2 waters
Photo: dmtilley, CC BY 3.0
Saltwater & Coast · Alabama
A broad estuary where redfish, speckled trout, and fall flounder runs draw anglers to the piers, causeway, and marshes.
Redfish · Speckled Trout · Flounder
Photo: Adrien Lamarre, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Public domain
The pass at Orange Beach where Perdido Bay meets the Gulf, whose jetties and bridge Alabama's Marine Resources Division names for sheepshead.
Sheepshead · Bluefish
7 waters
Photo: Gillfoto, CC BY-SA 3.0
Saltwater & Coast · Alaska
A bay on Juneau's Glacier Highway with a boat ramp, opening onto Stephens Passage, where anglers fish for king and coho salmon.
Chinook Salmon · Coho Salmon
Photo: Menke, Dave/USFWS, Public domain
Kodiak's home bay, where Chinook salmon feed year-round and anglers fish for coho out toward Cape Chiniak.
Chinook Salmon · Coho Salmon · Lingcod
Photo: Forest Service Alaska Region, USDA, CC0
The fjord at Whittier, where ADF&G stocks king and coho salmon and boats troll the points of Passage Canal; shore fishing for coho peaks from late August into early September.
Coho Salmon · Chinook Salmon
A fjord at the head of Valdez Arm where shore and boat anglers catch silver salmon off Allison Point and kings in May and June.
Photo: Jon Gudorf Photography, CC BY-SA 2.0
Seward's bay, where ADF&G stocks king and silver salmon; boats troll the bay for silvers in August and shore anglers fish the Seward beaches from late August.
Photo: Jonathan.s.kt, CC BY-SA 3.0
Marine waters off Sitka where anglers troll and mooch for king salmon in late spring and coho salmon in late summer.
Photo: Wknight94, CC BY-SA 3.0
A 10 mile marine channel along Ketchikan's waterfront where anglers fish for king and coho salmon.
4 waters
Photo: bahniuk, CC BY 3.0
Saltwater & Coast · California
Santa Catalina Island, a little more than 20 miles off the Southern California mainland, where kelp bass (calico bass) hide in the kelp forests and yellowtail gather in deep water.
Calico Bass · Yellowtail · California Halibut
Photo: Dennis G. Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0
Monterey Bay off Santa Cruz, California, with California halibut, Chinook salmon, striped bass, and lingcod.
California Halibut · Striped Bass · Chinook Salmon
Kelp beds off Point Loma in San Diego County, where CDFW names kelp bass (calico bass) in the offshore kelp forest.
Calico Bass
Photo: USFWS Pacific Southwest Region, CC BY 2.0
The bay inside the Golden Gate, where CDFW says striped bass fishing peaks in summer and fall, with good catches in Raccoon Strait, at the Golden Gate Bridge's south tower and off Alcatraz and Treasure Islands.
Striped Bass · California Halibut
1 water
Photo: USFWS, Public domain
Saltwater & Coast · Connecticut
Connecticut's waters of Long Island Sound, where CT DEEP's angler surveys record striped bass, bluefish, summer flounder, tautog, black sea bass and false albacore.
Striped Bass · Bluefish · False Albacore
Photo: Thompson, Greg/USFWS, Public domain
Saltwater & Coast · Delaware
The Delaware side of Delaware Bay, where DNREC says anglers commonly catch striped bass of 28 to 45 inches, along with summer flounder and bluefish.
Striped Bass · Flounder · Bluefish
Photo: Antony-22, CC BY-SA 4.0
An Atlantic Ocean inlet at Delaware Seashore State Park, with fishing along the inlet and from its South Jetty for striped bass, flounder and bluefish.
28 waters
Photo: Hillebrand, Steve/USFWS, Public domain
Saltwater & Coast · Florida
A Big Bend bay of about 300 square miles off St. Marks, with seagrass beds, oyster bars, and marsh that hold redfish, seatrout, sheepshead, flounder, and Spanish mackerel.
