Young

When bass season opens next Saturday, June 13, all gamefish in Pennsylvania will be in season.

While plenty of fishermen will be out for bass on the opening day, that event doesn’t draw the kind of attention or the sheer numbers of anglers that the first day of trout season does. Our region is certainly trout country, and we are blessed with an abundance and variety of trout water for both wild and stocked trout.

Trout are also stocked by the thousands in many streams and lakes offering an abundance of nearby opportunities. And compared to stocked trout, bass tend to be somewhat difficult to catch for many casual anglers.

While the first day of bass season doesn’t quite generate the hoopla that the opening of trout season does, plenty of anglers enthusiastically pursue these great gamefish throughout the season. Our region also has plenty of places to fish for bass. Dozens of smaller lakes and ponds to the bigger impoundments like Glendale Lake, Sayers Lake and Raystown Lake provide a variety of experiences for area bass anglers. The abundant smallmouth fishery of the Juniata River and its Raystown Branch is always one of the most popular fishing destination in the region.

Statewide, the daily limit of bass is six fish with a minimum size limit of 12 inches, but some designated waters are managed under special regulations called the Big Bass Program where the daily limit is reduced to four and the minimum size is increased to 15 inches.

The increased size limits usually improve the average size of the bass caught by fishermen. Local waters managed under the Big Bass Program include: Canoe Creek Lake in Blair County; Shawnee Lake in Bedford County; Colyer Lake in Centre County; and Beaverdam Run Reservoir, Duman Dam, Hinckston Run Reservoir and Wilmore Dam in Cambria County.

Of course, both species of bass are capable of reaching impressive size. The Pennsylvania state record for largemouth bass weighed 11 pounds 3 ounces and was caught from Birch Run Reservoir in Adams County in 1983, while our state record smallmouth weighed 8 pounds 8 ounces and was caught from Scotts Run Lake in Berks County in 1997.

The world record largemouth weighed 22 pounds 4 ounces and was caught from Montgomery Lake in Georgia in 1932. That long-standing record was tied in 2009 by a monster bass taken in Lake Biwa in Japan. The world record smallmouth bass came from Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee in 1955 and tipped the scales at 11 pounds 15 ounces.

Many local trout fans might be surprised by the fact that the largemouth bass tops the list as our most popular freshwater game fish in North America by a wide margin. Largemouths are now found in all the lower 48 states and southern Canada. These popular gamefish have also been transplanted well into Mexico, Central America and most other continents as well. Largemouths are highly adaptable and 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 because of their preference for lakes with mostly clear water and gravel, rocks and other hard-bottom structure.

Smallmouths especially thrive in rivers, and in Pennsylvania, all our major river systems are well known for their excellent smallmouth fisheries. Surprisingly, however, smallmouth bass were only native to the Allegheny and Ohio River watersheds.

They were introduced to the Susquehanna, Juniata and Delaware rivers during the late nineteenth century. 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 kayak is also a popular way to fish the river.

Largemouths generally like hanging around or hiding in some type of cover such as weeds or sunken trees. They usually prefer to ambush their prey with a short, quick burst of speed rather than chase their next meal for any distance. Smallmouths will relate to structures like rock piles or ledges but seem comfortable in open water where they can hunt and chase down baitfish or other food sources. Largemouths are usually easier to catch on overcast days, while smallmouths, especially river smallmouths, often bite well on sunny days. Neither species seems to like windy days as wind seems to scatter the fish making the more difficult to find.

Both species of bass are highly adapted predators. They will prey 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 bait and lures that can be fished on spinning, bait-casting or fly tackle.

This diversity endears bass to both fishermen and tackle companies. For well over a century, anglers have eagerly sought a steady diet of new lures to tempt their favorite fish. And the lure makers have always been eager to satisfy that demand. Probably more lures have been produced specifically to catch largemouth bass than every other species of fish combined. And as long as we anglers keep buying them, it’s a sure bet the tackle manufacturers will keep turning them out.