Talking to a buddy about having visited 47 states got me thinking. How many states have I fished and what do I think about the bass fishing?
So I have lived in Maryland most of my life but have traveled the world and most states courtesy of the US Army. So below I will list the states I have fished and what I think of them.
Maryland= Been fishing here since I was 4 years old, some places are better than others but the places you can go couldn't be more different, Deep Creek Lake for example is deep as the name implies and is crystal clear until the boat traffic kicks up. Now the Lower Potomac is shallow, muddy, and tidal which is a completely different animal. You have to be a really versatile fisherman if you want to compete in this state as a bass angler.
Virginia and West Virginia= a lot like Maryland just with bigger SM from the Shanandoah river.
Georgia= Fished there a couple times while stationed in Augusta and it was great just didn't have the time to fish as I wanted.
New York= Fished 2 lakes while I was there for 3 weeks and while I caught some bass it was a pickerel fest.
Washington State= I really wish I would have fished more in the 4 years I was there. Most of my fishing was for trout and I kick myself in the butt for not exploring the bass fishing.
Missouri= I spent 17 weeks here for Officer Basic Course and honestly there is nothing to do at Fort Leonard Wood besides fish and drink. Being away from the family and nothing else to do I spent about 5 days a week just fishing. In this time my bass fishing skills improved more than anytime in the past 25 years. What I found is you couldn't throw a rock without hitting a lake or pond full of bass. Missouri is a bass fishermans Mecca as I have never seen a place with so many places to fish. In my time there I learned to fish jigs, carolina rig, floating worm, along with just getting an overall confidence in many baits I rarely ever used. When I left I had 6 of the 10 biggest bass caught on base for the year just not number 1 by 4ozs.
Jamacia= I won a fishing competition in Jamacia at the resort my wife and I were staying at. They had about a 2 acre pond and held a fishing competition once a week. Not sure what the fish were but they looked like what we call Goggle-eyes? Didn't plan on entering until another guy told me not to because he was going to win. My wife told me to kick his ass that she wanted the trophy. Can't argue with the wife so I entered and won with like I think 67 fish caught in an hour? The guy that said he was going to win caught about 20?
Allen
