Bass season opens in Pennsylvania on Saturday, but it’s more complicated than that.
It’s the primary harvest season for largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. Also called black bass, they are genetically linked to the panfish family and not biologically considered bass. Rock bass are also tied to the panfish lineage but not included in black bass regulations, instead categorized with crappies, carp, sunfish, catfish and various unlisted gamefish with a year-round open season, no minimum size and daily limit of 50 of combined species.
Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass regulations do not apply to fish in the true bass family — Atlantic striped bass (migratory or landlocked), hybrid striped bass and white bass — which can be harvested year-round with a 20-inch minimum size and daily limit of two of combined species.
On most of Pennsylvania’s lakes, rivers and streams, the minimum size for black bass is 12 inches with a daily combined species limit of six. On Pymatuning Reservoir, managed under the joint jurisdiction of Pennsylvania and Ohio, the season is open year-round for large- and smallmouth bass, which are restricted to 12 inches and five daily. The bass harvest size in Lake Erie and its tributaries is 15 inches with a daily creel limit of four combined species.
The state Fish and Boat Commission’s Big Bass Program is a conservation plan to help bass live long enough to propagate on waters where conditions limit spawning potential. Harvest size is restricted to 15 inches with a limit of four bass daily on the following Western Pennsylvania lakes:
Upper, Middle and Lower Deer Lakes, Marshall Lake, North Park Lake (Allegheny County); Keystone Power Dam (Armstrong); Brady’s Run Lake (Beaver); Sugar Lake (Crawford); Mill Run Reservoir (Fayette); Bridgeport Reservoir (Fayette-Westmoreland); Yellow Creek Lake (Indiana); Shenango River Lake (Mercer); Quemahoning Reservoir (Somerset); Justus Lake (Venango); Cross Creek Lake, Peters Township Lake (Washington); and Indian Lake, Keystone Lake, Twin Lakes, Mammoth Dam and Northmoreland Lake (Westmoreland).
In lakes restricted to catch-and-release only, all species including black bass must be immediately returned to the water. The regulation applies at Pine Township Park Pond (Allegheny); Tamarack Lake (Crawford); Lake Somerset (Somerset) and Lower Burrell Park Pond (Westmoreland).
Other special regulations for bass: Hopewell Township Park Lake, Beaver County, 15-inch minimum size, two per day creel limit. Glade Run Lake, Butler County, all species except trout catch-and-immediate release/no harvest. Conneaut Creek, Crawford and Erie counties, Lake Erie regulations apply. Donegal Lake, Westmoreland County, catch-and-immediate release/no harvest for all species except trout.