Bass fishing on Cecil M. Harden is almost a rite of passage. Anglers who haven't caught bass in the spring in the Hoosier State have a good shot at a real wallhanger on this lake. It can be a tough bite, but when you tangle with one of Harden's big bucketmouths, you'll be graduating into a class of bass angler who knows how to enjoy the best that Indiana has to offer.

Cecil Harden Lake is known by several names. The official name is Cecil Harden, but if you're stopping to ask for directions, you might get fewer blank stares if you ask for Raccoon Lake. Mansfield Reservoir is another name for this 2,060-acre reservoir. The important thing is that you find it and fish it!

The last Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) survey on Cecil Harden was completed a few years ago and little has changed since then. According to fisheries biologist Rhett Wisener, largemouth bass in the 20-inch class are present and he's sure the electro-shocking survey didn't catch the biggest ones. Keeper-sized 16-inch bass made up 18 percent of the total catch from the lake and over one-third of all the bass sampled were 14 inches or longer. All of the bass in the survey were largemouth bass, but Wisener does hear of smallies being taken by anglers on occasion.

The population of Cecil Harden bass is healthy and growing. It appears that over the last several years, there have been successful spawns and good survival rates for young-of-the-year bass resulting in several good year-classes. The fishery is being carried by several year-classes and the best fishing action is just getting underway.

Bass metabolism increases with the warming water temperatures and the need to feed more often becomes a priority. Savvy anglers won't miss this eat-anything-that's-moving period when a variety of baits are productive. Active bass will be in the backs of coves in shallow water once the spawn kicks into full gear. Those largemouths not spawning will be chasing shad near the spawning areas; if you find a concentration of shad, you'll probably find active bass taking advantage of the easy pickings.

The spawn starts in earnest when the water temperatures reach around 64 degrees. Bass begin to get in the spawning mode as the daylight hours lengthen and the lake's water begins to warm.

Bass feed aggressively at this time of the year. Lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits top biologist Wisener's personal list of spring baits. If the weather conditions are good and the bass are locked down on their beds, Wisener covers water to find the largest number of bass and can often catch several on one outing. According to Wisener, this is the time of the year to catch the biggest bass in the lake.

Ryan Lemley is the assistant manager of the Raccoon State Recreation Area; he has a positive outlook for the bass fishery for this season in spite of high water levels in 2008. The bite can be tough when the water levels are fluctuating, but the bass are all still there. Some of the tournaments have had respectable weigh-ins and local anglers are still tangling with nice-sized bass, despite the fluctuating water levels and ever-changing weather patterns.

Lemley enjoys bass fishing on the lake enjoys catching plenty of 3-pound fish. There are a lot of bass between 12 and 16 inches, and Cecil Harden is an up-and-coming fishery in his opinion.