What Its Name? 2024
Catt reply :
You know that place ya fish that's got you number!
Mine is Lacassine Wildlife Refuge (16,500 acres), a shallow water marsh (18-24") that is extremely clear with tons of various types of vegetation. The marsh is federally owned & is only open from March 15 through October 15. Opens daily at 30 minutes before sunrise till 30 minutes after sunset. After being decimated by hurricanes Katrina, Rita, & Ike wildlife & fisheries has stocked 50-60,000 Florida bass yearly.
This marsh is so fickled the locals call it lack-a-sense because one has to have a lack of sense to fish it!
I've fished this marsh on & off since I was 7, I'm now 63! I've been skunked on this marsh more than any place on earth, if it wasn't for the 5 DD bass I've caught there I probably wouldn't fish it.
Catch and Grease reply :
I feel ya..... I fish a place called banks lake which is basically a lake made out of a swamp and I get skunked all the time there! During the tournaments if you catch a limit you have a good chance at winning the tournament.
Bankbeater reply :
It's called Mark Twain Lake. Everyone in the world can be fishing that lake and catching them. I won't get a bite.
A-Jay reply :
I have a such a place.
Without giving it's proper name (just to avoid the ridicule that would inevitably follow) I call it
The Dead Sea.
Whenever I think I'm starting to get this bass fishing thing figured out, after spending a day out at this place and I'm instantly reminded that ~ I Know Nothing ! (that's one of my favorite Sargent Shultz quotes btw)
A-Jay
Bluebasser86 reply :
Hillsdale 
Dwight Hottle reply :
Erieeeee
Lund Explorer reply :
The Martiny Chain.
A group of small lakes connected by narrow channels and surrounded by hundreds of acres of shallow water lily pads and duck weed. The place holds some real quality fish, but the dink -to- keeper ratio is around 12-1, and that's only if you're on the fish. One of the few tournament lakes I've ever fished where a 14" keeper can barely weigh over a pound.
Raul reply :
"Los Reyes" is my kryptonite. not only I just can´t seem to catch anything decent there, dinks only, and I can´t even catch those on a regular basis.
Alonerankin2 reply :
Patoka lake... But it's not just me, lots of folks hate the lake for LMB , over and over again I have seen 40 boat tournaments with a single fish winning? I consider my self a decent fisherman, not on patoka.... I quit fishing it though I know a guy that caught a 9+ in a area I fished a lot ... Great crappie/ bluegill and now pretty good for stripers... But LMB ? Might as well travel and hire a boat.. That's my thing...
ww2farmer reply :
My home lake...........Silver Lake. It's generally hated by the masses. On it's best days it's never easy. And on it's worst days you would swear there is not a fish in the place (when according to NYS DEC it has the highest population density of fish per acre of ANY LAKE IN NYS)I had a nice 3 year streak of not being skunked ended this year about 2 weeks ago...........and since, I have been skunked another time too. It's one of those places where you can catch 20-24 lbs for your best five one day, and struggle for a couple 12" keepers the next. I generally do better than most there, but I have fished it for almost 30 years, and probably more than anyone the last 10. If for it not being so close to home, I would NOT fish it so much. The nest closest lake, Conesus, is a far better fishery, but it's just not as handy to get to for the after work, or little quicky trips that make up so much of my fishing time (10min drive vs. 35 min drive)
Sam reply :
There are two:
One Fish Anna. That lake can drive a person nuts.
Mattaponi River - Once was the worst place to fish for bass in Virginia. Has gotten a little better.
Only fish these two bodies of water during club tournaments.
EmersonFish reply :
As far as lakes that others do well on that seem to kick my butt every time... 'Grand Lake' in Oklahoma. I use to go fish the 'Falcon Grand Challenge' every May, but got tired of the embarrassing results. Since then I've sold most of my Falcon rods anyway, and you have to use Falcon rods in that tournament. As a matter of pride, I might just grab a couple of cheap Bucoos off of the sale rack and go down there again next year. Try and slay that dragon.
