US fishing statistics 2026
Numbers you can actually cite: every figure below is computed directly from our open, linked datasets - not scraped from other roundups. Free to use in articles, newsletters and reports with a link to this page. Data checked July 2026.
$26average resident annual fishing license across all 50 states (non-resident: $62)
2.6xhow much more the average state charges non-residents than residents
$5cheapest resident license in the US (Hawaii); the most expensive is California at $53
$25-$143the full non-resident price spread (Hawaii to California)
12states where residents fish a full year for under $20
53freshwater species in our spawning-temperature dataset
33°Fthe coldest spawner we track (Burbot) starts spawning at this water temperature; Channel Catfish runs to 84°F
62%of tracked freshwater species spawn in spring - the biologist's reason spring fishing is so good
140US sport-fish species profiled in our library, fresh and salt
17knots and rigs in our tying guide, and 10 core techniques in the technique library
Where these numbers come from (and how to verify)
- License figures are computed from our 50-state license directory - annual resident and non-resident freshwater prices collected from each state agency, each row linked to the official source. Prices are approximate and change; the directory carries the per-state links.
- Spawning temperatures come from our spawning temperature chart (53 species, curated from state agency and extension sources).
- Species, knots and techniques counts reflect the current species library, knots & rigs guide and technique library.
Primary sources for the bigger picture
For national participation and economics data - beyond what we compute ourselves - the primary sources journalists use are the USFWS National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, the RBFF Special Report on Fishing, and NOAA Fisheries of the United States. We deliberately do not re-quote their numbers here - cite them at the source.
📎 Cite this page
Attribution makes more of these datasets possible. Suggested credit: