America’s top bass-fishing towns
Bass pros weigh in on their favorite fishing towns
Where is Bassville, USA? Believe it or not, there is such a place on the map. But the tiny ghost town in Greene County, Mo., hardly fits the bill as a major draw for bass-fishing junkies like you and me. Established way back in the mid-1800s, Bassville was built around a steam-powered gristmill near the Pomme de Terre River. There are bass swimming in the river today, but it is doubtful they see much pressure. Modern-day Bassville consists of nothing more than an old cemetery, a church, a handful of rural residents and a few weathered remnants of a not-so-eventful past.
Bass fishermen demand much more from a town to consider it special. Having a bass-rich reservoir or river nearby is always nice, but the fishing needn’t be consistently “lights out” for a community to earn high marks among discriminating anglers.
The atmosphere of a town can do wonders for angler attitude. So can user-friendly accommodations and hospitable people. Then comes the all-important issue of food. Bass fishermen need good fuel in their boats and their bellies to keep them going. Bass fishing is work – hard work.
Having a wealth of good places to satisfy a hungry appetite after a long day on the water is a must. For some guys, even the aroma in the air can fuel a lifetime attraction. Interestingly, that is what helps spur pro Larry Nixon’s intimate affection for the unofficial capital of the Cajun coastline – Morgan City, La.
“It just smells like fish there – I love it,” said Nixon, a bass-fishing icon from Bee Branch, Ark. “I have fished all over the United States and been to all kinds of neat places. But Morgan City is special in my book. It is one of those places that I really get excited about when I see it on a tournament schedule.”
So, where are the most popular bass-fishing towns in North America? Better yet, what is it about those places that makes them special?
That depends entirely on who you talk to. Or at least that’s what we found when we polled a few of the sport’s elder statesmen, including Nixon, Tommy Martin and George Cochran.
The three pros have logged more than a century of tournament-fishing experience between them, and they have traveled thousands of miles from coast to coast to lakes as far north as Champlain in upstate New York and as far south as Amistad on the Texas-Mexico border.
What follows is a list of their favorite bass-fishing towns, along with a few reasons why.
Angler: Larry Nixon
Hometown: Bee Branch, Ark.
Age: 56
1. Morgan City, La. – Located along the fringes of the Atchafalaya Basin in southern Louisiana, Morgan City is Cajun to the bone.
“There aren’t any greater people in the world,” Nixon said. “They all fish, hunt, cook and love to live life to the fullest. You’d be surprised at how many of them would actually let you move into their house for a week if you wanted to. It is definitely my kind of town.”
One of Nixon’s favorite stops in Morgan City is the Atchafalaya Seafood Bar, where he enjoys getting his hands dirty. His favorite dishes are boiled shrimp and crawfish.
“You can sit down at this rough-looking bar and eat until you pass out,” Nixon said. “I have never left that town unhappy, even when the fishing turns off. The atmosphere just won’t let me.”
2. Hemphill/Jasper, Texas – The two east Texas towns are nearly 40 miles apart, but Nixon refused to mention one without the other. Each town wouldn’t feel right if traffic wasn’t half comprised of bass boats.
Nixon called Hemphill home for 18 years during the 1970s and ’80s when he was honing his bass-fishing skills on Toledo Bend Reservoir in preparation to launch what has turned out to be one of the most storied careers the sport has ever known. He was a charter member of a salty group of anglers one writer coined as the “Hemphill Gang.”
Jasper is located in the next county over, just a short drive from the Sam Rayburn Dam. Known nationally as a bass-fishing hub, the town caters heavily to tournament crowds of every level.
It is big business, too. Bass tournaments on Sam Rayburn Reservoir generate about $30 million annually for the town. No wonder a sizable portion of the Jasper County tax base is dedicated to keeping tournaments coming.
3. Guntersville, Ala. – You know it is a special place the moment you roll into this scenic community. Surrounded by the rugged Appalachian foothills, Guntersville is steeped in legendary big – bass tradition.
