Best Bass Fishing State?

[Boatless]

Hey folks,

I'm from Canada and I'm thinking of taking a trip south to get into so huge largemouth bass. What state should I start looking into for the biggest largies. A region where smallmouth are also abundant, well that would be nice too.   I'd just like to narrow my research down to a particular state cause there's just too much information online without a smaller target area.

Tight lines!

[Catt]

Texas  

[MFD_Firefighter661]

Tennessee.......well maybe not but since I am from Tennessee I am gonna vote for it   ;D

[.dsaavedra.]

florida, california, georgia, tennessee, texas. pretty much anywhere in the southeast will have big bass (with the exception of california...its on the west coast but has some giant bass).

[RobbyZ5001]

I love fishing in Canada. I fish on Bob's Lake near Perth in Ontario.

[FivePoundBluegill]

Florida, Georgia, California, Texas are probably the best four states for bass fishing...

[Jake.]

Good ole' Nawth Carowlina.

High Rock for largies, Lake James for smallies.  ;D

[frogtog]

Good ole' Nawth Carowlina.

High Rock for largies, Lake James for smallies. ;D

Harris Lake NC also

[roadwarrior]

Florida, Georgia, California, Texas are probably the best four states for bass fishing...

For smallmouth, something closer to home, Lake Erie is on fire!

[Guest avid]

Texas has a number of great bass lakes.

Problem is that Texas is so big it can take a day to get from one lake to the next.

for quality bass fishing on a number of different lakes all within 100 miles of each other,

well....you just can't beat florida.

[flechero]

Boatless,

For Largies you should look into Tx, Ca, Fl, Ga.  but if Smallies are your thing go elsewhere.  We have great smallie fishing in central Tx but they are small fish by your standards.  Unfortunately there aren't many places with good lg and sm mouth size and numbers.  

If you narrow it to one state, you can get lots of specific help here.

[Fish Chris]

Their is no doubt that California has the biggest Largemouth bass on the planet, and probably more of them than anywhere else too {and this includes Mexico. Okay, a few Mexican lakes do have a bunch of 10 lb'ers..... But we are talking about BIG bass, right ? Like say, 13 or 15 plus}. So Cal has a couple pound bigger top end. But then up here in Nor Cal, we have a 2000 acre pond (a small lake) that has probably kicked out more 8 lb plus Smallmouths, in the last two years, as all of the Great Lakes, with their hundreds of thousands of acres combined.

However, let me stop right there....... I get e-mails from people all the time, who talk about taking a trip over here to catch some of these fish. Uhhhh..... Okay...... but the last thing I'd want to do, is to mislead somebody into believing, that catching these huge Largemouth's or Smallies is easy. As I often remind people, I've lived here for 40 of my 43 years, and it took me 30 years to catch my first Largemouth over 10 lbs {of course for those first 30 years, I only 'thought' I was fishing for big fish, when in reality, I was fishing for numbers of small to medium fish, and 'hoping' for big ones} ....... and about 35 years to get my first Smallie over 5 lbs.

I know these waters like the back of my hand, and yet I probably get skunked more than anybody that visits this forum ! Granted, if I were fishing for numbers of small to medium fish, I'd almost always catch something, but what would be the point ? With nothing worth taking a photo of, I'd still feel skunked.

Of course fishing is fishing, and as long as your putting a line in the water, anything is possible. Not to mention the fact that their are probably a whole bunch of anglers across this country, who would pick up trophy bass fishing a lot quicker than I did. Maybe even of bunch of guys like this, on this forum.

But anyway, I just kind of cringe a little, every time I hear of somebody taking a trip over here, and 'expecting' to stick a 10 plus bass, in a few days, or even a week on the water.

Hmmmm,

Fish

[bighed]

Texas has a number of great bass lakes.

Problem is that Texas is so big it can take a day to get from one lake to the next.

for quality bass fishing on a number of different lakes all within 100 miles of each other,

well....you just can't beat florida.

As Avid says, distance is something we deal with all the time in Texas.  From Caddo Lake to Amistad would be something like an 12 hour drive.  Everything here seems far away!  However, within 100 miles of Lake Fork and it's 18.18 pound state record we have:

Lake                             record lmb    

Cedar Creek                         14.65

Cooper                                 15.17

Cypress Springs                    13.69

Athens                                  13.81

Fairfield                                13.01   also has BIG redfish

Sandlin                                 14.31

Monticello                              14.09

Quitman                                13.62

Welsh                                    15.23

Lewisville                               13.62

Pat Mayse                              14.10

Ray Hubbard                          14.10

Ray Roberts                           14.59

Chambers                              14.25

Texoma                                   7.06 smallie

Whitney                                   7.72 smallie

There are dozens more lakes I didn't list in the same area with similar lake records.   441 bass over 13 pounds have been donated to our fisheries dept. since 1986 for use in hatching fry with superior genetics.  Many, many more were just slipped back into the lake after a quick picture.  We're blessed around here to have the qualiy of fishing we have.  I think you would be pleased with the fishing experience here as well as the low costs and friendly folks.  big

[cart7t]

If I'm wanting to hit all three species:

Spots, Smallies and LM's I'd probably locate myself around Springfield Missouri or Nashville Tennessee.

