i agree that bassmaster is geared more towards southern fishing and the amount of adds make me feel like im watching roland martin but thats why i like it, i feel it expands my knowledge to beyond just local tactics and i actually enjoy the adds alot of them give me ideas on future purchases or how to modify existing gear and tackle to work like a makeshift of whatever the add is trying to sell me. in fisherman is definately a great mag and more helpful in our real world situations but i like the pictures and ads in bassmaster
there are always ads and sponsorship plugs so you need to take things with a grain of salt...at least half of the pictures of fish with a specific lure in their mouths is fake. but both magazines do have some good information. yes, a lot of it's geared towards the south but you can also frequently change "shad" to "bluegill" or "yellow perch."
i get those magazines because of the membership and i've considered doing a few open tournaments. in fisherman is good as well.
They are all good mags lots of good tips like Sam says just addapt.
I like the North American Fisherman myself they cover a broad range from stripers, trout, salmon, small and largemouth bass.