Planning a fishing vacation, whether to your local lake for a day or off to New Zealand for a 20 day exotic adventure, can be a trying experience. The Web has literally thousands of sites dedicated to fishing. How do you narrow the choices to find the fishing destination that is best for you? FishingFest.com was created with the intent of answering that question.

After an arduous and systematic search of the Internet, we uncovered hundreds of sites, thousands of articles and collected a wealth of resources concerning all aspects of the world of fishing. From choosing the proper fishing gear to the correct technique to cast a "wooley worm," this site has it all. After all, "fishing is not a matter of life and death, it is much more important than that."

The best way to select a fishing destination is to begin by identifying your priorities. Do you want to fish Saltwater (surf, deep sea, reef) or Freshwater (lake, stream, river, etc.)? How many anglers are joining you, or are you going as a single angler?

If you are going as part of a group, it would be a good idea to sit down with everyone else who is going and discuss precisely what it is that each person wants out of the experience. Great fishing, can mean very different things to different people.

Does great fishing mean catching a fish on nearly every cast, or catching only one fish all day--provided that one fish was trophy size? What constitutes a "giant" to you? Would an 80-pound tarpon make you happy, or would it have to be a 150-pounder?

What fish species are you interested in fishing for? Although this sounds like an overly simplistic question, it definitely needs to be discussed if this is to be a group outing. Do you want to catch lake trout, walleye, northern pike, bass, or salmon? If members of the group have different ideas, the best bet is a locale with multiple species.

What is your preferred method of fishing? (trolling, spin/bait casting, light tackle, fly fishing, etc.) Do you want to fish from shore, from a drift boat, raft, or canoe, or wear full length waders and wade the currents?

Your level of fishing experience is also a crucial consideration. Choosing the right guide to help with equipment choices and techniques is critical. The more experience you have, obviously the less advice and help you will need.

Will any non-fishing companions be joining you? Is this strictly a fishing trip or will other leisure or even business activities be involved? These are considerations that must be discussed.

A final consideration--what is your realistic budget? Let's face it--money is a deciding factor for most of us. You need to be honest about how much you are prepared to spend--and how to spend it. If you have $2,000 to spend on a trip, do you want 3 days at Lodge X with most of the luxuries of home, or 8 days in a tent camp where you cook your own meals, but have a great shot at catching a trophy fish?

If you have further questions about planning the "perfect" fishing getaway, take a few minutes to browse our site and find reliable and useful information about all aspects of fishing. From steelheads in Alaska to giant snakeheads in Thailand, you can net them all at this site.