Good bass fishing, an hour and 45 minutes.  Just bass fishing 15 minutes, Ohio lakes suck so I have to drive to Southern Ohio to the strip ponds with my float tube for good bass fishing.  

Vilas county has 563 named lakes so thats all within about 45 minutes. The surrounding counties have a couple hundred each but not quite as many. Main spots for me are within 10 to 15 minutes to the boat launch. I'd say Im getting to know about 5 lakes real well at this point. I don't fish much when not at the cabin unfortunately since the boat stays there.

1 minute ago, Vilas15 said:

Vilas county has 563 named lakes so thats all within about 45 minutes. The surrounding counties have a couple hundred each but not quite as many. Main spots for me are within 10 to 15 minutes to the boat launch. I don't fish much when not at the cabin unfortunately since the boat stays there.

Wow thats awesome. Let me guess, it rains a lot in Vilas county 

2 hours ago, FishinBuck07 said:

Good bass fishing, an hour and 45 minutes.  Just bass fishing 15 minutes, Ohio lakes suck so I have to drive to Southern Ohio to the strip ponds with my float tube for good bass fishing.  

 

The AEP recreation area in OH looks really nice, from what i've seen of it.

 

14 minutes ago, Vilas15 said:

Vilas county has 563 named lakes so thats all within about 45 minutes. The surrounding counties have a couple hundred each but not quite as many. Main spots for me are within 10 to 15 minutes to the boat launch. I'd say Im getting to know about 5 lakes real well at this point. I don't fish much when not at the cabin unfortunately since the boat stays there.

I drove through there last summer on the way back to Michigan from Minnesota. Beautiful and remote.  My wife is pretty sure she saw a wolf.

1 hour ago, MIbassyaker said:

 

The AEP recreation area in OH looks really nice, from what i've seen of it.

 

I drove through there last summer on the way back to Michigan from Minnesota. Beautiful and remote.  My wife is pretty sure she saw a wolf.

AEP is awesome, I have a float tu e that I hike in with and have caught some really nice largies out of those ponds!  The big one for me down there was just shy of 7#, still trying to top it, I believe if the state record is ever broken it will come from those ponds.  Beautiful and peaceful for sure!

Being in Northern Illinois, there aren’t a lot of great fisheries that suit me. I do have a nice little smallmouth river 10-15 minutes away when it’s not blown out from all the rain. After that, my next two favorite spots are 5 to 6 hours away in Northern Wisconsin.

I have a lake I love fishing that's only around two miles from my house, but that lake is only good for numbers. If I'm looking for size, my favorite lake (Aurora Reservoir, CO) is ~20 miles away (35 minute drive). Big bass are always worth the drive! 

I have a boat in the water, all spring, summer and fall, in probably the best spotted bass lake in the country.

25-30 minutes for smaller idle only type lakes on the week days after work. 45mins-1 hour for some of the bigger lakes on the weekends. 3.5 hours to my personal favorite, which is Table Rock. I don't typically spend more than an hour driving each way.

 

5 hours ago, MIbassyaker said:

I drove through there last summer on the way back to Michigan from Minnesota. Beautiful and remote.  My wife is pretty sure she saw a wolf.

Feels a bit less remote with the recent hwy 51 road construction but traffic was getting pretty nasty heading north/south on the weekends. Theres at least 1 eagle on every lake and i did see a black bear on the way to the launch two years ago though. My favorite is seeing deer in the water along the shore if youre on the right lakes. The wolf packs havent been too close to us in the last couple years but theyre around.

I’m walking the banks. There is about 3/4 places I can hit within 20 mins

My home lake is a 30 minute drive to the ramp.  I have access to much of the lower Columbia backwaters only 20 minutes away.  To get to my closest smallmouth lake is just under two hours and my favorite pool on the upper Columbia is about two and a half hours.  My favorite regional lake is a solid five hours but the drive is gorgeous.

35 feet, although I do have 3 steps to navigate...

There are places I fish that are walking distance from my house and others places that are in different states. Most of the time I fish places 1-4 hours away from my house.

6 hours ago, OCdockskipper said:

35 feet, although I do have 3 steps to navigate...

Me too ! To get to the boat.

On 1/21/2020 at 3:46 PM, MN Fisher said:

Since I live on an island in Minnetonka - any direction I go hits water. Far as to the two launch points on the lake I use...5 minutes to one, 10 minutes to the other. I'm in the red circle on this map

IMO. you win the most interesting place to live award...

Bout 35 steps out the front door, 2 1/2 hr drive to Toledo Bend, the farthest is about a 2-3 hr boat run through swamps/marshes.

I have to drive 160 miles to Roosevelt lake from Tucson AZ.  Alternative:  300  miles to Havasu.  

 

Naturally, you have to make it a several day event, bring your camping gear, food etc.  One does not casually fish for bass here, takes a commitment.  

Tidal Potomac ramp within three miles of my front door.

59 minutes ago, Tucson said:

I have to drive 160 miles to Roosevelt lake from Tucson AZ.  Alternative:  300  miles to Havasu.  

 

Naturally, you have to make it a several day event, bring your camping gear, food etc.  One does not casually fish for bass here, takes a commitment.  

You are tougher than I am...... That's no place for a basshead

11mi

I am 1 hr from my favourite lake.

10 mins to Silver, 35 mins to Conesus. 

 

With those two so close, the quality of both green and brown fish in them, and my track record for success on both, I don't feel the need to venture out much.

 

My little aluminum boat is too small for Cayuga, Erie, Oneida, or Ontario, but I will tag along with someone else in  better big water rig.

 

Honeyoe, Waneta-Lamoka, I-bay, Sodus, Onondaga, Owasco, and the rest of the small lakes within an hour or so don't offer anything I can't find on Conesus or Silver, so traveling to them is a once in a blue moon deal for just a change of scenery.

 

You couldn't pay me to bass fish Canandaigua or Seneca on a regular basis.

 

Keuka, and Chautauqua are not so big that my boat would be iffy on them, but they are also far enough away, and big enough bodies of water that I'm not real familiar with that I want to waste valuable fishing time traveling to them often.

I got a one minute drive to get over there to the ramp.  City Park, Roseberry Creek, Lake Guntersville.     I wish I was closer. 

9 minutes ago, Basswhippa said:

I got a one minute drive to get over there to the ramp.  City Park, Roseberry Creek, Lake Guntersville.     I wish I was closer. 

 

I live 20 minutes from  2 boat launch’s  on the Columbia River. Been fishing off and on since the 60’s mostly Bass & Trout . Just finished restoring my bass boat last summer.