Fly Lines
RIO Bass Fly Line
A short, aggressive head that turns over wind-resistant poppers and bass bugs.
Check PriceSpecies / Largemouth Bass
Bass
Largemouth Bass Fishing
America's most popular game fish, living in lakes, reservoirs, ponds, and slow rivers nationwide. Largemouth relate to cover like grass, wood, and docks.
Best Months: Mar to Jun, Sep to Oct
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Best Flies, Lures & Bait for Largemouth Bass
Month
9 picks for October.
Woolly Bugger #2-10
FlyStreamer
Shop This FlySoft Stick Bait 4 to 5 in
LureSoft Plastic
Shop This LureBass Jig 3/8 to 1 oz
LureJig
Shop This LureSpinnerbait 3/8 to 3/4 oz
LureMoving Bait · Stained water.
Shop This LureBladed Jig 3/8 to 1/2 oz
LureMoving Bait · Around grass.
Shop This LureSquarebill Crankbait 1.5 to 2.5 in
LureCrankbait
Shop This LureLipless Crankbait 1/2 to 3/4 oz
LureCrankbait
Shop This LureWalking Topwater 4 to 5 in
LureTopwater · Low light.
Shop This LureLive Minnows 1 to 3 in
BaitLive Bait
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Rod & Reel
Largemouth Bass Setup
Largemouth Bass
Fly 9 ft 7 or 8 wt rod, bass-taper floating line, 12 to 16 lb leader for poppers and divers.
Spin / Cast 7 ft medium-heavy baitcasting rod, 7:1 reel, 15 lb fluorocarbon or 50 lb braid around heavy cover.
The US
Where to Catch Largemouth Bass
Lakes & Reservoirs · Alabama
Lake Eufaula
A 45,000 acre Chattahoochee River reservoir on the Alabama and Georgia line known for big largemouth and spring crappie.
Largemouth Bass · Crappie · Channel Catfish
Lakes & Reservoirs · Alabama
Lake Guntersville
Tennessee River impoundment with matted grass and big-bag tournament weights.
Largemouth Bass · Crappie · Catfish
Lakes & Reservoirs · Alabama
Wheeler Lake
A Tennessee River impoundment with ledges that hold bass and trophy blue catfish.
Smallmouth Bass · Largemouth Bass · Blue Catfish
Lakes & Reservoirs · Arkansas
Lake Ouachita
A clear, 40,000 acre Ouachita Mountain reservoir known for striped bass and largemouth.
Striped Bass · Largemouth Bass · Crappie
Lakes & Reservoirs · Arizona
Lake Havasu
A Colorado River reservoir on the California line with strong striped bass, largemouth, and smallmouth populations.
Striped Bass · Largemouth Bass · Smallmouth Bass
Lakes & Reservoirs · Arizona
Roosevelt Lake
Arizona's largest lake inside the state, a desert reservoir with excellent largemouth bass and crappie fishing.
Largemouth Bass · Crappie · Channel Catfish
Lakes & Reservoirs · California
Clear Lake
The largest natural freshwater lake fully in California and one of the best trophy largemouth lakes in the West.
Largemouth Bass · Crappie · Channel Catfish
Lakes & Reservoirs · California
Lake Casitas
Southern California reservoir with a strong catfish and largemouth population.
Largemouth Bass · Channel Catfish · Bluegill
Lakes & Reservoirs · Colorado
Lake Pueblo
A Front Range reservoir with walleye, wipers, and bass in a high desert setting.
Walleye · Largemouth Bass · Smallmouth Bass
Lakes & Reservoirs · Connecticut
Candlewood Lake
Connecticut's largest lake, a rocky tournament destination for smallmouth bass.
Smallmouth Bass · Largemouth Bass
Lakes & Reservoirs · Florida
Lake Okeechobee
Shallow 730-square-mile lake known for trophy largemouth in the grass.
Largemouth Bass · Crappie · Bluegill
Lakes & Reservoirs · Florida
Lake Tohopekaliga
A Kissimmee Chain lake near Orlando with grass flats and trophy largemouth.
Largemouth Bass · Crappie
Lakes & Reservoirs · Florida
Rodman Reservoir
A stump-filled impoundment of the Ocklawaha River known for giant bass.
Largemouth Bass · Crappie · Bluegill
Rivers & Streams · Florida
St. Johns River
Florida's longest river. Bass from Lake Monroe to Welaka, reds and occasional snook near the mouth.
Largemouth Bass · Redfish
Lakes & Reservoirs · Idaho
Lake Coeur d'Alene
Deep Panhandle lake with smallmouth, bass, and cutthroat.
Smallmouth Bass · Largemouth Bass · Rainbow Trout
Lakes & Reservoirs · Illinois
Fox Chain O'Lakes
A chain of connected glacial lakes in northern Illinois with muskie, walleye, and bass.