WRB reply :
Lake Casitas, the lake I now must fish because it's a good trophy size bass lake, or was!
Castias is often called the Dead Sea by SoCal bass anglers because the bass can be very difficult to catch on lures during summer days and it's closed to night fishing except for occasion night bass tournaments held from 6 PM to mid night. Casitas doesn't get any fish plants, no trout, bass or crawfish plants, what's is there is self supporting.
During the summer the bite is usually a very early morning shad bite until the sun hits the water, that is about the time the lake opens!, 10 minutes followed by a long hot day maybe getting a few bites if you are lucky. Getting skunked is common, unless you resort to 6 lb FC and drop, shot finesse worms to maybe catch a few 12"-15" bass.
Today in SoCal we have Quagga mussel issues that prevent moving a boat from lake to lake. 31 day quarantine period to change lakes, so we fish with different partners with boat approved for each lake, no more spontaneous boating trips, a pain in the a-- !
Tom
*Hootie reply :
On 7/11/2014 at 12:10 AM, Alonerankin2 said:Patoka lake... But it's not just me, lots of folks hate the lake for LMB , over and over again I have seen 40 boat tournaments with a single fish winning? I consider my self a decent fisherman, not on patoka.... I quit fishing it though I know a guy that caught a 9+ in a area I fished a lot ... Great crappie/ bluegill and now pretty good for stripers... But LMB ? Might as well travel and hire a boat.. That's my thing...
Living in Cincinnati, I always wanted to fish Patoka, but now.....never mind.
Hootie
boostr reply :
On 7/10/2014 at 6:27 PM, Bankbeater said:It's called Mark Twain Lake. Everyone in the world can be fishing that lake and catching them. I won't get a bite.
Same with me at the Franklin Lakes Nature Preserve. Can't buy a bite, but my three year old son no problem kills it.
Raul reply :
Gentlemen, let´s look at this from another perspective, we all have our nemesis places .... what don´t kill you makes you strong !
jhoffman reply :
I too loathe my local lake... sayers dam. Theres fish in it but the amount of traffic that lake sees is borderline crazy. Sometimes during the summer there is 2-3 different tournaments A DAY.
Jon G reply :
Well I have lived in IL for 14 months and have only fished a handful of lakes here and havent run into anything too difficult..... yet....
I used to live in SoCal and the one lake that drove me absolutley nuts was Lake Silverwood it had a lot of BIG Stripers and bass and I did catch my PB Of 11lbs off that lake but that lake was ridiculous with the wind it was like trying to fish in a hurricane, at least when I went there, also there were days when I couldnt even catch a little bluegill If my life depended on it.
Shanes7614 reply :
WRB.... Try fishing around the sunken island in Casitas.
B@ssCrzy reply :
On 7/11/2014 at 12:10 AM, Alonerankin2 said:Patoka lake... But it's not just me, lots of folks hate the lake for LMB , over and over again I have seen 40 boat tournaments with a single fish winning? I consider my self a decent fisherman, not on patoka.... I quit fishing it though I know a guy that caught a 9+ in a area I fished a lot ... Great crappie/ bluegill and now pretty good for stripers... But LMB ? Might as well travel and hire a boat.. That's my thing...
Amen!!! Fished it for 3 years straight and caught one dink!!!! Never will go back to that lake unless I need to humble myself again.....
B@ssCrzy reply :
On 7/11/2014 at 5:43 AM, Raul said:Gentlemen, let´s look at this from another perspective, we all have our nemesis places .... what don´t kill you makes you strong !
Or makes you start drinking heavily!!! 
J Francho reply :
I'm at it right now, Abanakee Lake, at my buddy's place. Smallies, largies, and northerns coming over the side of the boat, none attached to my line, lol. It's all good though, it's paradise up here.
