Which State would you choose?

[Junk Fisherman]

I'll be buying a second home in Northern Michigan in about 5 years and plan to spend my golden years there after I retire. We've been taking family vacations to the Traverse City area for over 10 years now and the entire family loves the area. More importantly, my wife is on board with downsizing our home and getting the second home in Michigan when my kids move out. From April to November there's outstanding open water fishing that I have just skimmed the surface of. Besides the world class smallmouth fisheries you have salmon, trout, and all the other Lake Michigan species. Plus, there's quite a few sleeper largemouth lakes in the area that do not get the attention that the big lakes do. I'll still keep a residence around Chicago by my kids and will probably take a trip down south every winter but I want to be in northern Michigan for the entire open water fishing season when I retire.

[Hogsticker2]

I'll be buying a second home in Northern Michigan in about 5 years and plan to spend my golden years there after I retire. We've been taking family vacations to the Traverse City area for over 10 years now and the entire family loves the area. More importantly, my wife is on board with downsizing our home and getting the second home in Michigan when my kids move out. From April to November there's outstanding open water fishing that I have just skimmed the surface of. Besides the world class smallmouth fisheries you have salmon, trout, and all the other Lake Michigan species. Plus, there's quite a few sleeper largemouth lakes in the area that do not get the attention that the big lakes do. I'll still keep a residence around Chicago by my kids and will probably take a trip down south every winter but I want to be in northern Michigan for the entire open water fishing season when I retire.

Nice

[Hogsticker2]

Been in Southern Oregon for about 11 months now. The fishing here doesn't hold a candle to Eastern Washington. My wife also prefers Eastern Washington for other reasons, so we're moving back. Just purchased a house in Moses Lake. I'll be 45 minutes or less from 4 outstanding bass and walleye lakes, plus a few other hidden, less known gems. Just waiting for our house in Grants Pass to sell. Very excited to get there and settle in - for good.

[Mnsmallieguy]

How do you feel about fishing frequency? At any given moment I can drive 5 minutes and be in 4 lakes all that have schools of bass (50 fish days not uncommon, sometimes without moving the boat) and some larger fish up to 4-5 with an outside chance of a 6. I can drive 10 miles and hit 15-20 lakes, I can drive 30 miles and I lose track of how many I can fish but it is a very high number, well over 100. All of those lakes have multi species opportunities including smallmouth, pike, walleye, blue gill, crappie and many others.

All this means I can be on a different lake every night of the week after work and fish for up to 5 hours in the summer.

I am 90 minutes from countless trophy large and smallmouth lakes. The small mouth lakes can easily pump out 4 pound average bags with likely 5lb kicker.

I could expand this to 3-5 hour drives and would be at over 10,000 lakes AND some outside the state. Including Canada, Mississippi River from headwaters to Lacrosse, Rainy, Lake of the woods, Vermillion, Chequamegon Bay, Sturgeon Bay, South Dakota Glacial lakes.

So the only problem I know of is Winter and the States Politics.

[MK49]

California or Nevada. I've been living in San Jose, CA for 28 years. I like it. I lived in Reno for 5 years, before I moved to CA. About 90min from Reno, there was a lake in Nor Cal (close to NV boarder), where I caught my PB, a 12 pounder. I used to fish there all the time. After all these years, I'm not sure if the lake is still good, but I know for sure much less people are fishing there. It's up on a mountain, about 5,000ft elevation. When I retire, I might wanna move close to the lake. It's much quieter for sure. Or, I want to move close to Clear Lake. Either way, it's either Northern California or Northern Nevada, where I spent most of my life, anyway.

I thought about moving to Florida or Texas, but I'm pretty sure the humidity will unbearable. Speaking of humidity, I met two guys from North Carolina in Mexico, when I went to Mexico for the first time. We became very close friends. Even Mexican guys at the lodge started calling us tres amigos. We fished together in Mexico for 13 or 14 times (1 week each). One day, I said it's really humid today. They said "really, it's dry for us." That tells me that I shouldn't move to the East Coast. I think Texas is as bad.

That said, I just watched a video of a guy who started Deps. He has a boat in his back yard, which is Lake Biwa. That would be awesome. Imagine this. You walk for 10 seconds from your house, and you're there, the world record lake! Actually, I remember a Japanese woman I met a few times in Mexico. She said she had a house right at Lake Biwa. That's not her main house. I guess her husband was really rich, and she went to Mexico many times, otherwise I wouldn't have met her a few times. I asked her why she came to Mexico, instead of fishing at Lake Biwa. She said the fishing wasn't as easy at Lake Biwa.

Oh, now I know another option for me. Moving to a little town called El Salto Grande (or something like that). I used a same guide every time I went to Mexico, and we became close friends. One time, he told me his dad passed away, and his cousin or somebody wanted to live in his father's house, which was right behind his house. He and his dad who passed away didn't like the cousin, so he told him no way. I asked him what about me? He said he'd sell the house to me without hesitation. We were that close. I said "how much?" He said about $15,000. I was like "what? That's super cheap." If I was over 60yrs old at the time (I was about 40yrs old that time, and I'm still 52 now), I seriously considered moving to Mexico. Everything would've been really different there, but at least, I had a friend, and I knew two of his nephews who were also guides at El Salto. As far as the bass fishing goes, that would be really nice. It's completely different life style, and I'm not sure if I could be happy there, though, when I'm not fishing.

