World's Best Bass Lakes Revisited

Cruising around EarthSports.com today, I read a fun article titled "World's Best Largemouth Lakes"   It immediately got me thinking about a list I created of my top destination lakes for bass that I wrote back in 2006.

There are definitely some similarities in the lists.  I definitely have some smallmouth destinations on my list , which don't fit their list all that well.  I also have some Mexican lakes on my list, which I find interesting that they don't.  I think, America's best bass lakes would be a better label for the article I read, as no Mexican Lakes on list, also Lake Biwa in Japan is not on the list and currently has the World Record Largemouth.  Still a good list either way.  I would also probably put Diamond Valley or Dixon Lakes on the list over Castaic or Casitas these days.

Reviewing my list, I noticed I only included Florida Lakes in my honorable mention, probably because they were not that hot when I wrote my piece and if I didn't have some smallmouth destinations, I probably would have had more room for those Sunshine State destinations.  After watching the latest FLW tournament on Lake Okeechobee , it would be really hard to argue not putting that lake right near the top of the list for American's Best Bass Lakes!


Big Show Terry Scroggins w/ a 12-02 Fence Panda from Big O - Courtesy FLW Outdoors

Also, asked myself, what would i change or add to my list?  I would definitely add some Texas lakes, like Falcon, O.H. Ivie & Choke Canyon.  Lake Comedero in Mexico would be moving up.  I would specifically add Sturgeon Bay & Buffalo to my Great Lakes hit list.  And I am not taking any off, what fun would that be?

So what are your favorite lakes that are not on these lists?  What are we missing?  Any that don't belong?

Source: http://bassinblog.richlindgren.com/2011/02/08/worlds-best-bass-lakes-revisited.aspx?ref=rss

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20 Things Kids Need to Know About The Outdoors

In my last post, 5 Words for 2011, word #3 was “teach”, which inspired me to generate a list of the things that are important, fun and easy (not necessarily in that order) to teach your kids when being in … Continue reading

Source: http://familycampman.com/2011/01/20-things-kids-need-to-know-about-the-outdooors/

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The Final Four of Whitetail Brush Rifles

by Dave Hurteau

Well things are getting interesting now, aren’t they? Not to mention a little upsetting as one of the stars in my cabinet, the venerable 99, goes down in flames. (Oh well, I’ve got two more still in the running.) Meanwhile, who’d have guessed that a bolt—even one so popular as the Model Seven—would get this deep into the tourney? But it has, and we now have our final four matchups.

First is the aforementioned Seven vs. the most popular deer rifle ever made. I think we can at least pencil that one in. But second is a far more interesting matchup: the 336 vs. the 7600. A few years back, I traded a 760 in .35 Rem. for a 336 in .35 Rem.—and am still not sure who got the better gun in the deal. I know this: At the Adirondack camps I where I’ve hunted, there are more of the two-seed 7600 than the one-seed 336.

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Source: http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/whitetail-365/2011/04/final-four-whitetail-brush-rifles

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Home Sweet Home

These are our lodge grounds at BC West. We’re tucked into the woods about a quarter mile from Cut Bank, a sweetheart of a run on the Lower Dean River. That’s our clubhouse on the right, which provides both indoor and outdoor venues for relaxing and telling lies stories about the day’s fishing. It’s well-kept, [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/UpdatesFromDenekiOutdoors/~3/kOeTPy2yKFc/

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2011 Bassmaster Classic Summary

Wow, what an event!  The weights did end up being huge like I expected, maybe even bigger then I expected, but not who I saw winning before it all started.  Cut right to the chase, Kevin VanDam dominated this event and rewrote a bunch of the record books this weekend.

In & around a host of fellow competitors, VanDam whacked a 28-00 day-3 creel at the 2011 New Orleans Bassmaster Classic & won easily by a monstrous 10 1/2-pound margin. His 69-11, 15-fish total smashed the previous Bassmaster Classic total-weight record of 56-02 set by Luke Clausen at Toho in 2006.

