Bass Fishing Forum - Westernbass.com

Wife and i are concidering selling our overpriced home here in california and moving back east where housing an cost of living is much cheaper. Wife is looking for nice sized house we can pay cash for and i'm looking for good bass fishing. Anyone have sugestions on where we should maybe check out. I'm kinda thinking the Carolina's but even there the housing costs are rising. Like i said, i really want to be close to good bass fisheries. I'm really reluctant to move from here just becasue there are so many lakes with excellent fishing within a 3 hour radius. Thanks for any suggestions.

Brent

I just bought a home in south Georgia. The price was right. To many lakes to talk about. North Flordia is good. North and South Carlonia are over priced. Kentucky is good as well as Tennessee. As you can tell I like the south. Born and raised in South Georgia.
Feel free to send you name and number to my address and I will talk more about the south.

Ralph Harkins
rdawg@softcom.net
Triton Boats
Galixie Marine
Reaction Innovations
Anglers Press

Western Tennessee or Arkansas

Lots of decent fishing, and it really isn't all that far from Texas where there is more great fishing..

mac

Right on Guntersville...Big Bass

Bullshoals, Truman, Table Rock, Lake of the Ozarks, Norfork, Stockton and Mark Twain are the biggies, all 18K-55K acre lakes, not ta leave out dozens of other lakes & rivers through out the state. And yer a shorter drive to more lakes in Oklahoma and Texas than from SF to LA!

a bit southeast of Shreveport LA. Lots of great bassin', and the home prices are really unbelievable.

You can run a check on Realty.com. Just punch in the state and area you're looking at.

Good luck.

Larry Douglas

A better choice than Realtor.com, is SportsmansDream.net. Just type in the price range and type of activity (fishing) you're looking for, along with the state.

You'll like this site.


Larry Douglas

If I wanted to catch Trophy Largemouth (Guntersville) Trophy Smallmouth (Pickwick, Wilson) and Some pretty darn good spots (Wheeler) North Alabama is the place to live. Huntsville is right in the middle of all of these lakes and their is a mtn range running right on the edge of town. Huntsville is a computer industry and space flight driven town population I am guessing 70,000 and everything around Huntsville is fairly rural. I lived there for 3 years before Moving to Atlanta, GA. Definitely cheaper than Atlanta. Dang pricing in Cali must get getting through the roof! I am probably going to retire in Huntsville myself (if I even get to freakin retire).

T Mike

I will say that Cooch's lakes that he mentioned are probably in the prettiest areas in the entire south. It's beautiful up there especially in the fall and spring.

T mIke

Certainly the Midwest and deep South are the most affordable parts of the country so from there you look for where the fishin' is. I don't know my way around the South but as far as the Midwest goes the lakes found in Southwest MO and Northern Arkansas are as good as they get: Tablerock, Taneycomo, Bull Shoals. You can get a waterfront house on Tablerock for a pittance compared to CA prices. A little farther North, and you get into Central MO where there there's Lake of the Ozarks, Truman, and Mark Twain.

I figured I would take a look at Huntsville , AL. and see what my tract shack Piece of crap house here in Fairfield would get me Back there.

Just a friggin MANSION!

http://www.realtor.com/FindHome/HomeLis ... ksrc=00001


My house would sell for $75k back there, and some criminal real estate agent came by last week and told me she could get me $575k easy here.

I may join you down there and never work again.


We are soooo hosed here in CA.

some of the places mentioned. Go during the hottest or coldest times of the year. See how it really is!! The grass isn't always greener.

I had the chance to live in south carolina and florida. Both at times have awsome fishing both freshwater and salt with affordable housing. I hated the weather and couldn't wait to come home!!

There is great fishing through out this country but it won't mean a damn thing if your miserable living there. Employment is another thing to consider. A dollar is a dollar no matter where you go. If you can get a 3000 sq ft house in northern Ark for 200K in 2005. Don't expect to turn a huge profit in a year or two if you realize that Arkansas is not for you.


There are great deals here in northern california with outstanding fishing and we are belssed with the best weather in there is..Bar none!! I would say take some trips to places that peek your interest and look around , hire a guide to sample the fishing and see what it's all about employment wise.

Dave

If I sell my house here and buy a house there, I can work part time at Mc Donalds.

