Gear and Tackle
Fishing artificial fishes are spread out on a table image by Aliaksandr Zabudzko from
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According to reports from fishingworks website, using spinners and some floating rapallas landed "enough fish out of that pond to feed a small country." The lakes are stocked by the Pennsylvania Department of Fish and Game. Reports also stated that the use of live bait did not yield as many fish as the use of spinners. Another report stated that night fishing for largemouth bass with night crawlers landed fish.
Pennsylvania Big Bass Program
Pennsylvania has a "Big Bass Program" applied to many of the state's lakes and rivers. The waters in Lackawanna County, where Big Bass Lake is located, fall under these new rules. The special rules for bass for Big Bass Lake state that the daily bag limit for largemouth bass between Jan. 1 and April 16 or June 12 through Dec. 31 is four fish. They must be a minimum of 15 inches in length. There is no harvest allowed between April 17 and June 11. Any fish caught during this time must be on a catch-and-release basis.
Ice Fishing
You are allowed to ice fish, under the special Big Bass Program rules, for largemouth bass at Big Bass Lake. Jigging for the species during winter is a recommended technique, according to the guides at Ice Fishing World. Use minnows to attract bass or a larger ice fly packed with maggots. Look for areas of the lake near vegetation, or known areas that have aquatic plants. These plants will produce oxygen, and fish gather around them in winter.
Article Written By Eric Cedric
A former Alaskan of 20 years, Eric Cedric now resides in California. He's published in "Outside" and "Backpacker" and has written a book on life in small-town Alaska, "North by Southeast." Cedric was a professional mountain guide and backcountry expedition leader for 18 years. He worked in Russia, Iceland, Greece, Turkey and Belize. Cedric attended Syracuse University and is a private pilot.
