Early spring. It's the time of year that every Bass fisherman who is worth his salt looks forward to. The thought of Bass that haven't seen a lure for at least 3 months is enough to stir any of us into a frenzy. Early spring has it's advantages but it can have it's own unique problems as well.

You've got the lake to yourself. No pleasure boats. No water skiers. No Jet-skis and no other fisherman. The sun has set and the only sounds to be heard are the bull frogs and the whippoorwills.Before too long you'll be hearing lunker bass sloshing around in the shallows. What we're talking about here is midnight Bassin'.

In these days of multimedia, the "information super highway" and endless other modern means of communication, the modern-day bass angler is well armed in his pursuit of that elusive green fish known affectionately as the Black Bass.

The Buzzbait touched down just a few inches from shore, in less than a foot of water. I engaged the reel and began retrieving the bait toward a small section of a tree that had fallen into the lake. But before moving a foot, the bait disappeared into the mouth of Mr. Bass. I set the hook and played the fish momentarily.

The fall fishing season remains a mystery for many anglers. This is a season of change. We can see it all around us, and the bass know things are changing too. Unfortunately, the bass don't declare it's Fall by our calendars. The length of the day may well be their signal long before the water temps.

It was 9:30 PM. The Black Hawgstomper Spinnerbait, with it's single colorado blade, thumped out a steady rhythm about 2 feet below the water's surface. But before I could move it too far, the thumping stopped. I set the hook and 17 lb. test line began to be stripped from my baitcaster.

It's mid-March. You've spent the last several weeks getting your tackle boxes in shape, sharpening hooks, spooling on new line and watching hour after hour of fishing shows on TNN. The ice has been gone from the ponds for a couple of weeks.

The first Saturday in May marks the beginning of the early smallmouth season on Lake Erie in New York State waters. The DEC classifies this as the "trophy season" as anglers are only permitted to take one smallmouth per day measuring 15 inches or greater.

Located in the heart of the Western Finger Lakes region, is a small lake nestled in the hills called Honeoye. This lake, at only 4 1/2 miles long and 3/4 of a mile wide, is known as a "bass factory". Although the bigger fish have slowly declined over the past few years, numbers of average fish are not a problem.