Ultimate Fishing Vacation!!?? 2025
bcosselman reply :
So I have been wondering for a while now, if I had lets say 30 days, to hit as many lakes anywhere in the country, where would I go to fish? Lake fork has always been a dream of mine but so has Okeechobee, Guntersville, Kentucky, Chickamauga, Mille Lacs...I mean the list goes on and on.
So I propose this question to yall. You and your boat, 30 days to fish where do you go any why? Bucket list lakes?
Yeajray231 reply :
I'd go south.. your odds of a double digit increase more than slightly !!
A-Jay reply :
Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~
I've been very fortune to have been to my own personal Bucket list local - Lake Baccarac In Mexico.
And I'm pretty sure that if I did some how manage to do 30 straight days there - my mind would explode ~
A-Jay
papajoe222 reply :
If I had to pull my boat to Mexico, I'd have to apply for citizenship because I couldn't afford to pull it home and I sure wouldn't leave it there.
A5BLASTER reply :
That would be easy for me I would stay home and fish the Bend for 30 days straight daylight to dark.
bcosselman reply :
So I'm in a fortune situation, ill be coming home from a deployment in a few months and I plan on spending a few weeks traveling and trying to hit some of these lakes I never thought that I would be able to hit. I really wanna vist Fork and Okeechobee but I don't know how to narrow down my bucket list lol there is like 30 lakes on it.
Darren. reply :
Welcome aboard!
I'd pick the big O first and foremost, methinks.
Then I'd go to South America for some beastly
Peacock bass. Then I'd pick the best smallmouth
bass lake in the US...then...I dunno. Maybe hit
the saltwater havens and search for Blue Marlin!
Lots of fish, so little time...alas....
2tall79 reply :
Canoe portage in the Canadian Shield.
Gundog reply :
On 4/14/2017 at 12:11 PM, 2tall79 said:Canoe portage in the Canadian Shield.
This to name just one. I hear the natural beauty of the Canadian Shield is incredible. Then Lake St. Clair for the big, bronze basses. After that Guntersville, Toledo Bend and over to Okeechobee. Of course, after 30 days of traveling and fishing I'd need a vacation. Maybe in Lake of the Woods or Erie.
Jar11591 reply :
On 4/14/2017 at 11:10 AM, A-Jay said:Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~
I've been very fortune to have been to my own personal Bucket list local - Lake Baccarac In Mexico.
And I'm pretty sure that if I did some how manage to do 30 straight days there - my mind would explode ~
A-Jay
I don't know which would happen first. My head exploding or my arms giving out. My wrists were screaming by the time I left after my 3 days there.
Oregon Native reply :
Having moved to Tennessee from Oregon I am personally really satisfied. So much so close. The Columbia was my favorite back in Oregon. So big...so many fish...and so so not many people. Amazing fishery if you don't mind wind. Now in Knoxville,Tn its two hours or less to some amazing fisheries ... many of which I have hardly touched. My bucket list is short. Good luck with your choices....have fun.
A-Jay reply :
On 4/14/2017 at 6:52 PM, Jar11591 said:
I don't know which would happen first. My head exploding or my arms giving out. My wrists were screaming by the time I left after my 3 days there.
My liver was bruised.
A-Jay
visagelaid reply :
Luckily I live in northern Alabama and can fish many of the lakes that are on people's bucket list. I fish Guntersville, Wheeler, Logan Martin, Pickwick, and Smith lakes pretty regularly. My bucket list is still like Fork, Big-O, Falcon, and Sugar Lake. Those would be awesome, but I also realize how fortunate I am.
XpressJeff reply :
bcossellman welcome home!
A week at Lake of the Woods, and then some of the lakes out west for 2 weeks.
Last week at the big O!
Better get my reels in for service!
N Florida Mike reply :
Away from home Id love to catch some smallmouth ( for the first time ) Dale hollow probably or wherever one of you smallmouth guys would recommend. Toledo bend also. Would also like to fish on Smith mountain lake ( my uncle has a place there.) Closer to home Id go fishing/ camping on the Suwanee river, and Id go Pond jumping / camping in the Ocala nat. forest,although Ive done that. If any time left Id go to some of the local lakes,like Sante fe .
RoLo reply :
Largemouth Bass -> Lake Kissimmee, FL | Toledo Bend Reservoir, TX
Smallmouth Bass -> Lake Erie (eastern basin) | Lake Huron (Les Cheneaux Islands)
Roger
Troy85 reply :
I'd go with Toledo Bend as my primary. I'd really like to fish Gunthersville too.
