Thorsten

So we made it out on Pontoosuc. It Sucked! My buddy and I paddled around for 3-4 hours. Didn't catch a thing. We launched at the picnic area, paddled out to the island and then over to the abandoned boat house. Tried all around the island and around the sailboats and docks for bass and nothing. I then took my son from the picnic area over to the boat ramp (didn't want to carry the canoe back up the hill) and he caught 2 good sized blue gill and a small perch. We also fished a little pond just north of Hancock on route 63. Very weedy...super thick. We managed a few small bass, but again my son ended up with a few slab sized blue gill and the largest pumpkin seed I have ever seen. The thing was at least 10-11 inches long and I could barely grip the fish belly to dorsal fin...should have fried them up. BTW there were no monitors or people preventing people from launching boats. We watched several bass and pontoon boats get launched.

I just got off the phone with Jack at the Office of Fishing and Boat Access. As long as your vessel has not been on a body of water known to have Zebra Mussels you should be fine to launch in Onota and Pontoosuc. With that said, I am going to make sure there is not a speck of dirt on my canoe before I head down.

I found a story on boston channel's website...I can't post a link (need to post 10 normal messages first)...So I copied the short article below. It was from July 11: LEE, Mass. -- The Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game is taking emergency action to combat the spread of invasive zebra mussels. The department on Friday authorized local officials in Berkshire County to bar the use of boat ramps that have been on Laurel Lake within the last 30 days, unless they have been subjected to vigorous cleaning and disinfection. Zebra mussels, which choke off food for fish and can clog machinery and pipes, have been found in the lake, the first documented case in a Massachusetts body of water. The mussels can spread when they attach to boats as well as fishing gear and diving equipment. They were discovered the Great Lakes about 20 years ago. Massachusetts officials will host a public meeting at Pittsfield City Hall on Wednesday to raise public awareness.

I am not sure if I should bring my canoe then on my vacation to the Berkshires. I might as well rent one while I'm there. I have been trying to get through to the office of fishing and boat access to see if they are going to close things down, but have not been able to talk to a real person yet. Any ideas on who I can call to see how serious they may be about shutting down access?

I will be less apologetic when my six year old can help paddle. Buying this canoe was the best $800 I've ever spent. I guess I am a little lazy and would like to cover more water without the effort. Also, I would like to fish standing up more, but I don't like to risk sending me, my son and gear for an unscheduled swim. I guess the point of mentioning the canoe is that I won't be able to cover as much water on a big lake like I could in a power boat.

Thanks for clearing that up...

That is an excellent question. I would like to hear some of the pros weigh in on this...although I am not sure it would be best to bad mouth the hand that is feeding you. I always wondered this about PRO sports. Most of us on this board really enjoy fishing...would we really enjoy it if we were forced to go out in 35 degree weather with 30-40mph wind gusts and 3-4ft in our fresh Goretex suit for a photo op just because our ranger and Gortex sponsors told us to? I am not sure I would...not to say that I wouldn't do this for fun (once), but I don't think I would appreciate being told to do so. I imagine you could lose a lot of the fun and excitement that fishing brings when you do get sponsors when they begin pulling your strings. Fishing for me is an escape from the realities of work and the world. I work so that I can afford to fish. If the reason you are looking for a sponsor is so that you can afford to fish, you are doing it for the wrong reason. Get a good daytime job, work hard, fish your time off, be frugal with your money (have little debt and invest in the future) and retire early. That's my plan and I'm sticking to it. Just one more point before I hop off my soapbox...These companies are looking for people to buy their product, not for people to give it away to. Buy the product, prove it works by using it and then talk about the product. If you are influential enough to get people to buy it, the company making the product will approach you. In other words, don't let sponsorship be the means to recognition...recognition is the means to sponsorship. Oh by the way...I know I just join BassResource.com, but I am a really good web surfer and the web is costing me some money...since this is a great site, I was hoping you could sponsor my web surfing. A little check in the mail each month would be great...BTW, I can surf twice as good as the next guy in case you were wondering... ;D

I will be in the Bershires next week and will be bringing my canoe along. I don't have a "real" boat yet. I would like to do some fishing and didn't know if anyone had the skinny on either of these two lakes. If so...here are a few questions: If I have time for only one...which one...is there another that is better in the same general area (30 minute drive with a swim area as well). What baits are hot right now? Since I have a canoe...where are the most productive areas? Any other species I should target other than Bass? Any help/input would be much appreciated. I usually have issues finding fish in a new body of water and want to maximize my time...plus my six year old gets bored easily when we aren't catching fish...just for fun I attached a pic him holding his first decent smallie. I am from Vermont and fish the Waterbury reservior for smallies as well as some smaller ponds in central Vermont in case that helps in providing feedback.