When the folks at Western outdoor news contacted me a few days ago and asked me to do a story about my top five fishing lakes and my big bass lures on each one of the lakes it really got me to thinking. I guess the direction I'm going to go with this is we will be focused on the western United States of course, but as a bonus I'll throw in a couple of lakes in other parts of the country at the end of the column just to spice things up. Well you can't talk about big bass fishing in the western United States without bringing up Lake Casitas in Ventura California. As we all know Lake Casitas has three of the top 15 biggest bass ever caught the world record books. Now granted Lake Casitas is not the big Bass Lake that it was in the past but you still have to pay it it's due respect and recognize that Lake Casitas still has the potential to push out bass over 10 pounds. So with that being said Lake Casitas definitely makes my top five for the big bass lakes in the western United States. Working there as a fishing guide most every day I've seen a lot of techniques come and go. But still without question I have to give the nod to a big trout pattern swim bait is the best big bass lure to this day on Lake Casitas. It doesn't produce like it did in the past but still it does produce some of the biggest bass for those anglers that are tough enough to fish with it all day. Best times to fish Lake Casitas for a giant are January, February and early March. There's a variety of trout baits that could lead you a bass of a lifetime but I would have to go with the Huddleston and the Lunker Plunker as the two top choices to catch a real monster at Lake Casitas in Ventura California. My next choice for a great big bass Lake in the western United States would have to be Clearlake in Northern California. Clearlake has continued to produce some of the biggest bass currently caught in the west. It's a good size lake and definitely has still has a very good population of large bass. Although Clearlake has decent size it's not the biggest lake that you'll ever fish so therefore I highly recommend if you're going to take a trip to Clearlake and really focus on catching a monster try schedule your fishing trip for Monday through Friday. There is no question the light traffic on the lake during the week really helps in your pursuit of a giant. It's a very popular lake and there's a lot of action there on the weekends. So I've always told people you'll have a much better experience at Clearlake if you focus on fishing Monday through Friday. There's a wide variety of lures that could produce a giant there but I would still have to go with the top water frog, and a big swim bait as the two best weapons for catching a giant. Also for those of you that like to sight fish in the spring time of the year this is the one place where you can spend time on the trolling motor and look around and spot a giant and set the boat down and go to work. My third choice for catching a monster in the West would probably go to Lake Paris in Riverside County. This is kind of a new one on the scoreboard. This lake has really taken off over the last few years and quite a few monster bass have been caught there recently. Once again this is a very small fishing lake but it does have some tremendous bass in it. Once again you have to give the nod to the swim bait at Perris reservoir. It's really tough to beat that big trouts pattern swim bag when you're focusing on catching a monster bass here in the West United States. Once again there are opportunities for sight fishing a monster in the clear waters of Lake Perris. You just cannot fight the strength of sight fishing for a monster bass in the spring time of year. It's always going to be one of the best ways to catch a monster. With the clear waters of the western United States it will always play a role in catching the bass of a lifetime. My fourth choice for catching I really big bass in the western United States would be the San Joaquin Delta in Northern California. Although I really don't believes your chances are wonderful if you're targeting a bass over 10 pounds I do believe the population of 3 to 7 pound bass is just absolutely tremendous in this Tidewater. I think it's just one of those places that every western angler should at least spend two or three days fishing. Its long been sad that you could fish the San Joaquin Delta for your entire life and not be able to fish all of it. I truly believe that this is a fact. It's an absolutely amazing body of water with countless types of vegetation to target. It's really what bass fishing is all about with all kinds of cover that you have to make just the perfect cast to get to the proper target. It's just the ultimate bass fishing location in the West for an anger that really enjoys testing your skills and your accuracy in making picture-perfect casts and pitches to targets. Best lure selections for catching a monster on the Delta still remain pitching and flipping large plastic baits up in the thick cover and mats and also utilizing a top water frog over floating matted vegetation. The Delta is one of those spots you have to try and you'll thoroughly enjoy. My last election for a lake that you must visit in the western United States is Lake Mead. It my be my fifth and final selection for a western fishing choice but it's definitely number one in my heart. Just the on the water experience is absolutely amazing. The scenery, the ultra clear water and a really good population of bass make this location an absolute must. Of course we all know there are no real monsters in Lake Mead but it is monstrous when it comes to the impression of a lifetime it will make on you. I spot where you can put your boat in the water and run away from the world. Best big bass lures without question at Lake Mead are the top water baits. I would go with the large Rico top water chugger or Heddon's Super Spook both are excellent choices if you ever want to catch a big bass and enjoy one of the West premier fishing lakes. Now I know I said I'd give you my two must go to locations in the United States. As most of you know I'm the owner operator of Rich Tauber Fishing the west largest bass fishing guide service. Every day I spend lots of time with people on The water and they all seem to ask me this question. Where would you go if you only had one spot to go in the United States to go bass fishing? Well actually I have two answers to that question. First of all if you're going to go fishing in the winter without question you still can't beat world famous Lake Okeechobee and South Florida for the absolute greatest destination for any bass angler to travel in United States. This is a winter spot. If you're going to fish Lake Okeechobee you want to fish there in December or January. By mid February the bass are done spawning and it's not the place to be. If you wanted to take off for the holidays in the winter and go to an incredible bass fishing spot with white sand beaches and countless miles of tules, reeds, joint grass, peppergrass, Kissimmee grass and a bunch more that I haven't even mentioned,,, this is your place. Just the simple fact that you spend the entire day fishing in 12 to 18 inches of water is absolutely something every bass angler should experience. The lake is basically 60 miles long and 40 miles wide. When you get out in the middle of Lake Okeechobee you cannot see the shoreline in any direction. It's absolutely the finest place that I've ever gone fishing in my life. Of course I highly recommend Roland Martin's resort or Anglers Inn in Clewiston Florida. Our great friend Scott Martin runs Anglers Inn and of course Marianne Martin is at Roland Martin's Marina in Clewiston also. Both of these places are wonderful. My final secret spot in the United States is a summer spot. Without question every bass angler should try to experience fishing the Great Lakes. Now this can be Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, or St. Clair. Any of the Great Lakes are absolutely something that everyone should experience. This is some of the best smallmouth bass fishing in the world. The way I explain it to people is it's like going bass fishing but you're leaving and taking out across the Pacific ocean. Now once again let me remind you that this is the fishing spot for July, August and early September. That's absolutely the prime time to fish the Great Lakes. All of our western techniques work really really well there. Their water is ultra clear and is very much reminiscent of Lake Mead in Nevada. The thing is that is so different if you can pull up on a shoal out in the middle of the Great Lakes and it's only 6 or 7 feet deep. You can hook a smallmouth bass on the jerk bait and see 40 to 50 other smallmouth bass behind your bait as you're fighting your fish and reeling him to the boat. It's just one of those incredible places where you can set the hook and watch your fish fight and see you water go black with other smallmouth bass in the water fighting to get your bait. Without question the Great Lakes is my ultimate choice for a summer experience for any bass angler. I hope some of these tips will help and I really enjoyed doing the story for you. Anyone with more questions can always reach