No house payments? Selling my house here and buying one there for CASH, plus putting $150k in the bank from excess equity?

I know it is hot and muggy there ( been to Fort Bragg in the Army, and that's NOT Fort Bragg, CA).

I can start drawing my pension from the retail clerks union in 5 years, 5 months, sooner if I can get a medical disability.

New construction in Branson, Mo. on the water for $129k for 3/2.

I'm going crazy right now.

You can get a HELLUVA house for 200K in Huntsville. Your living the high life if 200K is cheap!! 500K is a freakin Mansion down here. I would think you could get a nice house on the shores of Guntervsille for 500K? Don't quote me on that tho. Most of the decent nice houses in Huntsville are (I'm guessing) 180-250K.

I'm in a very nice neighborhood in suburban Atlanta and my house is in the 180 K range. 4 bedrooms 2.5 bath 2 story and double car garage. Granted I only have a 1/4 acre. You definitely need to consider salaries down here. If your making 90-100K between you and your wife you'll have very little problems living here. YOu can actually go lower than that if your good at budgeting $$

What are house prices like in CA?? Average Salaries etc??

T Mike

If ALL you care about is fishing and you don't have any other requirements than cheap housing, Missouri or Louisana have to top the list of places to live. That's if you don't mind lot's of bugs,
days so hot and humid you don't dare go outside. But hey it's cheap, right. The grass is always greener when it's planted on top of a swamp.

I grew up in the Louisiana and Mississippi Delta and the fishing is beyond belief. Not alot of 6lb + fish but all the 5lbers you can catch. More Redfish and Trout than you can shake a stick at and they are a BALL to catch and you can fish for them just like you do for bass. Problem with Louisiana is it floods like a champ. There's a reason why all the graves in South Louisiana are above ground (ie tombs). Hurricane's are also an issue. South LA pretty much shuts down come a hurricane due to it being mostly swamp/marsh. Lots of coonasses too (that be me!) You have very little spots and ZERO smallmouth in Louisiana. Strictly Largemouth and saltwater. There is a reason why it's called a "sportsmans paradise"

T Mike

Southeast Texas.. Lakes, Fork, Toledo & Rayburn............ lots of trees, & awesome fishing.
you can live on Toledo & fish 5 days a week & NEVER fish all of it....
I`m retiring to Rayburn in a couple of years myself.

I clipped these from online newspapers (SF Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, Sacramento Bee, and Daily review.


These figures are all for May 2005.


The Bay Area's median home price was $595,000

San Mateo County's median home price in May was $726,000

The statewide median price paid for houses and condominiums hit $427,000

In San Diego County, the median price of a home reached $488,000 in May, a 7.5 percent increase over the previous year.

San Diego City limits, $565,000.

In tight housing markets like San Francisco County, where there is little room for new construction, demand drove the median price to $765,000 in May, a 21 percent jump.

Sacramento Co. $376,000


Last month's home sales report released by the Placer County Reality Association showed the median price for an Auburn home in April reaching a whopping $603,000. This is nearly three times the cost of a home in 2000, when the median price in Placer County was just under $200,000.


Income isn't as different as we all think between California and the rest of the country.

http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/4person.html


http://www.dof.ca.gov/html/fs_data/stat ... ES/D20.xls

Those are some expensive HOUSES!! No wonder you wanna move!!

T Mike

Sure, Huntsville is centrally located for the impoundments on the
Tenn River. Only problem is that you would have to actually live in Alabama . No thanks, renting isnt that bad after all.

There are a bunch of lakes in Texas. You can buy a nice house for 200K on Lake Fork. We actually went looking yesterday. We found a 3/2 on 1/2 acre for 129K.
There are tons of lakes out here. I wouldn't say the fishing is as good as California, but it is OK.
Louisiana is nice too. You can live south of Shreveport and be close to Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend.
Don't forget the Gulf coast. There are tons of houses on the Gulf that are cheap and close to good salt water and fresh water fishing.

Seeya,
Peter

Thanks everyone for all the feedback on that. Need to weigh the options and also consider the weather, fish season, BUGS ! ect.. If i do move i will just bring my cabinet bussiness with me so i know i'll have a job Anyways, thanks agian guys.

Brent