Maine Casts Its Way to the Top: Named One of the Best States to Fish In

Maine has quite the reputation for being one of the best states for outdoor activities.

The state is full of exciting opportunities for any avid outdoors enthusiast, including those who love casting reels and going after big catches.

So, it should come as no surprise that Maine is now being called one of the best states in the nation for fishing.

Maine is One of the Best States for Fishing

According to the popular fishing website Fishing Booker, Maine is the 9th best state in the country to fish in. Not only is this a great ranking, but its also the second highest scored state in New England. Only Rhode Island joined Maine in the Top 10, finishing with an 8th ranking.

Fishing Booker goes into great detail about how they came up with their rankings. It involved a scoring process based on four major categories: Community, Facilities, Financial, and Geography. These were further broken down into 17 subcategories to make the evaluation as detailed as possible. You can read more about the methodology here.

What makes Maine Such a Great State for Fishing?

Maine earned a total of 96 points, placing it 9th overall. According to the article, Maine actually ranks as the number two state in the U.S. for Facilities. This category includes the number of marinas, gear and tackle shops, and charter companies. Apparently, our fine state dwarfs the rest of the country—aside from Florida, which took the top spot.

Maine also scored well for its affordability. According to Fishing Booker, charters and fishing license prices are much easier to digest in Maine than in most states.

Here is a little more of why Fishing Booker scored Maine so well.

On the saltwater front, anything from massive Striped Bass, Pollock, Haddock, and Sharks to magnificent Bluefin Tuna is in the cards...Freshwater aficionados will have a lot of fun going after Bass, Trout, Perch, and Pike, too. You can also go ice fishing for these species for a change of pace, so the sky’s the limit!

What a tremendous ranking and endorsement for Maine’s fishing grounds and community. It’s easy for us Mainers to talk it up, but seeing this data from an independent source really strengthens the argument that Maine is an incredible outdoor mecca.

READ MORE: Acadia National Park is Home to Maine's Best Campground

As for the number one spot, that ended in a tie—both Florida and Michigan took home top honors. You can find the complete rankings here.