[Hogsticker2]

California or Nevada. I've been living in San Jose, CA for 28 years. I like it. I lived in Reno for 5 years, before I moved to CA. About 90min from Reno, there was a lake in Nor Cal (close to NV boarder), where I caught my PB, a 12 pounder. I used to fish there all the time. After all these years, I'm not sure if the lake is still good, but I know for sure much less people are fishing there. It's up on a mountain, about 5,000ft elevation. When I retire, I might wanna move close to the lake. It's much quieter for sure. Or, I want to move close to Clear Lake. Either way, it's either Northern California or Northern Nevada, where I spent most of my life, anyway.

I thought about moving to Florida or Texas, but I'm pretty sure the humidity will unbearable. Speaking of humidity, I met two guys from North Carolina in Mexico, when I went to Mexico for the first time. We became very close friends. Even Mexican guys at the lodge started calling us tres amigos. We fished together in Mexico for 13 or 14 times (1 week each). One day, I said it's really humid today. They said "really, it's dry for us." That tells me that I shouldn't move to the East Coast. I think Texas is as bad.

That said, I just watched a video of a guy who started Deps. He has a boat in his back yard, which is Lake Biwa. That would be awesome. Imagine this. You walk for 10 seconds from your house, and you're there, the world record lake! Actually, I remember a Japanese woman I met a few times in Mexico. She said she had a house right at Lake Biwa. That's not her main house. I guess her husband was really rich, and she went to Mexico many times, otherwise I wouldn't have met her a few times. I asked her why she came to Mexico, instead of fishing at Lake Biwa. She said the fishing wasn't as easy at Lake Biwa.

Oh, now I know another option for me. Moving to a little town called El Salto Grande (or something like that). I used a same guide every time I went to Mexico, and we became close friends. One time, he told me his dad passed away, and his cousin or somebody wanted to live in his father's house, which was right behind his house. He and his dad who passed away didn't like the cousin, so he told him no way. I asked him what about me? He said he'd sell the house to me without hesitation. We were that close. I said "how much?" He said about $15,000. I was like "what? That's super cheap." If I was over 60yrs old at the time (I was about 40yrs old that time, and I'm still 52 now), I seriously considered moving to Mexico. Everything would've been really different there, but at least, I had a friend, and I knew two of his nephews who were also guides at El Salto. As far as the bass fishing goes, that would be really nice. It's completely different life style, and I'm not sure if I could be happy there, though, when I'm not fishing.

Good read . Would love to fish El Salto some day, but live in Mexico... Probably not.

[MK49]

Good read . Would love to fish El Salto some day, but live in Mexico... Probably not.

I hear you. There's no way I would move to a city in Mexico. But, only 150 people live in the little town by Lake El Salto. The smallest city I've ever lived is Reno. So, the place by El Salto is a completely different world to me, and I thought that could be interesting or not.

Oh, hearing you said "love to fish El Salt some day" reminded me of an old guy, probably about 70yrs old at the time. How it works is like this. We go to an airport in Mazatlan, Mexico. A guy from the lodge pick us up, and drive us to El Salto, about 90min drive. One time, I and the old guy were the only customers in the van. So, we started talking. He told me fishing at El Salto was one of a few things in his bucket list. I thought it was very cool that he made it. He didn't do well in my standard, but he was very happy to catch some big fish.

Man, my memory about El Salto came back, so I'll tell you another story. I met a guy from Indiana in Mexico. That was his 3rd or 4th trip to Mexico. He told me that his PB was 6lbs, before he started fishing in Mexico. The first fish he caught in Mexico was an 8 pounder. He thought this was super easy. Then, he had hard time catching 10+lbs bass for long time. He needed to make another 12 trips or so to Mexico to catch a 10 pounder. Around 11AM, we all went back for lunch break. One day, after the morning session, he told me he finally caught a 10 pounder. He looked so happy, and I was very happy for him. I still remember that. He's another guy who planned fishing trips with me and two friends from North Carolina.

