Most Idaho anglers are dreaming of wild rainbows and cutthroat sipping flies off the surface of cold-water rivers and reservoirs among spectacular scenery in Idaho's backcountry.

Well, bass don't sip anything, and for scenery, how about 2 to 4 pounds of dynamite exploding in your face? Welcome to the world of America's number one game fish, the largemouth bass.

Bass are very aggressive, taking shad, shiners, minnows, crayfish, frogs, mice and ducklings if given the chance. They're the ultimate warm water predator in most reservoirs and lakes in Idaho, using concealment and ambush tactics to fill their bellies.

And as you'll see, this aggressive urge is also a weakness anglers can use to their advantage on any body of water where bass are present. Here is a run down of prime waters for you to target in the next few months.

Condie Reservoir

Condie Reservoir, 20 miles south of Grace, Idaho, offers an unbelievable bass fishing experience. It's designated a trophy water destination.

Two bass may be kept and both must be over 20 inches. Not an easy task finding one of that size, but Condie gives up its share of bass in the 4- to 6-pound range annually.

Conversations with Idaho Fish & Game officers have revealed that most bass die of old age in Condie due to strict regulations combined with a slow growing season. Large mouths in Idaho grow 2 inches per year on the average, making a 20-inch bass at least 8 years old.

Top water baits like Hula Poppers, Thunder sticks, floating Rapalas and others trigger these aggressive fish into striking without hesitation. The key to fishing baits like these is the pause between the twitching.

Cast within a few inches from the bank and let the rings on the water caused by the bait to dissipate. Give a quick twitch of the rod; I use a downward thrust to pull the bait under water and let it rise occasionally. Again, wait for the water rings to subside. Repeat this method back to the boat. Chances are, if a bass is on the prowl within striking distance, he'll explode during the rise of the bait or when it's pausing on top.

Twin Lakes

Twin Lakes, 16 miles north of Preston, Idaho, is a good bet to load up on hand-sized bluegill and largemouth up to 7 pounds. This local vacation hot spot is designated as family fishing water by Idaho Fish & Game. This gives anglers a generous six-fish limit with no length size and a year-round season.

A small canal connects the reservoirs, allowing access for boaters. Both are lined with points, flats, trees, brush and docks that give bass excellent habitat.

Although twitching works well, using top water baits and floaters or an artificial grub with a 5-inch tail is a better choice in most instances here. An all-around good color is salt-and-pepper made by companies such as Kaline.

I prefer hand-poured plastics, but they all catch fish if presented correctly. Plastics come in a wide array of colors and sizes; you'll have to experiment on the water to find the right presentation the fish are taking. Bass will have tight lips on one color and maul another; color presentation does make the difference in warm water angling.

To fish this setup right, you have to slow your presentation down to a crawl. By using lead head jigs, which come in a large variety of weights and colors, you can methodically pinpoint exact locations and depths you need to fish. Cast out and let the jig flutter to the bottom. In some cases a nearby bass will inhale the bait as it falls.

As the grub hits bottom, slowly raise your rod tip a few feet, letting the grub flutter back down to the bottom and allowing no slack line. Repeat this back to you. If you miss a strike, chances are that the fish is still interested and will grab the bait again. Keep working the jig back to you looking for a second strike. If you have no takers after a few minutes, change colors and add fish attractant.

Glendale Reservoir

Avid bass fishermen hit Glendale Reservoir hard, but the results have always been worth the 60-mile trip from Pocatello. If 16-inch bass are your forte, than Glendale is a bass angler's paradise. Accomplished basser’s can expect to hook and land more than 30 largemouth a day during the midsummer months.

Glendale is located 4 miles north of Preston, not far from Winder and Twin lakes.This reservoir has always held a special place in my heart as I pursued bass here throughout the 1980s and '90s.

In recent years, Glendale has become a popular water sport arena for boaters and Jet Ski fanatics. Early mornings, late evenings and weekdays are your only options to escape the crowds.

Top water baits work well in the morning and evenings, but you can count on the almighty grub to get you through midday. Salt-and-pepper works extremely well, but a pumpkinseed-colored grub also does the trick to land a few when worked slowly in the vegetation that grows in the far eastern corner of the reservoir.

Be prepared to fish points, large mudflats and brush — lots of brush. The water is literally void of standing timber or submerged logs. The only way to land some of the larger bass is to beat the brush and fish in tight quarters. You can plan on losing a good number of grubs and jig heads fishing the brush, so bring plenty to get you through the day.

Snake River

Bronze backs, smallies, redeyes, whatever you choose to call them, small mouth bass are fast becoming the darlings of the Snake River below American Falls Reservoir.

From American Falls to Eagle Rock, anglers familiar with small mouth fishing can expect to land fish averaging 2 pounds up to 6, with a few monsters in the 7-pound range — and that's not a fishing story told lightly. With plenty of cover and boulders creating deep eddies, the smallies are thriving and have created one of the best smallie fisheries in the state if not the west.

Fish the banks and grass in eddies and canyon wall crevices slowly. Grubs, worms and crank baits in a crawfish color are very productive. Crawfish or crawdads are abundant in the river system and are the main diet of Snake River bronze backs.

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