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The Top 10 Lakes To Catch A Trophy Bass This Year

The Top 10 Lakes To Catch A Trophy Bass This Year

A lunker bass can be caught in numerous bodies of water throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico but certain lakes have the potential to annually yield more trophy bass. So here is a look at the Top 10 lakes for chasing trophy largemouth bass, smallmouth and spotted bass in the United States and its neighboring countries.

1. Lake Fork, Texas

The biggest bass (9 pounds) I have ever caught in the United States came from this trophy bass factory. A combination of restrictive harvest regulations, stocking of Florida strain largemouth, and abundant habitat has contributed to Lake Fork's development as one of the country's premier trophy bass lakes. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TWPD) reports more than 65 percent of the Texas Top 50 largest bass (including the current state record) and more than half of those entered in the Toyota ShareLunker Program (bass weighing 13 pounds or more) were caught from Lake Fork.

2. Lake Kissimmee, Florida

Lots of available forage, good water quality and good habitat make this Florida lake a trophy bass factory. Statistics from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission’s (FWC) TrophyCatch program reveals Kissimmee has produced 497 TrophyCatch fish (bass weighing 8 pounds or more) in the past four years. The catches include 409 Lunker Clubs (largemouth weighing 8 to 9.9 pounds); 87 Trophy Clubs (10 to 12.9 pounds) and one Hall of Fame Club (13-plus pounds).

3. Rodman Reservoir (Ocklawaha River), Florida

This 9,500-acre reservoir also ranked high in the FWC TrophyCatch program’s data for the last four years. The impoundment filled with standing timber and aquatic vegetation has yielded 348 TrophyCatch program bass including 85 Lunker Clubs, 61 Trophy Clubs, and two Hall of Fame Clubs.

4. Toledo Bend, Texas/Louisiana

For two straight years, Toledo Bend has been ranked the top bass lake in the United States by Bassmaster Magazine. According to the Toledo Bend Lake Association Lunker Bass Program, the lake yielded 12 largemouth bass weighing more than 10 pounds from May 2015 to May 2016. For the 2016-17 season, so far the lake has produced 17 bass weighing more than 10 pounds.

5. Clear Lake, California

This heavily pressured lake continues to pump out trophy bass. In March 2016, a 16.3-pound largemouth was caught and released. During a three-day Western Outdoor News (WON) tournament the same month, 31 bass ranging in weight from 7 to 11 pounds were brought to the weigh-in scales. The lake record stands at 17.52 pounds.

6. Sam Rayburn, Texas

This massive reservoir (114,000 acres) ranks second to Lake Fork in the ShareLunker program with 26 bass weighing 13 pounds or more being taken from 1993 to 2016. The lake is routinely stocked by the TWPD with Florida-strain largemouth to enhance the fishery’s big bass population.

7. Pickwick Lake, Alabama/Mississippi/Tennessee

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This lake probably offers the best chance to catch a lunker largemouth and a trophy smallmouth all in the same day. The lake frequently yields smallmouth bass in the 6-pound class each year and several brown bass weighing close to 10 pounds have been caught there throughout the years. In the most recent Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks bass tournament program report, 25 percent of the lunker largemouth (7 pounds or larger) recorded were caught at Pickwick, including the second largest lunker, a 10.11-pounder.

8. Bullard’s Bar, California

The reputation of this lake as a world class spotted bass fishery is well-deserved. A spotted bass weighing 10.38 set the world record in 2015, but pro angler Cody Meyer broke that record last year by catching a 10.80-pound spot in December 2016. Meyer and his tournament partner also caught three more heavyweight spotted bass weighing 6.66, 7.74 and 8.35 pounds that same day.

9. El Salto, Mexico

On my first trip to this lake, I caught my biggest largemouth bass ever (12 pounds, 6 ounces) and on subsequent trips I have caught a 9 1/2-pounder and a couple of 8-pounders. El Salto has a reputation for yielding bass in the 10-pound class or larger every year; the lake record stands at 18 pounds, 6 ounces. The lake was stocked in 1985 with Florida-strain largemouth fingerlings that have now grown into double-digit behemoths.

10. Lake Simcoe, Ontario, Canada

A five-year Lake Simcoe Bass Tagging Research Project conducted by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry revealed the average length of smallmouth bass caught in tournaments was 18 inches with an average weight of 4.23 pounds. During the 2010 Bass Pro Shops Lake Simcoe Open Bass tournament the winners weighed in 31.5 pounds with five smallmouth, and set the record for the five heaviest bass ever weighed in during a one-day tournament in Canada. During the same event, an 8.05-pound smallmouth (23.5 inches) was weighed in and was proclaimed the largest smallmouth ever weighed in a Canadian tournament. Simply put, the smallmouth bass fishing here is some of the best in the entire world.

Updated February 8th, 2019 at 10:43 AM CT