From cold water to warm water, Virginia offers a diverse array of fishing opportunities that will excite any angler from a novice to the near expert. If you live in the central part of the state you are a 90-minute drive from saltwater opportunities on the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries. Drive 90 minutes in the other direction and you can try your luck in the mountains on a native brook trout stream or in the valley stalking large, weary spring creek trout. Add in the wealth of opportunities to target warm-water gamefish like largemouth bass and smallmouth bass and you might have a difficult time deciding where to have fun.

photo by Meghan Marchetti/DWR

The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources’ website at VirginiaWildlife.gov is an invaluable resource for anglers where they can buy fishing licenses and trout stamps for fishing in stocked waters, refer to fishing