Find out which bass fisheries made the cut for the annual bucket list of bucketmouths as Bassmaster Magazine reveals the 100 Best Bass Lakes list for 2024.
No. 1 O.H. Ivie Lake, Texas
[20,000 acres] OK, y’all. Let’s face facts — O.H. Ivie is a straightup freak show! What more can you say about a fishery that produced 35 Toyota ShareLunkers
(8 pounds or heavier) in the first four months of
2024? That haul includes an astonishing 12 Legacy Class bass, meaning they must be 13-plus pounds, caught between January and March and loaned to Texas Parks and Wildlife for its (obviously successful) selective breeding program. Another 17 of the ShareLunkers made Strike King Elite Class (10-plus pounds). This is nothing new, of course. O.H. Ivie was voted the best bassin’ spot in the U.S. in 2023 and No. 2 in 2022, behind only the St. Lawrence River. There’s absolutely no sign of this phenomenal fishery slowing down, either, which should make Ivie (only a three-hour drive from either the Dallas-Fort Worth or San Antonio-Austin metroplexes) among the most popular attractions in the Lone Star State for years to come.
24. Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma
[105,500 acres] We asked anglers in Oklahoma for their top couple of bass fisheries in the Sooner State, and no one mentioned this bad boy among their first few choices. That’s reasonable, considering Grand Lake, Texoma and the like are so darn good. But, it’s also hard to understand, considering recent results at Eufaula. Consider, the top two anglers in a Phoenix Bass Fishing League event in March both caught more than 19 pounds. Once anglers catch on to how good this lake is, more data will likely prove this fishery deserves to be higher on the list.
1. O.H. Ivie Lake, Texas
2. Lake Fork, Texas
3. Bussey Brake Reservoir, Louisiana
4. Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota
5. Caney Creek Reservoir, Louisiana
6. Toledo Bend Reservoir, Louisiana/Texas
7. Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Texas
8. West Okoboji Lake, Iowa
9. Oak Creek Reservoir, Texas
10. Lake D’Arbonne, Louisiana
11. Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, Oklahoma
12. Lake Texoma, Oklahoma
13. Caddo Lake, Louisiana/Texas border
14. Lake Oahe, South Dakota/North Dakota
15. Bull Shoals Lake, Arkansas
16. Lake Nacogdoches, Texas
17. Table Rock Lake, Missouri
18. Upper Mississippi River, Wisconsin
19. Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri
20. Lake Ouachita, Arkansas
21. Lake Bistineau, Louisiana
22. Newton Lake, Illinois
23. Lake Vermilion, Minnesota
24. Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma
25. Lake Hudson, Oklahoma
