Pros Reveal Their 5 Favorite Bass Lakes
We asked the folks at the Yamaha Outboard Motor company to query their bass pro fishermen as to which were their favorite fishing holes, and we got some surprising answers. Not surprising was the fact that Texas and Alabama rank as the two states with the most popular bass spots, but some of the other lakes may come as news.
 Just over 100 miles north of San Francisco, Clear Lake is in the beautiful countryside and well worth the drive, even if you don’t catch any bass. |
Clear Lake, California
Yamaha Pro Dave Wolak likes Clear Lake in California the best, despite having limited fishing time there. “It’s where I first learned to fish swimbaits,” he remembers, “and today they’re some of my favorite and most productive lures."
“Clear Lake is one of those lakes that has produced some truly huge bass over 15 pounds, so with every cast you’re absolutely on edge waiting for a big strike. You can’t ask for more excitement and fun than that.”
 Lake Champlain, north of Burlington, Vermont, is 80 miles long and 10 miles wide. Note that it flows north into Canada. Step ashore there and have a Labatts with a sprig of mint. |
Lake Champlain, New York/Vermont
Takahiro Omori, winner of the 2004 Bassmaster Classic, rates Lake Champlain on the New York/Vermont border as his favorite. “Lake Champlain has both largemouth and smallmouth, so you can actually choose not only which fish to go after but also the way you want to fish for them,” smiles the Yamaha Pro. “The largemouth hit crankbaits or jigs in shallow water, while the smallmouth hit drop shots, spinnerbaits, and jerkbaits in deeper water."
“It’s a huge lake, and it’s also very scenic, so there are a lot of places to fish and you can enjoy all of them.”
 Lake Fork, Texas is about 70 miles due east of Dallas and you can reach it from two Interstates running north and south of the Reservoir. As you can see on the map, there are plenty of places to buy bait. |
Lake Fork, Texas
Kelly Jordon, who, before he started his professional tournament career, spent eight years as a guide on Lake Fork, considers that famous east Texas impoundment his favorite, primarily because it has such a large bass population.
“During the late spring and through much of the summer, it’s possible for two anglers to catch 50 or more bass on crankbaits in a day on Lake Fork,” acknowledges the Yamaha angler, “and the majority of those bass will be in the four to seven pound class. Along the way, you’ll almost certainly have at least one chance at a 10 pounder, too.
“I developed a lot of my tournament fishing techniques while guiding on Fork, so it will always be a special place for me.”
 Shown is Lake Amistad, Texas. |
Lake Amistad, Texas
Cliff Pace, one of the top 12 finalists in this year’s BASS Angler of the Year race, likes Lake Amistad in Texas the most, primarily because of its large size and different types of structure.
“Amistad is the type of lake that offers such a variety of fishing choices you can nearly always find a place to fish exactly the way you want to with your favorite lures,” he explains, “and that’s rare. If you like to cast spinnerbaits around shallow brush, for example, there are places where you can do that and if you want to crank deep points, or fish plastic worms even deeper, you can do that, too. It’s a fun place to fish.”
 Located just 25 miles north of Montgomery, Alabama, the lake can be accessed from Interstate 65. |
Lake Jordan, Alabama
Yamaha pro Mark Menendez, another top 12 finalist in this year’s BASS Angler of the Year race, really likes Alabama’s Lake Jordan. “It’s one of the premier spotted bass fisheries in the country,” he notes, “and they’re big fish so they really fight hard."
“I enjoy structure fishing, and that’s one of the best ways to fish Lake Jordan, using jigs or crankbaits.”
But certainly there are more great bass lakes than these five! We invite our readers to name their favorite bass fishing lakes and tell us why you like them --