Best Fishing Towns/Cities?

[BigSkyBasser]

There are many articles on the internet written specifically about locations centered around fishing and how the appeal to the heart of a sportsman.

I'm interested in hearing what your favorites cities and towns  in the U.S. are for fishing (can be regardings more than just bass)

and why you like them so much.

To start, I'd say mine would be Kalispell, MT. I live two and half hours south of here and between the two Cities we have about 60 different fishable rivers and lakes for trophy smallmouth exceeding 6 pounds on the Flathead river, and largemouth push 8 pounds caught every year in the flathead chain. These are fishable through the ice but do best in spring and fall, and overview the scenic mission mountains. 

[lecisnith]

While admittedly biased, you would have to look really hard to find an area better than the one around Traverse City.  You have Grand Traverse Bays for trophy smallmouth, Lake Michigan itself for anything from smallness to Lake trout to salmon, the Chain O' Lakes that begins only 15 miles from Traverse City and has produced a new state or world record musky every year it seems for the last five or six years.  That doesn't count the 15 or so other lakes in the immediate area that produce trophies.  Then you have the Manistee, Platte, and Betsy rivers that flow through the area for trout, smallies, salmon, and steelhead.  It's a destination.  I highly recommend it.

[Catt]

Hemphill Texas in the heart of Toledo Bend & an hour drive from Lake Sam Rayburn!

[BigSkyBasser]

6 minutes ago, Catt said:

Hemphill Texas in the heart of Toledo Bend & an hour drive from Lake Sam Rayburn!

 

This was on my list before hearing your manifest to this world class bassery! I'm planning on taking a fishing trip to Texas in a couple years. Would you recommend anything else on the border like Caddo lake?

[Zippyduck Krimm]

I love Erie pa. with smallmouth, walleye, steelhead, brown trout, lake trout, channel catfish, largemouth, perch, crappie, pike, musky and burbot.

But I have to give it to Kissimee, Fla. an hour from the gulf, an hour from the atlantic and the indian river, not to mention the 3 outstanding big bass lakes East and West Toho, and Kissimee,  minutes away.

[baxtervol]

These are good examples.  Where I live is not bad. Cookeville, Tn is an hour and half from Chickamauga, four  hours from Guntersville, and three  hours from Kentucky Lake. Three famous Tn river impoundments are within a reasonable drive.  Old Hickory and Percy Priest are an hour away and three other Cumberland River lakes are very close. Dale Hollow has produced around 12 of the biggest 25 smallmouth on record while  Center Hill and Cordell are consistently above average lakes that can produce eight pound and larger fish. Really,  If you live anywhere in the mid south, Bass fishing opportunities and variety abound. 

 

[blckshirt98]

Angel's Camp, CA is a nice small town with a well-stocked locally owned tackle shop (Glory Hole Sports).  It's right next to New Melones, and there's about a half dozen other highly-regarded Sierra Nevada/Mother Lode lakes all within about an hour's drive.

[papajoe222]

For me, it's  a toss up between Minneapolis-St.Paul and Detroit. Both have excellent fishing within an hour's drive, not to mention multi-species. 

[Neil McCauley]

Strange question because I'd never really consider fishing "good" if it was very close to a major town or city. As far from high population densities as possible, please.

[Mike L]

Clewiston Fla..On the South end of "The Bass Capitol of the World"

Okeechobee Fla...On the North end of "The Bass Capitol of the World"

Boca Grande Fla..."Tarpon Capitol of the world"

Islamorada Fl..."Sport Fishing Capitol of the World"

 

Mike 

[iabass8]

Anywhere in central Minnesota. Drop me off /w my boat and I'll inevitably find unpressured, amazing fishing. 

La Crosse WI on the Mississippi. Lock up or down a pool. Just flat out awesome fishing. 

[BassinLou]

South FL no doubt!! Year round fishing. Best catch rates in the country for LMB during certain seasons, want to mix up you can target Butterfly Peacock bass in the same water you went after the LMB. Really want to be diversified you have back country fishing for : Snook, Tarpon, Permit, and Reds. And I haven't even gotten into the offshore stuff. People are not lying when they say South Florida is one of the best fishing capitals in the world. 

[Raul]

McAllen, Texas. A stone cast away from lake Amistad, Falcón, Choke Canyon, Sugar lake in México and very close to South Padre Island, just pure awesomeness. I can hardly wait the day I'll be able to go back there and take residence again.

[Hurricane]

Buffalo Ny.... 5 miles from me. Lake Erie.

