I have been camping my whole life, and I have been full-time RVing for a while now. No matter where my travels take me, fresh fish is something I strive to keep in my diet.

Now how do you go about making sure you get fresh fish in your diet while traveling? I'd like to say that it's an easy thing to do, but it's not — especially if you are not a fisherman. One option is to visit as many places as close to a water source as you can. A lot of the fishing piers offer restaurants right on location. You can either catch your own fish, or have a seat and order yourself up some fresh-caught fish right there.

If your aim is to do it yourself, here is some advice I've picked up over the years.

Licensing is a big topic of discussion for most anglers sitting around the campfire. Just about every one of us would love to see a nationwide fishing license made available for purchase. As it stands, each state has its own requirements and that cost can add up quickly for travelers.

Fishing regulations change often, so always check to see if anything new is being offered. For example, we visited the scenic state of Alabama in October 2014. While staying at Hidden Cover RV Resort in Arley, Alabama, we discovered a new fishing license offer — three-day fishing passes for a family of five. This was definitely the way to go for us.

When researching fishing licenses, make sure to check all costs and variables. Depending on your length of stay, it might be more beneficial to just purchase a yearly license. A good example would be if you plan to spend the winter in Florida and you know you will be returning to Florida next winter. An annual license may still be good upon your return.

While we are talking about Florida, let me share some helpful information I picked up on our travels to there. We started off by buying our saltwater license for the year. Our intentions were to target anything that would bite. We learned that you can actually fish the freshwater areas with a saltwater license under two conditions:

• the freshwater and saltwater areas come together
• you target the saltwater fish and quickly release any others

Another thing we learned was that there are several fishing piers available for angling. If you purchased a 24-hour fishing pass, you didn't even need a Florida fishing license.

As you can see, each state has something different to offer, so always be sure to read the state fishing regulation handbook. Here is a helpful link for more information about each state's regulations.

I will also add that there are some dangerous fish out there, so it's a good idea to brush up on your fish recognition. I can honestly say I was not able to determine every species of fish I caught — even having my fishing guidebook in hand.

I even tried seeking help from fellow fishermen, but they too were in a state of confusion when it came to some of the fish. However, most times my fellow anglers came to the rescue and quickly educated me on what was safe to eat and to touch.

That's right, some fish want to harm you. Therefore, I recommend wearing fishing gloves. My husband once caught a beautiful blue fish with a small mark on its side. I yelled down to my fellow fishermen and said, "Look at this beautiful one! What kind is it?"

His response: "The kind that will kill you. You see that marking on its side? Well, it shoots poisonous venom." That was all I needed to hear. That fish was released back into the ocean as fast as we had caught him.

But as long as you take the proper precautions and do your research, fishing can be a rewarding hobby for your RV travels.