How many states have you fished and what is your opinion of them?

[Munkin]

Talking to a buddy about having visited 47 states got me thinking. How many states have I fished and what do I think about the bass fishing?

 

So I have lived in Maryland most of my life but have traveled the world and most states courtesy of the US Army. So below I will list the states I have fished and what I think of them.

 

Maryland= Been fishing here since I was 4 years old, some places are better than others but the places you can go couldn't be more different, Deep Creek Lake for example is deep as the name implies and is crystal clear until the boat traffic kicks up. Now the Lower Potomac is shallow, muddy, and tidal which is a completely different animal. You have to be a really versatile fisherman if you want to compete in this state as a bass angler.

 

Virginia and West Virginia= a lot like Maryland just with bigger SM from the Shanandoah river.

 

Georgia= Fished there a couple times while stationed in Augusta and it was great just didn't have the time to fish as I wanted.

 

New York= Fished 2 lakes while I was there for 3 weeks and while I caught some bass it was a pickerel fest.

 

Washington State= I really wish I would have fished more in the 4 years I was there. Most of my fishing was for trout and I kick myself in the butt for not exploring the bass fishing.

 

Missouri= I spent 17 weeks here for Officer Basic Course and honestly there is nothing to do at Fort Leonard Wood besides fish and drink. Being away from the family and nothing else to do I spent about 5 days a week just fishing. In this time my bass fishing skills improved more than anytime in the past 25 years. What I found is you couldn't throw a rock without hitting a lake or pond full of bass. Missouri is a bass fishermans Mecca as I have never seen a place with so many places to fish. In my time there I learned to fish jigs, carolina rig, floating worm, along with just getting an overall confidence in many baits I rarely ever used. When I left I had 6 of the 10 biggest bass caught on base for the year just not number 1 by 4ozs. 

 

Jamacia= I won a fishing competition in Jamacia at the resort my wife and I were staying at. They had about a 2 acre pond and held a fishing competition once a week. Not sure what the fish were but they looked like what we call Goggle-eyes? Didn't plan on entering until another guy told me not to because he was going to win. My wife told me to kick his ass that she wanted the trophy. Can't argue with the wife so I entered and won with like I think 67 fish caught in an hour? The guy that said he was going to win caught about 20?

 

Allen

 

 

[padlin]

When we had an RV we traveled most of the country, the need to buy a license in each state prevented me from trying all the states we’ve stayed in. Of the dozen or so I have fished, Ma and Me would be my favorites, mainly cause that’s where I’ve spent the most time doing so. Salt water would be RI.

[LrgmouthShad]

I like every state I’ve fished in. North Carolina has some great lake offerings where I am from and you can fish year-round with good weather. Badin is my favorite lake in NC.
 

New York has just awesome bass fishing, largemouth and smallmouth.

 

I would be just fine sticking to rivers and creeks in Missouri. That’s more or less what I enjoyed most fishing there. 

 

Michigan, similar thoughts as New York.

 

Texas is the real deal for largemouth but everybody knows it. The state pushes me to try to be as good as I can be. 

 

[Jig Man]

I’ve been to 49 states but haven’t fished in many.  I just fish around here in Missouri and northern Arkansas.  There are 7 lakes from 30 to 100 miles from me ranging in size from 15,000 acres to 55,000 acres so I have so many to choose from that I don’t venture far from home.

 

Table Rock is the one I fish most and it alone has 1000 miles of shoreline.  I just try to reach my yearly goal and I have two months to get 17 more bass.

[Catt]

Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, Missouri, & Ohio.

 

I like em all 😉

[Dwight Hottle]

OH, PA, NY, TENN, KY, GA, FL, MI & MISS in the US. Plus Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan & the Northwest Territories. Also Mexico.

[Mike L]

Tournaments….

Florida

Georgia 

SC

Alabama

Tenn

Kentucky

 

Just messin around…

Texas

NC

Illinois

Wisconsin

Montana

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

 

[greentrout]

South Carolina

Virginia

Georgia

Florida

Texas

Louisiana

Alabama

South Dakota

Colorado

Mississippi 

 

Texas, while I was there, did a great job in managing its fisheries.

