Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques include hand-gathering, spearing, netting, angling, shooting and trapping, as well as more destructive and often illegal techniques such as electrocution, blasting and poisoning.
Sport fishing is normally done with a fishing rod and line with any number of hooks to get the fish. This method is called angling. There may be rules that say how many lines and hooks one fisherman can use and how many fish he can catch. Anglers in fresh water catch many Black Bass (Black Bass includes the entire range of Bass fish), Pike, Muskellunge, Perch, Carp, Trout, Salmon, and Sunfish. Fish people get in saltwater include Swordfish, Marlin, Tuna, and others.
According to the American Sportfishing Association, 60 million Americans identify themselves as fishermen, a number that includes license-buying adults age 16 and older, along with youngsters, seniors and others who are license-exempt.
The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service places the fishermen number at 33 million but excludes youth, seniors and other license-exempt anglers. When the 16-and-under crowd is added, USFWS estimates jump to around 45 million.
By either count it’s a large and diverse group. Recreational fishing is one of the few activities that crosses all social, economic, age, gender and ethnic lines. The fish don’t care what you look like or how much money you have.
Although anglers are united in passion for their sport, they’re rarely in agreement when the subject is best fishing spots.
Black bass — primarily largemouth and smallmouth — are the most sought-after game fish in America; the target of more than 11 million fishermen who, according to reams of research compiled by federal fish and wildlife officials, annually spend a collective “176 million days” trying to catch a bass. They also spend billions of dollars to do so.
So, where are the top spots for bass? Conventional angling wisdom says the best place to go fishing is the place you can most readily reach, and while there is truth in this sage advice, some spots are more productive than others.
I queried touring bass fishing professionals for their top fishing spots. Opinions varied, sometimes widely, but according to the guys who fish for a living, five can’t-miss locales for bass (largemouth and/or smallmouth) include, in no particular order:
Lake Champlain
This gem of the northeast may come as a surprise to anglers who view black bass as a southern or regional pursuit. Champlain is a long (120 miles), narrow (12 miles at the widest point) and deep (average 65 feet but plunges to 400 feet) natural lake that shares the border between upper New York and Vermont before spilling to Quebec. It covers more than 280,000 acres and is generally regarded as one of the most diverse and prolific bass fisheries in North America.
Lake Okeechobee
This Florida jewel has been surrendering bags of bass for generations. It covers 730 square miles (about half the size of the state of Rhode Island), making it the largest freshwater lake in Florida and one of the largest in the United States.
It is also saucer-shallow with an average depth of 9 feet and harbors astounding numbers of very large largemouth bass.
Falcon Lake
Falcon straddles the U.S.-Mexico border on the Rio Grande River about 40 miles east of Laredo, Texas, in Zapata and Starr counties. The 83,654-acre lake was impounded 62 years ago and, thanks to its relative isolation, for decades was legendary with locals but largely remained under the bass fishing radar.
Falcon has also been the scene of some isolated criminal activity that has victimized fishermen and recreational boaters, including shooting deaths in 2010 and 2016.
Toledo Bend
There is no shortage of fishing pressure on this famed, sprawling, 185,000-acre Sabine River impoundment that shares the Texas-Louisiana border.
No shortage of big bass, either, according to veteran bass pro Zell Rowland.
Sam Rayburn Reservoir
Located in Jasper County, Texas, 114,500-acre Sam Rayburn might lack the mystique of Falcon, the glamour of Champlain, the history of Okeechobee or the gloating reputation of Toledo Bend.
Lake Fork.
This 24,264-acre lake has held Texas bragging rights for 26 years. It produced the currently state record largemouth bass, an 18.18-pound brute.
Guntersville Lake.
Located on the Tennessee River system in northwest Alabama. 68,000 acres. A popular tournament trail stop and proven bass producer.
Lake Erie.
Erie is the shallowest, most southern and fourth largest of the Great Lakes. It is also arguably the most productive fishery.
Kentucky Lake.
This lowland reservoir is the final and largest impoundment on the Tennessee River. Its 160,309 surface acres spill across the Kentucky-Tennessee border and make it the largest manmade reservoir east of the Mississippi River.
Clear Lake.
California’s largest natural freshwater lake, Clear Lake covers approximately 68 square miles and is generally considered to be the most productive bass fishery on the West Coast. And one of the prettiest.
Lake St. Clair.
While not officially a Great Lake, 162-square-mile St. Clair is part of the Lake Erie basin. Extremely shallow (average depth is 10 feet), St. Clair is a proven smallmouth producer.
Mille Lacs Lake
This large (207 square miles) shallow natural lake is located about 100 miles north of Minneapolis and is a smallmouth bass lodestone.
Lake Jordon.
Approximately 6,800 acres impounded on the Coosa River in Elmore County, Ala., and packed with hefty spotted bass.
Lake Chickamauga.
Impounded on the upper Tennessee River, Chickamauga floods about 35,000 acres. The rich food base fuels the bass fishery.
