
1 waterBolivia
1 waterBrazil
1 waterChile
2 watersRio Baker
Aysen Region · Chilean Patagonia
The Río Baker carries a distinctive turquoise color from Lago General Carrera's glacial flour — fishing in this vivid blue water against the backdrop…
Rio Palena
Chilean Patagonia
The Rio Palena's brown trout have never been stocked — entirely wild fish descended from early introductions that have thrived in pristine Andean…
Colombia
1 waterCosta Rica
1 waterCuba
2 watersCayo Largo del Sur
Bonefish Flats · Southern Cuba
Cayo Largo's bonefish inhabit some of the most underfished flats in the Caribbean — Cuban fishing tourism has historically been limited, keeping fish…
Jardines de la Reina
Gardens of the Queen · Southern Cuba
Jardines de la Reina holds the largest concentration of permit in the world — the fishing archive shows that many guests land 10+ permit per week…
East Africa
1 waterGuatemala
1 waterGuyana
1 waterHonduras
1 waterIceland
1 waterIndia
1 waterIreland
1 waterItaly
1 waterKiribati
1 waterMauritius
1 waterMexico
1 waterMongolia
1 waterNew Zealand
2 watersClutha River
Wanaka to Roxburgh
The Clutha system's clear backcountry tributaries are so transparent that anglers routinely sight fish to individual brown trout at 30 meters…
Tongariro River
Turangi · Lake Taupo
The Tongariro's winter run rainbows are genetically distinct from resident fish — lake-run fish that average 5–7 lbs arrive fresh from Lake Taupo and…
Nicaragua
1 waterNorway
1 waterOman
1 waterRed Sea Coast
1 waterRussia
2 watersKamchatka Peninsula Rivers
Zhupanova · Bystraya · Utkholok
Kamchatka's rainbow trout are among the largest and most powerful in the world — fish averaging 5-8 lbs in rivers that have seen virtually no angling…
Kola Peninsula Rivers
Ponoi · Kharlovka · Umba
In peak years, the Ponoi River has recorded catch rates of 60+ salmon per rod per week — catch rates impossible on any other salmon river in the…
Seychelles
1 waterSlovenia
1 waterSpain
2 watersPyrenees Rivers
Wild Brown Trout · 60 River System
Pyrenean barbel grow to over 10 lbs and readily take surface flies when feeding — a species almost unknown to North American fly fishers that…
Rio Ebro Delta
Carp · Sheatfish (Wels) · Northeast Spain
Wels catfish in the Rio Ebro regularly exceed 200 lbs in length — the largest freshwater fish in Europe and among the most powerful on a fly rod…
Tanzania
1 waterThe Bahamas
5 watersAbaco
Cherokee Sound · Marls
The Marls of Abaco contain over 800 square miles of mangrove flats habitat — the largest continuous shallow-water bonefish ecosystem in the Northern…
Andros Island
Bahamas Flats
Andros holds the largest bonefish flats system on Earth — over 2,300 square miles — making it the only place where 'unlimited' literally describes…
Bimini
North Bimini · South Bimini
Bimini's west side flats — the 'Radio Beach' and 'Weech's Dock' flats on North Bimini — are among the only places in the Bahamas where anglers can…
Exumas
Great Exuma · Staniel Cay
The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park — established in 1958 as the first marine protected area in the Caribbean — has created a bonefish sanctuary where…
Grand Bahama
West End · Deep Water Cay · Freeport
Deep Water Cay — on the eastern end of Grand Bahama — was home to one of the world's first dedicated bonefishing lodges, the Deep Water Cay Club…
Turks & Caicos Islands
1 waterUK
3 watersRiver Itchen
Winchester · Hampshire Chalk Stream
The Itchen is where Frederic Halford and G.E.M. Skues conducted their late-19th-century debates over dry-fly versus nymph-fishing — the historical…
River Test
Hampshire · Chalk Stream
Frederic Halford developed the modern dry fly technique on the Test in the 1880s — every floating fly ever cast to a trout traces its lineage back to…
Scottish Highland Rivers
Spey · Dee · Tay · Tweed · Atlantic Salmon
The River Tweed produces more Atlantic salmon than any other river in Scotland — and the autumn run from September through November is when the…