I am about to go on a trip..but before i go i am tryin to find out the best place to fish for the biggest bass...and sugestions?

el salto   mexico

ha yeah i kinda knew that place would be good...i hope to go there

Lake Varner Georgia with Randall.

el salto mexico

Last I checked that wasn't in the US. ;D ;D ;D

The word "best" is a pretty broad term.  Best numbers, size, largemouth, smallmouth, or spots, time of year should also be a consideration .... etc.  Kind of see what I am getting at.  Maybe a little more info on your preferences could help us out a bit.

For the most big fish, i suggest lake fork, and maybe toledo bend

Best spot near me is Black Lake,NY up near the Buffalo area, actually a dominant largemouth fishery over smallmouths too. Tons of pike, crappie and all other species as well.

Well...the biggest bass we know of lives in Lake Dixon, CA.  

For this time of year, I'd suggest Lake of the Ozarks in my area.  It has a very reliable nite-time 10-12" plastic worm bite on brushpiles off boat docks in 20-30 ft. of water.  Average fish will probably run 2 1/2 to 4 lbs.  Not bad for July/Aug.

  Any where in the Calif Delta. But I worn you its hotter than well you know where here.

But the fishing is always good here..      

From what I have seen here at BassResource, Stick Marsh with George Welcome can not be beat. Yesterday he took his granddaughter out for a few hours and had five bass before 9:30 AM that looked to me to weigh something north of 20, maybe 25 lbs.

That's what I would do.

For this time of year, I'd suggest Lake of the Ozarks in my area. It has a very reliable nite-time 10-12" plastic worm bite on brushpiles off boat docks in 20-30 ft. of water. Average fish will probably run 2 1/2 to 4 lbs. Not bad for July/Aug.

I absolutely love coming down to the Lake Of The Ozarks. I usually go there at least once a year every summer for a week long fishing trip. I will be there again this year, just not that long. I'll be down there the night of Sept. 22 - Sept. 24. Just a little weekend trip this time, but any trip is better than no trip. I have never been there that late in the season though. How is the fishing there around that time of year?

Oh and my vote for best fishing in the US. I am sure RW would agree with me here...I would love to head into Tennessee for some trouphy smallies. I'll let him elaborate on how many other species there are down there.

Smallmouth bass

For numbers, head north. For size, the options are the Cumberland River System and the Tennessee River System. Everyone that knows anything about trophy smallmouth, knows about Dale Hollow. This is the first impoundment on the Cumberland in north central Tennessee and southern Kentucky. This is the home of the World Record and the next largest smallmouth ever caught.

I fish the Tennessee River. The tailwaters of Wheeler, Wilson and Pickwick hold the potential for the next World Record. 5 lb smallmouth are special, but not uncommon. In addition to smallmouth, these waters contain a number of other very aggressive species. On a typical day, my partner and I will only catch a combined total of ten to fifteen bronzeback, but we will each catch more than 100 lbs of fish! Our biggest day ever (for numbers) was twenty-five smallmouth, but only three of those were over 5 lbs. Typically we catch two or three big bass. In 2005 we boated a total of fifty smallmouth over 5 lbs. In November 2004 my partner caught the only 10 lb smallmouth I have ever seen. On 1/08/05 I caught seven over 5 lbs. The following Saturday I caught the two in my avatar.

What appears to be the smaller fish in this picture was the strongest bass I have ever caught. It weighed just over 7 lbs. The other bass was caught an hour and a half later. Although it was about 4" longer, it was only 1 lb heavier.

Note: I don't fish for smallies from the middle of March through most of September, that's striper season for me. With the holidays and cold weather, December is usually a bust, too. Nearly all of my smallmouth are caught in October, November, January and February.

Lake Toho,Kissimmee(this is not an advertisement ;D)

From what I have seen here at BassResource, Stick Marsh with George Welcome can not be beat. Yesterday he took his granddaughter out for a few hours and had five bass before 9:30 AM that looked to me to weigh something north of 20, maybe 25 lbs.

That's what I would do.

RW _ To clarify those pics I updated with the weights - also that was July 2004

So, I was off by 16.7 lbs and two years?

Actually I thought, for some reason, that the first and second fish were the same...which might make my guess-timate a little closer. Of course, then you would have to question whether or not I can count to five...

Those are great fish. I didn't mean anything by grossly underestimating your catch.

(41.7 lbs, if I can add)

Come on up here to Lake Monroe.  It might not be the ~best~ fishing in the world, but its awful good and Bloomington is a wonderful place to visit.

Lake El Salto or Stick Marsh Farm 13.

I absolutely love coming down to the Lake Of The Ozarks. I usually go there at least once a year every summer for a week long fishing trip. I will be there again this year, just not that long. I'll be down there the night of Sept. 22 - Sept. 24. Just a little weekend trip this time, but any trip is better than no trip. I have never been there that late in the season though. How is the fishing there around that time of year?

It depends on how this summer weather goes and how long it lasts. I've been on the brushpile bite off the boat docks that far into September if the summer heat lasted,  though you can start targeting shallower brushpiles then and a little further back in the coves.  There's usually a pretty good topwater bite worth trying too.  Try prop baits or lunker lures off the points or around docks on the points. Usually the 1st or 2nd secondary points in the bigger coves are the ones to target.  

Oops, sorry to derail.  :-?

bloomingtownie - I gotta hook up with you sometime at Monroe.  I love the lake, but it hates me.   ;D

RW - What's you basic pattern for those smallies in January?  Live bait? I'd love to try that out sometime on those rivers.  Never fished in winter before.

Brad  

bloomingtownie - I gotta hook up with you sometime at Monroe.  I love the lake, but it hates me.   ;D

Yeah, pretty much the same with me!  It's still a beautiful spot near a terrific place to visit.  You're welcome to come out with me and my sad little jon boat some time, though.  No promises on the results, though!

FLORIDA - Central South East or West....you will catch more than you ever imagined you could!