Ratherbfishing reply :
I hear some people rave about Clinton Lake which is the closest impoundment to where I live. Naturally, therefore, because it is so convenient, I can't seem to catch anything there but stunted white bass and the occassional catfish. I have a friend who used to work at the Marina and he fished there quite regularly. He had what he called his regular "milk run" where he went and caught bass. Now he says he, like me, can't catch a cold there.
everythingthatswims reply :
Sugar Hollow Reservoir...It's a <50 acre, clear, deep (75') reservoir, that it stocked with trout = mini California in Virginia. I have seen many big fish in there and have yet to land one. Hooked one recently about 6lbs on an 8" BBZ but one of the trebles hung a log and watched him shake loose. The worst part is that once you spot a big one, it's too late and he will just follow you around watching you (only bank fishing allowed) and wont even look at a bait. I have to bushwhack a lot to fish to the side of the lake that doesn't get fished much, because the briars will shred you to death, snakes seem to be under every rock and log, the bank it so steep in some places that you better be holding on to a sapling or something when you walk by, and it is hard to find a place to comfortably cast from. If I didn't see them every time I was there, I wouldn't be putting myself through this! I WILL figure them out.
Nice_Bass reply :
On 7/11/2014 at 10:12 PM, Ratherbfishing said:I hear some people rave about Clinton Lake which is the closest impoundment to where I live. Naturally, therefore, because it is so convenient, I can't seem to catch anything there but stunted white bass and the occassional catfish. I have a friend who used to work at the Marina and he fished there quite regularly. He had what he called his regular "milk run" where he went and caught bass. Now he says he, like me, can't catch a cold there.
I love fishing that lake...i guess it would be my home lake. I never really have an issue catching decent fish there but it seems like many do. I also only fish a milk run there as well.
We need to fish.
Jon G reply :
On 7/11/2014 at 10:12 PM, Ratherbfishing said:I hear some people rave about Clinton Lake which is the closest impoundment to where I live. Naturally, therefore, because it is so convenient, I can't seem to catch anything there but stunted white bass and the occassional catfish. I have a friend who used to work at the Marina and he fished there quite regularly. He had what he called his regular "milk run" where he went and caught bass. Now he says he, like me, can't catch a cold there.
I really enjoy Clinton it seems that the biggest fish I catch are from there. But I will say this a lot of the fish I catch there seem really beat up and have been caught A LOT. I am also still trying to find these "Smallmouth" that I hear people catch out of there
WRB reply :
Thank you for the tip. That would be Arrow Island, no longer sunken...did you know the marina used to be on the south end of Arrow island, pilings are still there, just south of the road bed cut.On 7/11/2014 at 11:14 AM, Shanes7614 said:WRB.... Try fishing around the sunken island in Casitas.
There is a night tournament this Sat, good luck!
Tom
Violinguy reply :
In my experience, any lake that is featured in the DNR publications as a great lake for fishing usually sucks. When I was in college in CT, we would go a few times a year to Twin Lakes in the far NW corner of the state. In the "list" provided by the state, it was one of the top rated bass lakes in the state (and very very deep in spots so lake trout also). Well, we caught just about everything but bass there. Crappie, panfish, perch, pickeral, etc. Never had a bad trip, but never got on the bass.
Without a boat, it's never worth going to the famous lakes in any state. Here in GA, we have Lanier and Alatoona, but I don't fish there because I don't have a boat and can't stand the crowds. George Sparks Reservoir (Sweetwater state park) is always mentioned, and it has good bank fishing opportunities, but I've never even had a nibble there. Yet, a tiny pond that doesn't even have a name in a county park near me produces 12" bass every time I go. Sure I'd rather catch bigger fish, but I also want to catch fish period.
I'm going to try Sweetwater State park again this summer now that I have more confidence, especially with plastics, but being skunked in all 4 trips I've taken there, I don't hold out much hope. Probably rent a canoe - that'll help. Yeah... 
McAlpine reply :
On 7/11/2014 at 12:10 AM, Alonerankin2 said:Patoka lake... But it's not just me, lots of folks hate the lake for LMB , over and over again I have seen 40 boat tournaments with a single fish winning? I consider my self a decent fisherman, not on patoka.... I quit fishing it though I know a guy that caught a 9+ in a area I fished a lot ... Great crappie/ bluegill and now pretty good for stripers... But LMB ? Might as well travel and hire a boat.. That's my thing...
