Field & Stream Lists Top Winter Destinations

Filed in archive Fishing on November 28, 2007

I don't normally associate fishing with winter, in less its ice fishing. But, according to Field & Stream magazine, winter fishing is both fun and cheap.

The editors at the magazine recently listed their top 10 destinations for winter destinations. And to no surprise southern states, Texas and Louisiana, made the list. However, to my surprise three spots in Arkansas, New Mexico, and California shocked me.

Seven of the 10 destinations offer average January high temperatures of 60 degrees or above, with some well into the 80s, the magazine said. The three spots with lower temperatures - Bull Shoals State Park, in Arkansas; San Juan River, in New Mexico; and Lake Amistad, Texas - are worth the chill, according to the magazine, because of the quality of winter fishing.

Some of the destinations, like north-central Florida's Ocala National Forest, even offer free camping, the magazine said. Grand Isle, La., also has camping, for $12, while Everglades National Park offers camping for a $2 fee - or you can splurge for an $85-a-night room at a lodge like the Ivey House in everglades city.

Also recommended by the magazine are fishing expeditions in Aransas Pass, Texas (with camping at nearby Mustang Island State Park); and Castaic Lake and Lake Casitas, in California.

Two sites outside the U.S. on the magazine's list are Long Island in the Bahamas and East Cape Baja, Mexico.