Bass Fishing Hit or Miss for New York Angler

As the temperatures rise in New York, the bass fishing is improving. Michael Cleary-Morgan lives in Rockland County and fishes the lakes in Sloatsburg NY. “Mainly I focus on largemouth and smallmouth bass,” he said. “These two fish are great fighters and provide a battle even as small as two pounds.” Cleary-Morgan fished Cranberry Lake recently and said the bass seem to be transitioning as the water temperatures warm.

On his latest trip, he fished after a full moon but said the fishing was tough! “I’ve been experiencing some changes in the fishing. It’s been very hit-or-miss. This is not at all what I’m used to seeing,” he said. He said the bass have been short-striking his lure for the last few weeks making it difficult to set the hook on them. 

Cleary-Morgan blames the changing weather conditions seen lately across the state but expects the bass fishing to ignite in May as things stabilize. He recommends fishing the days before and after the next full moon. “During the full moon I like to throw a white or light blue spinner bait with a small plastic worm as a trailer,” he said. Cleary-Morgan uses a Lunkerhunt Impact Thump Spinner Bait with a Berkley Maxscent worm as a trailer. For his rod and reel setup, he operates with a Formula RT2 graphite rod paired with an EMX10SHLA made by Bass Pro Shops. On the biatcaster reel, he runs 12-pound monofilament Berkely Trilene Big Game.

In late May as the water temperatures approach the 60s, Cleary-Morgan switches over to a Texas-rigged worm or crawfish in any dark colors. “Right now the water temperatures in the lakes are around 50-55 degrees so that’s great for smallmouth but largemouth bass are tough to find.  So far it’s been very hit or miss but things should be looking up in May. You just have to keep changing up your baits and techniques to try and find what the flavor of the month is,” he said.

Currently all bass both largemouth and smallmouth are catch and release in New Yourk waters. On June 15 the season opens for those anglers who want to keep the bass that they catch. The daily bag limit is five with the minimum size limit being 12 inhces.

Keith Lusher

Keith Lusher is an award winning outdoor journalist that resides in Covington, Louisiana. He owns and operates NorthshoreFishingReport.com and writes a weekly outdoor column for the Slidell Independent Newspaper. He also writes for the St.Tammany Parish Tourism Commission’s VisitTheNorthshore.com. He is the former host of The Northshore Fishing Report Radio Show and is on the board of the Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association. Keith contributes to numerous publications both online and in print and prides himself on promoting South Louisiana’s unique fishery. To contact Keith email: [email protected]