[12,550 acres]
For the second consecutive year, Orange Lake reigns supreme over the Southeastern region. There just aren’t many places where this many giant largemouth are being caught with regularity. In the month of April, six bass over 10 pounds were registered with the Florida TrophyCatch program from Orange Lake alone. For the year, over 100 TrophyCatch submissions have been made (bass over 8 pounds), and five of those bass were over 13 pounds. The tournament catches are off the chain, too. In mid-February, it took 30 pounds to win an Xtreme Bass Series tournament, and seven bass over 10 pounds were brought to the scales. Then in late March, it took 32 pounds to win in the same series, and a 12.70 was the big bass. If you need more evidence, an April Xtreme Bass Series event took 35.37 pounds to win, and the big fish was a 13-pounder. The top three teams in that event all had 30 pounds or better. That was followed by a Florida B.A.S.S. Nation event that took 25 pounds to win and a 9.84 largemouth to win big bass.
Top 100 Lakes 2025: Top 10 | Central | Northeastern | Southeastern | Western
[110,000 acres and 60,000 acres, respectively]
The top-end weights produced by lakes Marion and Moultrie have been nothing short of outstanding in 2025. It took 35 pounds, 3 ounces to win a BFL event in late February, and in that event, longtime South Carolina B.A.S.S. Nation competitor Gary Pope landed a 13-6 largemouth. A few weeks later, five 30-pound bags crossed the stage in a three-day National Professional Fishing League event, while 22 bags of 25 pounds hit the scales. CATT results have been equally impressive. The winners of a Feb. 8 event weighed in a limit of 37.5 pounds, including a 9.87 big bass. The fun continued into March. A Carolina Bass Challenge tournament took 28.71 pounds to win; 33 bags over 20 pounds were scored, and a 9.58 lunker won big-bass honors.
[69,000 acres]
Always a staple in the 100 Best Bass Lake rankings, the bass fishing on Lake Guntersville has been electric this year. All three species of bass swim in these waters, and nearly every tournament takes at least 25 pounds to win. Thirty-two bags over 20 pounds were caught during a BFL event in mid-February, and the winner caught a limit weighing just over 29 pounds. The Angler’s Choice Championship the last week of February took a two-day total of 53.83 to win. Twenty-two bass over 6 pounds were caught, and a 10-pounder claimed big-bass honors. Then during the March 15 Alabama Bass Trail event, 58 teams caught 20 pounds or better, with 29.18 pounds claiming the title.
[50-mile radius from Burgess]
If you didn’t know about this place before, you certainly should now. The Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series visited eastern North Carolina for the first time ever in April, and Kyle Welcher put on a clinic, landing 118 pounds, 12 ounces over four days to win his first Elite title. That total included a 10-pounder and multiple 7-pounders. Even with Welcher’s astounding performance, a cold front and wind kept the rest of the field from showcasing what these sets of rivers can really do. It consistently takes over 20 pounds to win CATT Tidewater Division events on the Sound. Stacy Light and Matt Greschak won a late March event with 25.72. An 8.62 largemouth won big bass. If you head out to this beautiful destination, make sure to bring a windbreaker, as the gusts just never seem to quit.
[50,000 acres]
It is a neck-and-neck race between Lake Murray and Santee Cooper for the top destination in South Carolina. Santee Cooper may have the edge this year, but this Columbia-area reservoir is just a step behind. A BFL event in mid-January was won with 26 pounds, 10 ounces, and a 9-8 largemouth was brought back to weigh-in. The Carolina Bass Challenge visited Lake Murray in February, a tournament that took 31.26 pounds to win. The Top 19 teams all had bags over 20 pounds, and an 8.61 largemouth won the big bass award. Impressive numbers of 4- to 6-pounders swim in this blueback herring-driven fishery, and if you can land on the right point and the right time, the results will be unforgettable.
[10,000 acres, 6,500 acres and 2,500 acres, respectively]
It’s easy to see why these lakes generate so much attention from visitors and Floridians alike: They just grow big bass. After a slight dip in production last year, 36 bass over 8 pounds, an astounding 56 Florida TrophyCatch submissions have been registered on these three fisheries. A 13-3 was the biggest landed so far this year, with several more eclipsing the 10- and 11-pound marks. Although it is behind the 2023 pace, the lakes have certainly produced enough to keep them safely in the rankings.
