The 5 Best States for Bass Fishing

What state is the best in the country for bass fishing? That’s difficult to say. While a number of locations below the Mason-Dixon Line historically claimed the title, today, fishing in the North may be better. And we can’t forget the western U.S., where giant bass put California on the map and the hunt for the world record spotted bass is still in full swing.

Picking a top state would be impossible, so we’re selecting five. Influencing our choices were not only great fisheries with lots of big bass, but the overall number of productive water bodies, ease of access, and a culture supporting fishing.

Did we include your home state? Check it out.

1. ALABAMA

Alabama has been atop many “best bass fishing destination” lists for years, and for good reason. Lake Guntersville may be the best bass fishing reservoir in the history of our country, and it still cranks out phenomenal catches. There, vegetative cover fluctuates, but the bass fishing rarely slows down. Guntersville, in fact, is part of the renowned Alabama Bass Trail, where the state piles resources toward 13 world-class fisheries, the majority of which are just a few hours from one another. An entire tournament trail has been created strictly for these bodies of water.

Boasting Lake Guntersville, possibly the best bass fishing lake in the country, plus several other top quality bass fisheries, Alabama tops the list. Photo by Realtree

Wheeler and Pickwick are nestled in the northern Alabama mountains (Pickwick features the tallest lock in the eastern U.S.), and each supports healthy largemouth and trophy smallmouth populations, some say the biggest on earth.

Lake Eufaula has history like few other waterbodies and endless miles of river ledges. It was there, back in 1969, that the heaviest stringer of bass ever brought to the scales in a Bassmaster event was caught, 15 fish weighing nearly 100 pounds. Don’t think that fishing is a thing of the past though, as Eufaula still cranks out big bags.

The Coosa River is frequently regarded as the best trophy spotted bass fishery in the world, if that’s your fancy. And Mobile Bay is a 400 square-mile monster where tournament anglers can really spread out. There, blue crabs slice your plastic worms in half, in-between bass catches mixed with flounder.

2. MICHIGAN

No other state in the Lower 48 has more freshwater than Michigan, and many of those waters have bass. Where inland fishing traditionally accounted for most of the bass effort, today more anglers venture onto the Great Lakes, where larger, more capable boats and outboards have opened up limitless angling possibilities.

No state in the Lower 48 has more freshwater than Michigan, and most of those waters are packed with bass. Photo by Joe Balog

Lake St. Clair is routinely voted at or near the top of all bass fishing destinations. Fifty-fish days are commonplace, including some of the biggest smallmouths you’ll ever wrestle. Otherworldly destinations on Lake Michigan include Bay De Noc and Grand Traverse. Lake Huron hosts Saginaw Bay at 1,200 square miles, the Michigan waters of Lake Erie are phenomenal, and we haven’t even included Lake Superior.

Away from the big water, places like Burt, Torch, and Charlevoix lakes offer world-class bass fishing even when the wind blows. The only downside to Michigan is the seasonal aspect of bass fishing, but even that’s being extended as educated anglers sporting better apparel push the catch-and-release season into November, and are occasionally rewarded with 7-pound brown bombers.

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3. TEXAS

Lake Fork, Toledo Bend, Sam Rayburn. For years, those three names were enough to put Texas at the top of the bass fishing pyramid. Later, exotic locations like Amistad and Falcon became instant bucket-list destinations for traveling anglers willing to make the long haul. I remember a friend coming back from Lake Falcon and reporting that he went through nearly 1,000 plastic baits in a week. Travel and international tensions made fishing some of these border lakes more difficult, but Texas is now filling in with O.H Ivie Lake, producing the greatest trophy catches in modern history. Twelve-pounders at Ivie won’t even “get your picture made.” Add to the list the forever-strong Lake Conroe (where Rick Clunn began his career as a guide) and Lake Monticello, and trophy hunters find no reason to leave the Lonestar State. Oh, and there’s also Buc-ee’s!

While no longer the top destination for bass, Texas still ranks a respectable third on our list. Photo by Realtree

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4. NEW YORK

One of the first Great Lake destinations to host bass tournaments, New York’s Thousand Island region can never be tamed due to sheer size. A smallmouth hides behind almost every boulder, and the number of cuts and coves make getting lost a real possibility. On the big water, Ontario’s famed Chaumont Bay still produces like it did in the ’90s, but now with bigger fish. The St. Lawrence River proper is impossible to beat, as anglers have figured out the deep-water current game. Part of New York also touches Lake Erie, where 7-pound smallmouth don’t turn heads around Buffalo. Inland, the massive Finger Lakes include Cayuga, on some lists as the best smallmouth fishery of all time, especially in late spring. Oneida, near Syracuse, is a place where everyone in the boat usually gets tired of catching bass, and Chautauqua, in western New York, still hammers out 5-pound largemouths and smallmouths at equal share.

Mention giant northern smallies, and New York is always in the conversation. Image by Joe Balog

Perhaps New York’s greatest contribution to bass fishing, though, is Lake Champlain. The massive waterbody straddles New York, Vermont, and part of Quebec, and hosts southern-style largemouth fishing with flipping sticks and northern bronzeback dabbling with drop-shots all at the same time, each producing trophy fish. In fact, Champlain’s diversity and biomass might make it the coolest bass fishing lake in the world.

5. SOUTH CAROLINA

Surprise you? South Carolina has always been good with Clarks Hill (J. Strom Thurmond Reservoir) Russell, and Hartwell attracting anglers, but a surge in blueback herring has made these lakes incredible. Originally introduced by accident, the baitfish have spread across the region, resulting in open-water bass that are never lacking a meal. Topwaters catch fish 365 days a year here, and, when a flurry is happening, it can be the best bass fishing you’ll ever experience.

From power fishing shallow cover to open water finesse angling, there’s something on this list to suit every bass angler. Image by Joe Balog

Lake Murray has always been a strong bass fishing location and it continues to be, especially in spring, when 20-pound stringers fill most tournament bags. It’s old-school winding with squarebills and plenty of room to spread out through 50,000 acres of creeks and coves. Lake Wylie is soaring for both largemouth and spots, and it holds its own through summer when other reservoirs slow down.

Even with all the great reservoirs, South Carolina’s anchor-man continues to be Santee Cooper. Here, two massive bodies of water (Marion and Moultrie) cover over 160,000 acres, containing heaven on earth for anglers who love to fish shallow. Santee can be overwhelming, but it yields some of the heaviest weights in the country each spring. There are never-ending cypress trees, vegetation of all types, and a maze of subtle drops and channels that hold motherlodes of bass that never see a lure. Santee still reigns as one of the best bass fisheries on earth, locking South Carolina into spot No. 5.

Did your state make the list? If not, how fast can you get to one that did? Summertime fishing is upon us, often slowing down the bite. But not in the waters of our top five, where bass fishing takes center stage, and stays strong anytime the water is wet.

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