Fishing waters, without the homework
Cast The Water: find a place to fish
Find lakes, ponds, reservoirs and rivers to fish. Search by name, city or ZIP, then see stocking records, a shoreline map, local conditions and nearby waters.
What you get on each water
Every water page pulls the useful details into one place: where the water is and the nearest town, its mapped size and shoreline, recent stocking by species, size and date, the fish likely to live in that watershed, and the weather forecast.
When a USGS stream gauge is nearby, the page links to its live readings. When the state publishes an online regulations page, the water page links to it.
How to use it
Pick a state, then type a lake name, a town, a ZIP, or a mix like Cayuga Lake Ithaca. On the search page you can use your location to see waters near you, and filter by species, distance, size and recent stocking.
Prefer to look around? Open the map and zoom in on an area, or browse the state lists below. Each water page also links to nearby waters and others in the same county.
Where the data comes from
Water names and locations come from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). Shoreline outlines and mapped acreage come from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset (NHD).
Stocking records come from state fish and wildlife agency reports. Likely species come from USGS Aquatic GAP fish ranges, which work at the watershed level rather than counting fish in a single lake. Forecasts come from the National Weather Service, gauge readings from USGS, and nearest towns from the US Census Bureau.
Browse waters by state
Each state list groups its waters by county, with the number of water pages in brackets.
- Alabama (1)
- Arizona (60)
- California (2)
- Connecticut (168)
- Florida (1)
- Georgia (2)
- Massachusetts (49)
- Minnesota (1)
- Missouri (2)
- New Hampshire (98)
- New Jersey (49)
- New York (650)
- Ohio (1)
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (67)
- Utah (1)
- Vermont (4)
- Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (1)
Featured waters
Larger waters that have a written overview, biggest first.
- Lake Erie, Ohio
- Lake Okeechobee, Florida
- Lake Champlain, Vermont
- Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota
- Lake Tahoe, California
- Kentucky Lake, Tennessee
- Guntersville Lake, Alabama
- Oneida Lake, New York
- Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri
- Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire
- Clear Lake, California
- Lake Sidney Lanier, Georgia
- Table Rock Lake, Missouri
- Lake George, New York
- Quabbin Reservoir, Massachusetts
- Lake Buchanan, Texas
- Hartwell Lake, Georgia
- Lake Travis, Texas
- Theodore Roosevelt Lake, Arizona
- Squam Lake, New Hampshire
- Lake Lyndon B Johnson, Texas
- Wachusett Reservoir, Massachusetts
- Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey
- Lake Austin, Texas
Questions
Where does the stocking information come from?
From stocking reports published by state fish and wildlife agencies. Each record keeps the species, number and size of fish and the date the agency lists, when the report includes them.
Does Cast The Water list fishing regulations?
No. Rules change and vary by water, so always check the state agency before you go. Water pages link to the state's official regulations page when one is available.
Why does the mapped acreage differ from other sources?
Mapped acreage is measured from the USGS NHD shoreline outline. Reservoir levels and map dates vary, so it can differ from the surface area an agency quotes.
What does likely species mean?
It lists fish whose known range covers the watershed around the water, based on USGS Aquatic GAP data. It is a guide to what may be there, not a survey of that lake.
Why isn't my state in the browse list?
The browse list shows states that already have full water pages. You can still pick any state in the search box and look up waters by name, town or ZIP.
Can I search for waters near me?
Yes. On the search page, allow location access to see the closest waters, or enter a ZIP code instead.