Redfish · Speckled Trout · Sheepshead
Photo: Diane Delaney, U.S. DOT (National Archives), Public domain
The bay between Apalachicola on the west and Eastpoint on the east, where red drum, spotted seatrout, and flounder are found.
Photo: Leonard J. DeFrancisci, CC BY-SA 3.0
The arm of the Indian River Lagoon between Merritt Island and Cocoa Beach, with boat ramps and kayak launches and redfish, snook, and tarpon.
Redfish · Snook · Tarpon
Photo: Matt Johnson / NPS, Public domain
The protected waters of Biscayne Bay inside Biscayne National Park, where FWC calls the flats a world-class destination for trophy bonefish and the park also names tarpon.
Bonefish · Tarpon · Speckled Trout
Photo: Woodward, Larry/USFWS, Public domain
Gulf waters around the islands of Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge, where spotted seatrout, red drum, flounder, and Spanish mackerel are caught.
Speckled Trout · Redfish · Flounder
A broad estuary, 11 miles across at its widest, that opens to the Gulf through Boca Grande Pass, well known for its tarpon fishing.
Tarpon · Snook · Redfish
A shallow Atlantic-side aquatic preserve just south of Big Pine Key in the Lower Keys, home to bonefish, permit, tarpon, and snook.
Bonefish · Permit · Tarpon
The bay at the mouth of the Steinhatchee River, inside the Big Bend Seagrasses Aquatic Preserve, where redfish, sea trout, and tarpon are found.
Redfish · Speckled Trout · Tarpon
East Pass, between Choctawhatchee Bay and the Gulf. Redfish, seatrout, and sheepshead.
Photo: Shanbin Zhao, CC BY-SA 3.0
Flats for bonefish, permit, and tarpon; reef and offshore for snapper, grouper, and mahi.
Tarpon · Bonefish · Permit
Photo: U.S. National Archives, Public domain
The lagoon along Vero Beach, where creek and river water meets the ocean tide, holding redfish, snook, and tarpon.
Photo: Lea Shanley, CC BY-SA 3.0
A Florida inlet with snook, sheepshead, jack crevalle, speckled trout, and tarpon.
Snook · Bluefish · Sheepshead
The lagoon behind Palm Beach, dotted with mangrove islands, sand bars, and oyster reefs, where the state guide says snook, tarpon, bluefish, flounder, sheepshead, and jacks are caught.
Snook · Tarpon · Bluefish
A narrow aquatic preserve behind Manasota Key at Englewood, where redfish, tarpon, and snook are common and seatrout work the shorelines.
Speckled Trout · Redfish · Snook
Part of the St. Johns River
The St. Johns from downtown Jacksonville to the ocean at Mayport, an estuary where river and ocean water meet.
Black Drum · Flounder · Redfish
Photo: Saph, CC0
The inlet south of St. Augustine at Fort Matanzas National Monument, where shore anglers catch redfish, sheepshead, seatrout, bluefish, and flounder.
Redfish · Sheepshead · Speckled Trout
Photo: Fl295, Public domain
A shallow, clear lagoon that has gained national acclaim as a place to fly fish for redfish.
Photo: Michael Rivera, CC BY-SA 4.0
A sound north of Jacksonville, crossed by a fishing pier, where anglers catch redfish, flounder, sheepshead, and bluefish.
Redfish · Flounder · Sheepshead
Photo: Skarz, CC0
The 144-square-mile Pensacola Bay system, with redfish, speckled trout, and spring and fall flounder.
Photo: James St. John, CC BY 2.0
The sound between Pine Island and Captiva, fed by the Gulf through Redfish, Captiva, and Boca Grande passes, with seatrout, tarpon, red drum, sheepshead, and snook.
Speckled Trout · Tarpon · Redfish
Photo: speleobyte, CC BY 3.0
The inlet between Ponce Inlet and New Smyrna Beach, a jumping-off point for offshore trips, with red drum, seatrout, flounder, and sheepshead in the nearby estuary.
Photo: Heather Henkel, U.S. Geological Survey, Public domain
Mangrove backwaters of the Rookery Bay reserve south of Naples, where redfish, snook, and tarpon are commonly caught.
