Well that is a tough one. Mine on the East side would have to be Banks. So much productive water for both SMB and LMB. I caught more LMB last year on Banks than in past years. I think the lake is starting to improve on LMB, lets all hope. so.  As for the River,  I have only fished it for 6  days in my life and that was last year and  it was great . I will be fishing it more this year thats for sure, so it might beat Banks out  yet .
  As for the West side  Kapowsin for LMB its a great lake. Lake Goodwin up North if you haven't fished it you should Both big LMB and SMB are thick in there and its a small easy to fish lake. I would have to pick Large mouth for my favorite. Good luck to all and don't forget March is BIG fish month. Your more than likley to catch a record fish in March than any other month.

Mr. Holmes, it is good to hear from you, my friend......Apparently things are thawing over there because you have, it appears gotten back the use of your fingers!

This is the toughest question in a long time.  I have so many places in mind.  For me, I will break it down into large nad small bodies of water.  For small waters, Scootney Reservoir would have to be my pick, for both LMB and SMB.  For big waters it is really hard, but I would have to say that Potholes provides everything for a bass angler.  I would have to agree with Smitty, that Tri-cities area is great for both species.  Ugh!!  I love 'em all.

How about the entire Columbia River system?  There are abundant numbers of both LMB & SMB from the East side to the West.  The numbers and the size from that river that match anything else in the state and often times will exceed it.  
Its hard to beat the Tri-cities area in the Hanford reach for big SMB or downstream in the Casey Pond area for LMB's.  The John Day pool has fish that have never seen an artificial bait.  The same can be said for fish below the Bonnevlle Dam.  Between Bonneville and the Dalles is probably some of the best fishing in the entire river system with very little tournament pressure because of the unpredictable high winds.  Great, no outstanding fishing however.

Smitty

Okay, for me on the west side I would say that Silver Lake in Cowlitz Co. just makes me feel like I am Bass fishin.....Just that there is the chance of catching that 10 lb fish just makes it my LMB/West choice and for SMB/West it would be Lake Wash because you could fish all day on docks and not even see 1/20th the total docks. For the LMB/East I would have to say Potholes with Sprague in there for sheer numbers+ bonus Walleye. And of course Banks for SMB with Roosevelt a tight second.

You won't find a better bass lake west of the mountains than Duck Lake.  The wind sucks and it rains a lot but it's one heck of a lake.  For smallies I like the Columbia, I'm more familiar with the Oregon side specifically the John Day area.

I have to admit to being a little spoiled, as I live on a small lake with lots of LMB and little if any fishing pressure. But there's nothing like having my float-tube towed around by a 5 or 6 lb bass on a nice spring or summer evening.
But now that I have the Tracker, I'm looking forward to finding some new favorite lakes.

I gotta say both Banks and Potholes rank right there at the top of my list.  I prefer largemouth fishing whenever possible.  Something about the heavy tackle and aggressive tactics I just like.  Of course, if the smallies are crashing crankbaits, I'm on it!

On the west side:  Big Lake for largemouths and Samammish for smallies.  Although, last year I finally got the chance to hit Stevens a few times and I liked what I saw.  Didn't have much luck, but I saw some mammoth pigs in there - both smallmouth and largemouth!!

Oh, and what the heck I'm on a roll... Silver lake in Cowlitz Co. is one of my favorite largmouth lakes - it's just a long drive from Everett.  I can hit potholes for the same driving time.

Banks for smallmouth!!! Excellent choice, Hunter, and I would have to agree with you. I love Banks Lake. I don't think there is another large lake in the state with so many different types of structure to fish. Even on busy days, there are places you can fish and feel like you are by yourself, too.

Overall, I prefer largemouth fishing, though. They don't fight like smallmouth, but I love close-quarters shallow water fishing.

Chris

What is your favorite lake or river for bass fishing.

And do you prefer SMB or LMB?

Mine would have to be Banks, SMB. But now that I have a bigger boat I will try a lot of new places this coming year.
Hunter