What are the top 3 lakes in each state (AL, GA, FL)?

[snyper77]

Please tell me your opinion as to the top 3 bass fishing lakes in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. Yes, please quote 3 per state, if you can think of that many. Thank you!!!

[GobbleDog]

Florida

West Lake Tohopekaliga -  tons of hydrilla and full of big bass.  

Lake Harris Chain - dark water, pepper grass, and full of gators. I hate this lake.

Lake Okeechobee - Once a great lake with all kinds of vegetation, but since the drought it's probably not considered a "top" lake any more.

[bocabasser]

IMO

1. stick marsh-clearly the king of the crop. catch and release, lots of wildlife, monster bass, and that 6 mile truck rattlin road keeps some people away. a true treasure.

2. lake istokpoga- i love this lake. i always do well in tournys there and it is loaded with big fish.

3. lake kissimmee- i like kissimmee because it offers many different options as far as vegetation, creeks, and rivers.

lake okeechobee is still up there. there are some toads  being yanked out of there, i just hope SOMEONE can get the right formula together and restore it back to the greatest lake in the state that it once was.

[GobbleDog]

I thought "top" meant most popular.  My personal favorite 3 lakes in Florida are Lake Butler, Lake Conway, and Lake Toho.  They're all clear water lakes with hydrilla.

[Gatorbassman]

If your talking about the best fishing it would be.

Alabama - Guntersville

Georgia - Lake Varner

Florida - Stickmarsh/Farm 13

[-badhabit-]

#1 West Lake Toho - This lake has produced more trophy fish than any other lake in the U.S. (period).

#2 Lake Kissimmee - This lake is where the next World Record bass will come from (remember I said this).

#3 Lake Istokpoga - This lake has made the best come back and is a giant success in FL wildlife management. Don't under-rate this lake because you will be hearing more about this one as time goes by (this one is getting even better everyday).

Teneroc Pits and Stickmarsh/Farm 13 are decent for those with limited time to fish, but are like hunting a baited field to me and way to small to fit in the best of list.

my .03

[roadwarrior]

Lake Kissimmee - This lake is where the next World Record bass will come from (remember I said this).

It seems to me that Florida needs to produce its first 20 before

talk of a new World Record is plausable. 17.27 lbs is a fine fish,

but not really "in the hunt".

http://www.floridafishinglakes.net/floridafishingspecies.html

8-)

[powerman970]

Alabama

For big fish - Lake Harris (commonly known as Lake Wedowee).  This lake will produce the next state record IMO.  Several large bass are caught here in January and February of each year.

Guntersville - Need I say more?

Eufala - What used to be "The Bass Capital of the World" is now overlooked it appears.

These are not my favorites by any means but they are probably your best bet for trophy fish.  My favorites are 1. Neely Henry, 2. Bankhead, 3. Logan Martin.  In that order.

As far as Georgia goes, the only lake I fish is Westpoint.

I have never fished Florida but would love to sometime.

[Al Wolbach]

The only lake I have fished in Georgia is West Point and I would have a hard time believing there is one better. It is also one of the prettiest lakes I have ever fished. It seems to have a park on every point, boat houses/docks everywhere but you don't see any houses. Apparently property owners are not allowed to clear trees and underbrush between their homes and the water. All you see is paths from the boatdocks leading into the woods. And great fishing...........

In florida Lake Istapoga would have to be my favorite.

Alabama would have to be Guntersville, but it is the only lake I have fished in Alabama.............

You didn't mention South Carolina but, Santee-Cooper is my personal favorite lake in any state............Al

[-badhabit-]

Lake Kissimmee - This lake is where the next World Record bass will come from (remember I said this).

It seems to me that Florida needs to produce its first 20 before

talk of a new World Record is plausable. 17.27 lbs is a fine fish,

but not really "in the hunt".

http://www.floridafishinglakes.net/floridafishingspecies.html

8-)

I have personally seen one caught larger than 17.27 (it weighed 16.15 after laying in the bottom of the boat in the sun for 6+ hours).

My favorite lake is John's Lake, but it's not one of the top FL lakes.

RW - just remember about what I predicted

The West Coast produces a "few" nice fish but I didn't see any one of them guys boat 35 bass over 8.5 lbs or 18 over 10 lbs like I did between April & September of last year (most pictured aound here in different places). We have a lot more big fish than anywhere else and I know a lot of people here local that caught more than I did last year. So somebody will hit a record fish here soon

[George Welcome]

Florida records:

Certified State Record - 17 pounds, 4-1/4 ounces, caught in an unnamed lake in Polk County in 1986. (Please check link for updates)

Uncertified State Record - 20 pounds, 2 ounces, caught in Big Fish Lake (private pond) in Pasco County in 1923.

Florida has gone the route of discrediting those from the past who are no longer around to defend themself. I, for one, accept the original state record of 20 pounds, 2 ounces.

[JayW]

Florida records:

Certified State Record - 17 pounds, 4-1/4 ounces, caught in an unnamed lake in Polk County in 1986. (Please check link for updates)

Uncertified State Record - 20 pounds, 2 ounces, caught in Big Fish Lake (private pond) in Pasco County in 1923.

Florida has gone the route of discrediting those from the past who are no longer around to defend themself. I, for one, accept the original state record of 20 pounds, 2 ounces.

I accept it too! I've seen several 16+ lb Bass come out of Polk Co. pits in the last few years. They are out there!

[RoLo]

The only lake I have fished in Georgia is West Point and I would have a hard time believing there is one better. It is also one of the prettiest lakes I have ever fished. It seems to have a park on every point, boat houses/docks everywhere but you don't see any houses. Apparently property owners are not allowed to clear trees and underbrush between their homes and the water. All you see is paths from the boatdocks leading into the woods. And great fishing...........

