The Standards Behind Every Fishing Guide
Our E-E-A-T framework in full: who writes and reviews our content, how we source regulations from official agencies, how we verify every license link and every embedded video, our many-writers/one-editor standard, our advertising and FTC compliance, and our human-in-the-loop AI policy. Read alongside our Sources & Methodology.
What is on this page
1. Editorial Mission
Anglers are drowning in generic, copied, or auto-spun fishing content — and a wrong size limit or a missed season closure can mean a citation or a hurt fishery. Our mission is to publish the most accurate, most technical, most practically actionable fishing guides in the U.S.: deep step-by-step instruction, every regulation cross-checked against the official agency, and every technique demonstrated by an officially-uploaded, human-verified video.
2. Our E-E-A-T Commitment
Experience: our guides are written by experienced anglers who have actually fished the techniques and waters they describe. Expertise: our editors understand species behavior, rigging, and the state and federal regulatory framework. Authoritativeness: we cite primary sources — the state agency, NOAA Fisheries, the Coast Guard — and pair techniques with official video. Trustworthiness: every regulation and link is human-verified, every video is watched, we disclose our methodology, we date every page, and we correct errors fast.
3. Source Hierarchy
We work to a six-tier source hierarchy, where higher-tier sources govern when sources conflict:
- Tier 1 — The state fish-and-wildlife agency: the authoritative source for licenses, seasons, size and bag/creel limits, and most freshwater and state-water rules.
- Tier 2 — Federal fisheries bodies: NOAA Fisheries under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, regional Fishery Management Councils, and interstate commissions for federal-water and migratory species.
- Tier 3 — Federal wildlife & safety: the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the U.S. Coast Guard (for charter credentialing and boating safety).
- Tier 4 — Official video sources: verified YouTube channels of the agencies above, recognized organizations, and established creators — embedded only with a human’s confirmation.
- Tier 5 — Recognized technique references: established angling organizations and educational bodies for technique context.
- Tier 6 — Field experience: our writers’ first-hand experience, used to add practical color — never to override an official rule.
Full detail on each tier is on our Sources & Methodology page.
4. Verification Workflow
- Identify the authoritative source. The state agency for state rules; NOAA Fisheries for federal waters.
- Verify every regulation — season, size/slot limit, bag/creel limit, gear rule — against the agency’s current official page.
- Confirm the license link goes to the official state .gov purchase portal.
- Check the technique — rig, knot, presentation — for technical accuracy.
- Select an official video from a verified channel that actually demonstrates the technique.
- Watch the video end-to-end and confirm it matches the article and embedding is permitted by the uploader.
- Cross-check federal overlap for saltwater/migratory species (NOAA, regional councils).
- Editor sign-off. A second editor reviews end-to-end, including the “not an agency” notice and the 911 / Coast Guard VHF 16 / Poison Control / 988 emergency framework, then stamps the “last reviewed” date.
5. Video-Verification Standard
Our defining standard. We embed a video only when: (1) it comes from the official, verified YouTube channel of a state agency, recognized organization, or established creator; (2) a human editor has watched it and confirmed it accurately demonstrates the article’s technique or regulation; (3) the uploader permits embedding; and (4) we embed via YouTube’s standard player — we never download, re-host, or re-upload anyone’s video. Where a video is later removed or made private by its uploader, we detect the dead embed on our quarterly check and replace it. We add VideoObject structured data so the embedded video is correctly described to search engines and assistive technology.
6. Many Writers, One Editor
We work with many experienced angling writers, which lets us cover species, techniques, and states in genuine depth. But nothing publishes on a writer’s word alone. Every draft passes through a human editor who independently re-verifies each regulation against the agency, confirms each official link, watches each embedded video, and checks the technical accuracy of every rig, knot, and presentation. The hardest, most technical guides get the most editorial scrutiny — that is exactly where generic content fails.
7. Independence
fishingguider.org/ is independent. We are not affiliated with NOAA Fisheries, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the U.S. Coast Guard, any state agency, or any charter or guide operation. No agency or operator reviews our content prior to publication. No payment is accepted for editorial coverage or favorable placement.
8. Advertising Relationships
We are funded by display advertising. Our editorial content is never altered to favor any advertiser. We decline advertising in these categories:
- Operations that misrepresent themselves as a state agency or official license vendor
- Products promoting illegal gear, banned methods, or fishing in closed seasons
- Products with deceptive claims under FTC Act Section 5
- Products with environmental/sustainability claims that fail the FTC Green Guides
9. FTC Act Section 5 and State UDAP Compliance
Our own promotional content is written to comply with Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. §45), which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices, and with state UDAP statutes. Spot something deceptive on our site or in an ad? Report it to us and to reportfraud.ftc.gov.
10. Corrections
If an entry is wrong — a changed season, a stale limit, a dead license link, a removed video — we want to know and fix it. Reader-reported corrections are our priority queue: 7 business days for most, with a 48-hour priority path for broken official links, dead videos, and changed seasons or limits.
11. AI and Automation
We use software tools for spell-check, grammar review, and routine drafting assistance. However, no regulation, license link, season, limit, technique detail, or embedded video on fishingguider.org/ is published from AI without human verification against the official agency and, for video, without a human having watched it. We do not auto-generate or auto-publish guides. This human-in-the-loop standard is central to our E-E-A-T commitment.
12. Contact
For corrections, editorial questions, or sourcing inquiries: info@fishingguider.org
Spotted a Correction?
Email us with the subject “Correction”. Corrections are our priority queue: 7 business days for most; 48 hours for broken links, dead videos, and changed seasons or limits.
📧 info@fishingguider.org