[43,100 acres]
What a standout year for Pickwick Lake. If there were any doubts about its production, those have surely quieted down after what has gone down this season. An early February Toyota Series event took a three-day total of 84 pounds, 4 ounces to win. That’s an average of 28 pounds per day. To get paid in an early March BFL event, you needed at least 20-11. Then, the Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier presented by Lowrance produced a winning three-day total of 77-6. The Top 10 in that event averaged 20 pounds per day, and an 8-3 largemouth claimed big-bass honors. During an April 5 college event, 22 bags of 20 pounds or better were landed.
[14,000 acres]
As far as reservoirs are concerned, B. Everett Jordan might be the most consistent producer of big bass in the state of North Carolina. The winners of a Feb. 8 Piedmont Bass Classic qualifier caught 33.43 pounds and anchored their bag with an 8.15. That was the third-biggest largemouth of the event, with the big bass topping out at 9.01. A 5 Alive Team Trail event on March 29 was won with 27.61 pounds, and an 8.76 checked in as the big bass. Fishers of Men visited Jordan Lake in late April, and it took 25.18 pounds to win, with an 8.43 big bass of the day.
[20-mile radius of Dunnellon]
This fishery on the west side of the Sunshine State is a consistent producer of quantity and quality. Six bass over 7 pounds, including a 9.82, were brought in during a Feb. 23 Xtreme Bass Series event, which was won with a 23-pound bag. Six TrophyCatch submissions have been registered since the beginning of March in Lake Rousseau, while the Withlacoochee has produced five since the beginning of the year. A quick look through the tournament results seems to indicate that this lake gets better as the temperatures heat up. The winning team of an American Bass Trail event at the beginning of May assembled a five-bass limit of just over 27 pounds.
[38,000 acres]
There aren’t many lakes in the country that fish this well and yet remain so underrated. You can catch a 20-pound bag of spotted bass or largemouth, and you can catch a lot of either species. Plus, Georgia wildlife officials believe it to be the best lake in the state. In back-to-back high school derbies in February, Roper Putnam and Jack Story won a Georgia B.A.S.S. Nation event with 22 pounds of spotted bass. The next day, they won another high school event with 24.73 and a behemoth 6 1/2-pound spotted bass. A March 1 BFL event took over 21 pounds to win, and a GSM Team Trail event later in the month saw three teams land limits over 22 pounds.
[12,410 acres]
A Raleigh-area reservoir, Falls of the Neuse, also known as Falls Lake, is on fire this year. In fact, state biologists rank it as their No. 1 fishery in North Carolina. A March 9 CATT event was won with a 34.43 five-bass limit, a bag of largemouth anchored by a 10.21 behemoth largemouth. The consistent winning weight has been closer to 21 pounds in 2025, though, which gives Jordan the edge in this battle of central North Carolina. The big-fish potential seems to always be there, as three bass weighing over 7 pounds were caught in a Piedmont Bass Classic qualifying event at the end of April.
[37,500 acres]
Great bags of fish continue to be caught on this reservoir on the Florida/Georgia line. Not only are the top-end weights impressive, but the consistency throughout the field is equally impressive. A 39-boat Xtreme Bass Series event took 26.14 pounds to win, and the Top 6 had at least 20 pounds. The real eye-opener was an April Toyota Series event, however. Three bags over 27 pounds were caught during the three-day derby, with 20 total bags weighing 20 pounds or more. In that event, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour qualifier Kyle Austin landed a magnum 10-pounder.
[22,700 acres]
Old faithful continues to produce. Twelve bass over 8 pounds have been submitted to the Florida TrophyCatch club in 2025, with one of those largemouth breaking the 10-pound mark. An Xtreme Bass Series tournament in February took over 26 pounds to win, and two bass over 7 pounds hit the scales. And don’t forget about the other lakes in the Kissimmee Chain either. A pro-level event saw anglers spread out and catch giant bags of bass. A 29-12 sack was caught on Day 1, and a 28-5 stringer was brought in on Day 2, while plenty of anglers crossed the 20-pound threshold.
[160,300 acres]
The largest of the Tennessee River reservoirs isn’t quite back to its old self, but it is getting closer and closer thanks to a couple of good largemouth spawns and a smallmouth population that has seemingly exploded. For proof, look no further than the St. Croix Bassmaster Open presented by SEVIIN held in early March. Over three tournament days, 25 bags of 20 pounds or better were weighed, with Yui Aoki landing two bags of 24 pounds or better and winning with 66-14. A BFL event in mid-March took just under 25 pounds to win.
[15,180 acres]
Listed as one of the top five reservoirs in North Carolina by state biologists, this venue is making a jump in this year’s rankings after a strong spring showing. A Fishers of Men event produced a 28.5-pound limit anchored by an 8.78 big bass. The top 12 anglers had limits weighing 20 pounds or better and four limits measuring over 25 pounds. An April 12 BFL event took 27 pounds to win, and while the weights dropped off a decent amount after that, it still took over 18 pounds to make the final-day cut.
