MAINE
Bass are found in about 0.5 million acres of the Pine Tree State's 38,000 miles of lakes, ponds and rivers. Although Maine's bass population requires careful management, the primary strategy is based on natural reproduction with no stocking required.

Management decisions have been driven by size issues and concerns about research in Ontario indicating that black bass in the northern part of their range are susceptible to climate-induced year-class failures. Regulations include a 12-inch length limit and a one-fish bag limit from Jan. 1 to June 20 each year. During the rest of the year, the limit is three fish, only one of which may exceed 14 inches.

Ice-out comes late to Maine's chilly waters, but biologists have heard from spring bass anglers reporting great catches. Fishing for smallmouths has met with good success on Thomas Pond. Spring electro-shocking projects on both Thomas and Treckey ponds yielded bass in excellent condition, with several in the 4- to 5-pound range.

By late May, smallmouth fishing is good at Ellis, Clearwater and Mount Blue ponds and in the Androscoggin River near Canton. For largemouths, the best bets include Crowell and Norcross ponds and Wesserunsett Lake.

For midsummer largemouths, try Round Pond in Rome. The pond is accessible only by a foot trail from Watson Pond Road. Last summer, biologists discovered a good population of young largemouths residing in the shallows and a number of bigger largemouths nearby.

For smallmouths over 16 inches in length, try Clearwater Pond. The Penobscot River and South Branch and Seboeis lakes are also good bets.

Most lakes and ponds are open to fishing until the end of November with catch-and-release regulations on trout, salmon and bass. Fall action remains good at the Androscoggin River on either side of Riley Dam in Jay or Canton, where very large smallmouths tend to hide out.

For winter action, chisel some holes at Upper Range Pond in Poland. Anglers report catching a fair number of both largemouths and smallmouths there. Some jaw-dropping entries landed on the scales during a 2005 derby in Hancock County, with Great Pond giving up a first-place largemouth weighing in at 5 pounds, 7 ounces, and Somes Pond produced a 4-pound, 5-ounce smallmouth.

For fisheries information, visit www.maine.gov/ifw/idex.html or call (207) 287-8000. For travel information, visit www.visit-maine.com.

MASSACHUSETTS
Largemouth bass are fast becoming one of the most popular freshwater sport fish in Massachusetts. MassWildlife has been actively managing largemouth bass since their introduction to the state 120 years ago.

Old management practices consisted of transplanting adult bass from one pond to another. In the early 1900s, hatchery culture and stocking programs began for both largemouth and smallmouth bass. By the late 1960s, largemouth populations had become self-sustaining. Current management includes a year-round fishing season, a five-fish-per-day creel limit and a 12-inch minimum size.

MassWildlife fisheries biologist Richard Hartley is the state's Warm and Cool Water Project leader. Over the years, Hartley has developed a list of best-bet waters for Bay State bass. The only difficulty is that there are so many to choose from!

"I've got to be honest," he said. "It's hard to pick. I went through our award program and looked at the most consistent producers in better than a 40-year history of records for most game species."

Best bets for largemouths include Glen Charlie, Sampson, Mashpee-Wakeby, Long and Snipatuit ponds, Webster Lake, Agawam River and the Wachusett, New Bedford and Quabbin reservoirs.