Mike's Question:

They say the next record bass will come from California. Can you recommend some California vacation spots near good bass water?

Mike Keeney

Mark's Answer:

Mike,

They have been saying that the record bass will come from California for some time.

Anglers sure catch more big bass in California than any other state (I'm sure those anglers from Texas and Florida might have something to say about that, but trust me on this).

California is such a vast state, loaded with bass fishing opportunities from tip to tip, in numerous lakes and rivers.

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An hour north of Los Angeles is Castaic Lake, a smallish, 2200-acre lake loaded with big largemouth bass (and the lake has plenty of fat trout and smallmouth bass, too). Not that long ago, an angler there caught a 22-pound largemouth, only 4 ounces short of the world record.

Other top southern California bass lakes include Lake Isabella, also north of L.A., Lake Morena, an hour east of San Diego and Lake Hodges, a half hour north of San Diego.

In northern California, Lake Amador is one of the top big bass producers with a 17-pounder caught in its waters. The state has so many quality lakes capable of producing record bass, you can't go wrong with any of the above.

And while you're out there in this wealth of angling fisheries, you might as well fish the delta, the Sacramento River (for striper) and any of the steelhead streams.