Photo: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0
The bay between Longboat Key and Sarasota, where the state's angling guide sends anglers to City Island, Ringling Causeway, and New Pass for flounder, redfish, sheepshead, snook, and seatrout.
Flounder · Redfish · Sheepshead
An inlet through a barrier island state park between the Indian River Lagoon and the ocean, with fishing jetties on both sides.
Snook · Redfish · Flounder
The bay south of Panama City, fed mostly by spring creeks rather than a big river, with spotted seatrout, red drum, and flounder.
A coastal preserve of marsh, oyster bars, and seagrass between Crystal River and Homosassa, with red drum and sheepshead.
Redfish · Sheepshead · Snook
Photo: Ramos, Keith/USFWS, Public domain
The largest open-water estuary in Florida, with speckled trout, redfish, snook, and jack crevalle.
Speckled Trout · Redfish · Jack Crevalle
The mangrove islands and brackish marshes of the Ten Thousand Islands, where the refuge lists redfish, snook, spotted seatrout and sheepshead.
Snook · Tarpon · Redfish
Photo: Gentry, George/USFWS, Public domain
Saltwater & Coast · Georgia
Marshes and sounds around St. Simons and Jekyll islands, with spotted seatrout along the St. Simons causeway and tarpon in summer.
Photo: Monica Harris/USFWS, Public domain
Estuarine waters beside Wassaw Island, a barrier island refuge southeast of Savannah, where red drum, spotted seatrout, flounder, and bluefish are caught.
Photo: Eric Marshall, CC BY 3.0
Saltwater & Coast · Hawaii
Deep blue water off Kailua-Kona on the Big Island's west coast, inside DAR's West Hawai‘i Regional Fishery Management Area.
Mahi-Mahi
5 waters
Saltwater & Coast · Louisiana
Calcasieu Lake, reached by the West Cove boat launch on Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, where LDWF tagging found speckled trout prefer deep channels during cold fronts and more than 50,000 hatchery-raised redfish were released in September 2026.
Speckled Trout · Redfish
Grand Isle, where LDWF and partners released hatchery-raised redfish in September 2026 and announced the Raising Cane's Hotel Sid artificial reef near Grand Isle in 2024.
Redfish
Photo: Mark Holloway, CC BY 2.0
A saltwater lake under Louisiana's fishing rules, where an LDWF telemetry study (2015) found tagged speckled trout leaving the lake from March through May as salinity fell and returning from November.
A 33,488-acre LDWF wildlife management area of intermediate to brackish marsh about 15 miles southeast of Houma, known for outstanding redfish fishing.
The end of the road at the mouth of the Mississippi, with marsh redfish and access to offshore fishing.
Redfish · Speckled Trout · Largemouth Bass
Photo: Gkuriger, CC BY-SA 4.0
Saltwater & Coast · Maine
A coastal bay off Portland, Maine.
8 waters
Photo: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0
Saltwater & Coast · Maryland
Striped bass from the bridges to the flats, plus speckled trout and red drum to the south.
Part of Chesapeake Bay
The lower Chesapeake Bay runs from the mouth of the Potomac to Tangier and Pocomoke sounds; Maryland DNR's weekly reports follow striped bass, bluefish, red drum, speckled trout, Spanish mackerel and cobia here.
Black Drum · Bluefish · Cobia
The middle Chesapeake Bay begins at the Bay Bridge and takes in Eastern Bay, the Choptank and Taylors Island; Maryland DNR's weekly reports follow striped bass, white perch and bluefish here.
Striped Bass · Redfish · Speckled Trout
Photo: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0
A Maryland inlet with sheepshead, flounder, striped bass, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, false albacore, and tautog.
Sheepshead · Flounder · Striped Bass
A peninsula where the Potomac River meets the Chesapeake Bay, with a 710-foot state park fishing pier open mid-April to mid-December and lower Bay striped bass, red drum, speckled trout, and bluefish.
Grass flats at the head of the Chesapeake with striped bass and largemouth. Check current Maryland spawning-season closures.
