New England's black bass enthusiasts have much to look forward to in 2010. Fisheries experts manage the species with an eye toward healthy populations and quality size, boosting the odds that anglers will land a brag-worthy bucketmouth or bronzeback this year.

There are so many excellent bass waters throughout the region that anglers could fish every day and still not hit them all. Here's a roundup of the best bass waters to try in the Northeast this year:

CONNECTICUT
The Nutmeg State has 29 Bass Management lakes that offer a quality bassing experience but with more restrictive regulations than the 12-inch minimum and six-fish creel limits that are standard on most waters.

Some Bass Management lakes have a 12- to 16-inch slot limit with a six-fish daily creel limit, and only two of those fish may be over 16 inches. Other waters have an 18-inch minimum length, and only one fish over 18 inches may be taken.

There is no closed season on bass in Connecticut.

"We're in the process of drafting our final report on experimental length limits in 29 Bass Management Lakes," said Bob Jacobs, eastern district supervisor with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection's Inland Fisheries Division. "This report will be completed in late 2010 and will contain recommendations for future bass management in the state."

Jacobs noted that special Bass Management regulations had been in place since 2002.

"There has been a trend toward improvements in bass fishing in Connecticut because of higher voluntary release rates by anglers, so 2010 should be as good a year as any for bass fishing here," Jacobs noted. "Angler catch rates for bass, for both tournament and non-tournament anglers, have increased at least two-fold since the 1980s as a result, but also because anglers just seem to be getting more sophisticated at finding and catching the fish."

Roberts said that hotspots for both smallmouth and largemouth bass include Candlewood Lake and the Connecticut River. For more bucketmouth action, try Lake Saltonstall, Moodus Reservoir, Mansfield Hollow Reservoir, Rogers Lake, Ball Pond and Pachaug Pond.

For additional Connecticut fishing information, call (860) 424-3474 or visit www.ct.gov/dep.

MAINE
According to Rick Jordan, a Region C fisheries biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, there are over 620 bass waters in the Pine Tree State. None of these waters are stocked because natural reproduction presently maintains a healthy population.

Effective April 1, 2010, a new combined freshwater-ice-fishing law book takes effect in Maine.

"Maine now has a general law that says all lakes and ponds, unless otherwise specified in the county listings, will be open to year-round fishing," Jordan said. "So what that means is if there is open water you will be able to fish for bass, and if there is ice, you will be able to ice-fish. If there's open water in January, February or March, you will still be able to fish."

Jordan said that cost savings for printing a combined season law book were not the only consideration in making the year-round rule.

In 2009, Maine experienced the rainiest June on record, and July wasn't much better.

"Based on my experience and the highly cold, rainy summer we had, especially though the end of July, my guess is that survival of bass fry was not very good this year," Jordan said. "Spawning got somewhat delayed and the newly hatched fish didn't get the benefit of the normal warming we experience in June and July. Survival of first-year bass through the winter is dependent on them getting bigger through the summer and fall, which will sustain them through the time of no feeding in winter. The smaller fish die, but the larger ones make it."

Anglers won't feel the results of any struggles encountered by the 2009 hatch for three or four years, Jordan said, in relation to bass sizes and numbers.

"Fish in the 10- to 12-inch range may be reduced due to the cool summer we had a few years ago, so anglers may encounter fewer bass progeny from summers around 2004 and 2005," Jordan said. "But there were good numbers of 14- to 17-inch bass around last summer, so the bigger fish are right there."

Jordan said that Big Lake is probably the most important smallmouth bass lake in Region C.

"It's 10,000 acres with excellent spawning grounds and habitat," he said. "Green Lake in Ellsworth is another good smallmouth bass lake. There's good size quality there. For fast fishing, try Meddybemps Lake in Meddybemps. Cathance Lake has smallmouth bass and a real fast catch rate. The fish are a little later to spawn there. I wouldn't start fishing until June 8 or 10. Beech Hill Pond in Otis also provides fast fishing for smallmouths."

For largemouth bass action, Jordan recommended Pocomoonshine Lake in Alexander north of Route 9, and downstream at Crawford Lake.

"Both have largemouth bass and smallmouth bass," Jordan said. "There are some real nice largemouths in there, some going 4 to 6 pounds."

For more Maine fishing information, call the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife at (207) 287-8000 or visit www.maine.gov/ ifw.

MASSACHUSETTS
There have been no recent changes in Bay State bass-fishing regulations, according to Richard Hartley, aquatic biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and the state's Warm and Cool Water Project leader.

Massachusetts anglers may harvest five black bass per day with a minimum length of 12 inches.

"Based on survey work and bass tournament creel analysis, Massachusetts anglers should continue to find good fishing in all of their favorite bass spots," Hartley said. "Some best bets for smallmouth bass are the Merrimack River, the Connecticut River, Wachusett Reservoir, Quabbin Reservoir, Webster Lake in Webster, Sugden Reservoir in Spencer, Onota Lake in Pittsfield and virtually any two-story fishery in the Southeast District."

Hartley's picks for largemouth bass included the Agawam River in Wareham, Long Pond in Lakeville, Noquochoke Lake in Dartmouth, Quabbin Reservoir, Wachusett Reservoir, Congamond Lake in Southwick and Cheshire Reservoir in Cheshire.

The most popular bass tournament waters in Massachusetts last year were Congamond Lake, the Connecticut River, the Nashua River, Quaboag Pond in Brookfield and Webster Lake.

For more Massachusetts fishing information, call (508) 389-6300 or visit www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
"The goal of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department's warmwater fisheries program is to use the best information available to sustain and improve warmwater fish populations through management and natural reproduction in order to provide recreational fishing opportunities in an ecologically sound manner," said Gabe Gries, a fisheries biologist II with New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, and the state's Warmwater Project leader.

In the short term, NHFG is conducting statewide population assessments of warmwater species and continues to monitor bass tournament data.

Long-term objectives include using those assessments to identify bass populations that may require new regulations and evaluation of impacts of any new regulations.

"Most of these short- and long-term objectives are met by conducting warmwater fish assessments each year using an electro-shocking boat, nets and/or angler surveys," Gries said.

The annual assessments provide information on fish condition, size and population structure, relative abundance, juvenile bass size and abundance, and more. Also, angler effort, catch and harvest rates and opinions about management are tracked. All data is entered into a black bass database.

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