Crestliner2008

One of my "go-to" baits in the warmer months. Works very well on either species too. Being as they are jigged up and off the bottom and allowed to "walk backwards" back to the bottom, retrieving has never been an issue for me.

Those are some fine looking plastics A-Jay! Going to have to give those a whirl this season.

Interesting. So these "Binsky" blades have to be "tuned"? Why? And how would you know which way to tune it? What effect are you trying to achieve by tuning it? I've tried these, along with a half dozen other makes. I still catch fish regardless. I seriously believe it more in how YOU use the blade, than the blade manufacturer. JMO.

First thing on our checklist, for prepping the boat, is the pee can.

If "realism" is important, please tell me why a bass would hit a fluorescent pink jerkbait? That pattern Rapala has caught me a lot of smallies in clear water. I'm most confident that there are no pink baitfish roaming around.

I do. I use a small Owner crane style swivel, tied about 15" above the tube. No down side that I can see. Works for me.

I believe depth & speed control is far more important than whether or not a shad dot is on the bait. Same with eyes. If it were a suspending jerkbait, maybe, but I'll still rely on the basic patterns fished at the correct speed and depth every time. Some of the modern pattern are pretty realistic though. Bet they catch a lot of fishermen.

The latest MLF Summit Cup elimination rounds are being televised up there. They're catching a ton of bass of both species. Worth your look-see.

Just my opinion, but I've never found one manufacturer's blade bait to be superior to another. And I've tried a lot of them. Now a days I get my blade bait bodies from Barlow's in bulk. No hooks or hardware. Those I put on myself. I do not use trebles on any bait anymore either. Too damaging to the fish and with blades, they snag too easily. Now I used only VMC Inline single hooks, size 1/0 on the rear hanger only. This modification has performed very well for me and has caught me a lot of quality smallmouth, largemouth and lake trout. Still cannot put up a picture for whatever reason, but it's a pretty straight forward modification.

Ambassadeur 5500-C. Nothing any other reel can do that I can't do with these reels. Have had 1/2 doz. over the past 40 years. They work fine and you can pass them down to your kids without fear that they won't work just as well.

Hands down, this will work.

I started all my kids off tossing a 3" curly tailed grub on a plain 1/8 oz. ball head jig. They loved the color selections most of which will catch bass. And an inexpensive presentation as far as loss goes. They will catch fish.

Hard to be a blade bait jigged off the bottom if they holding tight. Cruisers can be taken with a light colored jerkbait in the smaller sizes. But an awful lot depends on the water clarity, forage base and temp of the water. I don't usually do as well in the early season with the drop shot. Not until the water temps get about 60 degrees. Not saying it won't work, just other presentation appear to work better - for me.

I'd be trying two presentations. First would be a white jerkbait in the smaller sizes. Then a reverse hooked Fat IKA, which I would allow the current to take into any eddy. One of these will get you bit.

My boat has been and always will be CPR.

There have been some kayakers out on the Oxbow this past weekend. And one guys was able to launch on the Rt. 5 ramp yesterday, but the water was half way up the parking lot!

That's still pretty misleading if you ask me. They make no bones about it being the "2019" season. I really enjoy the MLF. Much better than the BMC in my opinion, but this outright lying to the views is very disturbing.

Been watching the MLF 2019 Summit Cup series on Lake Champlain. How is it they say it's the 2019 season? With all that GREEN on the trees, that is just not possible! We're just starting to bud here in MA. Something is not on the "up n' up" if you ask me! LOL!

Good to hear things are breaking up out there. Won't be long now. Congrats on your first northern! Back in 1984 I took a beaut out of Onota, trolling musky sized inline bucktail spinners - 22 lbs.. There are some big ones in there. Never fished Chesire. Just Onota and Pontussic. Have even taken some decent 12 - 15 lb. northerns out of our Oxbow here too. I love northerns. :)

Nice! I once caught one like that on a spinnerbait! They are a great fighting fish.

Try an appropriate sized VMC INLINE single hook. They work great on crankbaits and blade baits.

Awesome CPR success! Congrats!

Being an outdoorsman who hunts & fishes in MA, I can tell you that ticks, especially this year, will be terrible. However, for the couple of decades or more, I've taken precautions which have prevented me from having a single tick bite. Believe it or not. This flat out works. Developed about 20 years ago by the military for prevention, Permethrin is used to treat clothing. Not to be applied to the skin. Now Permethrin is not a repellent. It's an insecticide which kills ticks on contact. You spray (pre-treat) your pants, socks, shirts or jacket with this product and it will solve your tick problem for several machine washings. Very effective. Another pest we encounter quite often here, which causes disease as well, are mosquitoes. For this I use a pump spray of 100% DEET on exposed skin surfaces. Back of neck, forehead, back of the hands all treated with this product. In this case, DEET is a repellent, and not an insecticide, so it has to be re-applied once each day, prior to venturing outdoors. And you have to be careful not to apply it to the palms of your hands. As doing so may damage rod finishes or any other sort of plastic devices (cell phones, sonars, etc..). I dislike the can sprays as overspraying becomes a problem. And lotions alone retain the chemical on your hands, whereas the pump sprays allow you to direct this product where YOU want it. Taking these two proven preventions allows me to move freely along the banks or in the deep woods worry free. Has worked for me for more years than I can recall. Works for me.

You've already received a lot of great suggestions here for sure. But think about this. Look at the overall topography of the lake. Select a small section of the lake and focus on that and learning all you can about where the bait is and where the major structures are. Target just that area for starters and try various techniques until it seems like you might have a pattern forming. But remember this, many more fishermen go out and few if any fish on any particular day. Less than stellar results, just goes to reinforce the lesson of the day. Think about what you did and focus on any successes you've had. And if nothing else, don't get frustrated! Time on the water and experience will pay off in the long run. And, after all, "fishing" (not "catching") is suppose to be FUN! Relax and enjoy every minute out on the water.

Watched it this past Sunday. Talk about an incredible tournament! 8 top anglers competing for the Summit Cup. And they flat out caught bass! 169 bass were caught and immediately released with a total weight of over 340 pounds! The action was fast and furious with two top contenders each bagging over 50 pounds each! I gotta get up there!