Cross-Country Road Trip!

[PBH]

Moderators: I am posting this in a couple different regional forums, please do not remove.

 

So, my cousin is moving out to California in the beginning of March. He is driving out there and has asked me to come along for the trip. We are leaving out of Philadelphia and we plan on heading down south and making our first stop in Atlanta. From there we head straight to the west coast, traveling through Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and/or Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and possibly Nevada. Our final destination is San Jose and the only other stop we currently have planned is Phoenix.

 

Now, I have a few questions and I hope some of you can point me in the right direction. We want to make a handful of stops to rip some lips. We will not have a boat with us so we are limited to bank fishing or possibly a boat rental, but that is unlikely as we are (obviously) on a budget. I am looking to find some decent spots that we can pull up to and fish for a few hours. Also, we intend to be camping out for the majority of our trip, so any lakes or ponds with a campground nearby are a major plus. I am aware that I will have to purchase licenses for most is not all of the states we intend to fish which is not a concern. I will be bringing my own rods and tackle as well. I am pretty much set on catching LMB and nothing else. What are some good public spots? I understand I could google my way around all of this, but I wanted an honest opinion from the fishing community to help eliminate any guess work.

 

Any help or advice at all is greatly appreciated. You can either message me or post below with any information you'd like to share. I have about two weeks to get a final itinerary together, so let’s hear some suggestions!

[roadwarrior]

I think your budget would be better allocated picking one or two reservoirs and renting a boat.

Maybe some other guys will share a secret lake with you, but the big lakes are really not much

from the bank.

[buzzed bait]

All i was going to say is with all the awesome country between philly and CA, why in god's name would you want to come to Atlanta.  I can think of about every reason under the sun to AVOID Atlanta, few would make me want to come here.  i'm just saying skip this part, spend extra time in TX or NV or CA or CO

[PBH]

  On 2/4/2015 at 10:00 PM, buzzed bait said:

All i was going to say is with all the awesome country between philly and CA, why in god's name would you want to come to Atlanta.  I can think of about every reason under the sun to AVOID Atlanta, few would make me want to come here.  i'm just saying skip this part, spend extra time in TX or NV or CA or CO

 

We have a free place to stay in Atlanta with some family. That is our first destination and plan on fishing when we start to get in Alabama and so on.

[PBH]

  On 2/4/2015 at 9:47 PM, roadwarrior said:

I think your budget would be better allocated picking one or two reservoirs and renting a boat.

Maybe some other guys will share a secret lake with you, but the big lakes are really not much

from the bank.

Thank you for the advice. Would you know of any good places with reasonably priced rentals? Also, I'm assuming I would need a boating license depending on the area?

 

Nothing is really out of the question, it's just a matter of how much we are comfortable spending.

[stk]

Depending on how many places you plan on fishing don't forget about the fishing licenses for each of the states you plan on fishing in.  Most states have a day or 2 day licenses, and the ones I've been in have also the ability to pay for the license online.  Good luck, sounds like a cool trip.

[tomustang]

Research the states fishing licenses, some only have yearly ones.

Timing is key, no matter how well you plan the trip delays happen.

Did you pick a route out? Do you have lakes/rivers planned out to visit on that route?

[PBH]

  On 2/4/2015 at 11:05 PM, tomustang said:

Research the states fishing licenses, some only have yearly ones.

Timing is key, no matter how well you plan the trip delays happen.

Did you pick a route out? Do you have lakes/rivers planned out to visit on that route?

I understand that I need to figure out what liscenses to buy, I am working on that.

As of right now, the only route planned is from Phila to Atlanta, then on to Texas and then Phoenix and then finally up the coast of California.

I plan on fishing Texas, Arizona and California but I am not opposed to any good areas in between those locations.

That's really why I started this thread, to get an idea of what spots would be best to hit.

[Hyrule Bass]

do you have a planned route youre driving? then you should stick to places close to the planned route. since you plan to be camping, then maybe even consider a river or two and not shy away from smallmouth either. Are you flying back home? gonna cost you to ship or fly with those rods too...

[PBH]

  On 2/10/2015 at 2:08 AM, Red Earth said:

do you have a planned route youre driving? then you should stick to places close to the planned route. since you plan to be camping, then maybe even consider a river or two and not shy away from smallmouth either. Are you flying back home? gonna cost you to ship or fly with those rods too...

 

The route is yet to be determined. I was trying to base it around people's suggestions on good spots to fish. I am not opposed to Smallies, and yes I will be flying home with my gear, I am ordering a Plano rod tube.