[Oregon Native]

We moved to Knoxville from Oregon five years ago.  Have no complaints about the smallie fishing in the Columbia...was amazing and the salmon and steelhead used to be to on all the coastal rivers but time has changed for those along with peoples attitude.  Now we are loving the south and all the bass lakes a short distance from Knoxville and the year around fishing. 

Tight Lines

[clh121787]

On 12/24/2015 at 7:14 PM, BigSkyBasser said:

On 12/24/2015 at 7:11 PM, Catt said:

Hemphill Texas in the heart of Toledo Bend & an hour drive from Lake Sam Rayburn!

I was gonna say Mayflower,tx for that same reason. But. The best imo is Winnsboro, Tx  has Fork right there and close to a dozen awesome sleeper lakes that get over looked. San Diego , Ca crossed my mind but nah. You'll get fee'd up the a $$ before you get to wet a line. 

 

[Bluebasser86]

Around here it would be pretty hard to beat somewhere in the Ozarks. Lake of the Ozarks, Table Rock, Bull Shoals, Beaver, Grand, Stockton, Pomme De Terre, all within an hour or so if you place yourself right. Then there's the trout parks, Taneycomo (which also has some monster bass). Pomme and Fellows both have muskie. Beaver and Bull both give you shots at monster stripers and big walleye (Stockton is a good walleye lake as well). Table Rock, Bull, and Beaver all give you a shot at 4 different species of bass (LM, SM, spots, and meanmouth). The Ozark streams are great places to wade and catch gobs of smallies along with some spots and LM and various other species. 

I'd love to live down in that area. 

[Jaderose]

Grand Rapids Minnesota.  Why?  Pull it up on Google maps and draw a hundred mile ring around it.  You'll see why.

[BigSkyBasser]

2 hours ago, Jaderose said:

Grand Rapids Minnesota.  Why? ent t up on Google maps and draw a hundred mile ring around it.  You'll see why.

I have friends and family from that area. You could fish a different lake every day of the year and not leave that hundred mile radius.

[HoosierHawgs]

I feel like we should make a poll somehow. It would be complicated, but if there was a way to take all factors in, like average size bass, amount of fishing opportunities, tourist traffic (boo!!), number of sport fish species, biggest bass, economic prosperity, and overall contentment/happiness to truly size up the best fishing city in the states, or the NA Continent

[Jaderose]

56 minutes ago, BigSkyBasser said:

I have friends and family from that area. You could fish a different lake every day of the year and not leave that hundred mile radius.

Grand Rapids Minnesota.  Why?  Pull it up on Google maps and draw a hundred mile ring around it.  You'll see why.

 

 

I think you could go more than one year.  I'm guessing 2 or 3...at least.  Beautiful country, too.  LOVE it up there.

[BigSkyBasser]

2 hours ago, HoosierHawgs said:

I feel like we should make a poll somehow. It would be complicated, but if there was a way to take all factors in, like average size bass, amount of fishing opportunities, tourist traffic (boo!!), number of sport fish species, biggest bass, economic prosperity, and overall contentment/happiness to truly size up the best fishing city in the states, or the NA Continent

I thought about doing that, but it sounded like too much work so I made this thread instead.

Maybe if this gets big enough we'll start keeping track of mutual answers and opinions for a winner.

 

[Smokinal]

The fishing is horrible in Maine; no need to visit this place.

[PitchinJigz]

On December 24, 2015 at 9:09 AM, papajoe222 said:

For me, it's  a toss up between Minneapolis-St.Paul and Detroit. Both have excellent fishing within an hour's drive, not to mention multi-species. 

I'm from Minnesota and love the state in general, but my pick would not be the metro area. Not even close. There's some awesome lakes down there (Minnetonka, Chisago) but Northern MN is the way to go. Rainy Lake, Lake of the Woods, Upper and Lower Red Lake, Rainy River, Lake Vermillion, even Mille Lacs is pretty far north. My vote is Bemidji, MN. Huge outdoors community and almost everyone you meet is a fisherman.

[Jaderose]

18 minutes ago, PitchinJigz said:

I'm from Minnesota and love the state in general, but my pick would not be the metro area. Not even close. There's some awesome lakes down there (Minnetonka, Chisago) but Northern MN is the way to go. Rainy Lake, Lake of the Woods, Upper and Lower Red Lake, Rainy River, Lake Vermillion, even Mille Lacs is pretty far north. My vote is Bemidji, MN. Huge outdoors community and almost everyone you meet is a fisherman.

and all are within 100 miles of Grand Rapids...lol