Walleye · Muskellunge · Largemouth Bass
Lakes & Reservoirs · Indiana
Lake Wawasee
Indiana's largest natural lake with weedy flats for largemouth and big bluegill.
Largemouth Bass · Bluegill
Lakes & Reservoirs · Indiana
Patoka Lake
A southern Indiana reservoir with standing timber and good crappie and bass fishing.
Largemouth Bass · Crappie
Lakes & Reservoirs · Kentucky
Kentucky Lake
One of the largest man-made lakes in the East with famous ledge bass fishing and crappie.
Largemouth Bass · Crappie · Blue Catfish
Rivers & Streams · Louisiana
Atchafalaya Basin
The largest river swamp in the country, with cypress backwaters full of bass and sac-a-lait.
Largemouth Bass · Crappie · Channel Catfish
Lakes & Reservoirs · Louisiana
Toledo Bend Reservoir
A huge Sabine River reservoir on the Texas line and one of the top bass lakes in the country.
Largemouth Bass · Crappie
Saltwater & Coast · Maryland
Susquehanna Flats
Grass flats at the head of the Chesapeake with striped bass and largemouth. Check current Maryland spawning-season closures.
Striped Bass · Largemouth Bass
Lakes & Reservoirs · Minnesota
Lake Minnetonka
A metro Minneapolis lake with bays and weed edges for bass and musky.
Largemouth Bass · Muskellunge · Bluegill
Lakes & Reservoirs · Missouri
Lake of the Ozarks
A sprawling Ozark reservoir with docks lining the shore and strong bass and crappie fishing.
Largemouth Bass · Crappie · Channel Catfish
Lakes & Reservoirs · Missouri
Table Rock Lake
Clear Ozark reservoir with bluff walls, spotted bass, and a big bass tournament scene.
Largemouth Bass · Spotted Bass · Smallmouth Bass
Lakes & Reservoirs · Missouri
Truman Lake
A timber-filled reservoir and one of the best crappie lakes in the Midwest.
Crappie · Largemouth Bass · Channel Catfish
Lakes & Reservoirs · Mississippi
Enid Lake
Corps of Engineers reservoir on the Yocona River ten miles south of Batesville. The world record white crappie came out of this water, and the summer pool holds crappie, largemouth bass, white bass, catfish and bream.
Crappie · Largemouth Bass · White Bass
Lakes & Reservoirs · Mississippi
Grenada Lake
A North Mississippi flood control lake famous for giant slab crappie.
Crappie · Largemouth Bass
Lakes & Reservoirs · Mississippi
Ross Barnett Reservoir
A Pearl River reservoir near Jackson with crappie, bass, and catfish.
Crappie · Largemouth Bass · Channel Catfish
Lakes & Reservoirs · Mississippi
Sardis Lake
A large reservoir near Batesville with trophy crappie and spring bass.
Crappie · Largemouth Bass · Channel Catfish
Lakes & Reservoirs · North Carolina
Lake Norman
North Carolina's largest man-made lake near Charlotte, with stripers, spotted bass, and largemouth.
Striped Bass · Spotted Bass · Largemouth Bass
Lakes & Reservoirs · New Mexico
Elephant Butte Lake
New Mexico's largest lake on the Rio Grande with bass, stripers, and catfish.
Largemouth Bass · Striped Bass · White Bass
Lakes & Reservoirs · Nevada
Lake Mead
The huge Colorado River reservoir behind Hoover Dam with striped bass and largemouth.
Striped Bass · Largemouth Bass
Lakes & Reservoirs · Ohio
Mosquito Creek Lake
A northeast Ohio reservoir with walleye and crappie.
Walleye · Crappie · Largemouth Bass
Lakes & Reservoirs · Oklahoma
Grand Lake O' the Cherokees
A northeast Oklahoma reservoir that hosts major bass tournaments.
Largemouth Bass · Crappie · Channel Catfish
Lakes & Reservoirs · Oklahoma
Lake Texoma
A Red River reservoir on the Texas line and one of the few lakes where stripers reproduce naturally.
Striped Bass · Blue Catfish · Largemouth Bass
Lakes & Reservoirs · Pennsylvania
Raystown Lake
Pennsylvania's largest lake fully in the state, with a striped bass fishery.
Striped Bass · Largemouth Bass · Smallmouth Bass
Lakes & Reservoirs · South Carolina
Lake Murray
A big reservoir near Columbia famous for spring herring spawn bass fishing and stripers.
Striped Bass · Largemouth Bass · Crappie
Lakes & Reservoirs · South Carolina
Santee Cooper Lakes
Lakes Marion and Moultrie, known for trophy blue catfish and landlocked stripers.
Blue Catfish · Striped Bass · Crappie
Lakes & Reservoirs · Tennessee
Chickamauga Lake
A Tennessee River lake near Chattanooga known for double-digit largemouth.