You can hit some of those big southern lakes in FL, AL, LA and TX. Then along the way make a slight detour to SE Louisiana and get in on the best inshore saltwater fishing in the country.
Mike L reply :
If I had a gun to my head and told I had to leave Okeechobee....
Rodman Reservoir
Toledo Bend
Fork
All of the "big bass lakes" in California
Lake Erie for smallmouth
Mike
roadwarrior reply :
My choice during the summer would be the Great Lakes. or more specifically, Lake Erie.
Catching 50 or more 3-5 lb smallmouth every day trips my trigger. And with just a little
luck you might catch a big fish or two!
WRB reply :
I would go to Toledo Bend and teach Catt how catch big bass
.
Tom
Catt reply :
On 4/15/2017 at 3:36 AM, WRB said:I would go to Toledo Bend and teach Catt how catch big bass
.
Tom
Sure you can handle all night?
My choice!
@Raul "wassup wit'choo"
Scott F reply :
I do a two week trip to Northern Wisconsin every year. I'm so worn out after two weeks, I know I could never do 30 in a row! Nice days, almost never too hot, lots of bass, so many lakes to fish, and most days you never see another bass fisherman. Wait a minute, don't pay any attention to what I just wrote. PLEASE go somewhere else, anywhere else. I like catching loads of bass in solitude and comfort. I don't need any company.
Chris at Tech reply :
Fish my way down the east coast of Florida, and back up the west coast through the panhandle. Alternating between freshwater and saltwater.
largemouth, peacocks, reds, trout, snook, jacks, cobia, permit, kingfish, sailfish, tarpon, sailfish, sharks, tuna, snapper, grouper...
roadwarrior reply :
On 4/15/2017 at 6:42 AM, Chris at Tech said:Fish my way down the east coast of Florida, and back up the west coast through the panhandle. Alternating between freshwater and saltwater.
largemouth, peacocks, reds, trout, snook, jacks, cobia, permit, kingfish, sailfish, tarpon, sailfish, sharks, tuna, snapper, grouper...
Yep...
If you are into multi-species and salt, this cannot be beat.
lonnie g reply :
start in texas and florida then keep on going south. then the excitement would raise the adrinalin. and increase the heart rate. then you prove the docs wrong and keep on fishing.
bcosselman reply :
I think ill start up north at mille lacs for that bassmaster event. never been to one that would be cool and my gpa has a cabin on pool 10 of the Mississippi river so ill hang there for a while and do some fishing there. After im headed south... Guntersville, Okeechobee for sure.. im thinking EUFAULA maybe.... Thought on Eufaula? on the way home to CO ill be stopping into fork and Toledo bend!
Gonna be such a good trip.
BassThumb reply :
Sounds like a great road trip!
If you can, stick around for a few days on Mille Lacs. It's a different kind of lake in that it's not easy to find fish. The bass form tight schools and they have a lot of room to roam, and you'll catch as many walleyes as bass somedays. The lake fishes very big: big distances, big waves, big fish. But once you find them, you've struck brown gold. If you can, shoot for weather with wind in the 4-9 mph range. Anything over 10mph and you've got 3 foot rollers. It's just a 130,000 acre shallow bowl.
Scarborough817 reply :
i would have to say go south and work east to west okeechobee, seminole, guntersville, fork, clear lake, the delta
bcosselman reply :
On 4/17/2017 at 12:04 PM, BassThumb said:Sounds like a great road trip!
If you can, stick around for a few days on Mille Lacs. It's a different kind of lake in that it's not easy to find fish. The bass form tight schools and they have a lot of room to roam, and you'll catch as many walleyes as bass somedays. The lake fishes very big: big distances, big waves, big fish. But once you find them, you've struck brown gold. If you can, shoot for weather with wind in the 4-9 mph range. Anything over 10mph and you've got 3 foot rollers. It's just a 130,000 acre shallow bowl.
I do want to try and get on a school of smallies out there. I saw the bags of fish they were pulling in there last year on tv and holy cow! That's incredible. Plus I don't think the girlfriend has ever caught a walleye so that will be cool.
