how large or small body of water do you prefer

[blanked]

do you prefer huge bodies of water,  small lakes or ponds?  what size is it and why??

[Plastik]

I like small ponds, back wood streams/ponds.  1. they are easier to walk around and 2 I try to find places that have hardly been touched.  I like the peace when I fish, would rather be running from a snake, then trying to pull one out of a piece of garbage.

Lakes are fine, when I am fishing on a boat of course

[jtbassman]

The bigger the better, as far as bass fishing goes.  I'm like Plastik though, I love those backwood streams.

[cpvenom]

i like smaller to medium sized lakes since i mostly fish on foot. Even on a boat, I like medium sizes.

[Z71]

I like the huge waters like Santee, Clarks Hill, and others in my state. I do like fishing small private waters if I get invited. I actually enjoy fishing these big waters so I can try to "unlock" their secrets.

Lakes the size of these, you could fish a lifetime and still be discovering something new about them, that is what makes it interesting to me, although my latest obsession is actually a rather small lake, 7,000 acres, but the challenge for me has been learning to catch fish  in deep water, and I had to make myself fish deeper, slower, different baits, learn more about structure, etc., bu it has paid off after about 3 years and this lake is now my favorite.

My challenge now is to apply these newly learned deep water tactics to some of the bigger lakes, because in the past I was strictly a bank beater and cover fisherman. I have, by learning to fish deep water in a highland type lake, learned some skills I can apply to the other bigger waters, because they have deep water also, I just didn't consider it in the past.

[Brian_Reeves]

My biggest fish have come out of lakes only a few acres big...so I try to fish stuff like that as much as possible.  But for more challenge, I like fishing large, heavily pressured waters.  If I can pull a limit of 2lb bass out of highly pressured water, I consider myself extremely successful.  On small lakes, I can sometimes pull in 20-30 fish ranging from 1lb to 8lbs.  Either is fun, depending on the day I guess....but nothing is like running 60mph across the water trying to outrun the regulars to fishing holes.

[rocknfish9001]

Z71- you think that 7,000 acres is small? HOLY COW!! I consider a small lake to be about 50 acres, and a big one 300 or so. My favorite lakes are around 200 acres.They are small enough to cover effectivley, yet still have plenty of secrets to unlock.

[Bassassasin12]

7,000 is pretty decent around here too. My home lake is 3,000 acres and is one of the biggest around until you keep moving up north to champlain and such. I have one lake next to me as well that is about 300 or so acres and I love it. I can see huge bass swimming around in there and it is alot easier to cover. But any lake I have an oppurtunity to fish, you can bet money I will be there, no matter what size.

[Rattlinrogue]

I fish a bunch of state lakes that go from 100 acres to 500 acres and love that general size body of water.Ross Barnett Reservoir is 100,000 + acres,and it's fun also because of all the different ways you can catch bass.There are lots of options on that place.

[Muddpuppy]

At least 2,500ac for the scenery, I like the larger ones until the weather gets bad.

[Koikus]

I'm very spoiled to fishing one of the hottest bass fisheries in this part of Oklahoma. It's a small lake and to be honest, I really don't know the total size in acres. I'll put it this way, when we fish this private lake, it takes us apx 5-6 hours to work all the banks at a slow pace. Yes, fairly small private waters is definitely that cat's pajamas for me! ;D

[Z71]

Well, I know 7000 acres doesn't sound small, but here in SC it really is as far as our major lakes are concerned.

Santee - 170,000 acres combined

Clarks Hill - 70,000 acres

Murray- 50,000 +

Russel - 26,000 acres

Hartwell - 50,000 +

Keowee - 20,000 +

Greenwood - >10,000

There are some more I'm leaving out but you get the idea. We are blessed here when it comes to water and the 7,000 acre lake I'm referring to, believe it or not, gets small real fast when 50 bass boats with 200hp motors are on it. I find that the huge bodies of water still offer the opportunity for some private fishing, just due to the sheer size.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE  fishing small bodies of water that are full of fish, but around here the chances are slim. There are some smaller public waters, but due to motor restrictions and excessive pressure I don't usually fish them.

Z

[Craw]

My home lake is only 4500 acres and this poor body of water gets HAMMERED by tourneys.It's only 10 minutes from my house though! The better lake is an hour away but it's about 25000 acres and presents many more options. I would gladly fish any pond or private lake if I were asked but I prefer all the different options that a large reservoir offers. The best feature that these large waters have is the way they change geographically from the headwaters to the dam. Typically the upper end is shallow and stained with lots of flats, shoreline cover and current while the lower end is clear and deep with more waterfront development and hard bottom areas. The middle is a combination of the two. Also, the larger reservoirs have multiple tributary arms where the smaller ones may only have one or two.

I do however see one huge advantage to smaller systems. When the bite is really slow you can at least be sure that you are always close to the bass. On a big reservoir you can't always be sure

[Gatorbassman]

I mostly fish Clarks Hill but I'll fish in a puddle if it has a bass in it.

[senile1]

I don't have a preference. Private ponds are great for unpressured bass, but I love larger lakes as well. Truman Lake in Missouri is 55,000 acres of water and very little development has been allowed on the lake. In fact, there are only four marinas on this lake. This is a place for big Missouri bass and also a place with great scenery where you can get far away from everyone, especially on a week day. You gotta love these places where there are no people, no noises, and your cellphone loses service. Ahh . . . . Peace.

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

For sheer bass catching fun I prefer oxbow lakes along major rivers, no larger than about 80 acres. Bass are concentrated there, and finding a pattern is usually easy to do compared to a large fishery. Lots of lessons are to be had there, knowledge useful on larger lakes. They are often overstocked and needing a lot of harvesting, a great way to fill a freezer.

Jim

[senile1]

For sheer bass catching fun I prefer oxbow lakes along major rivers, no larger than about 80 acres. Bass are concentrated there, and finding a pattern is usually easy to do compared to a large fishery. Lots of lessons are to be had there, knowledge useful on larger lakes. They are often overstocked and needing a lot of harvesting, a great way to fill a freezer.

Jim

I've read about some of the good bass fishing in oxbows in Arkansas, but the oxbows that I am familiar with in Missouri contain only catfish.  There's three near the Missouri river where I live and none contain bass.  I grew up in southeast Missouri and the few I was aware of, had poor bass fishing as well.  If anybody knows of some good bass fishing oxbows in Missouri, let me know.