Do you really need to travel to a wild mountain stream up in the Rocky Mountains, or to a volcanic island lost in the Pacific Ocean if you want to catch fish? No, you don’t. Of course, fishing in the wilderness, as well as the pursuit of such big fish as marlin, offers an unparalleled experience. But if you just want to feel the thrill of fishing, for most of us who live in big cities an opportunity can be just around the corner.

Urban fishing provides the excitement of angling without the need to travel far from home. With proper knowledge and preparation, city dwellers can find plenty of fishing opportunities in local rivers, lakes, ponds, and canals. This guide will help you get started on your urban fishing adventure, offering tips and techniques to maximize your success right in the heart of the city.

Finding the Right Spot

If you are lucky, your big city has been founded on the bank of a big river, lake, or the sea. Such cities, of course, offer the best fishing opportunities. Usually harnessed by concrete embankments in the downtown, in the suburbs the river may still be relatively unharnessed and fishing it can be not much different from what you would find a few miles upstream or downstream.

The same applies to seaside towns. Fishing from a pier, or baitcasting on a beach follows the same principles whether you are doing it a few miles or a few hundred miles from the center of a big city. The difference is only that in the populated area there might be more fishing pressure, and the fish, as the result, is smaller and more sophisticated.

Public Parks and Lakes

Many cities have parks with stocked lakes and ponds. These are often maintained by local authorities and can be excellent fishing spots. So, for example, Central Park in New York City has several lakes and ponds stocked with bass, bluegill, and catfish. Echo Park Lake in Los Angeles offers fishing for catfish and bluegill. Washington Park in Denver is a beautiful urban park with lakes stocked with bass, trout, and panfish. Hermann Park in Houston is known for its stocked lakes with catfish and rainbow trout. Forest Park, St. Louis offers fishing in its lakes for bass, catfish, and bluegill, and so on. Just be sure to check local regulations, especially regarding fishing permits and designated fishing areas.

Canals and Havens

In the early days of the Industrial Revolution, waterways were the ultimate transport routes, allowing to move heavy loads at low cost. As the result, many old big towns have been covered with a network of canals. As industries evolved, they moved out of city centers and switched to faster means of transport such as trucks and railroads, often leaving port areas and canals to the mercy of city planners.

Old warehouses and factory buildings are being converted to lofts, shopping malls and office space, so that you can go have a couple of cocktails in a fashionable bar after work and come back home to sleep, all within a couple of hundred steps from each other. Or you can fish in one of the canals or the former port – with enough structure, vegetation, and nutrition, there are surprisingly many fish in them.

Common Fish Species in Urban Areas

Depending on which city you find yourself in, you can find a variety of fish species that can be caught in its limits, including some prime targets for recreational anglers. So, for instance, the channels in Miami, Florida, are teeming with peacock bass, and Baltimore, Maryland, offers outstanding striped bass catches. And in Dubai, U.A.E., you can troll after dolphinfish (mahi-mahi) in the shade of the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa.

Rainbow trout is the most common fish to be stocked in public lakes worldwide, and between its beauty, taste, and fighting spirit it’s totally unsurprising. In North America, largemouth bass is common in urban ponds and lakes, and makes a favorite target among urban anglers. Bluegill and crappie are easy to catch and abundant in many urban waters. Near structures and in deeper holes you can also find catfish. Striped bass and flounder are common targets of anglers leaving in coastal towns.

In Europe, the common and mirror carp make a strong competition to rainbow trout when it comes to stocking, and you can count on finding perch anywhere from Stockholm, Sweden, to Rome, Italy and beyond. Zander is another favorite, and some canals and reservoirs may house surprisingly big northern pike. Inshore waters often bring catches of sea bream, flounder, and seabass.

Fishing Tips for Urban Angling

Many fishing techniques can be applied to catch fish within city limits, from trolling with heavy tackle (as in Dubai) to ice fishing. Here, let’s focus on tips that are specific to urban fishing, a.k.a. street fishing.

Spin it!

Anglers solemnly and motionlessly staring on the float on the banks of the Seine is a common stereotypical image of Paris, France, and local boys throwing simple baited hooks with hand-held line off the pier equally iconic for many Mediterranean ports. However, most modern urban anglers prefer spinning gear and an active search of their prey. Here they have to face certain challenges, and the rule of thumb in gear selection can be summed up in four words: light tackle, cheap lures.

The Right (Light) Tackle

No river that flows through a downtown of a big city follows its natural course. To protect riverfront properties from damage from floods and bank erosion, municipalities harness the wild power of the water with reinforcements. So, for most urban fishing scenarios, you will have to deal with a bank that is basically a wall that goes all the way down to the bottom.

City ponds are often small, canals narrow, and deep areas typically begin immediately after the edge of the water. On the other hand, Jaws-sized fish rarely graces these waters with its presence. Short casts are the norm, and precision is more important than strength. So pick a relatively short, light, fast-play rod.

However, don’t keep your line too light. Depending on the periodic rise and fall of the waters, you may have to deal with the water level that is significantly lower than the street level. As getting down to the water level is often impossible, you would have to raise the fish you’d caught straight out of the water, using your rod and reel as a sort of a port crane.