The win continues a streak that may never be matched for as long as the sport endures. With his win today:

# Equalled Rick Clunn for most Classic victories (4) & Joined Clunn, who was previously the only angler to win back-to-back Classics.
# Won his 3rd Classic in 6 years.
# Won 5 of the 6 most recent major B.A.S.S. titles ? Angler of the Year (AOY) in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and the Classic in 2010 and 2011.
# Inched within a single win of Roland Martin's record for total career B.A.S.S. wins (19). (VanDam's 2 12-boat-field post-season wins not included.)
# Surpassed Roland Martin's record of 9 major B.A.S.S. titles. Roland won 9 AOY titles. VanDam has now won 6 AOY titles and 4 Classics. (Martin still holds the record for most AOY titles).
# Became the only angler ever to win 2 Classics on the same venue.
# Set a new 3-day (5 bass limit) Classic weight record of 69-11.
# Eclipsed the previously unthinkable mark of $5 million in career earnings. 


KVD: Photo courtesy of BASS - Jerry Cunningham

KVD did it by finding a great pod of big fish in an area that he had them coming to him, in true pre-spawn fashion, but so did several others.  So how did he separate him self from many other great anglers fishing the same water, luck?  Not hardly, after being glued to the coverage all they way through the post tourney press conferences, here are the bullet points on why I believe he pulled away from the field:
- Put tournament in his control, by finding right fish close enough he was not effected by fog and short fishing times
- Day 2, he felt the fish stop eating his spinnerbait they did on day 1 early on, he made a critical bait switch to a crankbait, his signature Strike King 1.5 Square Bill (chart blk back), before others clued in.  That is how he got his seperation on day 2.
- He also dialed in to the retrieves and what triggered this fish better each day then his competitors, example he used a 5.4:1 signature Quantam reel , which helped him slow down his crankbait better then other anglers that he said were fishing too fast much of the time.
- Magic Cookies don't hurt either!!!

I think Brent Chapman had a chance, but I think in the end it was "our" warm water up north that cost him on the final day.  He said his Mississippi River fed area dropped water temperature 10 degrees over night.  So my guess is that all the melting snow in the Midwest finally reached him and cooled the water down enough to push back his fish enough to take him out of shot, although it's doubtful that Venice area even when perfect could produce 25lb plus bags like Lake Cataouatche did.

KVD credited all his signature Quantam gear spooled with 20lb fluorocarbon, and two lures (Signature Spinnerbait in Chartreuse Sexy Shad Exclusive to BassPro& his new Strike King 1.5 Square Bill in Chart/Blk), better get them fast, because they will sell fast!!!

http://www.basstackledepot.com/basstackle/strike-king/Square-Bill-Black-Back-Chartreuse.jpg

Hats off to Derek Remitz, fished a great tourney, just could not get big bites on day 1 ended in 3rd and also Federation Nation Champion Brandon Palaniuk who ended up 4th, not sure why I took him off my Fantasy Team at the last minute   I look forward to watching Brandon on the Elite Series this year.

 

Source: http://bassinblog.richlindgren.com/2011/02/20/2011-bassmaster-classic-summary.aspx?ref=rss

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Fly Pattern: The Japanese Hammer

I almost exclusively fish dry flies for trout?not because I?m a ?purist?.  I just love to see fish rise to a fly.  I don?t think there?s anything wrong with nymph fishing and I don?t look down on anyone who fishes nymphs.  It?s just not my style. I?ve been thinking a lot about the ?one fly? [...]

Source: http://backpackflyfishing.com/blog/2011/01/09/fly-pattern-the-japanese-hammer/

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All You Need to Know for Georgia Camping

Georgia has a lot of grand natural view and spots of significant importance. Most of Georgia campsites are open from late spring until early fall. You can camp either in north Georgia or Georgia near the beach. North Georgia is an excellent place for camping and is most frequently visited in summer months. More than [...]

Source: http://www.campingtourist.com/camping-spots/all-you-need-to-know-for-georgia-camping/

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