Hawkeye21 reply :
As much as I'd love to fish some of the great lakes in the South I'd much rather spend my time on a lake alone. One of the greatest experiences I had was canoeing up in the Boundary Waters. We camped out for 3 days on one lake and only saw one person during that span. We had the entire, huge lake to ourselves and it was amazing.
Master Bait'r reply :
On 4/18/2017 at 10:21 PM, Hawkeye21 said:As much as I'd love to fish some of the great lakes in the South I'd much rather spend my time on a lake alone. One of the greatest experiences I had was canoeing up in the Boundary Waters. We camped out for 3 days on one lake and only saw one person during that span. We had the entire, huge lake to ourselves and it was amazing.
This is more my speed as well, but big name waters have an allure all their own. Given that he has a whole month, I'd say there's plenty of time for both ???
Hawkeye21 reply :
On 4/21/2017 at 1:54 AM, Master Bait'r said:
This is more my speed as well, but big name waters have an allure all their own. Given that he has a whole month, I'd say there's plenty of time for both ???
Canada was an experience like no other. No motors at all, just canoe. Had to drink the lake water and catch most of our meals. We caught so many large pike and smallmouth. I remember how clear the water was. Could see the bottom in what seemed to be close to 20 ft of water. As great as it was it was still a ton of work and a week seemed to be plenty. I still remember the first place we ate when we were on our way home, KFC.
RPreeb reply :
On 4/15/2017 at 4:15 AM, Scott F said:I do a two week trip to Northern Wisconsin every year. I'm so worn out after two weeks, I know I could never do 30 in a row! Nice days, almost never too hot, lots of bass, so many lakes to fish, and most days you never see another bass fisherman. Wait a minute, don't pay any attention to what I just wrote. PLEASE go somewhere else, anywhere else. I like catching loads of bass in solitude and comfort. I don't need any company.
I am just beginning to re-learn about bass fishing, so I don't have a real bucket list. I'd have to do some research, but since I don't have a boat (and really don't ever expect to have one), I'd be more into smaller lakes that my kayak would be better for.
However, the one lake that is guaranteed to be on my list is the one I fished for 14 summers - from the time I was big enough to hold a cane pole until we moved to Montana during my senior year in HS. We were poor folks, but we were lucky enough to have a clapboard cabin sitting on 25 acres of land on Balsam Lake, WI. My grandmother was a teacher in St. Paul (MN) so she was off all summer and we mostly lived at the cabin with her during the summer.
I misspent much of my youth fishing from our canoe all over that lake. Loved getting out an hour before sunrise and fishing along shore and in the lily pad covered bays til the bass finished their morning feed. Then crappie or bluegill during the day, and back to the bass after supper. Never caught anything huge there (PB is only 2½ lbs), but I would love to fish it again and replay the memories along the way.
Scott F reply :
North Central Wisconsin has hundreds, if not thousands of small lakes that are perfectly suited to fishing from a kayak. Many of them, almost never see a bass fisherman. I know about a lake that is no motor, catch & release with portages to 3 other lakes that are loaded with largemouth. There are plenty of places to stay and many restaurants that cater to all tastes.
Jar11591 reply :
I'm lucky enough to have gotten to go on my dream fishing vacation-that's Lake Baccarac in Mexico. It's a bass fisherman's paradise, literally. A couple more places I'd love to fish before I die would be Alaska, northern Canada, and the Florida Keys.
soflabasser reply :
On 4/15/2017 at 1:45 AM, N Florida Mike said:Away from home Id love to catch some smallmouth ( for the first time ) Dale hollow probably or wherever one of you smallmouth guys would recommend. Toledo bend also. Would also like to fish on Smith mountain lake ( my uncle has a place there.) Closer to home Id go fishing/ camping on the Suwanee river, and Id go Pond jumping / camping in the Ocala nat. forest,although Ive done that. If any time left Id go to some of the local lakes,like Sante fe .
I just came back from a trip up north and caught a couple smallmouth bass for the first time, they are a blast to catch and its worth making a trip to fish for them. Pound for pound smallmouth bass are stronger than a equal sized largemouth bass, but butterfly peacock bass are much stronger than a smallmouth bass.
On 4/14/2017 at 12:02 PM, Darren. said:Welcome aboard!
I'd pick the big O first and foremost, methinks.
Then I'd go to South America for some beastly
Peacock bass. Then I'd pick the best smallmouth
bass lake in the US...then...I dunno. Maybe hit
the saltwater havens and search for Blue Marlin!
Lots of fish, so little time...alas....