“I won’t say the town is built around bass fishing, but it is certainly built for bass fishing,” Nixon said. “Guntersville has excellent facilities, restaurants and some of the best tackle stores I’ve ever been in.”
Nixon’s favorite tackle stop also is the area’s largest – Waterfront Grocery and Tackle on Scottsboro Highway near Pine Island Point.
“If they don’t have it there, it probably doesn’t exist,” he said.
Angler: Tommy Martin
Hometown: Hemphill, Texas
Age: 66
1. Clewiston, Fla. – Located at the southern tip of 467,000-acre Lake Okeechobee, the roadside surroundings leave no doubt as to what feeds to the population of about 6,500 people who live there.
“There are quite a few sugar cane farmers in that country, but fishing is pretty much the talk of the town,” Martin said. “There are all kinds of tackle shops, fishing guides and marinas, and they are all geared toward bass fishing.”
2. Osage Beach, Mo. – “Lake of the Ozarks is far from being one of my favorite fishing lakes, but I really like the town of Osage Beach,” Martin said. “It is built for fishing – easy to get around with lots of great facilities and restaurants. A good number of the hotels and motels are lakeside with individual boat stalls, which is very convenient. I can get up in the morning, drink a cup a coffee, eat a honey bun and be on the water in 10 minutes or less.”
3. Kimberling City, Mo. – Never mind the big spotted, largemouth and smallmouth bass that swim around in the clear waters of Table Rock Lake. Martin cited the convenient layout of Kimberling City and primo eating establishments as the primary reasons he likes to go there.
“It’s a lot like Osage Beach – it’s a really convenient place to fish,” Martin said. “You are right on the water, the motels are affordable, the people are friendly and there are a wide variety of places to eat. That’s what bass anglers look for in a bass-fishing town.”
Angler: George Cochran
Hometown: Hot Springs, Ark.
Age: 56
1. Hot Springs, Ark. – This scenic Arkansas tourist town has been good to its hometown boy. The two-time Bassmaster Classic champ won the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship on Lake Hamilton in 2005, which earned him a $500,000 payday he gladly accepted in the presence of thousands of cheering fans.
“Winning the championship at home was special, but it has nothing do with why Hot Springs is my favorite bass-fishing town on the map,” Cochran said. “I am a fisherman, and this town has everything a fisherman could ask for. We’ve got three great lakes here (Ouachita, Hamilton and Catherine) that are tied together by the Ouachita River.
“Everything revolves around fishing. Factor in the beautiful country, excellent facilities, sporting goods options and great restaurants, and it’s no wonder why everybody enjoys coming here as much as they do.”
2. Russellville, Ark. – “It’s home to Lake Dardanelle (35,000 acres), which is the only lake built on the Arkansas River that provides consistently good fishing,” Cochran said. “It’s a great place to fish a tournament or to just get away for a few days. The lake, the surroundings, the facilities and the people all lend themselves to making it a positive experience.”
Russellville is also home to one of the Natural State’s top-ranked state parks – Lake Dardanelle State Park, where anglers can camp lakefront and cast from shore if they wish. Restaurants are available to suit any taste from steaks to Chinese food.
3. Pell City, Ala. – It’s not a big town (about 16,000), but the interest in bass fishing there is huge. It comes with the territory.
Located about 30 miles from Birmingham, Pell City’s cash cow is Logan Martin Lake, site of the 2006 Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship.
“I like Pell City because it is small, easy to get around and the people there really greet bass anglers with open arms,” Cochran said. “It also has some pretty good sporting goods stores and the accommodations are excellent.”
Stop in at Lucky’s Bait and Tackle on Highway 231 or Sportsman’s Paradise to find out what’s hot and what’s not. When the dinner bell rings, The Ark on Highway 78 is hard to beat for seafood and steaks.