Smallmouth bass fishing might offer a good sense of where you are

Fishing in the dark on the north branch of the Susquehanna has become a way of measuring time and place, the author says, with smallmouth bass often hovering around the one-pound mark. Over recent outings, a cold snap after the new moon helped trigger a good bite, including fish near two pounds and at the roughly 15-inch “gold standard” size. The piece also describes night gear habits, including trying not to use a headlamp unless necessary, and notes a recent mishap by a child who fell into shallow water. It then explains a Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Peterson Population Estimate, using electrofishing and clipped tail proportions from a May 2010 survey in Section 06.