[27,700 acres]
For a lake that housed the world-record smallmouth bass, Dale Hollow sure remains a sneaky good fishery for both brown and green fish. Six bags between 20 and 22 pounds were weighed in at a March 23 BFL event, and it took 18-5 to cut a check. With a 16- to 21-inch slot limit on smallmouth, perhaps a better indicator of the lake’s health is the Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft event held at the end of April. In the catch-photo-release two-day tournament, 43 bags over 90 inches were recorded, with smallmouth being a primary focus.
[71,000 acres]
Clarks Hill has made big statements during the 2025 tournament season, starting with the St. Croix Bassmaster Open presented by SEVIIN held here in January. Anglers caught 12 bags weighing over 20 pounds during the two-day tournament, and winner Chase Clarke landed a total of 47 pounds, 7 ounces, an impressive pace indeed. A 7-5 largemouth earned big-bass honors.
[45,181 acres]
The “Big Bass Capital of the World” may not actually have the biggest bass in the country right now, but it is currently very consistent and producing competitive tournaments. The Alabama B.A.S.S. Nation visited the famed fishery on March 22 and produced a winning weight of 26.29 pounds. Five anglers caught over 20 pounds, and eight anglers weighed big bass over 5 pounds. A 6.9 largemouth took home that honor. Then in early April, it took over 22 pounds a day to win the three-day American Bass Anglers Ray Scott Championship. A 7.41 took big-bass honors in that event.
[36,240 acres]
As pressured and frustrating as it is to fish at times, Chickamauga has still got the giant bass that made it rise in popularity over the last two decades. It took a ridiculous 81-pound, 14-ounce, three-day total to win a March Toyota Series event here, and winner Dylan Nutt weighed in two bags that were over 31 pounds, which included a 10-11 largemouth.
[7,000 acres]
It’s been a minute since Bassmaster has visited the Blue Ridge Mountains, but the fishing has gotten better and better since the last visit. Five bags over 21 pounds hit the scales during a March GSM Team Trail event. The big bass measured 7.05 pounds, and four more bass weighed 6 pounds or better. An April Fishers of Men event was won with 23.85 pounds, a bag anchored by a 7.25 big bass.
[67,100 acres]
The often-overshadowed Wheeler Lake continues to be a top-producing lake in the Southeastern region. No matter the season, it seems you need at least 20 pounds to win any event. A late March BFL was won with 23-9, and a 6-14 was caught during that tournament. An April college event produced a three-day winning weight of 64-15, and plenty of teams landed bags over 20 pounds. Then, in May, a Fishers of Men tournament took 22 pounds to win.
[7,580 acres]
Everyone knows Bristol, Tenn., is a racing town, but this gem of a lake is racing toward the top of the Southeastern rankings. A Morristown Marine event in March was won here with 24.20, and the winning team caught a largemouth weighing 5.07 pounds and a smallmouth weighing 5.37 pounds. Those weren’t even the big bass of the tournament for either species, as a 6-pound largemouth hit the scales as well as a 5.6 smallie.
[56,000 acres]
The sheer number of bass in Lake Hartwell is overwhelming, and the spotted bass seem to get bigger and bigger every year. While Paul Marks, winner of the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite held at Hartwell in April, didn’t catch a bag over 20 pounds, he landed limits of 19-7, 17-4, 16-5 and 15-8, most of those being predominantly filled with spotted bass. A 7-5 largemouth caught by Randy Howell took home Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Tournament honors.
[33,000 acres]
Mississippi biologists rank “The Rez” as the top bass fishery in the state, and there are certainly lunker bass swimming in these waters. That was shown at a Media Bass team tournament on April 5, when the winning bag weighed just over 28 pounds. A month earlier, it took almost 22 pounds to win a Media Bass event, and seven teams had better than 17 pounds. A 7.54 and a 7.43 largemouth were the two biggest bass of that event.
[451,000 acres]
The laments about this massive reservoir have been well documented. But despite the less-than-ideal water conditions and lack of vegetation, the bass still grow big here. Take the 2025 Champion Power Equipment Bassmaster Elite Series event in February, for example. Brandon Palaniuk landed a 34-pound, 10-ounce bag on Day 2 en route to winning the event. David Gaston caught an 11-8, and multiple 9-pounders were weighed in. While maybe not as consistent as it once was, there still is the opportunity for the day of a lifetime.
