Photo by Jeff Samsel

Before you read much more of this story, you have a question to answer -- and your answer will help guide you to the information here that will be most useful to you.

It's a simple question, really: How do you define "good bass fishing"?

Because everyone is different, there'll likely be as many answers to that as there are readers of this story. In general, most bass chasers want either to catch lots of fish on every outing, or to go after the biggest bass swimming in the lake. Neither group is wrong. Really, there's no wrong answer to the question -- except maybe for a dishonest one.

Not too long ago, my editor got a letter from a reader who took issue with a story published on these pages within the past year. The story included mention of a particular Kansas lake as a good bet for bass action. The letter writer kindly objected because he'd never caught a largemouth there much bigger than about 2 1/2 pounds -- in other words, just a tad larger than a normal "keeper" in states, like Kansas, with 15-inch size minimums.

Water's not the only thing in life that flows downhill. My editor passed the note along to me, inviting me to respond in defense of my reporting. It was easy.

I had included that lake because state fisheries biologists had recorded a fairly dense population of bass in the impoundment. I'm talking upward of 50,000 largemouths, with about 40 percent of them keeper-sized or larger! And that lake is only about 2,500 acres when full.

What all those numbers suggested to me in researching the piece was that anglers who fish there have a darned good chance of hooking, playing and landing multiple keeper-sized largemouths. And between tussles with 15-inch fish, they've got a decent shot at enjoying consistent action, if conditions cooperate.

I provided that information to the letter writer, who seemed satisfied with the explanation -- not that he necessarily agreed with it. But that's OK, of course -- and that's the point: Not everything that follows here is going to apply to you and your fishing. So take a minute now to think honestly about the days of Sunflower State bass fishing that you remember most vividly. Did they involve lots of bass? Lots of keepers? A really big fish? A big lake? A small lake? A farm pond?

Whatever provides the fond memories is likely to serve as a solid foundation for your general bassin' interests. Keep that in mind as you read the succeeding paragraphs, which will take you around the state and into waters of all sizes to uncover what you can expect from your bass trips this season.

What follows comes from data that Kansas' Department of Wildlife and Parks biologists routinely gather in annual surveys of anglers (creel surveys) and waters (actual on-the-water fish sampling). Data for this story include statistics gathered from 15 reservoirs around the state -- from Sebelius and Cedar Bluff in the west to La Cygne and Clinton in the east.

This might sound like an easy answer, but it also happens to be true. Kansas' premier "hot-water" lake, La Cygne in Linn County, is home to the biggest largemouths to be had at any of the major Sunflower State impoundments. Sampling has turned up bass pushing 8 1/2 pounds there. There's a logical reason for that: Because it's a power-plant lake -- the mission of which includes serving as a cooling basin for water involved in generation at the adjacent plant -- La Cygne offers year-round "growing season" water temperatures. Active bass are always found somewhere on the lake, and they never stop growing, as lower water temperatures never slow their metabolisms.