Dream living/fishing location!

[Darth-Baiter]

I don’t know enough to make a choice. There is so much I’ve never seen. 
 

florida?  Not sure I could handle the storms. 

[JustJames]

My dream home would be a 1.2 miles south of me, just 15-20 steps and I’m right there at the dock by the lake. BUT if my wife told me today we are moving to FL, I would pack and be ready in a heartbeat.

[WRB]

Right where I live but on Lake Sherwood or Westlake, both private with excellent bass fishing.

Tom

[TnRiver46]

6 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

I don’t know enough to make a choice. There is so much I’ve never seen. 
 

florida?  Not sure I could handle the storms. 

There’s like 20 million people there, most of them 70+ years old. I think you could handle it haha

[Catt]

I'd stay right here ?

 

If money wasn't an object I would travel this great nation. 

 

Many times in the past when we went on vacation I would plot a coarse that would purposely lead by historic lakes. Some of the lakes I fished, some i just drive around in awe! One year I drove down to a marina on Dale Hallow just to stand on a wharf & grin. 

[gim]

Definitely not anywhere along the gulf coast or Florida. The hurricanes every year wouldn’t fly with me. The Pacific Northwest seems like a relatively nice place to live with adequate rainfall most of the time.

[GaryH]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

 

 

 One year I drove down to a marina on Dale Hallow just to stand on a wharf & grin. 

Dale Hollow is one of my favorite lakes. Great fishing and it’s beautiful.

[Darth-Baiter]

20 minutes ago, gimruis said:

Definitely not anywhere along the gulf coast or Florida. The hurricanes every year wouldn’t fly with me. The Pacific Northwest seems like a relatively nice place to live with adequate rainfall most of the time.

This. I catch my wife searching for homes up there all the time. 

[Luke Barnes]

55 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

This. I catch my wife searching for homes up there all the time. 

Same here. My wife is from Portland and we have talked about moving to Oregon before, but she randomly will show me houses up there and be like, we can afford this and it's big enough.

[Darth-Baiter]

1 minute ago, Luke Barnes said:

Same here. My wife is from Portland and we have talked about moving to Oregon before, but she randomly will show me houses up there and be like, we can afford this and it's big enough.

My wife is eyeballing Bellingham Washington I think. 

[QED]

Since the question is directed at living/fishing location(s), I'll stick with San Jose/Silicon Valley.  The specialty high end jobs here pay ridiculously well (not even counting the generous bonuses and stock grants) and some of the tech specific jobs often don't even exist elsewhere in the US except perhaps in Austin TX, the Route 128 corridor in MA, or the Research Triangle Park in NC (though SV is still the center of tech universe in the US).  I live on Mt Hamilton overlooking SV and have a mountain lake just 4 miles from me so I'm staying put.  But table stakes for buying a house here are ridiculous, so it's not all sunshine and roses.

[Mobasser]

I would move to TN, to a cabin close to Dale Hollow, and become a small mouth bass guy.

[Luke Barnes]

55 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

My wife is eyeballing Bellingham Washington I think. 

The wife and I both want to move to the PNW and didn't rule out southwest Washington as well as the entire west of Oregon.  Just as long as it's within 2 hours of the coast basically. But family in Oklahoma is keeping us here for now. 

[N Florida Mike]

On 10/1/2022 at 9:59 AM, Bandersnatch said:

Maybe something in the south with red fishing and bass on or near one body of water.

St Johns river has plenty of both, and a wide variety of others.

Might as well move here.

Shoot , everyone else has…

[WRB]

Glenn is your best source regarding PNW bass fishing locations. 

Potholes lake is very good but isolated area south central Washington north of the Columbia River also excellent fishing.

Black Bass species LMB & SMB are considered trash fish in PNW where cold water fish Steelhead, trout and salmon are held in highest regard.

Tom

 

[Big Hands]

On 10/1/2022 at 10:15 AM, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Baccarac has been on my bucket list since I was a kid, just like Castaic, and few others that were always featured in the Bass rags back in the day.