A lot of good fish in Patoka. My PB came out of there and our last club tourney at Patoka one of the guys caught a 7+. Definitly a lake you have to "learn". It's not easy like it was back in the day but there are some pigs in there but your right on many days that place can be tough. With last years giant bass brood hatch and the way they left the lake level down, hopefully we will have another boom on Patoka in a year or two. It gets so much darn pressure though, we will see how it goes.
My Nemisis is Monroe. That place just has my number. I have been there and done very well on the muddy side just out having fun but rarely. Can't catch a cold on the clear side. Regardless; I have finished every tournament I have fished there as a blank.
Alonerankin2 reply :
On 7/12/2014 at 3:27 AM, McAlpine said:A lot of good fish in Patoka. My PB came out of there and our last club tourney at Patoka one of the guys caught a 7+. Definitly a lake you have to "learn". It's not easy like it was back in the day but there are some pigs in there but your right on many days that place can be tough. With last years giant bass brood hatch and the way they left the lake level down, hopefully we will have another boom on Patoka in a year or two. It gets so much darn pressure though, we will see how it goes.
My Nemisis is Monroe. That place just has my number. I have been there and done very well on the muddy side just out having fun but rarely. Can't catch a cold on the clear side. Regardless; I have finished every tournament I have fished there as a blank.
Oh yea, there are some toads in it yea, but your also right about its heyday... I hope it does come back.... I always loved it in the Fall a beautiful place, a lot of great days on it since about 81 for me.... I would have a couple years of great fishing, followed by years of horrific fishing. But I do hope it comes back. Hard, hard, lake to figure!
Tight lines to ya!!
slimshad reply :
On 7/12/2014 at 3:27 AM, McAlpine said:A lot of good fish in Patoka. My PB came out of there and our last club tourney at Patoka one of the guys caught a 7+. Definitly a lake you have to "learn". It's not easy like it was back in the day but there are some pigs in there but your right on many days that place can be tough. With last years giant bass brood hatch and the way they left the lake level down, hopefully we will have another boom on Patoka in a year or two. It gets so much darn pressure though, we will see how it goes.
My Nemisis is Monroe. That place just has my number. I have been there and done very well on the muddy side just out having fun but rarely. Can't catch a cold on the clear side. Regardless; I have finished every tournament I have fished there as a blank.
On 7/12/2014 at 3:42 AM, Alonerankin2 said:Oh yea, there are some toads in it yea, but your also right about its heyday... I hope it does come back.... I always loved it in the Fall a beautiful place, a lot of great days on it since about 81 for me.... I would have a couple years of great fishing, followed by years of horrific fishing. But I do hope it comes back. Hard, hard, lake to figure!
Tight lines to ya!!
Come on guys these two lakes are fine. I have won more money on Patoka and Monroe than any other lakes. You have to throw away all your previous knowledge and start fresh. Go in with a open mind. Don't fish old spots. I have found that Patoka has no honey holes. All of mine have changed over the years. I just go and follow seasonal patterns now. Monroe did get me on our last tournament but I won last years there. Try the open mind thing at these lakes and I bet you do better.
Alonerankin2 reply :
On 7/12/2014 at 4:10 AM, slimshad said:And how have you been catching them? Let me guess, superfluke weightless over submerge vegetation or Senko fished same way or a Jig and pig off rip/ rap? Come on tell us, I ain't going back!
Come on guys these two lakes are fine. I have won more money on Patoka and Monroe than any other lakes. You have to throw away all your previous knowledge and start fresh. Go in with a open mind. Don't fish old spots. I have found that Patoka has no honey holes. All of mine have changed over the years. I just go and follow seasonal patterns now. Monroe did get me on our last tournament but I won last years there. Try the open mind thing at these lakes and I bet you do better.