Striped Bass · Largemouth Bass
An upper Chesapeake Bay point near Rock Hall that the state names as a place to live-line spot for striped bass along the channel edges.
Striped Bass
The upper Chesapeake Bay runs from the lower Susquehanna River south to the Bay Bridge; Maryland DNR's weekly reports follow striped bass, white perch and blue catfish here, in the open Bay and its tidal rivers.
Blue Catfish · Channel Catfish · Striped Bass
6 waters
Photo: NPS Photo, Public domain
Saltwater & Coast · Massachusetts
The waters around the Boston Harbor Islands, home to striped bass and bluefish, with shore fishing on Deer Island.
Striped Bass · Bluefish · Black Sea Bass
Photo: Matt H. Wade, CC BY-SA 3.0
Cape Cod, where DMF names striped bass, bluefish, false albacore and tautog on the Cape Cod Canal and summer flounder off Yarmouth.
Striped Bass · False Albacore · Bluefish
Photo: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Public domain
Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts, with striped bass.
Photo: SamHolt6, CC BY-SA 4.0
Nantucket National Wildlife Refuge on the Coskata-Coatue peninsula, open to surf fishing year-round, where bluefish are a summer attraction and albacore and Spanish mackerel are the most commonly caught fish.
Striped Bass · Bluefish · Spanish Mackerel
Photo: Alex Wilcox Cheek, CC BY-SA 4.0
Martha's Vineyard, where DMF tracks striped bass in Vineyard Sound and the Oak Bluffs Fishing Pier offers albies and bonito during the famed fall derby.
Striped Bass · False Albacore
Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0
Race Point Beach at the northernmost point on Cape Cod, where swift currents and deeper water lie close to shore.
Saltwater & Coast · Mississippi
The waters off Gulfport and Biloxi with barrier islands, marsh, and speckled trout.
Redfish · Flounder · Spanish Mackerel
Photo: Ken Gallager, CC BY-SA 3.0
Saltwater & Coast · New Hampshire
A tidal estuary near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where striped bass spend roughly May through October feeding.
Saltwater & Coast · New Jersey
A shallow bay behind Long Beach Island and Island Beach State Park with fluke, blues, and stripers.
Striped Bass · Bluefish · Flounder
Photo: John A. (Jack) Szczepanski/USFWS, Public domain
The southern tip of New Jersey with rips, jetties, and back bays for stripers and fluke.
Photo: Szeremeta, CC BY 4.0
The inlet between Manasquan and Point Pleasant Beach, with a jetty on the Manasquan side and a seawall at the Point Pleasant Beach inlet access.
Striped Bass · Bluefish
Sandy Hook Bay, New Jersey, with striped bass and bluefish.
3 waters
Photo: Jsayre64, CC BY-SA 3.0
Saltwater & Coast · New York
A bay behind Fire Island on Long Island's south shore, fished for fluke, striped bass, and bluefish.
Flounder · Striped Bass · Bluefish
Photo: NPS Photo / Tim Farrell, Public domain
A bay of marsh and open water inside New York City, from a few inches to over 60 feet deep, with striped bass and bluefish in the bay and bluefish and fluke off Canarsie Pier.
Photo: Giorgio Galeotti, CC BY-SA 4.0
The eastern tip of Long Island, where anglers fish for striped bass in the surf beneath the Montauk Point lighthouse and board party boats in the village.
Photo: David Broad, CC BY 3.0
Saltwater & Coast · North Carolina
The lower Cape Fear at Carolina Beach State Park, where the park's marina and two public boat ramps sit at the junction of Snow's Cut and the river, with a fishing deck at the marina.
Photo: National Park Service, Public domain
Cape Lookout National Seashore, where most of the beach and sounds are open to fishing and spring and fall offer what many consider to be some of the best fishing on the Atlantic Coast.
The lower New River estuary down to New River Inlet, where NCDMF finds two genetically distinct spotted seatrout populations mixing.