Choose Baccarac. . . . unless you have access to a time machine that could take you back to the late 80's - early 90's, a trip to Castaic would be akin to visiting an historic landmark. The placard on the turnout overlooking the lake should read: "Within these waters it is likely that there once swam the largemouth world record bass, and an incredible number of of similar sized giants given the size of the lake and the fishing pressure it received."

 

It looks pretty much the same, but I would estimate the possibility of it EVER even remotely approaching the type of bass fishery it was then is close to 100% against the odds of that happening. 

[flyfisher]

i would have a place on the susquehanna in central PA for spring through fall and then south florida somewhere for winter

[AlabamaSpothunter]

3 minutes ago, Big Hands said:

Choose Baccarac. . . . unless you have access to a time machine that could take you back to the late 80's - early 90's, a trip to Castaic would be akin to visiting an historic landmark. The placard on the turnout overlooking the lake should read: "Within these waters it is likely that there once swam the largemouth world record bass, and an incredible number of of similar sized giants given the size of the lake and the fishing pressure it received."

 

It looks pretty much the same, but I would estimate the possibility of it EVER even remotely approaching the type of bass fishery it was then is close to 100% against the odds of that happening. 

This makes me sad, and @WRB has done a fantastic job of laying out why the lake/s of my childhood dreams are not what they were.     

 

I'd still love to fish Pine Flat Lake, but it sounds pretty slow, and not the same as it was either.   Still a DD Spot is only second to a WR LGM in my book.   I can't even fathom a 10lb Alabama Spot.   It would seemingly pull the boat around.

[Swamp Girl]

I'd like a small house in northwestern Ontario. It wouldn't have to be on a lake since there are lakes everywhere. More important than the house would be an off-road vehicle with two locking differentials and a winch. I'd be within reach of hundreds of lakes with chunky, acrobatic smallmouth, heavy, hungry pike, and tasty walleyes. Best of all, millions of people would be hundreds of miles away! 

[813basstard]

On 10/1/2022 at 10:37 AM, roadwarrior said:

Central Florida, Lake Toho.

?. Polk county as well. There’s a lake every 37 steps 

[Skunkmaster-k]

Lake Texhoma 

[Zcoker]

On 10/2/2022 at 9:23 AM, gimruis said:

Definitely not anywhere along the gulf coast or Florida. The hurricanes every year wouldn’t fly with me. 

 

I moved to the Tampa area in 1966 and that area hasn't seen a major hurricane in over 100 years. That's pretty good odds, if you ask me. I still have a house near the water on the Clearwater side. Over here on the southeast coast where I live now, we get them, been through a number of them, some back to back in the same month! Just part of the life down here. Everywhere in Florida has it's chances. Not a matter of if, but a matter of when. Keeping that possibility in the back of the mind and preparing the best way possible is about all one can do. In the meantime, just live in paradise and enjoy life to its fullest!

[gim]

6 minutes ago, Zcoker said:

Everywhere in Florida has it's chances. Not a matter of if, but a matter of when.

Yes, its only a matter of time.  You can play Russian Roulette as many times as you want to.  Really its about what you're willing to risk.  I am NOT willing to risk it.  Some people like you are.  Hopefully with good insurance, including flood insurance.

 

Hurricanes cause a significant amount of property/infrastructure damage, but they generally don't cause a lot of mortality.  Heat waves kill more people every year than all the other weather-related catastrophies combined.

[TnRiver46]

22 hours ago, Mobasser said:

I would move to TN, to a cabin close to Dale Hollow, and become a small mouth bass guy.

It’s pretty country out there. Not a whole lot of human activity either haha

[Randy Price]

It will never happen because my wife wouldn't be happy there but I "think" I would love living in the northwoods of WI.  I used to hunt and fish there a lot 15 years ago.  I say "think" because the fantasy vs the reality is probably a lot different.