The Guild Fishing Library
The fishing wing of Destinations Guild: lake guides state by state, fly fishing books for rivers at home and abroad, and saltwater guides — every one of them tied to a real town with a bed in it.
Curated by Our Guild Explorers · Opened 4 November 2026
Welcome in. This is the front door to the Guild’s fishing shelves, and it is being built one guide at a time, in the open, where you can see exactly how far along it is.
What is behind this door: lake fishing guides, state by state — the waters worth the drive, the rules that govern them, the months they fish best; fly fishing books for rivers here and abroad; a directory of guides and outfitters; and saltwater guides for the flats. Every guide is written by the Guild Explorers to be fished from rather than browsed, which means two things we hold to. Every rule, limit, season and licence price is read from the agency that sets it — the state wildlife department, the Park Service, the Forest Service, the water authority — and carries the date it was read. And every water is tied to the nearest town that has somewhere to sleep, pinned to that exact town, because a lake you cannot stay beside is a lake you cannot fish properly.
Where a guide is not written yet, this page says Being written and gives you no link. We would rather show you an honest gap than a door that opens onto nothing. One new state goes up a day.
Book it. Then Hook it. (Catch & Release)
Destinations Guild is a travel reservation site as well as a fishing library. Here are the gateway towns for the guides that are live today — a bed within reach of the water, and the vacation homes a party of three or four actually wants, with a kitchen, a freezer for the catch and somewhere to park the boat.
Hotels are booked through our partner Trip.com; vacation homes through our partner Booking.com. Destinations Guild earns a small commission when you book, at no extra cost to you. Several of these are small places with few hotels — if a list looks short, try the vacation homes button, or open that state’s guide below for the other towns on the water.
The fifty states and the District of Columbia
A state with a guide links to it. A state still being written says so, and gives you no link to a page that is not there. Guides go up one a day, strongest fishing states first.
New England
- ConnecticutBeing written
- MaineBeing written
- MassachusettsBeing written
- New HampshireBeing written
- Rhode IslandBeing written
- VermontBeing written
The Mid-Atlantic
- DelawareBeing written
- District of ColumbiaBeing written
- MarylandBeing written
- New JerseyBeing written
- New YorkBeing written
- PennsylvaniaBeing written
- VirginiaBeing written
- West VirginiaBeing written
The South
- AlabamaBeing written
- ArkansasLake fishing in Arkansas & the Ozarks
- FloridaBeing written
- GeorgiaBeing written
- KentuckyBeing written
- LouisianaBeing written
- MississippiBeing written
- North CarolinaBeing written
- South CarolinaBeing written
- TennesseeBeing written
The Midwest
- IllinoisBeing written
- IndianaBeing written
- IowaBeing written
- MichiganBeing written
- MinnesotaBeing written
- MissouriBeing written
- OhioBeing written
- WisconsinBeing written
The Great Plains
- KansasBeing written
- NebraskaBeing written
- North DakotaBeing written
- OklahomaBeing written
- South DakotaBeing written
- TexasBeing written
The Mountain West
- ArizonaLake fishing in Arizona
- ColoradoLake fishing in Colorado · Fly fishing in Colorado
- IdahoLake fishing in Montana, Idaho & Utah
- MontanaLake fishing in Montana, Idaho & Utah
- NevadaBeing written
- New MexicoBeing written
- UtahLake fishing in Montana, Idaho & Utah
- WyomingBeing written
The Pacific
- AlaskaFly fishing British Columbia & Alaska
- CaliforniaBeing written
- HawaiiComing in a later saltwater guide
- OregonBeing written
- WashingtonBeing written
The world
The fly fishing books that are already open, from the Skeena to the Rio Grande.
Guides, outfitters and the fly fishing hub
How these guides are written
The rule comes from the body that sets it
Licence prices, bag limits, tackle rules, seasons and closures are read from the state wildlife agency, the Park Service, the Forest Service or the water authority — never from a lodge, a marina or a booking site — and every guide prints the date it was read. Rules change, and they differ water by water. Always check the agency before you fish.
Nothing is invented
We do not invent a lodge, a guide, a price, an opening time or a limit. Where we could not confirm something, the guide says so in plain words instead of filling the gap.
Every water is tied to a bed
Each lake is matched to the nearest town or two that has somewhere to stay, and the booking link is pinned to that exact town rather than searched by name — which is how readers end up in the wrong state. A lake with no town near it that we could confirm is described honestly and gets no booking link.
One guide a day, not a flood
Fewer, correct guides beat a shelf full of thin ones. One new state goes up a day, and we check how the first ones are faring before speeding up.
Questions
What is in the Guild Fishing Library?
It is the fishing wing of Destinations Guild: lake guides state by state, fly fishing books for rivers at home and abroad, a directory of guides and outfitters, and saltwater guides. Every guide is written to be fished from — the waters, the rules that govern them, the best months, and the nearest towns with somewhere to stay.
Which United States fishing guides are live so far?
Seven states: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Utah have lake fishing guides, and Alaska is covered by our British Columbia and Alaska fly fishing book. Colorado also has its own fly fishing book. The rest of the fifty states and the District of Columbia are listed on this page and marked "Being written".
Why do some states say "Being written" instead of linking somewhere?
Because the guide is not finished yet, and we would rather show you nothing than send you to a page that is not there. We add one state a day, strongest fishing states first. A state shows a link on this page only once its guide is actually live.
Do the fishing guides tell me where to stay?
Yes, and that is the point of them. Every lake on every guide is tied to the nearest town or two that has beds, with hotel and vacation-home links pinned to that exact town. Where a lake has no town near it that we could confirm, we say so plainly and give no booking link rather than guess.
Where do the fishing facts in these guides come from?
From the body that sets the rule: the state wildlife agency, the Park Service, the Forest Service, the water authority. Every licence price, bag limit, season and closure is read from the agency and carries the date it was read. Rules change and differ water by water, so always check the agency before you fish.