My editor could easily devote this entire issue to the outstanding fishing opportunities available in our region -- and it still wouldn't be enough space to cover it all! The Dakotas, Nebraska and Kansas, collectively and individually, offer anglers an amazing mix of great angling options every day of every year.

What follows is a look at just some of the action you can enjoy in all four states every month. As you read through this report, one thing likely will become clear to you: Fishing season never ends in the Great Plains.

From New Year's Day through the next New Year's Eve, you have a chance to enjoy some great fishing. Here's a calendar for you to use in making the most of every moment you can spend on the water. Enjoy!

JANUARY
Bass/Kansas
During one of the year's coldest months, you can enjoy some of the year's hottest bass action -- literally and figuratively -- on La Cygne Lake in eastern Kansas. Only an hour south of the greater Kansas City area, La Cygne is a power-plant lake with a hot-water outlet that provides water temperatures bass in other lakes usually only see for a portion of the year.

"If you want to catch a bass on a spinnerbait in January, you can do it at La Cygne," said Sunflower State fisheries biologist Kyle Austin. You also can catch nice largemouths on shallow-running crankbaits and just about any other bait you'd like to try.

Adjacent to the hot-water outlet, anglers can find great opportunities to enjoy hot action even when air temperatures are in the teens this month. I know; I've done it.

A great way to approach La Cygne's January bass action is to launch your boat and, when you arrive near the hot-water outlet, ease your craft up near the off-limits safety boundary. You then can let the outlet's current drift you along as you make casts to shoreline cover.

Other Options: South Dakota perch fishing can be very good this month, although biologists note that it's nearly impossible to predict which lakes will offer the best fishing in a given year. It's best to call ahead and see where these tasty panfish are biting through the ice.

Ice-fishing also abounds this month in Nebraska and North Dakota, although the action won't be as good as during periods of early and late ice.

FEBRUARY
Crappie/Nebraska
"Our late-ice period offers the best ice-fishing of the whole winter," said Darrell Bauer, of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. "This is a great time to go after crappie and big bass on farm ponds. They can be really good during late ice.

Anglers have a number of public-water options, too. Bauer noted that two Smiths in Nebraska are good for late-ice action: the Smith Lake on the wildlife area of the same name, near Rushville, and the Smith Lake on Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge, in Garden County.

He also mentioned the lakes in the Sandhills region and the Valentine Refuge lakes as great destinations for late-ice angling. The latter have been known to give up bluegills over a pound, big pike and bass through the ice. Crappie and yellow perch are also in the mix this month.

Safety can't be stressed too much for those searching out the best fishing spots during late-ice periods. Move slowly as you venture out on a frozen lake. Take something to use for testing ice thickness step by step, and turn around at the first sign of too much stress under your feet. No fishing is worth risking serious injury or possible death from hypothermia.