By Bassmaster
After four months of research, Bassmaster recently released its top 10 bass fisheries for 2016. Some of them are obvious, some might come as a surprise, and chances are many anglers could argue one way or the other about all of them.
The rankings are based on information gathered from state fisheries agencies and the vast web of tournaments and anglers connected with B.A.S.S. The following are Bassmaster’s top-10 bass fisheries in the country, along with a little of Bassmaster’s reasoning behind the selections.
No. 10) Lake St. Clair, Mich.: According to the rankings, this lake in Detroit produces heavy 20-pound tournament sacks of smallmouths, and it is also home to some pretty good largemouth fishing.
No. 9) Falcon Lake, Texas: This lake right on the Mexican border was ranked No.1 back in 2012. Bassmaster cited overfishing and drought as reasons for its decline. However, fisheries are cyclical, and this one is on the upswing. Recently it has produced tournament limits weighing close to 30 pounds, and it takes a 20-pound bag of fish to even show up on the leader boards.
No. 8) Rodman Reservoir, Fla.: Northeast Florida’s Rodman Lake is perhaps better known as Lake Ocklawaha. It is big largemouth heaven. It leads state in Trophy Catch entries heavier than 8 pounds, and that’s saying something in a state world-renowned for big bass.
No. 7) Lake Berryessa, Cali.: This Bay Area reservoir produces heavy tournament bags of mixed largemouth, spotted and smallmouth bass. Bassmaster reported a near 40-pound five-fish limit caught during a tournament there in April. That bag of fish included a kicker fish heavier than 9 pounds.
No. 6: Mille Lacs Lake, Minn.: North of Minnesota, Mille Lacs is known as one of the world’s best walleye fisheries, but it’s also one of the best smallmouth lakes, according to Bassmaster.
No. 5: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, Cali.: The rankings point to this vegetation-choked maze of rivers and sloughs just across the bay from San Fransisco as an outstanding largemouth fishery. Bassmaster reports that it regularly produces 25-pound sacks, and there were five 30-pound bags weighed in during a March tournament.
No. 4) Lake Erie, N.Y.: Bassmaster said Lake Erie is one of the best opportunities in the nation to catch a 20-plus-pound bag of smallies.
No. 3) Clear Lake, Cali.: Northwest of Sacramento, Clear Lake is a giant bass hotspot. An angler landed a 16.3-pound largemouth there in March. Limits heavier than 30 pounds are not uncommon.
No. 2.) Santee Cooper Lakes, Marion and Moultrie, S.C.: The re-emergence of this 170,000-acre fishery into the bass-fishing spotlight comes on the heels of Bryan Thrift’s 79-15 performance in a three-day event last March. Bassmaster said the same event produced two sacks heavier than 30 pounds and 16 others that topped 25 pounds.
No. 1) Toledo Bend, Louisiana/Texas: The running string of big fish at Toledo Bend is astounding. Bassmaster reports that 2015 piled up 81 verified catches heavier than 10 pounds. So far in 2016, the lake has produced close to 140 fish heavier than 10 pounds.
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