Best Northern Place To Break The 10# Mark

[tezz32]

i want to break the ten pound mark for lmb only problem is i live in wisconsin so ill have to travel. what whould be the nearest place to do that along with the time of year to do it.

[roadwarrior]

Nowhere north...

Falcon, Amistad, Choke Canyon, Lake Fork and several lakes in Mexico.

DDs are caught in other water, but you have almost no chance on a single

trip.

[tezz32]

Im willing to travel of course im saying in distance from wisconsin

[WRB]

Clear lake CA is 38'57" latitude the Mason-Dixon line is 36'30" latitude, making Clear lake over 150 miles north of the north/south dividing line; it's your best choice by far!!......for a northern lake.

Tom

[nvhsaccel]

Don't forget about lake el salto!

[Rangerphil]

I am starting to think that if you have a decent size lake (80) acres and up that has good cover and stocks trout that you maybe be able to catch one even if it is up north. I live in southwest PA and there are a few lakes that I would bet have 10+ bass in it. I would love to have someone that knows how to fish a swim bait come here for a week and fish with me in these lakes. The state record is 11# 3oz and I bet that could be broken by someone who knows what they are doing!

[Michael DiNardo]

I am from Southwest PA, where are these lakes? What I think RW was saying is that there is no real chance of it. Is there a bass bigger than 10 lbs swimming somewhere in PA for instance, probably. But when was the last time a 10 pounder was caught? If you travel to TX or Mexico for instance you can actually fish for a 10 that is almost certainly swimming in the water you are fishing.

Mike

[Nice_Bass]

NMB over 10 are caught here in IL still...much more difficult than what it may be way south, but that is still really tough. You have them there in WI...Guy from IL just had his picture in bassmaster mag. with a fish over 10. was from about a 100 acre public lake.

[Rangerphil]

I agree but he said he did not want to travel real far so I was giving him some ideas to look local for bigger fish. The lakes I was talking about was Dunlap and virgin run. They are continuously stocked with small trout and could hold bass of that size. They catch walleye of ten plus pounds out of Dunlap so I would bet the farm that the bass are getting that big!

[slonezp]

Head to Lake Michigan. Make and break a goal for a 7lb smallie

[ChrisAW]

Head to Lake Michigan. Make and break a goal for a 7lb smallie

Or St Clair, or Saginaw Bay. Both are amazing smallie fisheries. But they are big, you'd best have someone take you that can put you on fish.

[outdoorsman110]

Or St Clair, or Saginaw Bay. Both are amazing smallie fisheries. But they are big, you'd best have someone take you that can put you on fish.

x2 I've been to Saginaw

[WRB]

Did anyone read the title of this post "best northern lake to break 10 lbs".

Tom

[slonezp]

Did anyone read the title of this post "best northern lake to break 10 lbs".

Tom

Yes we did. This was the OP's reply. He doesn't want to drive far. Figured a monster smallie within driving distance would satisfy his need. We all know a 7lb smallie would be a better fight than a 10lb green bass anyday.

Im willing to travel of course im saying in distance from wisconsin

[deep]

I agree but he said he did not want to travel real far so I was giving him some ideas to look local for bigger fish. The lakes I was talking about was Dunlap and virgin run. They are continuously stocked with small trout and could hold bass of that size. They catch walleye of ten plus pounds out of Dunlap so I would bet the farm that the bass are getting that big!

If I were you, I'd keep quiet about it, and learn how to catch trophy fish. Maybe I'm a little too selfish?

[Fish Chris]

Clear Lake ??? Good luck with that.

Don't get me wrong, I love Clear Lake for a lot of reasons, but a trophy (legit double digits) bass lake, it is NOT !

That lake is loaded with 5 to 8 lb'ers, maybe only second to the CA Delta. But the numbers start dropping way off between 8 and 9 lbs, and by the time you get to legit 10+ fish, they are VERY few and far between.

There are several little trout fed ponds only slightly South of Clear Lk. that would give you a WAY better shot at a DD bass. Granted, anywhere in CA is a long ways West, of the OP.....

Peace,

Fish

PS, You know why you hear about so many DD bass from Clear Lk. ? Because so many guys fish without a scale

Clear lake CA is 38'57" latitude the Mason-Dixon line is 36'30" latitude, making Clear lake over 150 miles north of the north/south dividing line; it's your best choice by far!!

Tom

[tezz32]

Thanks for the in put guys i do alot of smallie fishing and have gotten fish over six pounds but getting a ten pounder has a certain mystique about it that i want to achieve

[Lucky Craft Man]

I would want to catch a smallmouth eclipsing the 7 pound mark over a 10 pound largemought anyday (though, this is not true for any largemouth over 20 pounds)

[Michael DiNardo]

Deep, that's kinda funny, I get what you are saying, but there are many lakes in this area stocked with small trout. What is missing is the genetics to grow hat big. That is why TX has the 13 lbs club or what ever they do with really big bass. The genetics to grow that big is few and far between.

Mike

[NBR]

Your chances are slim and none. Actually unless you move to FL,Ca or some other location your chances remain at slim and none and then they don't get great.

How many of you guys have actually caught a scale weighed 10 pounder?

[Bluebasser86]

There's a powerplant lake here in Kansas that kicks out a 10 pounder or two almost every winter, but that's out of thousands of fishermen spending tons of hours on the lake all year long to catch those couple of fish. My only DD fish was at Lake Comendero in Mexico. If you spend the money and make a couple trips to those lakes in Mexico or Falcon you will spend way less money than you will pursuing a northern DD bass. Plus the experience is something you'll never forget.

