6:00: Morning News

New River in WV makes Bassmaster Top 100

Bassmaster Magazine is out with its 2013 list of the Top 100 Bass Lakes in the United States and West Virginia’s New River Ranks number 35 on the list.   See the full list HERE.

Bassmaster Editor James Hall said this year instead of relying on tournament data alone, they polled 3,500 B.A.S.S. members nationwide and in all 50-states to make their determination.   A year ago, Tygart Lake was the only West Virginia body of water to be mentioned.  The selection was based on tournament data alone, but Hall says the opinions of anglers changed everything.

“It was quantity of fish and overall fishing experience,”  said Hall. “You know it’s one of the most beautiful smallmouth fisheries in the nation and the quantity of fish you can catch in New River is substantial.”

Hall added the other factor which ranked West Virginia’s New River high on the bassing locations in America was the possibility of catching a sizeable fish.

“You have the opportunity to catch the fish of a lifetime,”  he said. “It may not happen every trip or every other trip, but with each cast in the New River the next smallmouth you catch could be your biggest.”

Bassmaster produced the first list in 2012 and all of the waters listed were lakes.   This year’s list was much more diversified, but the name stayed the same.    Hall said marketing is marketing.

“Some are deltas, some are rivers, some are reservoirs, and some are natural lakes so we just went with the title that had the best ring to it,”  Hall said. “They’re all fisheries that are awesome for bass fishing.  You could debate the title for sure, but it’s just easier to say 100 best bass lakes.”

This year’s top 10 saw a shake up.  Texas’ Falcon Lake which owned the top spot in the inaugural lineup fell to 7th while Michigan’s Lake St. Claire jumped to the top spot.   Hall said the list is always up for debate and discussion and will likely shift again next year, but it serves its purpose.

“It gets guys talking about bass fishing, which is a good thing,” he said. “It also helps narrow down some choices to guys who may not get to go fishing very often.  That’s what the list is really all about.  The lakes that rank are the lakes that have quantity and quality and the lakes that rank really high, like New River, have fantastic scenery in the process.”





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