Top Midwest Destinations for Bass Fishing Enthusiasts
When you see articles about the finest world-class fishing holes, you tend to see a few lakes and reservoirs that are mostly in Texas, California, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.
For those of you living in the Midwest, it probably feels as if you’re stuck with whatever average holes you have nearby.
That’s not the case, though.
The Midwest is packed with some amazing fisheries that you’re sure to not only catch some great fish at, but your eyes are also going to be treated by the pristine landscapes surrounding them.
Here are the top 8 Midwest destinations for bass fishing with plenty of information to help you enjoy them.
1: Lake of the Ozarks
The Ozarks are massive, and you can access Ozark land in Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas, but it’s the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri that should get a bass angler’s attention.
The Lake of the Ozarks has 1100 miles of shoreline. If you were to straighten it out, it would be longer than the entire coastal line of California. It’s by no means a small lake, and the opportunities you have as an angler are immense.
It’s a popular tourist destination and vacation spot. So, there’s a well-developed section dedicated to local businesses, upper-end residential and summer homes, and of course, plenty of camping opportunities to accommodate multi-day fishing trips.
You’ll find plenty of largemouth, spotted, white, and striped bass throughout the entirety of the massive lake, and due to the sheer size and lack of concentrated fishing pressure, the bass grow to a decent average size.
However, it’s not all about bass.
You’ll also find yourself hooking into lake sturgeon, American paddlefish, black and white crappie, flathead, blue, and channel catfish, walleye, and plenty of panfish.
Trout can be found in some sections depending on when you go due to ongoing stocking efforts, but they’re not widespread, and stocking hasn’t held up.
While you’ll likely be looking to take advantage of the large bass opportunities, accidentally hooking into something a little less common is sure to be a treat.
Unfortunately, its size also works against it. It covers 4 entire counties in Missouri. So, if you want to try out the entire lake, you will need a boat or a lot of time to drive from spot to spot.
Its status as a popular tourist destination also means that local commodities tend to be a bit more expensive than the surrounding area. So, plan accordingly if you’re going to stay longer than a day.
2: Lake Kinkaid
Lake Kinkaid is a favorite fishing spot of Southwestern Illinois anglers.
It won’t get put on the map the same way as the most popular lakes around California or Alabama, but it features unique fishing opportunities and plenty of scenery.
Lake Kinkaid is in Jackson County about 100 miles from St. Louis, and the closest local population area has a small-town vibe and affordable opportunities to grab some last-minute gear, load up on snacks, etc. So, it’s a bit easier on the budget than Lake of the Ozarks.
First, the lake itself has 3 boat access points. So, you can get onto the lake without too much trouble, and if one spot is full of people taking forever, you can quickly get to a less congested ramp. This isn’t a common issue in the area, though.
On-foot opportunities are some of the finest in the area, too.
Not only is there a large lake with plenty of bank fishing opportunities, but the wide streams that shoot off of it provide shallow fishing opportunities without much pressure, and there’s a stepped natural rock spillway that attracts swimmers and anglers alike.
Once you find a promising part of the lake, you can expect to catch largemouth left and right with a few smallmouth mixed in. They’re common and get plenty of forage from the large bluegill, red ear, and crappie populations.
However, you might hook into one of the fishing world’s other most popular game fish.
Muskellunge are annually stocked in Lake Kinkaid as fingerlings, and they regularly grow to impressive lengths. Kinkaid is one of the best places in the Midwest to catch these finicky fish, and it’s certainly a welcome change of pace to hook into one while bass fishing.
Other than that, Lake Kinkaid is 39-feet deep at its deepest point, but many of the offshoots are far shallower. Especially as you get closer to the swimming areas. It also has 89 miles of shoreline.
So, while it’s more than large enough for you to enjoy exploring and lipping bass, you’re not going to get overwhelmed trying to see all of it.
3: Shawnee National Forest
If you’re an outdoorsman who enjoys more than just the excitement of a tight line, Shawnee National Forest in Southwestern Illinois provides a full experience for nature lovers.
This massive national forest doesn’t just have one fishing hole for you to check out.
If you’re willing to navigate it and enjoy the outdoors, there are 63 fishing holes available in Shawnee. That includes 52 ponds and 11 lakes, and while most of the ponds are all-natural ecosystems, 12 of them are stocked and managed to ensure a healthy fishing experience.
You can find largemouth and smallmouth commonly, walleye is fairly common throughout, and a variety of catfish are also pulled out every day.
Most of the fishing opportunities are accessible via car, but since this is a vast national forest, you might have to get out and hike to enjoy the most secluded spots.
The good thing is that the forest is well-managed, there are public bathrooms and resources, and it’s perfect for an all-around outdoor adventure.
One thing that you need to consider when you go bass fishing at Shawnee is that it is a hunting ground. It’s fairly well-regulated to help keep people safe, but even as an angler, you should make sure you’re wearing safety equipment and staying out of popular hunting zones during different hunting seasons.
