You A Bass Guy? The Season Is Finally Starting In New York State

Get your fishing poles and boats ready, bass season is ready to kick off in New York State.

Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos is proudly announcing the start of the largemouth and smallmouth bass fishing season in New York State.

The season will open for harvest on Wednesday, June 15th and run all the way until Wednesday, November 30th later this fall. This opening date is now the standard for this species of fish, replacing what was previously the third Saturday in June.

Catch-and-release season for most regions in New York State will typically run from December 1st through June 14th. Only during the upcoming season is when anglers can take the bass from the water for food or selling purposes.

There are special fishing regulations for certain waters in the state. Those can be viewed in greater detail on the DEC's fishing regulations guide.

Last season, Bassmaster Magazine ranked a number of New York's lakes in their top 25 list for the Northeast. This included your favorites like the St. Lawrence River (#1), Lake Eire (#3), Lake Champlain (#4), Cayuga Lake (#11), Oneida Lake (#18), and Chautauqua Lake (#25).

Curious as to who caught the biggest bass in New York State? Well we got that for you too. The biggest largemouth was 11 lb. 4 oz. - 25.5 inches long, by John Higbie in Buckhorn Lake, Otsego County. That dates all the way back to 9/11/1987.

There's actually a tie for the biggest smallmouth bass. The record is currently set at 8 lb. 4 oz. - 20.5 inches. The first was caught on Lake Erie in Chautauqua County by Andrew Kartesz on 6/4/1995. The record was tied recently by Patrick Hilldenbrand from the St. Lawrence River in Jefferson County on 8/28/2016.

There are plenty of spots to grab both largemouth and smallmouth bass across the state. If you want tips for the best places to fish, the DEC has a website for that as well.