In its recently announced 100 Best Bass Lakes, Bassmaster Magazine ranked Tennessee’s Chickamauga Lake as the second best bass fishery in the nation. Chickamauga took top honors for the list’s Southeastern region division. South Carolina’s Santee Cooper lakes and Alabama’s Lake Guntersville followed. They filled in the Southeast’s No. 2 and No. 3 slots, respectively.
For anyone who follows tournament bass fishing, Chickamauga’s high ranking should come as little surprise. This 36,240-acre impoundment of the Tennessee River north of Chattanooga, Tennessee has been on fire for the last few years, producing some very large largemouth bass as well as consistently impressive five-fish tournament limits.
Bassmaster Elite Series pro and Tennessee native Brandon Lester considers Chickamauga one of his favorite stops on the tour. He said the introduction of Florida-strain largemouth genetics into the system back in 1995 might have something to do with the lake’s rise on the national scene.
“I love that place,” he said. “You’ve got a chance to catch a state record on any cast.”
Ranking The Best Bass Lakes
To compile its rankings, Bassmaster looks at data from state fisheries agencies as well as tournament statistics. Taken together, Santee Cooper lakes Marion and Moultrie have consistently ranked high in the list over the last several years. Totaling about 170,000 acres of water, these impoundments of the Santee River between Columbia and Charleston, S.C. are a world-class bass fishery. In addition to taking the No. 2 spot for the Southeast region, Santee Cooper ranked as the No. 6 bass lake in the country for 2018.
If any lake in the Bassmaster rankings could be considered a surprise, it is Lake Guntersville. A few impoundments down the Tennessee River from Chickamauga, it might have seemed like the best days had passed for this 69,000-acre weed-choked reservoir southeast of Huntsville. Historically, Guntersville was always a big producer on the tournament scene. Over the last few years, however, it has seen a decline. While remaining one of the nation’s best bass fisheries, it slipped from consideration for the top 10 in 2016.
That’s all changed for 2018. “The Big G” has seen a resurgence in limit weights as well as big fish. This year’s ninth best bass lake in the country, Guntersville seems to be on an upward trend. Anglers across the South are rooting for this stately old fishery to continue its climb back to its former glory.
For complete rankings, see Bassmaster.com.