The present buzz in local fishing circles is the size of the fish that anglers are running into.

We'll start on the Susquehanna River.

First off, not everyone is going to run out and catch a monster. Even if a larger number of big fish are being caught, the anglers putting time into it are going to be the ones that run into the big fish, most of the time. But when larger fish start showing up more frequently, something is afoot.

Bass fishermen on the river are catching big smallmouth. Even though overall smallmouth numbers are down, there are -- in my opinion -- a larger number of 17- to 20-inch bass out there than before.

This is due to a number of factors. We had some good and some poor spawn years, and now we have a good population of large fish. When this class of fish dies out, we will likely have a few years of tough fishing.

The picture is unclear if the population cycle is due to weather conditions at spawn time, pollution, or low-flow levels and water temperatures.

Other factors are also at work. Predation by the ballooning populations of mergansers, cormorants, egrets, and herons may also have an effect.

At any rate, there are more smallmouth in the 3- to 5-pound class out there than most of us have seen. I've seen more documented 5-pound bass recently than ever before, and I believe that this summer someone will bring a 6-pound-plus river smallie to the scales.

I've heard stories the past couple of years of 6-pound smallmouth, but have yet to see one documented. I saw a couple last year in the low, clear summer water that looked to be in that class, but I was not able to catch them.

On the trout side, most of the large specimens reported are products of hatcheries. The Wiconisco Creek, between Elizabethville and Millersburg, has been the gifted child. Five goldens over 9 pounds have been caught there that I know of, and there were probably more. Some monster browns and rainbows were also reported.

Why so many large fish in one creek? The rumor mill has produced several theories, ranging from dumping hatchery breeders to mistakes made in the distrubution of large fish. One of the biggest goldens, which topped the 10-pound mark, had two spinners in its mouth when it was finally subdued. I can only imagine the stories to be told by the two anglers who lost their spinners to that fish. I'm sure their friends will allow them permanent membership in the local liars' club.

We will probably always hear about the musky that ate a duck, the carp that towed the boat around, and the assorted stories of monsters hooked and lost.

The old adage that the big one always gets away has been proven wrong quite a few times this year already. Maybe this year it will be your turn.

n Ken Maurer, Herndon, is an avid outdoorsman and a regular contributor to the Outdoors section. Email comments to kenrose@tds.net