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Pick the depth. The rest follows.

Depth, season, species, and cover set the plan. Every guide ends with one change to make on your next trip.

Start fishing the basics Browse the guide index
An angler casting from the bow of a boat at sunset, with a depth chart overlay
The surface, and the smallest part of the column

Start where you fish

Four shelves, one for each kind of water you walk up to. Start with the one that matches your next trip.

  1. 0 to 6 ft Getting Started
  2. 4 to 15 ft Freshwater
  3. 8 to 30 ft Saltwater
  4. Any depth Techniques
0 to 6 ft

Getting Started

Rod, reel, line, and the first three knots worth knowing. Enough to fish a bank or a dock this weekend.

All Getting Started guides 4 to 15 ft

Freshwater

Bass on points, panfish in the shallows, and how water temperature moves both around the lake.

All Freshwater guides 8 to 30 ft

Saltwater

Surf, pier, and jetty fishing, with the tide and current reasoning the fish are actually using.

All Saltwater guides Any depth

Techniques

Casting, hook sets, retrieves, and reading cover. The mechanics that decide whether a bite becomes a landing.

All Techniques guides

Newest guides

A spinning rod and reel resting on a weathered dock beside the water
Where to stand, what to tie on, and how deep to count before the bait settles.

The guide index

Every article is filed by the decision it helps you make, not by the brand of gear it happens to mention.

03 Rod Power and Action: Matching the Rod to the Lure, Hook, and Cover Fishing Techniques / November 6, 2026 / 13 min read 04 Following the Shad: Late-Fall Bass Patterns When the Bait Leaves the Creeks Bass Fishing / November 5, 2026 / 13 min read 05 Suspending Jerkbait Cadence for Cold Water: How Long to Pause (and Why) Baits & Lures / November 4, 2026 / 10 min read 06 How to Read a Beach: Surf Fishing Structure, Gutters, and Where Fish Feed Fishing Techniques / November 3, 2026 / 12 min read

110 guides and counting, published since May 2026.

Calm lake water turning from a shallow sandy bottom toward deeper water

The tools

Four working tools, each one a second reading of a guide that is already published. Answer the question you are holding, then read the reasoning behind the answer.

Rig selector and builder Find a setup for your water, with a rig diagram, tackle list, and tying steps. Build a rig Lure selector Narrow down your lure options for the fish, water clarity, and season. Choose a lure Hook size guide Match the hook shape and size to your target fish and the bait you are using. Find a hook Knot finder Pick a knot for your connection and line, then follow the tying steps. Find a knot

All four tools

We fish the variables that decide the trip.

Depth, cover, season, and water temperature. Get those right and the gear question mostly answers itself.

Depth first

Depth, cover, season, and temperature come before any gear recommendation, because those decide your day.

Plain instructions

Specific knots, rigs, and retrieves you can copy on the bank, written without a tackle catalogue in the way.

Beginner honest

No sponsored picks, no invented trips, no product claims we cannot back up. Fishing well beats buying well.

Read about CastDepth