Practical writing on fishing and boating, sourced and dated. Free, and no account needed.
The ramp is where a day goes wrong before it starts. The order to do things in, and why you ready the boat before you back down the slope.
Reviewed 2026-09-08
A checked link to the agency that issues the licence in all fifty states — because the rule that binds you is theirs, not ours, and it changes.
What to write down after a good day so it is still useful in two years: species, size, place, conditions and tide stage — and how to read it later.
A kayak puts you at water level with nothing to climb back onto. What the Coast Guard's numbers say, and why a life jacket has to be worn, not stowed.
NOAA cancelled the last of its 1,007 paper charts in December 2024. What replaced them, and what it means for the chart on your boat.
What the numbers on a tide chart actually mean — the datum they are measured from, why slack water is not high water, and how far to trust a prediction.
The gear you are required to carry, and the part people get wrong — not owning it, but where it is stowed and whether it still works.
The same forecast makes one bank fishable and another dangerous. How fetch and the direction the tide runs decide where you should be today.
What the wind, seas and advisory lines actually mean — including why a forecast of 10-foot seas regularly produces a 19-foot wave.
Reviewed 2026-09-07
A float plan is a written note of where you are going and when to worry. What to put in one, who to give it to, and the part most people forget.
Reviewed 2026-09-06