Overall, Shawnee lets you turn a run-of-the-mill bass fishing trip into a wilderness experience you’re sure to love, and few things feel better than pulling a real lunker out of an all-natural secluded pond.
4: Newton Lake
With this fourth suggestion, we’re still in the Land of Lincoln, but we’re moving to the Southeast.
Newton Lake isn’t just a great bass fishing lake. It’s one of the best lakes in the Midwest, and there are two good reasons for it.
This 1700-acre lake is actually a cooling reservoir for the nearby nuclear power plant.
Don’t worry, though. The water is perfectly safe.
However, the heat generated by cooling the spent nuclear rods makes the lake great for year-round fishing, and the bass have far more favorable water temperatures for expanded growth opportunities.
On top of that, the lake is currently being improved as both a cooling tool and a fishery. So, it can easily end up cementing itself as a go-to spot for anglers around the country. Not just the Midwest.
The best trait of Newton Lake is that those favorable conditions mean you’re likely to pull 5-pound bass out of it regularly, and they commonly reach 10 pounds or more.
You’ll still catch dinks, but it’s far better than a waterway that’s overrun with small bass, and it’s the best Midwestern spot for breaking your record consistently.
5: Lake Springfield
For our last spot in Illinois, you have to check out Lake Springfield. It’s right next to the state capital, and it’s a little over double the size of Kinkaid.
However, while the bass fishing is great in general with consistent bites and lack of extreme persistent pressure, there’s a unique trait to the Springfield bass that should get any angler excited.
The lake is jam-packed with bluegill and shad, the water maintains decent temperatures for much of the year, and as a result, the bass end up being twice as heavy as they are on average elsewhere.
For example, a 15-inch bass is a good fish, but it’s nothing special. It typically weighs a little over a pound and a half.
In Lake Springfield, that same 15-inch bass will average more than 2 and a half pounds.
The bass aren’t typically record-breaking lengths, but the added weight makes them a blast to fight, and when you do get a lunker, that engorged belly makes it look like you’re weighing a Blue Ribbon sow instead of a fairly average bass.
6: The Mississippi River
This one is technically still accessible in Illinois, but it’s a river that runs through the bulk of the middle of the country. So, it’s accessible to a lot more Midwesterners than the other areas we’ve talked about.
The muddy Mississippi is a long stretch to its tributary into the Gulf, but that gives it a huge advantage.
It’s positioned right along tons of major roadways, and most of the time, you can pull over to the roadside, cast out a line, and have a good time pulling in plenty of largemouth bass.
The river has a fairly quick moving current, and around the St. Louis portion, you’ll have a lot of traffic from barges shifting fish behavior, but this opens an opportunity for you to learn to strategize with moving water rather than the calm nature of lakes and ponds.
The Mississippi isn’t just home to largemouth, though.
A wide variety of catfish, gar, panfish, carp, and other species call the river home. Since the fish don’t care what you’re targeting, you’re likely to hook into something big at any time. Including the giant flathead catfish that will surely put your fighting skills to the test on bass fishing equipment.
7: Clearwater Lake
Clearwater Lake is in Missouri, and while it lacks some of the unique features of the other Midwest waters we’ve mentioned, its namesake is a huge advantage for bass fishermen.
The water is crystal clear, and that makes sight fishing a breeze. It’s also a simple change of pace from most of the other lakes and ponds around the Midwest. While the fishing is good, it’s not known for having the cleanest-looking water.
This lets you try new lure colors that you wouldn’t even bother to try in murky water. You’ll really learn how to stealthily approach fish, and work on your finesse presentation since they’re startled a little more by every unnatural twitch.
On top of that beautiful landscape, you get multiple camping opportunities and family-friendly activities. So, it’s a lot easier to plan a vacation week around fishing Clearwater in Missouri than it is something like Shawnee where your entire family is going to have to love the outdoors.
The bass are largely average, but it has produced some big 10-pound lunkers regularly.
8: Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is world-renowned, and it’s accessible from several Midwestern states around their northern tips.
The water is fairly clear, the landscape is pristine, and it’s overall pleasing visually. However, don’t plan to get your personal best largemouth here.
Lake Michigan is all about smallies.
Smallmouth bass are abundant, and Lake Michigan is constantly putting out smallies that can contend for the world record. That’s not to say you’ll beat it, but you’ll likely get a fish close to it if you cast enough.
This is the perfect opportunity for you to experience smallmouth bass in the Midwest, and if you’re from up north where the smallies are common, you can easily beat your personal record.
However, it’s not all about the bass, either. This is one of the best multi-species fisheries you can go to.
Not only can you get a couple varieties of bass, but you can also get trout, salmon, perch, several types of flathead, steelhead, and more. If you want to just target bass, the fishing is good. If you want a good fight regardless of species, it’s great.
Find Your Next Bass Fishing Spot with BassForecast
If you’re looking for bass fishing spots around the Midwest, you have to try the BassForecast fishing app.
The app provides in-depth maps of every US waterway, and if you’re tired of the coasts getting all the attention, you can find your new highly-productive Midwest spot.
Happy fishing!