APRIL
Brown Bullheads
Shelburne Pond, Vt.
State-record bullheads have been pulled from this pond, which is also home to northern pike and plentiful perch.

There's state-owned access to the pond about one mile west of the intersection of Pond Road and Dorset Street, which is about six miles south of Burlington. Bullheads feed mostly at night. Try night crawlers fished just off the bottom.

Brown Trout
Barber Pond, R.I.
This 28-acre designated trout area off Route 2 in South Kingstown is a popular fishing spot. There's plenty of good parking and access.

The Ocean State's trout waters are stocked each spring before opening day, but Barber receives additional trout each spring and fall. There's a state-owned ramp, and only electric trolling motors are allowed.

Brook Trout
Union River, Maine
When the leaves are as big as a mouse's ear, it's time to wet a line in search of brookies. Each spring, Union River in Ellsworth is stocked with hundreds of trout. Try fishing in Ellsworth below Route 1A and off Infant Street. Access can be had at the town boat launch.

MAY
Striped Bass
Niantic River, Conn.
Each spring, a species of worm known as Neres succinea comes out of the sand to spawn. Stripers are on hand to take advantage of the buffet!

The Niantic River is one of the best bets for striped bass on Long Island Sound. Try the mouth of the river, fish off the bridge on Route 156, or try the waters where the river meets Niantic Bay. Surf-cast on the beach along the north end of the bay.

Landlocked Salmon
Clyde River, Vt.
Last April, this Newport salmon fishery was stocked with 30,000 yearling salmon. Another 49,600 fry were released in May. Access is in East Charleston, adjacent to the bridge on Ten Mile Square Road.

Haddock
Jeffreys Ledge, N.H.
Anglers lucky enough to have (or have chartered) boats up to the 30-mile trip out to Jeffreys Ledge can look forward to daily catches of 15 haddock or more, and the occasional big cod. Some haddock caught here weigh over 6 pounds, but the average is 3 to 5 pounds. Access is closest from Rye Harbor, off Route 1A.

JUNE
Cod
Jeffreys Ledge, Mass.
Cod are the Bay State's most important party-boat targets. Cod are normally found in deeper waters during winter months, but head inshore in spring. Try sea worms, mackerel, clams, crabs, jigs or strips of fish as bait.

Gloucester, on the southern shore of Cape Ann, is a great starting point. The Ledge is just eight miles from Gloucester Harbor.

Largemouth Bass
Congamond Lakes, Mass.
The three basins that make up these Southwick lakes cover 465 acres and consistently produce good largemouths in any season.

Long Lake provides world-class landlocked salmon action. Last year, one lucky angler here may have landed the new world ice-fishing record. The salmon was 30 inches long and weighed 12 pounds,14 ounces.

This month, use a rubber jig or tubeworm dropped onto guarded nests. North Pond is 46 acres; Middle Pond is 277 acres and South Pond covers 142 acres. North Pond is the deepest, at 40 feet.

Boat access may be had at two paved ramps on Middle Pond. There is no public access on North Pond, but small boats can pass under Grove Road through a culvert.

Striped Bass
York Harbor, Maine
York Harbor is a popular destination for anglers in search of stripers. For daytime shore fishing, try Town Docks 01 and 02. Other good shore-fishing sites are the Route 103 bridge and the causeway east of the bridge. Try surf-fishing off Route 1A at Long Sands and Short Sands beaches.

At Cape Neddick, there's plenty of rocky shoreline at Sohier Park and Cape Neddick Light. To the north is Short Sands Beach, another surf-casting opportunity.

Anglers with boats will want to try the waters around Boon Island Light, about seven miles off Cape Neddick.