A number of North Georgia lakes give up top-quality spotted and largemouth bass like the ones Jim Croft of Dalton boated. Photo by Kevin Dallmier.

Georgia bass anglers are blessed, maybe more so than we realize. A moderate climate allows us to fish year 'round. Our long growing season means big fish. And we have the widest variety of black bass fisheries to be found anywhere in the country.

From smallmouth bass in Appalachian streams to largemouth bass in the brackish Atlantic Coast estuaries, and a host of others in between, bass fishing in Georgia is second to none.

Ever since George Perry pulled the world record largemouth bass from an Ocmulgee River oxbow in 1932, millions of angling hours have been spent trying to steal that title away from the Peach State, but the record still stands.

Largemouth bass aren't the only game in town. Six of the seven recognized black bass species make their home in Georgia -- a fact that only this state can boast. Largemouth, smallmouth, spotted, redeye, shoal and Suwannee bass all count Georgia as at least part of their native ranges.

In some cases -- such as smallmouth bass being restricted to the Tennessee River drainage of extreme north Georgia -- that range may be somewhat limited. But it's still enough to support a good fishery.

At the other extreme, largemouth bass can be found in nearly any warm water across the length and breadth of the Peach State. Let's have a look at some of the best places to try for Georgia black bass this year.

BLUE RIDGE LAKE
Located close to where the borders of Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina meet, picturesque Blue Ridge Lake is arguably the best destination in Georgia for catching smallmouth bass. A relatively small reservoir with just 3,290 acres at full pool, the lake stretches for 12 miles with more than 100 miles of shoreline.

With depths greater than 120 feet near the dam, Blue Ridge is a deep reservoir. Constructed during a time when lake builders stuck to a barren-earth philosophy, it offers very little in the way of woody cover. Instead, the lake bottom is composed of rock and sand. That lack of cover can make the impoundment difficult to fish.

Though other species are present, Blue Ridge Lake is known for smallmouth bass fishing. In Georgia, there are only a handful of places to catch smallmouth bass, and this reservoir's at the top of that short list.

According to recent electrofishing samples by the Wildlife Resources Division (WRD), Fisheries Section, 32 percent of the black bass in Blue Ridge are smallmouths. Largemouths and the recently introduced spotted bass make up the remainder.