AMERICA'S BEST BASS LAKES

Shaw Grigsby's Top Picks

EDITOR'S NOTE: Anyone who says he or she can tell you the best bass-fishing lakes in the United States only can choose those lakes based on personal knowledge. However, the outdoorsmen interviewed this week fish all over the nation and have the opportunities to sample some of the best bass fishing this country has to offer. They have emphasized that they don't know the best lakes in the nation to bass fish but will share the lakes where they catch the most and the biggest bass. Shaw Grigsby, a tournament bass fisherman from Gainesville, Florida, competes on many of the national bass-fishing circuits and hosts One More Cast.

LAKE CHAMPLAIN
This Vermont lake holds many limits of smallmouth and largemouth bass that weigh 5 pounds and more each.

Summer:
Top-water action really heats up on this lake during the summer months. I like to fish the Spit-N-King along the edge of the grass to catch big largemouth and smallmouth.

Fall: Pitching a jig in the grass and in the holes of the grass as well as fishing a spinner bait down the edge of the grass will get you plenty of bass bites. Too, I enjoy fishing the white-and-chartreuse 1/2-ounce Premier Elite Strike King Spinner Bait with either white or chartreuse blades.

Winter:
Since the lake's frozen, I'll go hunting.

Spring:
After the ice melts away, the bass really go on a feeding spree, and I enjoy catching those big smallmouth with huge appetites and high jumps. I target the shallow-water rocky shoals with a tube jig, a spinner bait and/or a jerkbait.

TOMORROW: KEVIN VANDAM'S TOP PICKS