"All of your traditional largemouth tackle will work," LaPenter said. "Twistertails, spinnerbaits, plastic worms and Senkos fished wacky-style all work well. Most fish average between 2 and 3 pounds, but Lake Owen is really starting to come along, with some fish reaching 6 pounds."

Lake Owen has crystal-clear water, so watch your color scheme.

"Use lighter colors on bright days and darker colors on dark days," LaPenter said. "When it's bright, try silver, chartreuse and white, while pumpkinseed, brown, purple and darker crayfish will work well on dark days."

There is a boat launch at Two Lakes Campground and another ramp is off Lake Owen Road.

PINE LAKE CHAIN
The Pine Lake Chain is another group of lakes LaPenter recommended.

"This is a collection of six different lakes," he said. "They all have a lot of structure, but it might be hard to find unless you know the lakes. The good news is, you can start catching bass the minute you push off from the boat landing."

This lake is similar to Lake Owen in that the water is crystal clear, and the bass average 2 to 3 pounds.

"Find one bass and you'll find several bass," LaPenter said. "Just keep casting to the weedbeds along the shore and you'll be successful. In fact, for those who like to fly-fish, this chain offers some great action. Use a minnow-imitation like a white streamer and cast it just as you would a spinner."

This chain has two access points, one on Bushy Bay at The Heritage and the other at County Campground at Twin Bear.

FOREST SERVICE LAKES
I've saved the best for last. LaPenter recommended, and I agree, that for the really big largemouths, nothing beats the U.S. Forest Service lakes.

"There are so many of these, it is hard to pick out just one or two," LaPenter said. "Most of these have walk-in trails that you can easily access with a canoe or belly boat."

LaPenter said these lakes are where you should go to catch the largest largemouth of your life.

"You know, there are two great things about these lakes," LaPenter said. "First, they give you your best chance at catching an 8-pound bass because they don't get the fishing pressure. Second, when you are finished bass fishing, they are all loaded with panfish."

When I asked LaPenter if his catch-and-release ethic he employs on most bass waters would be needed in the forest, he laughed and said, "You know, some of these lakes have such high densities of bass, they could stand a little harvesting from anglers."

* * *

So, back to that big largemouth bass from last summer. We were three days into our trip when we decided to go to a new lake. I always hate going somewhere new because I don't know the structure, and I don't have any memories of big fish to give me confidence that they can be caught there. But that's what my husband wanted, so off we went.

We picked a canoe-only lake with crystal-clear water, and the sky was bright and blue. He chose a Mr. Twister with a chartreuse tail and placed some casts toward the weedline. In the bottom of the canoe, my young daughter was happily picking apart the skirts of my spinnerbaits because "my Barbie likes the colors, Mommy."