[flyfisher]

PA

NJ

NY

VA

WV

NC

TX

CA

CO

WY

 

I am sure there are a couple I missed but I have fished for various species in all of them and not a single one I wouldn't go back and fish.

[TnRiver46]

Alaska, Alabama, wyoming, Montana, maybe Idaho?, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Ohio, kentucky, Michigan, Tennessee, and I think that’s all.

 

After listing them, kind of shocked I haven’t fished Georgia or Virginia 

[Bluebasser86]

Nobody comes to Kansas to fish? Shocked, I really am 😂

 

Missouri-great fishing, really frustrating. Why is it the state next to us and the fishing is so much better? 

 

Oklahoma-Also great with a variety of fisheries like MO. 

 

Arkansas-Love the variety of species available. I'd chase bass a lot less if I lived here.

 

Texas-A lot tougher than I expected but the chance at a monster is very exciting.

 

Florida- Water everywhere and there's a fish bigger than any I've caught in Kansas in every puddle it seems like. 

 

Minnesota- I could live here if the water wasn't hard for half the year. An endless supply of lakes and huge variety of fish. Bass would probably take a backseat to muskie if I lived by them. 

 

Indiana- I'm still not convinced there's bass in this state. 

 

South Carolina- Really enjoyed fishing here and probably some of the nicest people I've encountered. Everyone I ran into was friendly. 

[fishingtx]

Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Kansas, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, in order of rank. I caught fish all places just preferred a few fisheries over the rest.

[MIbassyaker]

I've visited all 50 states (and 6 Canadian provinces), but only fished MI, MN, WI, ND, SD, MT, CA, NJ and PA, mostly places where I have lived or had family in the area. And about half of those only once or twice, with limited success. 

[Choporoz]

WI, MN, MI, RI, CT, WA, VA, MD, TN, AL, NC, Ontario

 

Would fish any of them again...except maybe CT and RI....lol...probably some great saltwater opportunities,  but all I recall is bluefish and they were....disappointing 

[scaleface]

Mo, Il, Ia, Ne, Co, Tn, Al, Fl, AR. Mi.

[MN Fisher]

MN, NE, MA, RI, ME, VT, NH, FL (pier fishing)

Lived in the first four, vacationed in the second four - I know, I'm boring. 🙄

[Darth-Baiter]

Tex

NM

AZ - where it all started for me

CA - home

Hawaii

Oregon

Idaho

 

i think that is is.  i am probably going to cross country in 2024 with my kayak in tow, buying 3 day fishing licenses along the way.  going to MN to meet a friend.  

[Alex from GA]

CA, OR, WA, ID, MT, CO, WY, AR, GA, NC, SC, FL, WV, VA, PA, NY, MA, KY and Baja.  If I was bass fishing I used the same worm for all of them.

[river-rat]

Louisiana (where I live), Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, Minnesota, Washington, and New York.

 

And I enjoyed fishing every one of them.

[WRB]

My 50 years of engineering career allowed my to travel a lot. Visiting customers around the world, all the States, Canada and Mexico, South America, both Western and Eastern Europe, Japan etc.Most of my peers liked to golf their own time during meetings but I liked to fish.

I enjoy all types of fishing experiences and target fish I get a chance to catch at home in California. Impossible to single out a State but California offers nearly everything except Pike and Musky. Musky and giant bass became my favorite fresh water to catch on bass tackle, don’t care much about Pike.

Hard to beat Baja for off shore Marlin and Tuna fishing.

Tom

[Fallser]

I live in SE PA.  Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Vermont, Connecticut, Ohio, Tennessee, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kentucky and South Carolina.  Not states but US Territories,  US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam.  And Ontario.

[Tennessee Boy]

Almost all of my bass fishing has been in Tennessee and Alabama.  I’ve been a few of times in Kentucky.  I once ran across the Georgia border on Weiss Lake and made a few cast just to check the box.  Went salt water fishing once in Florida.   I don’t get around much. 😉

[Kev-mo]

IL, WI, MI, IN, AR, CO, WY and Ontario. Hoping to add AZ and NM next year.

[12poundbass]

Michigan 

 

I guess I have some catching up to do. 😂

[Bird]

I liked all the states I've fished in....... that was easy to remember. 😁