One of the best things about fall bass fishing is that you can get so much water to yourself while other sportsmen are often in the deer woods in their spare time. Concentrate on the lower end of Fishtrap late in the year for best success, and look for submerged structure or shoreline cover. In spring, largemouths will be more scattered throughout this small but decent choice for a bass-fishing trip or two in 2006.

In addition to the better places we touch on, we also get the report on lakes where bass fishing isn't expected to be "stellar," too. In the east this year, the scoop on Paintsville and Grayson is that bass populations may be down a little. Anglers may not come up with as many quality-sized bass as in some years. At Buckhorn, things look pretty good again for 2006, so perhaps that's an alternate option not too far away.

Another big lake expected to shine this year, moving westward, should be Cave Run Lake, a 10,000-acre reservoir in northeastern Kentucky. The most recent information available on this waterway suggests that the 13-to 16-inch protective slot limit is continuing to help improve the number of bigger bass.

Milfoil patches on the lake are giving bass a little more cover, and provide places for them to find food fish, which like to hide around that cover. The North Fork area of the upper lake is recommended for good numbers of largemouth bass. Early in the season, don't overlook the rocky banks where bass will be in quickly warming water searching out spawning areas.

For smallmouth action in this lake, anglers will have to work hard. Stick to the lower end of the lake, and occasionally you may come up with a really big smallie. Don't expect to take a limit, except on an exceptional day.

The forecast for one of Kentucky's most heavily fished and used lakes, Lake Cumberland, is not that astounding this year for largemouths or smallmouths. While both species swim the depths of this mammoth 50,000-acre hole of water, biologists believe most largemouths caught will be around 15 inches. Smallmouths will generally run from 15 to 18 inches, with a few larger fish thrown in to the lucky man in the boat.

Cumberland does get a pretty good score this year for Kentucky bass, which are a fun fish to catch. Kentucky bass put up a pretty good fight. Cumberland is known for having larger spots than many other lakes, so you may come home with a mess of nice Kentucky bass to augment the rest of your creel.

For the ardent and thrill-seeking smallmouth angler, you probably won't be able to top Dale Hollow's bronzeback fishing regardless of where else you may go anywhere in the southeastern U.S. Dale Hollow pumps out a whole lot of big smallmouths, especially at the start of the spring fishing season. Biologists see no decline of that action now or in the near future.

Get on those rocky, sloping banks after the sun warms them some in February and March and stay with it. Fish are almost always present, and sooner or later in the day, when they decide to feed, you can really connect with some excellent fish up to 6 pounds or more. Fish around 3 pounds are normal, which is very impressive by any standard.

Anglers on Barren River should be better pleased with the largemouth action they find this year, thanks to another one of those back-to-back good spawning springs in 2003 and 2004. Larger fish should continue to become available in 2006 and beyond. Biologists look for Barren to re-emerge as one of Kentucky's better bass-fishing spots starting this season, and that's good news for south-central Kentucky fishermen.