Alonerankin2 reply :
The post got flip/flopped
Nice_Bass reply :
On 7/12/2014 at 1:55 AM, Jon G said:I really enjoy Clinton it seems that the biggest fish I catch are from there. But I will say this a lot of the fish I catch there seem really beat up and have been caught A LOT. I am also still trying to find these "Smallmouth" that I hear people catch out of there
I do catch a few decent smallmouth out of there each year. One is in my avatar pic right now. Never find the giants, but close to 20'' anyway.
slimshad reply :
I went friday night to Patoka. Not a boat was in sight. Weird really. I put in at the Lick Fork ramp and stayed over there. We had three keepers before dark and then it slowed way down. Seems like points with deep green grass were our best pattern. Popping the bait, jig or texas rig through the grass and then letting it fall. We found several deep schools around the points of the dam. They were deep though. Might have been stripers or walleye. It was a cool site on my buddies 1198. Huge bait balls with arches all around. 30 to 45 foot deep though. If it was bass, i dont know how to get to them.
FrogFreak reply :
Mine is the lake that I stay at in MN. It has some large bass but they are very few and far between. I can go to other lakes in the area and have 20-40 bass mornings (2 lb average) but I can fish all day on this lake and catch very few if any keepers. I've been skunked several times this year already and even on the "good" days I may scrape out 2-3 keepers. It's very frustrating. I think I just need to spend a ton of time driving around and graphing the lake so I can find out where they're hiding.
OH, and yes the MN DNR says this lake has an "abundant" population of LMBs.
Alonerankin2 reply :
On 7/15/2014 at 3:41 AM, slimshad said:I went friday night to Patoka. Not a boat was in sight. Weird really. I put in at the Lick Fork ramp and stayed over there. We had three keepers before dark and then it slowed way down. Seems like points with deep green grass were our best pattern. Popping the bait, jig or texas rig through the grass and then letting it fall. We found several deep schools around the points of the dam. They were deep though. Might have been stripers or walleye. It was a cool site on my buddies 1198. Huge bait balls with arches all around. 30 to 45 foot deep though. If it was bass, i dont know how to get to them.
Yea, those stripers friggin own those bait balls in the upper 1/3 of that lake, when shad was first put in... After a couple years really.. I was catching stripers on top when they would bust the bait schools, serious fun! It always is a nice site on electronics seeing them, that's a fact... One of my biggest patoka fish was at walls lake... Deep thumping a spinnerbait, after loosing 2 Roland Martin Big Bass spinnerbaits, the 3 was a charm!
CDMeyer reply :
My place is not a lake but rather a place on a lake, there is this really good looking bay that I fish but have never caught anything, yet I know the are in there it is just to promising looking.
CDMeyer reply :
Even on day where I have a great pattern going I will take that pattern in there and get zilch not even a bite
everythingthatswims reply :
On 7/15/2014 at 11:40 AM, CDMeyer said:Even on day where I have a great pattern going I will take that pattern in there and get zilch not even a bite
The state record is living there keeping all the little guys away, go get her!
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 7/11/2014 at 12:10 AM, Alonerankin2 said:Patoka lake... But it's not just me, lots of folks hate the lake for LMB , over and over again I have seen 40 boat tournaments with a single fish winning? I consider my self a decent fisherman, not on patoka.... I quit fishing it though I know a guy that caught a 9+ in a area I fished a lot ... Great crappie/ bluegill and now pretty good for stripers... But LMB ? Might as well travel and hire a boat.. That's my thing...
I fished Patoka in '05 in a BASS Weekend Series regional tournament. I almost made the final day cut with 1 2.5lb fish on the non-boater side and 10 or 11 pounds won it in 3 days of fishing on the NB side. I caught 4 fish in 2 days of fishing, some of the toughest fishing I've ever experienced. My boaters combined for 2 keepers in 2 days. It was a long drive home after that weekend.
senile1 reply :
I would say my nemesis has been Smithville Lake north of Kansas City though I seem to have figured out some patterns that work for me most of the time. I have had my share of bad days there though.
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