If you want to add Stripers to the mix along with some decent Walleye, maybe some Big brown trout and rainbows and occasionally a Muskie trip then I'd definitely choose Springfield,  Missouri.  Decent fishing for just about any of the listed species is available less than 100 miles from Springfield.  Trophy size fish too.  

[crazy4bass1]

dale hollow lake

Its on the border of kentucky and tennesy

The world record smallmouth was caught there

my last trip there i caught 4 or 5 really nice keepers in the 3-6 pound range in only like 2 hours

not saying its the best state but it should be considered

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Whatever state you are in at the moment!!

I prefer the state of relaxed concentration to be the best for bass fishing.

[Branuss04]

Well said fishchris.  Both norcal and socal have a good rep for big fish.  But you can't always expect to catch a hog.

[Fish Chris]

the OP said > What state should I start looking into for the biggest largies < No lake in Texas has them. Nor Florida. Nor any other state.

Bighead, if I could personally catch a string of bass in 08', like the list you posted, that would certainly be a very good year :-) ....but as for a list of lake records, from any particular state..... Well, let me put it this way, I could show you a list that long, of 17's and 18's from Nor Cal, and 20 plus fish from So Cal.

One thing I've learned from chasing our Cali giants, is that if a place has a lake record of "only" 14 lbs or so, it probably won't produce too many 10 plus fish, with an exceedingly slim shot at a "teener".

You just have to consider how the population curve works. If you want a good shot at a teener, you need to be fishing a place that has a record of at least 17 lbs... preferably 18 plus. A place like this will also give you a "really good shot" at a 10 plus, although it still won't exactly be a giveaway.

Dale Hollow 'used to be' the best place for giant Smallies. So did the great lakes. So did a Nor Cal lake called Trinity. But now its a little lake (or a big pond) in Nor Cal, called Lk. Pardee.

Also, California produced the current world record Spotted bass.

.......as well as the world record landlocked Striped Bass.

Hope nobody takes this personally, but the fact is, Cali has the biggest bass, period.

Peace,

Fish

[roadwarrior]

Hey folks,

I'm from Canada and I'm thinking of taking a trip south to get into so huge largemouth bass. What state should I start looking into for the biggest largies. A region where smallmouth are also abundant, well that would be nice too. I'd just like to narrow my research down to a particular state cause there's just too much information online without a smaller target area.

Tight lines!

Regarding the original question, it's kinda hard to argue with Fish Chris.    :

[fishfordollars]

Texas:   The eastern section with Bass over 14lbs.

Tooledo Bend         15.32

Sam Rayburn         16.80

Caddo                   16.01

Bob Sandlin           14.31

Conroe                 14.91

Houston County     15.20

Jacksonville           15.12

Monticello              14.09

Murvall                 14.89

Nacogdoches        14.02

Pinkston               16.90

Welsh                   15.23

[Siebert Outdoors]

What FC said.  CA

[Tin]

If you dont want to travel too much, head to Ticonderoga,NY. The southern part of Champlain is amazing in the summer months. You wont find many fish over 8 pounds like in Cali but you will find a ton of 4-6 pound largies.

[Boatless]

Thank you for your input everyone. I really appreciate it. In fact, I didn't expect near as much response!

Let me clarify. I'm not necissarily looking for state records of those 10lb plus fish to be honest. A big bass where I live is 4-5lbs. So anything in the 6lbs range would be great. I've got lots to go on now, and again, I really appreciate it!

[Fish Chris]

now if your saying, not neccessarily the biggest bass, but rather, just nice 5 to 9's, I'd say this is a lot less daunting. In fact, besides Clear Lk. Ca, or the Ca Delta, there are certainly a bunch of places in both Texas, and Florida, and maybe a few other places as well, where one could "almost" expect to go stick some 5 to 9's on a short trip, at the right time of year, with a little research ahead of time. An experienced guide would certainly be a good idea, regardless of where you chose.

Peace,

Fish

[Tin]

An experienced guide would certainly be a good idea, regardless of where you chose.

Definatley, no matter where you go.