BTW, according to those two friends from North Carolina, I'm very social. To them, I just start talking to strangers, and become friends. I never felt that way, but they might be right. When I went to El Salto for the 1st time, those two guys happened to sit next to my table for the dinner. I started asking them questions, because I didn't fish that day (I got there late in the evening). We kept talking for the next 2 days. They left a day before I went home. One of them gave me his email address, when they left. So, I emailed him, when I got home to report what happened in my last day there. That's how I started our friendship. We emailed each other almost everyday for the rest of his life (yeah, unfortunately, he passed away) I told him I was going back to Mexico next month (right after Christmas), because I felt like El Salto was a bass fisherman's paradise. It's really like this. I can eat/drink as much as I want, sleep, then just go catch a lot of bass. Nothing to worry about, like boats and things. He tried to go there, but the plane tickets were sold out. But, we planned more trips together for the next 3 or 4 years, until my friend couldn't fish anymore, because he became sick. He kept saying let's go there next month. I said we just went there a couple of weeks ago. We made about 4 trips every year, and every 1 week trip costed me about $4,000. He said "how much do you need?" I was like what is he talking about? He actually meant it. So, I said I could pay for my plane tickets. He paid for the rest for me that time. I didn't want to take advantage of him, so that was the only time he paid for me. He actually paid everything for the other guy from North Carolina for every single trip. So, when he passed away, the other guy stopped coming. So, basically, I lost two friends at the same time, because we only met in Mexico. Even after he became too sick to go to Mexico, I sent him daily reports, every time I went back to El Salto, because I knew he enjoyed reading my reports. 2 days before he passed away, he emailed me a goodbye email About a week later, his wife (I've never met her) emailed me, and she told me he passed away. I told her that he sent me a goodbye email. She said she didn't know that. She also told me that she never met me, but she felt like she knew me, because her husband told her about me a lot. That was sad. Good time doesn't last very long. The next time I went back to Mexico, the first thing a few Mexican guys at the lodge asked me was about him. When I told them that he passed away, they actually knew it. Those Mexicans do care about their customers. They're nice people. They even worried about me who lost my friend. I haven't been to Mexico for 8 years or so, but every once in a while, one of them who works at the lodge still emails me. Last time, I asked him how my guide was doing? He said he's doing well, but he's much fatter. I need to go back to see those friends in Mexico.

Sorry about not talking about "Which State....".

[MK49]

Been in Southern Oregon for about 11 months now. The fishing here doesn't hold a candle to Eastern Washington. My wife also prefers Eastern Washington for other reasons, so we're moving back. Just purchased a house in Moses Lake. I'll be 45 minutes or less from 4 outstanding bass and walleye lakes, plus a few other hidden, less known gems. Just waiting for our house in Grants Pass to sell. Very excited to get there and settle in - for good.

Sorry to hear that it didn't work out for you and your wife. But, I remember another guy I met in Mexico. The guy is a professional smallmouth guide in Oregon. I was in the same van from the airport to Lake El Salto. According to him, it's a well known smallmouth river in Oregon. I don't remember the name of the river. He gave me his card. There's another guy from California in the same van. If I remember correctly, he's a few hours drive from me. He was very interesting in the smallmouth fishing in Oregon. He even told that he could pick me up, and drive to Oregon for the smallmouth fishing, if I wanted. That never happened, because I've never caught smallmouth bass before, and I wasn't sure what my expectation could be. According to the guide, his customers could catch close to 75+ smallbath a day in the prime season. That was the only time I met those guys, but I'm pretty sure the guy from California went to Oregon. He was REALLY interested.

[Hogsticker2]

Been in Southern Oregon for about 11 months now. The fishing here doesn't hold a candle to Eastern Washington. My wife also prefers Eastern Washington for other reasons, so we're moving back. Just purchased a house in Moses Lake. I'll be 45 minutes or less from 4 outstanding bass and walleye lakes, plus a few other hidden, less known gems. Just waiting for our house in Grants Pass to sell. Very excited to get there and settle in - for good.

Sorry to hear that it didn't work out for you and your wife. But, I remember another guy I met in Mexico. The guy is a professional smallmouth guide in Oregon. I was in the same van from the airport to Lake El Salto. According to him, it's a well known smallmouth river in Oregon. I don't remember the name of the river. He gave me his card. There's another guy from California in the same van. If I remember correctly, he's a few hours drive from me. He was very interesting in the smallmouth fishing in Oregon. He even told that he could pick me up, and drive to Oregon for the smallmouth fishing, if I wanted. That never happened, because I've never caught smallmouth bass before, and I wasn't sure what my expectation could be. According to the guide, his customers could catch close to 75+ smallbath a day in the prime season. That was the only time I met those guys, but I'm pretty sure the guy from California went to Oregon. He was REALLY interested.

The river was either the John Day (most likely), the Columbia, the Umpqua, or the Willamette. The John Day is mostly a river of numbers, up to a 100 smallies a day. Fives are in there, but they don't come around often. The Columbia is fantastic. It also runs through Washington into Canada... From the sea. I have a handful of large lakes and reservoirs in Eastern Washington that the Columbia flow through. Several smallmouth in the 6-7 lb range are caught. My PB is 6.4, still looking for my 7+.
The Oregon State record (last 2) have come from a small man made lake - Henry Hagg. Both State records are around eight and a half. Southern Oregon doesn't have crap for smallmouth fishing. Have to travel a few hours North to the Umpqua, but big fish are rare here.

[Heitman]

Texas! Year round fishing, only seen snow 5 times in my life. Saltwater and freshwater fishing. Galveston Bay, Sam Rayburn, Toledo Bend and Fork.