The Best bass lakes are often times measured by tournament results. B.A.S.S. and FLW tournament both had outstanding showings last season throughout the country with monstrous bags of bass continually brought to the scales last year. Looking at professional, college and even local tournament results can give you a good indicator of where you should be fishing. Here’s a recap of the bass fisheries that shined during 2018.

If the top touring pros compete on a bass fishery and have a slugfest tournament it is a pretty good indication the bass fishing there is top rate. However, if a tournament is held at a bass fishery during prime weather and water conditions and the pros struggle, it could indicate the bass fishing is in a down cycle there.

Lake St. Clair

This excellent smallmouth fishery in Michigan is always a popular stop for the tournament trails. The natural lake shined again this year during an FLW Tour event won by Chad Grigsby with a four-day catch of 97 pounds, 8 ounces. The daily weights of all the Top 10 finishers in the tournament averaged better than 20 pounds.

St. Lawrence River

This great northeast bass fishery annually features slugfests when the pros visit the river and this year was no exception. During the Bassmaster Elite Series tournament out of Waddington, N.Y., Josh Bertrand caught 95 pounds, 3 ounces of bass to nudge out Justin Lucas who finished second with 94-06 and Brandon Lester who was third with 94-01. The Top 12 finishers weighed in an average of more than 20 pounds a day.

Kentucky Lake

Despite its infestation of Asian carp, this massive reservoir on the Kentucky-Tennessee border still produced some impressive catches during two major tournaments. The Bassmaster Elite Series in May was won by Wesley Strader with a four-day total of 80 pounds, 4 ounces. The FLW Tour visited the lake the following week when Jason Lambert tallied a four-day winning weight of 101-09 and the rest of the Top 5 weighed in an average of 17 pounds a day.

Grand Lake

This Oklahoma largemouth reservoir produced a winning weight of 83-04 for Kevin VanDam during a Bassmaster Elite Series event in April. The Top 10 finishers weighed in a respectable 17-pound daily average at Grand.

Lake Guntersville

This Alabama reservoir gets pounded by tournaments year round, yet it still yields impressive winning weights. During the FLW Costa Championship in November, Kyle Walters won the two-day event with 10 largemouth weighing 44-03. The second- and third-place finishers recorded an average weight greater than 18 pounds a day.