Where Our Information Comes From — and How We Verify It
Our complete sourcing framework: the six-tier hierarchy that governs every fishing guide, our eight-step verification workflow, our video-verification standard, what we deliberately do not use, and our human-in-the-loop policy for any automated assistance. This is the backbone of our E-E-A-T standard. Read alongside our Editorial Policy.
What is on this page
1. Sourcing Principle
Every factual claim about fishing — a license rule, an open season, a size or slot limit, a bag or creel limit, a gear restriction, or a charter-credential requirement — traces to the relevant official agency. Every technique we describe is paired with an officially-uploaded video that a human has watched. We do not build guides from auto-spun content or unverified sources.
If a regulation is not confirmed on the state agency’s current official page (or NOAA Fisheries for federal waters), it does not get published as fact. If a video is not from an official, verified channel and has not been watched by an editor, it does not get embedded.
2. The Six-Tier Source Hierarchy
When sources differ, the higher tier governs.
The state fish-and-wildlife agency
The primary source for licenses, open seasons, size and slot limits, bag and creel limits, gear rules, and most freshwater and state-water saltwater regulations — e.g., CDFW, TPWD, FWC, Michigan DNR, NYSDEC.
Federal fisheries bodies
NOAA Fisheries (National Marine Fisheries Service) under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, regional Fishery Management Councils, and interstate commissions (e.g., ASMFC) for federal-water and migratory species.
Federal wildlife & safety
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (refuges, endangered species, Sport Fish Restoration) and the U.S. Coast Guard (charter-captain credentialing and boating safety).
Official verified video channels
The verified YouTube channels of the agencies above, recognized angling organizations, and established creators — embedded only after a human editor confirms the video matches the technique and embedding is permitted.
Recognized technique references
Established angling organizations and educational bodies, used for technique context — never to override an official rule.
Field experience
Our writers’ first-hand experience on the water, used to add practical, actionable color — always subordinate to the official sources above.
3. The Eight-Step Verification Workflow
Every guide passes through these steps before publication and at each quarterly review:
- Locate the state agency’s official page. Confirm it is the genuine agency — not a third-party license reseller.
- Verify every regulation — season, size/slot limit, bag/creel limit, gear rule — against the agency’s current page.
- Confirm the official .gov license link goes to the genuine state purchase portal.
- Check the technique — rig, knot, presentation — for technical accuracy.
- Select an official-channel video that actually demonstrates the technique or regulation.
- Watch the video end-to-end and confirm it matches the article and that embedding is permitted by the uploader.
- Cross-check federal overlap with NOAA Fisheries and regional councils for saltwater and migratory species.
- Editor sign-off and date. A second editor reviews end-to-end, including the “not an agency” notice and the emergency framework, then stamps the “last reviewed” date.
4. Video-Verification Standard
We embed a video only when it comes from the official, verified channel of a state agency, recognized organization, or established creator; a human editor has watched it and confirmed it accurately demonstrates the article’s technique or regulation; the uploader permits embedding; and we use YouTube’s standard player — we never download, re-host, or re-upload anyone’s video. We add VideoObject structured data so the embedded video is correctly described to search engines and assistive technology, and we re-check for dead or removed embeds at every quarterly review.
5. What We Deliberately Do Not Use
- Auto-spun or AI-generated fishing content published without human verification
- Third-party license-reseller sites as a source of official rules or license links
- Unverified review or forum sites as a source of factual regulations
- Social-media posts as a primary source for rules
- Videos from unofficial channels, or any video an editor has not watched
- Content promoting illegal gear, banned methods, or closed-season fishing
6. When Sources Conflict
If two sources disagree, the higher tier governs — the state agency’s own official page beats everything else for state rules, and NOAA Fisheries governs for federal waters. Where we cannot resolve a conflict, we say what is uncertain rather than present a guess as fact, and we direct anglers to confirm with the agency before fishing.
7. Human-in-the-Loop AI Policy
We use software tools for spell-check, grammar review, and routine drafting assistance. 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.
8. Children — COPPA
Fishing is a family activity, but this website is intended for the adults planning a trip and is not directed at children under 13. Consistent with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. See our Privacy Policy for detail.
9. Update Cadence
- Quarterly — full re-verification of every regulation, license link, technique, and embedded video
- Within 48 hours — broken official links, dead videos, and changed seasons or limits reported by readers
- Within 7 business days — other reader-reported corrections
- On change — when an agency changes a season, limit, or rule, we update and re-date the page
10. Contact
Questions about our sourcing, or a correction to a source? Email info@fishingguider.org with the subject “Sources query” — include the page URL and, for regulation-change reports, a link to the official source.
Found Something That Needs Updating?
Email info@fishingguider.org with the page URL and the official source link. Broken links, dead videos, and changed seasons are fixed within 48 hours.
📧 info@fishingguider.org