LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Clear Lake is receiving a new honor as one of the nation’s best fishing lakes.

From sprawling lakes teeming with walleye and salmon to reservoirs full of trophy bass and crappie, America is home to some of the most exciting freshwater fishing in the world.

But even though there are thousands of places where you can cast your line, some stand out more than others.

For 2025, FishingBooker — billed as the world’s largest platform for booking fishing trips — has released its list of the Best Fishing Lakes in the U.S., and Clear Lake has earned its place among the top freshwater fishing destinations in the country.

Why did Clear Lake make the cut?

Known as the “Bass Capital of the West,” Clear Lake is one of California’s most prolific largemouth destinations.

Fishing enthusiasts consider it a best-of-both-worlds type of fishery because it produces excellent numbers of bass and lunker-level specimens.

One of Clear Lake’s benefits is that the hottest spots typically lie close to shore. Bass weighing around 4 pounds are very common, but anglers will have a very decent shot at catching bigger ones, too.

To add a bit of diversity into the mix, anglers can also target crappie and catfish out here.

The full list of the 18 Best Fishing Lakes in the U.S. for 2025 includes:

• Clear Lake (California).
• Lake Okeechobee (Florida).
• Lake Fork (Texas).
• Lake St. Clair (Michigan).
• Lake of the Woods (Minnesota/Ontario).
• Guntersville Lake (Alabama).
• Chickamauga Lake (Tennessee).
• Devils Lake (North Dakota).
• Lake Champlain (New York/Vermont).
• Table Rock Lake (Missouri).
• Lake Texoma (Texas/Oklahoma).
• Toledo Bend Reservoir (Texas/Louisiana).
• Mille Lacs Lake (Minnesota).
• Lake Tahoe (California/Nevada).
• Santee Cooper Lakes (South Carolina).
• Blue Mesa Reservoir (Colorado).
• Naknek Lake (Alaska).
• Great Lakes.