In florida Lake Istapoga would have to be my favorite.

Alabama would have to be Guntersville, but it is the only lake I have fished in Alabama.............

You didn't mention South Carolina but, Santee-Cooper is my personal favorite lake in any state............Al

That's INCREDIBLE, but I would choose the exact same waters:

> SC: Santee Cooper Reservoir

> AL: Lake Guntersville

> GA: West Point Lake

> FL: Lake Istokpoga

Roger

[Kevenater]

Where is Bankhead lake in Alabama? I'm not familiar with this place, I live close to Bankhead National Forest...you talking about that pond there??

[JRL]

FLORIDA

1.  Stick Marsh (still recovering, but, still pulling out 10# ers)

2.  West Toho  

3.  Istokpoga

If were doing predictions on Florida lakes here are mine:

No Florida record bass will ever be caught at Stick Marsh or Lake Okeechobee.  They are too shallow.  I would love to see the FWC increase license prices to fund a dig project on these lakes.  If it doesnt come from a phosphate pit, than its not comming at all (or atleast not for a REALLY long time)

I do know where the next world record butterfly peacock will be caught.  Not state, but, world record.  You can quote me  

[JRL]

JRL, how deep do you think they should make Stickmarsh?

Kind of a tough question to answer.

Stick Marsh's primary function is to filter water before dumping it into our canal system. Having deep water isnt really conducive to filtering anything.

What I would like to see is several, as in 5 or more, football field sized 25' to 30' holes. Atleast one or two of those off of a point. The rest can be out in open water. Some type of structure would be a plus.

Obviously it would take millions to do......but as long as its funded by fisherman I dont see how anyone could complain.

The reality is that our water managment would never do it for the reason stated above. Lake "O" on the other hand a dig is a posibility, but would cause a lot of problems as to where these holes would be dug.

[Guest Steve_P.]

JRL, that's got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. :

Fish more, type less...................

I'm outa here............

[JRL]

JRL, that's got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. :

Fish more, type less...................

I'm outa here............

Well, whatever floats your boat. Deep water is proven to grow big bass in a short time period. California is proof of it. Stick Marsh is the perfect starting point to growing record sized fish. Like it or not, Stick Marsh has reached its peak.

Oh, and I spent 9 hours on the water yesterday.   Guess that took away from my typing time.

[warmer]

Deep water is proven to grow big bass in a short time period.  California is proof of it.

siding w/ steve p's conclusion but not his tone here.

i think ca is proof that stocking w/ trout + importing florida strain lmb = giant fish.

sure deep water is important, but we have plenty of lakes w/ that kind of depth.  we need big slow food w/ high fat content if we want monsters. gizzard shad are about the best option we have, but they require active bass to catch them, and active bass are not chunky bass.

next state record will come into the boat on the end of my line.

and my favorite florida lakes are:

1. kissimmee

2. toho

3. anything-that-is-not harris chain

[JRL]

Deep water is proven to grow big bass in a short time period. California is proof of it.

siding w/ steve p's conclusion but not his tone here.

i think ca is proof that stocking w/ trout + importing florida strain lmb = giant fish.

sure deep water is important, but we have plenty of lakes w/ that kind of depth.

Exactly. Polk county is a great example of deep water, and record sized fish. Its no surprise to me that, that area (polk, pasco counties) of Florida produces some of the largest fish in our state.

Same with Butterfly Peacocks. They max out at 9lbs in canal systems. The world record (12lbs and change), in addition to several close to it, have all came from resevoirs that are well over 30 feet deep.

Sure there is a lot more to growing large fish than water depth.   On a lake that averages 4 to 5 foot deep (or if you go by what Crumpler says 1 to 4 feet deep), I cant see how anyone could say that the addition of deep water would be a bad thing.

[RoLo]

All other things equal, the "shallower" the water the "larger" the bass.

There are many reasons for this, but we'll just touch on four:

1) Largemouth bass are designed to occupy the shallowest niche in the ecosystem.

Their stout body and broad tail are ill-adapted to a pelagic lifestyle, like trout and salmon.

2) Largemouth bass are cold-blooded creatures, therefore their growth rate hinges strongly on the mean annual water temperature (MAWT).

On balance, shallow water sustains a higher mean annual water temperature than deep water, thereby offering superior growth rate.

3) The littoral area of a lake (shallow water along the shoreline) provides the most prolific plant growth, zooplankton and phytoplankton.

These in turn provide optimal forage and shelter.

4) The shallow areas of the lake constitute the all-important "nursery", not only for game fish but for forage fish as well.

Waters that afford large expanses of shallow water offer the best forage base, population density and growth rate.

This eco-chain is referred to as population dynamics, and the reason why shallow flats are synonymously referred to as food shelves.

In spite of their generous shallow acreage, Lake Okeechobee and the Stick Marsh are unlikely to break the world-record,

because they are Too Far South. In Cuba, Mexico and south Florida, bass grow fast but they die young from thermal burnout,

it's no different than pushing plant growth with grow lights (not coincidentally, the recognized world-record came from south Georgia).

Never forget that the bass in California are Florida-strain bass.

Mother Nature doesn't make mistakes, and Florida-strain bass growing in California are outside their natural range.

They're living on a high-fat diet of easy to catch forage, and in addition they're living at the optimal latitude (similar to south Georgia).

Couple all this with the fact that California basks in the prevailing westerlies, a maritime climate that stabilizes optimal temperatures.

On the downside, Florida-strain bass living outside their natural range lose their sexy physique.

I doubt that Mother Nature intended for the largemouth bass to look like a basketball with fins ;D

Roger