Smallmouth Bass Fishing in Pennsylvania: Rivers, Lakes and Release Rules

Pennsylvania may be the best smallmouth state in the East, and it manages the fish more carefully than most. Some waters are catch and release all year, some close for harvest in spring, some have a 15 inch minimum, and the dates that govern them move slightly each year. This guide lays out the rules for each water type, shows where each rule applies, and links to the waters worth fishing. For how to catch smallmouth bass, see our smallmouth bass guide.

The rule that matters most: the Susquehanna and Juniata

On the Susquehanna River from the inflatable dam near Sunbury to Holtwood Dam, and on the Juniata River from Port Royal to its mouth, black bass are catch and immediate release only, all year. That covers smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass, and it includes tributaries to a point half a mile upstream. You may not keep one. The full rule, the tournament windows and the nest rule are on our Susquehanna guide. Search results for this river still show notices from earlier years with different dates, so rely on the 2026 book.

The Delaware River

On the Delaware, black bass are 12 inches with a limit of five a day, but catch and release only from April 11 to June 12 in the 2026 book. Outside that window you may keep them. The same rules apply on the tidal river and the Upper Delaware, and a license from Pennsylvania or New Jersey (or New York above Port Jervis) covers the river. See the Upper Delaware guide and the tidal Delaware guide. The Delaware smallmouth also carries an advisory: one meal a month from the source to the Trenton-Morrisville bridge, for mercury.

Big Bass lakes

Dozens of Pennsylvania lakes are in the Big Bass Program, including Lake Nockamixon in Bucks County, Blue Marsh, Lake Arthur at Moraine State Park and Marsh Creek. In these lakes, black bass must be at least 15 inches and the limit is four a day combined, open January 1 to April 10 and June 13 to December 31. From April 11 to June 12 they are catch and release only, with no tournaments. Stocked-trout lakes in the program are closed to all fishing from February 16 until trout opening day unless they are open year-round. See our Pennsylvania lakes guide for Nockamixon, Pymatuning and Raystown.

Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay

On Lake Erie and the bay, largemouth and smallmouth are 15 inches with a limit of four combined in the open season, and the book prints a different entry, 20 inches and one a day, for April 11 to June 12. Bass tournaments are unlawful from the second Saturday in April to the second Saturday in June. See our Lake Erie guide. A 2008 magazine article describes smallmouth arriving in the bay in early spring and mostly leaving by late July, but we treat that as background, not a forecast.

Everywhere else

On inland waters not under a special rule, the 2026 book prints these entries: January 1 to April 10 and October 1 to December 31, 15 inches and four combined; April 11 to June 12, catch and release only with no tournaments; and June 13 to September 30, 12 inches and six combined. Pymatuning Reservoir has its own rule of 12 inches and five a day, and the Conowingo Reservoir below Holtwood Dam has a 12 inch minimum and a limit of five in two seasons.

Side by side

Water	Harvest	Spring window
Susquehanna (Sunbury to Holtwood) and Juniata (Port Royal down)	None, all year	Tournaments banned Apr 11 to Jun 12
Delaware River	12 in, 5	Release Apr 11 to Jun 12
Big Bass lakes	15 in, 4	Release Apr 11 to Jun 12
Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay	15 in, 4	20 in, 1 as printed Apr 11 to Jun 12; no tournaments
Other inland waters	Seasonal	Release Apr 11 to Jun 12

The spring dates shift with the calendar, so read the current book. The nest rule applies everywhere: it is unlawful to cast repeatedly into a clearly visible bass spawning nest to catch or take a bass.

Local tactics and tackle

Smallmouth in rivers hold behind rocks and ledges, in eddies and along current seams, while lake fish relate to points, rock piles and weed edges. A seven foot medium-light to medium spinning rod with six to ten pound line handles most river and lake smallmouth with tubes, jigs, small crankbaits and soft plastics. Because so much of Pennsylvania’s smallmouth fishing is release-only, use barbless or crushed-barb hooks, keep fish in the water and handle them quickly. If you tell us your water, we can build a rod that fits it.