Speckled Trout · Flounder · Redfish
Photo: Cape Hatteras National Seashore (NPS), Public domain
The Outer Banks inlet between Bodie and Pea islands, with a refuge fishing pier and a rock groin on the south side for red drum, stripers, seatrout, and flounder.
Redfish · Striped Bass · Speckled Trout
Surf, pier and sound fishing on Cape Hatteras National Seashore, where giant red drum frequent the Avon Fishing Pier, with offshore fishing in the Gulf Stream.
Redfish · Bluefish · Spanish Mackerel
A large sound behind the Outer Banks where big adult red drum are commonly found in summer.
Redfish · Speckled Trout
Photo: Ed Uthman, CC BY 2.0
Saltwater & Coast · Oregon
The bay at the city of Coos Bay, where anglers can fish the downtown boardwalk from the bank for fall Chinook and coho.
The mouth of the Rogue at Gold Beach, a fall Chinook fishery from July through October that usually peaks in August, with bank access off the south jetty.
Chinook Salmon
Photo: Dicklyon, CC BY-SA 4.0
An Oregon bay with Chinook and coho salmon, cutthroat trout, and lingcod.
Chinook Salmon · Coho Salmon · Cutthroat Trout
Photo: Bob Heims, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Public domain
Newport's bay, with a fishing pier at the marina and jetties, and fall Chinook from September into early November.
Photo: Timothy J. Quill, CC BY-SA 4.0
Saltwater & Coast · Rhode Island
An island off Rhode Island whose habitats, USFWS says, support some of the best sport-fishing in New England; anglers fish the Block Island National Wildlife Refuge shoreline for striped bass.
Photo: Waz8, CC0
Rhode Island's large estuary, with striped bass, bluefish, tautog and summer flounder; RI DEM bans keeping winter flounder north of the COLREGS line.
Photo: NealVickers, CC BY-SA 4.0
Saltwater & Coast · South Carolina
Charleston Harbor and its jetties, where red drum hold around the rocks.
Photo: Rbwsc, CC BY-SA 4.0
The beach at Edisto Beach, with the Live Oak boat ramp onto Big Bay Creek.
Photo: Pollinator, CC BY-SA 3.0
A small, salty estuary of about 2.4 square miles at high tide with very little freshwater inflow, where SCDNR has sampled flounder at live-release tournaments.
Redfish · Flounder
Estuarine waters around Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge near Hilton Head, where red drum, spotted seatrout, flounder, and bluefish are caught.
Saltwater & Coast · Texas
A bay of the Upper Laguna Madre with serpulid reefs, known for black drum and holding speckled trout and redfish.
Speckled Trout · Redfish · Black Drum
Flats at the base of the North Jetty, at the entrance to Galveston Bay, with redfish.
A shallow bay of about 4,200 acres at the southwest end of the Galveston Bay system near Freeport, fished for seatrout, red drum, and flounder.
Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Public domain
Wade and drift for speckled trout and redfish in the marsh.
The Lower Laguna Madre on the Texas coast, from the Saltillo Flats south toward Mexico, with spotted seatrout, red drum and snook.
Redfish · Speckled Trout · Snook
A large bay system with shell reefs, wade fishing, and redfish.
Photo: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0
Texas coastal waters at Port Aransas with redfish, speckled trout, flounder and black drum.
A shallow bay of about 3,500 acres behind Brazos Island near Port Isabel and South Padre Island, with red drum, seatrout, flounder, snook, and jacks.
Saltwater & Coast · Virginia
The cove and surf at the south end of Assateague Island near Chincoteague, open to fishing in marked areas, with red drum, flounder, stripers, and bluefish.
Redfish · Flounder · Striped Bass
Photo: DanRVA, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and nearby inlets with stripers, flounder, and sheepshead.
Striped Bass · Flounder · Redfish
Saltwater & Coast · Washington
The Columbia River estuary where the river meets the Pacific, fished for Chinook and coho salmon fresh from the ocean.
Photo: Brent Lawrence / USFWS, Public domain
The bay behind the Westport and Ocean Shores jetties, where small boats fish for big chinook and coho salmon.
