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Bass season set to open this Saturday

When bass season opens at midnight this Saturday, all species of fish will once again be in season in Pennsylvania.

In spite of bass fishing’s popularity, however, the start of bass fishing here in our region doesn’t evoke all the hoopla the opening day of trout season brings for several reasons. Bass aren’t stocked by the thousands as trout are. Bass tend to be more difficult to catch for many casual anglers, especially compared to stocked trout.

And most avid bass fishermen nowadays tend to practice catch and release almost exclusively and therefore feel no compulsion to be on the water in hopes of “catching a limit” on the first day of the season.

Here in our region, there are ample opportunities to cast for both largemouth and smallmouth bass. For those anglers who seek the challenge of big water, major impoundments like Raystown Lake in Huntingdon County, Sayers Lake in Centre County or Glendale Lake in Cambria County offer plenty of water to explore.

Some of the smaller lakes in the area provide great bass fishing too, especially those managed under the Fish and Boat Commission’s Big Bass Program. Statewide, the daily limit of bass is six fish with a minimum size limit of 12 inches, but on waters in the Big Bass Program the daily limit is reduced to four and the minimum size is increased to 15 inches. These special regulations usually improve the average size of the bass caught by fishermen.

Local waters in the Big Bass Program include: Canoe Creek Lake in Blair County; Shawnee Lake in Bedford County; and Beaverdam Run Reservoir, Duman Dam, Hinckston Run Reservoir and Wilmore Dam in Cambria County.

Smallmouths bass thrive in rivers, while largemouths are rarely found in flowing water in the northern part of their range. In Pennsylvania, all our major river systems are well known for their smallmouth fisheries. Surprisingly, smallmouth bass are only native to the Allegheny and Ohio River watersheds and were introduced to the Susquehanna, Juniata and Delaware rivers during the late nineteenth century. Sadly, the smallmouth populations on some areas of the Susquehanna River have experienced setbacks over the last decade.

Locally, the Juniata River and its Raystown and Frankstown branches serve up many miles of great smallmouth fishing. Most stretches of the Juniata are easily waded, and float-fishing from a small boat or canoe is also a popular way to fish the river. River smallmouths tend be aggressive feeders and will take a variety of baits and lures.

Nationwide, however, the largemouth bass tops the list as our most popular freshwater game fish. Largemouths are now found in all of the lower 48 states and southern Canada and have been transplanted well into Mexico, Central America and most other continents as well.

Largemouths do well in a wide range of habitats, from small farm ponds to the largest manmade reservoirs. Smallmouth bass were originally native to the eastern half of the United States and southeastern Canada from Manitoba and Quebec and south to Tennessee and eastern Oklahoma. Smallmouths have also been introduced into almost every other state but are not as widespread as the largemouth. Smallmouth bass are not as adaptable as their largemouth cousins, preferring lakes with mostly clear water and gravel, rocks and other hard bottom structure.

Along with their widespread availability, bass tend to be popular with anglers because they are strong fighters when hooked and can reach respectable average size in most waters where they are found. The world record largemouth weighed 22 pounds, 4 ounces and was caught from Montgomery Lake in Georgia in 1932.

That record was tied in 2009 by a monster bass taken in Lake Biwa in Japan. The Pennsylvania state record largemouth bass weighed 11 pounds 3 ounces and was caught from Birch Run Reservoir in Adams County in 1983. The world record smallmouth bass came from Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee in 1955 and tipped the scales at 11 pounds 15 ounces. Pennsylvania’s record smallmouth weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and was caught at Scotts Run Lake in Berks County in 1997.

Both species of bass are highly adapted predators, capable of preying on virtually any creature they can swallow and happens to be found in, on or around the water they inhabit. This extremely varied diet means bass are likely to attack a wide variety of lures, a trait that endears these fish to both fishermen and tackle companies. Probably more lures have been produced specifically to catch largemouth bass than every other of species combined. And as long as we anglers keep buying them, I’m sure the tackle manufactures will keep turning them out.

Although many trout fans might disagree, recent research has revealed that largemouth bass are the most intelligent freshwater fish. Based on some tests, largemouths have demonstrated the ability to recognize a certain lure after a single encounter with it and steer clear of it from then on. Most other species of fish, including trout, require several encounters before wising up, if at all.

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