[RoLo]

Based on your avatar Tezz, you already achieved your trophy walleye...kudos

I lived in New Jersey most of my life, and fished the northern states and Canada extensively. I now live in the deep south and can tell you firsthand

that the northern tier is characterized by quality bass fishing, a region known as the Bass Box. But any serious quest for double-digit bass involves a trip to the deep south.

In my view, it's vital to rule out opinion, sentiment and hearsay by referring to tourney results and documented records. If your target goal is an 18-lb largemouth bass, California is your 'only' choice. I should add however that your odds of success would be no better than winning the Mega Millions Lottery. To my knowledge, California hasn't certified a single bass over 18 lbs since Mar 2006, six years ago and counting.

In the state of Texas, 15 pounds represents a very stubborn weight-ceiling, as a matter of fact, Texas has only 'one' certified bass over 18 pounds. All the same, if your target goal is a 15-lb bass, then Texas is your best hope. Year-after-year, Lake Fork continues to produce an impressive string of Florida bass topping out at 15 lbs & change,

Now back to your question. The odds of landing a 10-lb bass are best by far in the state of Florida. No state even comes close, which should come as no surprise to anyone. The largest bass throughout the world are "ALL" Florida-strain bass, a fact that shouldn't be taken lightly. This means that outside of Florida the only waters possibly containing Florida-strain bass are those that were "transplanted by man".

It also means that the many thousands of waterbodies not stocked with Florida bass are simply out of the running.

In The First Place:

"Any" of the thousands of lakes and ponds in Florida are capable of producing 10-lb bass, and indeed most of them have. Bass in Florida tend to plateau around 12 pounds, but the state churns out an unparalleled volume of 9 to 12-pound bass throughout the year. Lake Okeechobee and Mexico lie south of the ideal latitude for long-lived bass, where bass tend to die prematurely of thermal burnout. For this reason, neither the Big-O nor Mexico have put a dent in the record books, where weights tend to plateau around 10 pounds. Nevertheless, this year and last year Lake Okeechobee spewed a dizzying amount of 10-lb bass and 30-lb stringers, a lake that lies in the native range of Florida-stain bass

In The Second Place:

A hundred years from now, Florida will still be producing double-digit bass, but the future of Florida-strain bass outside their natural range is not so certain. It's rarely addressed, but when any fish species is transplanted outside its native range it's susceptible to "Declining Genetic Vigor". With each new generation, the chromosomes tend to revert or malign. We've seen this in California where each waterbody in the limelight tends to poop-out over time, until the baton is passed to another emerging waterbody. Castaic produced the greatest number of Cali freaks, but its brief heyday lasted a mere 2-1/4 years between Jan, 1989 and Mar,1991. Castaic hasn't made news since March 12, 1991 (21 years ago). Miramar hasn't laid a golden egg since 1998, and Casitas hasn't been in the limelight since 2002. It's also beginning to look like Dottie closed the book on Lake Dixon.

Back On Topic:

If you're looking for a 10-pound bass, Florida has no equal. To be sure, Falcon Lake is currently riding the crest of Florida-strain magic,

but if Mother Nature has her way, the gravy train won't last forever. Since the *** of B.A.S.S in 1967, the all-time heaviest 5-bass stringer

was taken from Lake Toho, Florida in 2001 by Dean Rojas. In spite of the numerous tournaments held on the California Delta, Clear Lake, CA,

Lake Fork and Falcon Lake, the Florida stringer still retains the title. Dean's stringer weighed 45-lb 2-oz, an average of 9 pounds per bass.

By no means a fluke, Mark Davis weighed a 41-lb 10-oz stringer during the same Toho tourney but it wasn't good enough.

Come on Down

Roger

[WRB]

I used the Mason-Dixon line to make a point; above latitude 38 the water temps are too cold in most states to support FLMB populations and without FLMB or intergrades with a high % of FLMB genes, largemouth bass exceeding 10+ lbs are extremely rare fish. Northern strain LMB over 10 lbs are about as common as FLMB exceeding 15 lbs and that is 50% less weight.

Chris; Clear lake may not be the best choice in NorCal for DD bass, the Delta may have a larger population of DD's due ti it's size, Clear still produces 10 lb+ LMB during tournaments. The reason I picked Clear lake is the local guides fish live bait for their clients, it's a big lake that can handle the pressure better than most of our tiny trophy bass lakes.

Rolo; CA is producing 18 to 19 lb bass every year; 18.8 lb was caught last week at Perris lake, weighed on a certified scale. Any FLMB over 15 lbs is very rare anywhere; Falcon and Amistad haven't produced a bass that big yet! Like Chris mentioned 10 lber's become 7 lber's real fast on a scale!

Tom

[J Francho]

Like Chris mentioned 10 lber's become 7 lber's real fast on a scale!

Always bugged me. I have a legit 7-1 in my avatar - from NY no less - and guys gotta stretch the truth.

Chris, WRB, 4biz, others know what it's like to sit there and question yourself midday, "Dude, just go over there, and toss these, and you'll get your string pulled." But you stick with it. Big, Big bass are hard to stick with.

[dwtaylor]

There have been reports of 10lb smallies sampled in Chequamegon Bay near Ashland, WI. However, I know of people catching 10lb bass in southeast Iowa quite regularly this spring.

I am going to be Doubting Thomas on this one and say that it will be nearly impossible to do within a reasonable driving distance. That is why I am saving my pennies for a trip down to Falcon Lake next March for spring break (and possibly South Padre too).