Bass Location......

[Moto]

I frequently hear from different people that the Mid West is the best place to fish. How true is that? What is the best State or “area” in the US to go bass fishing?

[CroakHunter]

Most people think of florida, texas, california for largemouth. I live in the "Midwest" and would rate the fishing as good but not great. 

[Darren.]

Never heard that sentiment myself. Like @CroakHunter says, the big

bass places are FL, TX, CA... And other "lesser" southern states.

[Russ E]

I live in the lower Midwest. We have several lakes that have decent fishing, but I don't think we can compete with lakes like Toledo bend or fork.

If I were planning a bass fishing trip in the U.S., Texas is where I would be heading.

[greentrout]

my opinion...still TX and Fla. for LMB trophy class...but having seen the Outdoor channel MLF...those wild & pristine areas in Minnesota and Michigan look awfully good for SM & LMB fishing...

 

good fishing...

[kenmitch]

Ranking CA #1 as it has the largemouth and the spotted bass going for it. TX and FL as others have already said look best compared to most states. I want to Yak a few TX lakes sometime in the future.

 

The issue with best is what best means in the end. Largest fish, highest average size, numbers of fish caught, variety of species, etc could all be called best depending on how you define best. I think in the end it doesn't really matter were you fish as at any time, in any lake, in a lot of different states you too could catch that fish of a lifetime!

[Smalls]

From what I remember from geography, we’re considered Midwest here in Michigan. 

 

We have the worlds best smallie factory. The FLW tour just came rolling through, and anything less than 21 lbs got nothing but an eye roll from the crowd. The BFL’s saw even better action, with an almost 30 lb bag. 

 

Our largemouth population is strong, and you can catch some really, really nice fish. But you’ll never catch anything near the size of what they grow in Cali or Florida. My biggest fish this year was 6.14. It’s the  3rd 6 lb fish I’ve ever caught. In my life. They catch those every day in Florida. 

[Troy85]

I think the south is the best place to fish, but that's just because I hate the cold with a passion and I don't think I could survive during ice out.  Only time I question my belief is July-September when its 100 degrees with 100% humidity, and jumping into the water isn't refreshing because it feels like a hot tub.  Maybe one day I will earn a few million and I can buy a summer home up in Mid west and slay smallies in some of those pristine lakes they have up there........I can dream

[Brew City Bass]

I live in Wisconsin, and I hear it often that this is one of the best states to fish.

For fishing in general? Yeah, I have to agree. We have amazing salmon, steelhead, musky, pike, walleye, and panfish fisheries. Sadly, I feel like bass is way under-managed. 

We are pretty d**n good for smallies though if you get more north in the state. I'm in Milwaukee and have caught some nice 4-5lb smallies, but they grow em BIG up 'nort. I never have a boring day fishing. If the bass are finicky and not biting, I can toss for big pike or musky. If they won't hit, I jig for walleyes. If they don't hit, I'll catch some perch for dinner. Then in the spring we fish the tribs for steelies, fall for salmon. Or we head out to the harbor in the bass boat and toss plugs and spoons for browns. 

[WRB]

Numbers and size combined would be the heartland states with Texas being at the top.

Tom

[buzzbaiter83]

I know FLA, TX, & CA are the big 3 but if I could only choose 1 state to fish for the rest of my life it would be between Alabama & Tennessee. 

[Koz]

18 hours ago, Darren. said:

Never heard that sentiment myself. Like @CroakHunter says, the big

bass places are FL, TX, CA... And other "lesser" southern states.

 

"Lesser" southern states? Them's fighting words! ?

 

Here in South Carolina we have The Santee Cooper lakes (Marion and Moultrie), Hartwell, and Lake Murray. Those are the ones that everyone knows about. But there are also thousands of smaller bodies of water with great fishing and double digit bass.

 

Where my father lives in Sun City Hilton Head there are over 300 lagoons with big bass. The average sized largemouth we catch there is 2 pounds. Four and five pound bass are common. This in just one community.

 

Many other residential communities in my area alone have great active fish stocking and management with largemouth bass, striped bass, and tiger bass. You can have Texas, California, and Florida with the high pressure fishing. I'll take the thousands of small lagoons in my area.

[Mobasser]

In my state of Missouri, we have good bass fishing through much of the state. The Ozark lakes are well known for this. Maybe not always the largest fish like FL, CA, and TX but still good

[WRB]

If you are talking LMB over 15 lbs or Spotted bass over 8 lbs, California is a good choice, not a good choice for numbers between 3 to 5 lbs in the majority of our bass lakes.

Tom

[papajoe222]

It all depends on what one considers 'best' 

If you're talking big fish potential, yea, FL, TX, CA. If you're talking numbers of decent, aggressive fish, I would have to agree that the Midwest is best. Lake Michigan,Lake Erie and the numerous, natural lakes of WI and MN offer the opportunity to boat 30+ fish on any given day.  Keep in mind that just like searching out the giant FL strain bass, one needs to study the behavior of the fish in question along with that of the forage.

Can you catch 30+ fish a day in other areas of the country? I'm sure you can. But given that these bodies of water contain smallmouth and northern strain largemouth, I'll travel north a little in search of a memorable day or two.

[J.Vincent]

In my opinion Florida, Texas, California, Alabama and Michigan....I put Florida at 1 because there are places you can be fishing quality Largemouth in the morning and drive 5 minutes up the road and be catching Snook , Reds or Tarpon in the evening . But I suppose Louisiana should be thrown into the mix also, after all it's called the Sportsmans Paradise. But to say Midwest fishing is the best for Bass is just simply not true; unless we are exclusively  talking Smallmouth Bass on the Great Lakes.

[greentrout]

America’s Best Bass Fishing 2018 (UPDATED)
by Game & Fish Online Staff   |  March 21st, 2018

http://www.gameandfishmag.com/fishing/americas-best-bass-fishing-outlook-2018/

 

good fishing...