HARRISBURG –– As sure as the rivers will recede and the waters will clear, bass anglers will soon be cranking up another summer of action with one of the most popular baits ever invented for smallmouth and largemouth fishing.

High, muddy water is still making many of the productive bass rivers unfishable following the heavy rain and resulting floods of late June. Once those conditions improve and become more typical of early July, even the most cautious and cranky bass will be lured into striking by the anglers tossing crankbaits.

HARRISBURG — With a name like Rod Bates, one would have little choice of becoming anything other than a fisherman.

"I’m not really sure when I began fishing, but I’m glad my parents exposed me to fishing at an early age," Bates said during a preseason bass outing on the Susquehanna River. "I actually have pictures of myself holding a fishing pole, wearing diapers and tied to a tree with a rope so I wouldn’t fall into the water."