Good list! I plan on fishing South America for speckled peacock bass and other strong fighting fish of the Amazon.
bh91 reply :
I would just go back home to San Diego and fish Miramar and Dixon. .hopefully Dixon still has that 25lber plus
Quarry Man reply :
joe pool is the best lake!
Jar11591 reply :
On 4/25/2017 at 9:44 AM, bh91 said:hopefully Dixon still has that 25lber plus
Dottie was found dead unfortunately 
S. Sass reply :
Living with Toledo Bend Reservoir (2 1/2 hr drive), Lake Fork (1hr drive), Lake O' the Pines (1hr drive), Lake Texoma (1 1/2hr drive), Caddo Lake (2 1/2 hr drive), and many other awesome lakes I can be at in a relatively short time I really never saw a need for a bucket list. 
Besides by making a list you may forget one leaving it off and then what... 
I could spend 30 days at any lake near by and have a blast not wasting precious fishing time driving. 
bh91 reply :
On 4/26/2017 at 5:17 AM, Jar11591 said:
Dottie was found dead unfortunately
well hopefully those genes were strong
KHNC reply :
On 4/15/2017 at 3:07 AM, roadwarrior said:My choice during the summer would be the Great Lakes. or more specifically, Lake Erie.
Catching 50 or more 3-5 lb smallmouth every day trips my trigger. And with just a little
luck you might catch a big fish or two!
Do you go to the PA section of Erie or the Ohio section? I went to the PA area last june and it was just an "ok" trip. Going again June 10-17 this year. Hoping to finally unlock a secret or two to catch some 4-5lbers. Only 2-3lb fish last years trip.
Hot Rod Johnson reply :
I would suggest for you to fish the "Reservoirs of the Tennessee River Valley", Fort Loudoun Lake, Chickamauga Lake, Guntersville Lake, Wheeler Lake, Wilson Lake, Pickwick Lake, Kentucky Lake, and Barkley Lake... Starting with the "FULL MOON PERIOD" in February to the "FULL MOON PERIOD" in March... Start first with the smallest body of water first to hit pre-spawn/spawn working up to the next largest body of water and so on to the next largest body of water... These "EIGHT RESERVOIRS" will challenge you and give you great diversity of waters to fish... Your travel time will be shortened as to traveling all over the United States giving you more fishing time... Plus your learning curve will be shortened because of similarities of the body's of waters... Three and three fourth days on each Reservoir, talk about running and gunning as a "POWER FISHERMAN"...
Redlinerobert reply :
Peacocks in Brazil. Nothing else even comes close. Some of the best fishing days I've ever had.
Big Daddy Hoff reply :
I made a point to drive from Ohio to Lake Fork Texas to check off a lake on my bucket list.......... WOW, is all I can say.... that place was fantastic......... so good I made it a point to go back three years in a row.........
huffman1988 reply :
I would start at lake eerie to catch some big small mouths. A bunch of guys I work with have been and it seems like a blast. Then I would stop at Kentucky lake and my last stop would be okechobee. I'd want to spend ten days at each.
SuperCorona reply :
Like the song says...
Chance_Taker4 reply :
On 4/15/2017 at 2:02 AM, RoLo said:Largemouth Bass -> Lake Kissimmee, FL | Toledo Bend Reservoir, TX
Smallmouth Bass -> Lake Erie (eastern basin) | Lake Huron (Les Cheneaux Islands)
Roger
I live on the western basin of Erie. You have to weed out all the walleye but when you get to the smallies they are big on this side to.
For me I would move to Panama City, FL That way you are in the middle to travel to the Big O, Kissimmee, St Johns River, Seminole Lake, Cherokee Lake, Pickwick, Guntersville, Lanier, Pontchartrain, George Walter Res. Plus all the partying that goes on in Panama.
On 5/30/2017 at 10:59 PM, KHNC said:Do you go to the PA section of Erie or the Ohio section? I went to the PA area last june and it was just an "ok" trip. Going again June 10-17 this year. Hoping to finally unlock a secret or two to catch some 4-5lbers. Only 2-3lb fish last years trip.
Living in Ohio I can tell you the absolute best smallmouth fishing on Erie is in Canada. Just cross the boarder to Pelee Island or up towards the Detroit river to Amherburg. For some reason the Canadians do not have the pressure that the American waters get. I fish BFL and club events on it and always run straight to Canada.
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