Largemouth Bass · Crappie
Lakes & Reservoirs · Tennessee
Pickwick Lake
A Tennessee River lake on the Alabama and Mississippi line famous for smallmouth.
Smallmouth Bass · Largemouth Bass · Blue Catfish
Lakes & Reservoirs · Tennessee
Reelfoot Lake
An earthquake-formed cypress lake in northwest Tennessee with crappie and bluegill.
Crappie · Bluegill · Largemouth Bass
Lakes & Reservoirs · Texas
Falcon Lake
A Rio Grande reservoir on the Mexico border known for numbers of big largemouth.
Largemouth Bass · Channel Catfish
Rivers & Streams · Texas
Guadalupe River
Spring-fed Hill Country river with rainbows in the winter tailwater below Canyon Lake and bass in the upper river.
Rainbow Trout · Largemouth Bass
Lakes & Reservoirs · Texas
Lake Conroe
A popular lake north of Houston with bass, hybrid stripers, and catfish.
Largemouth Bass · Channel Catfish
Lakes & Reservoirs · Texas
Lake Fork
The state's top trophy bass lake, with standing timber and more ShareLunker entries than any other Texas lake.
Largemouth Bass · Crappie
Lakes & Reservoirs · Texas
Lake Travis
Long Edwards Plateau reservoir through the Hill Country, with white bass runs in spring.
Largemouth Bass · White Bass
Lakes & Reservoirs · Texas
Sam Rayburn Reservoir
Big East Texas bass lake and the largest lake entirely within Texas.
Largemouth Bass · White Bass · Crappie
Lakes & Reservoirs · Utah
Lake Powell
A massive canyon reservoir with striped bass boils and smallmouth on rocky points.
Striped Bass · Smallmouth Bass · Largemouth Bass
Lakes & Reservoirs · Virginia
Smith Mountain Lake
A Roanoke River reservoir known for striped bass and tournament bass fishing.
Striped Bass · Largemouth Bass · Smallmouth Bass
Lakes & Reservoirs · Vermont
Lake Champlain
Smallmouth and largemouth in the same day, plus pike, salmon, and lake trout.
Smallmouth Bass · Largemouth Bass · Northern Pike
Lakes & Reservoirs · Washington
Lake Washington
A big urban lake in Seattle with strong smallmouth fishing.
Smallmouth Bass · Largemouth Bass · Yellow Perch
Lakes & Reservoirs · Washington
Potholes Reservoir
A desert reservoir with sand dunes and flooded willows full of bass and walleye.
Walleye · Largemouth Bass · Yellow Perch
Recommended
Gear for Largemouth Bass
Fly Rods
Orvis Clearwater 9 ft 8 wt Fly Rod
An 8 weight handles bass bugs, redfish flats, and wind. The most versatile warmwater and inshore size.
Check PriceFly Reels
Redington Behemoth Fly Reel
A strong, sealed drag at a modest price, made in sizes from trout to saltwater.
Check PriceRod & Reel Combos
Ugly Stik GX2 Spinning Combo
Nearly unbreakable and sensitive enough for most freshwater fishing. A safe first combo.
Check PriceRods
St. Croix Triumph Spinning Rod
A sensitive, lightweight rod for finesse plastics and jigs.
Check PriceReels
Shimano Sedona Spinning Reel
A smooth, durable reel in sizes for trout through inshore saltwater.
Check PriceReels
Pflueger President Spinning Reel
Light and smooth for its price. A favorite for finesse and panfish rods.
Check PriceRod & Reel Combos
Lew's Mach Baitcasting Combo
A matched casting combo for bass fishing around cover.
Check PriceLine
PowerPro Spectra Braided Line
Thin, strong braid for long casts, sensitivity, and pulling fish from cover.
Check PriceLine
Seaguar Red Label Fluorocarbon
Low-visibility fluorocarbon for leaders and clear water.
Check PriceSoft Plastics
Yamamoto Senko 5 in
The original salted stick bait. Fish it weightless or wacky rigged.
Check PriceSoft Plastics
Zoom Trick Worm
A floating finesse worm for Texas rigs, shaky heads, and Carolina rigs.
Check PriceLargemouth Bass Fishing by State
Texas (6)Florida (4)Mississippi (4)Alabama (3)Missouri (3)Tennessee (3)South Carolina (2)Washington (2)Arizona (2)Louisiana (2)Oklahoma (2)Indiana (2)California (2)North Carolina (1)New Mexico (1)Nevada (1)Ohio (1)Pennsylvania (1)Arkansas (1)Utah (1)Virginia (1)Colorado (1)Connecticut (1)Idaho (1)Illinois (1)Kentucky (1)Maryland (1)Minnesota (1)Vermont (1)