5 Great Towns in the Midwest for Smallmouth Bass Anglers

This is a golden age for smallmouth bass fishing. There are more and bigger fish across more waters than at any time in the last half-century. Conservation and catch-and-release ethics have helped, but so has modern technology—particularly forward-facing sonar, which has revealed fish we once never knew were there.

Still, while good smallmouth water can be found from Kansas to Ontario, a handful of Midwestern towns stand apart. These are the places that pair exceptional fishing with real small-town character—where you can spend the morning chasing five-pound bronzebacks and the evening listening to loons or live music on the dock...