(Not the) Best Lures

As for lures, the two types that seem to be preferred with most urban anglers are, on the one hand, jig heads with soft tails, and on the other head, surface lures such as poppers. The latter are preferred for the shallower areas, and a common technique is to reel them in short blasts, letting the lure rest on the surface for a few seconds in between.

Jigs, by contrast, are mostly used in deeper areas, and have the advantage that minnow or frog shaped tail part may seduce a naturally non-predatory fish as well. Besides, lures with single hooks that is also protected by the soft part are less likely to snag, which is a big plus in urban fishing.

Former havens and canals are rich in structure. In addition to posts, etc., you’d have to deal with old furniture, electric scooters, and other trash that irresponsible citizens dump down in the city rivers and lakes. Although such structures often attract fish, they make snags the order of the day. So, whatever lure you choose, pick one that you won’t cry over if you have to lose it. 

How to Catch Urban Fish

Urban fish is supposed to be used to people, but in practice can be exceptionally wary due to high fishing pressure, especially on popular park lakes. It’s best to be quiet and patient, like on a river or lake somewhere in the backcountry. Try fishing during off-peak hours when the water is less disturbed.

On canals, look for areas where there’s something to break the monotony: a change in width or depths, an old lock, a parked barge or floating home. Some say the best places to fish ever are downstream of floating restaurants. A popular street food joint near a canal or river, where tourists, despite all warnings, feed ducks, is a good choice, too – in the off hours, that is.

Cast along the canal rather than across it, and if you don’t get a bite after a dozen casts, move on. This way you won’t have to deal with questions of curious bystanders. On the other hand, “if you don’t know, ask the locals” works for urban fishing too. You can’t keep that sweet spot secret anyway, so urban anglers are usually more community-minded than other groups. If you’ve just moved to a new town, try urban angling – that could be a good way to find new friends. 

Follow Fishing Regulations

Fishing regulations on urban waters vary by city, state, and country. Always check local regulations before your trip, including size and bag limits, season dates, and license requirements. Conservation efforts are crucial to maintaining the health of urban fisheries. Practices like catch-and-release, using barbless hooks, and avoiding overfishing help preserve these valuable resources for future generations. Respect the environment. Keep the fishing area clean by disposing of trash properly. Follow all local fishing regulations and respect private property.

Safety and Etiquette

One reason why many people would not want to fish in the city limits is environmental issues. A big city means a lot of sewage, and there are likely to be large factories around. All that used to lead to terrible levels of pollution. In many rivers that flow through large cities no fish could even survive, and those that did could be so loaded with toxic substances that it wasn’t a good idea to eat them. Fortunately, most developed countries introduced strict anti-pollution regulations, and things are significantly better now than they used to be in the 1970s or 1980s. Still, there are a couple of things you need to check before you cast your line into an urban body of water.

First, check out if the city you’re planning to fish in has mandatory catch-and-release rule. You don’t have to worry about toxic chemicals in your fish if you’re going to let it go anyway. If you can keep the fish you catch, then check if it’s safe to eat. In addition to the service that provides you with the fishing license, check out the website for whatever regulatory body that is responsible for environmental protection of rivers and lakes. It is there that information about safety or toxic levels in fish, as well as all warnings relevant for the area, is usually found.

In other respects, be aware of your surroundings, especially when fishing near busy roads or in secluded urban areas. A quest to find a stretch of a city river that is least troubled by other people may lead you to a place also preferred by various asocial elements of the society. Fish with a buddy when possible.

Commercial Stocked Ponds and Fishing Charters

When the Nobel-laureate poet Joseph Brodsky suggested that the best place to live is a remote province by the sea, he didn’t mean fishing. But this famous quote can apply to angling enthusiasts as well. Residents of towns with sea ports are usually fortunate to have a selection of fishing charters who will take their clients to the inshore waters, nearby reefs and wrecks, or even the deep sea. Such trips may not meet the stricktest definition of ‘urban fishing’, but can well lie within city limits. When the starting point of your adventure begins just a few steps from your home, this option deserves to be considered. Fishing charters are not for tourists only!

Another great option to enjoy fishing without traveling to a distant area are commercial stocked ponds. Many of those are located within city limits, or right on their border. And outside of the money aspect, they offer some of the best fishing opportunities for a city dweller. “Fishing resorts”, as stocked ponds are known in Thailand, for example, give you a chance to land the biggest freshwater species in existence, such as Mekong catfish and arapaima. And the fish you catch is guaranteed to be of culinary quality, so you can cook it for dinner without any reservations (check out our “Fish on the Table” blog series for recipes!).

In Conclusion

Urban fishing provides a convenient and rewarding way to enjoy the outdoors and the sport of angling without leaving the city. Whether you’re chasing largemouth bass in a city park lake, casting for catfish in an urban river, or catching bluegill in a local pond, the diverse habitats and abundant fish populations offer endless opportunities for adventure. Remember to respect local regulations, practice conservation, and enjoy the unique experience of urban fishing. Happy fishing!

Five Trout Flies that Work Almost Anywhere

By Diana Rupp

One of the most confusing parts of learning to fly fish is deciding what fly to use. Trout consume a wide range of aquatic insects, terrestrial insects such as grasshoppers and ants, as well as leeches, worms, minnows, and other creatures that either live or fall into the water. Experienced fly fishers like to “match the hatch”—in other words, figure out exactly what the fish are currently eating and toss them a fly that looks just like it. CONTINUE READING