Keep in mind, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have reciprocal license agreements, whereby a license from either state is honored throughout the entire stretch of any river that borders both. Consequently, if you count the boat-launch sites on either side of the river, anglers have a minimum of 30 launch sites. And if you include those sites below the Trenton/Philadelphia region, there are 49 such sites.

Remember, flat water is more productive in the early morning or later in the afternoon through dusk. During periods of high light penetration, try the riffles. But beware of bright sunlight. Smallies are extremely photophobic, which simply means they shun bright sunlight.

If you're fishing the riffles, try to locate waters that are in shadows.

Years ago, J.B. Kasper, the outdoor writer and highly respected and successful Delaware River guide, took me on a smallmouth trip. At the time, Kasper revealed to me some of his secrets of smallmouth bass fishing, and those so-called secrets have held me in good stead ever since.

Primarily, he fished the tailraces, where water smoothes out just prior to becoming whitewater, as well as the riffles. We caught more than our share of smallies.

While fishing riffles, he pointed out that even though a particular area might be in bright sunlight, they sought out a boulder, rock or other structure that cast a shadow downstream -- even though the shadow lay below the surface.

Let's examine some of the other waterways that should produce well this coming season.

GREENWOOD LAKE
Up in the north country of New Jersey lies the 1,920 acres of Greenwood Lake. And Greenwood Lake has the kind of bass fishing that will knock your socks off.

Located in northern New Jersey's Passaic County, Greenwood offers fantastic smallmouth "and" largemouth fishing, though it's best known for its brigade of bucketmouths that laze around in the lake's weedbeds.

But weeds aren't the only bass attractant at Greenwood. From about the midpoint of the lake to its southernmost shoreline, its weed growth offers unparalleled largemouth fishing. But from that same midpoint north, anglers will find rocky shores relatively free of weeds, with plenty of overhanging trees and brush growth along the shoreline.

Here is where Greenwood offers some of the finest smallmouth fishing in the state. However, when fishing the lake's northern reaches, anglers are actually fishing in New York State. Not to worry! As on the Delaware River, fishing license regulations are reciprocal.