nhbassin

1. Join Bass Anglers Sportmans Society (B.A.S.S.) 2. Once you have received a membership # you are allowed to join a local B.A.S.S. affiliated club 3. http://www.nhbassfednation.com/2016_Afilliated_Clubs.pdf is a list of some of the clubs in NH with their contact information 4. Google a few of the clubs listed and pick one close to where you live. Ask them if they are accepting non-boaters 5. Fish a few tournaments with the club as a non-boater, meaning you will fish from the back of someone else's boat You will learn so much from the guys you fish with, you will learn the tricks of some of the larger bodies of water in the state, and you will make some good friends out of it. Most clubs will have dues of maybe $100 for the year and tournaments may cost you $20 to throw in for the "lunker prize" plus some gas money for your boater. All in, you can probably fish half a dozen tournaments for around $400 for the year, and if your lucky you may win some of that money back. Definitely a small price to pay for the experience you get out of it.

Is anyone seeing bass on beds in Southern NH yet?

Last night I had 5 minutes to cast a few from shore, and on my first cast with a chatterbait with rage craw trailer I got a 6.0 pound largemouth. Weighed it, snapped a few pictures and started casting again. Only 8 casts later I set the hook on another big one but broke it off. Lesson learned...always re-tie after a good fish. Still a great start to the season!

I would start by trying the Lamprey River in Newmarket, near the Dreher - Durham Boat Company on 108. There are huge alwive spawns there in the spring so bass have the forage to get big. I also would try Mill Pond in Durham and you can fish your way up Oyster River that slowly flows into it.

Last night I tied on a suspending jerkbait and and began casting into 4 feet of water. I only took two casts the whole evening, the second of which produced this 6 pounder. It is good to see some fish moving up shallow.

Last Thursday I got out for 2 and a half hours in Southern NH and was locating fish on my Lowrance in the 10-14 foot range. I didnt see any activity from bluegill up shallow so I fished a brown/purple jig painfully slow on some deeper drop-offs. The only bite of the day was this chunky, 5.5 pound largemouth. Not a bad way to start the season!

Going south on 93, when you pass exit 28, about a mile up on your right you can drive down the bank of the road and there is a pond that is an offshoot of the river. It is perfect for a kayak, has solid largemouth and pickerel, and is super convenient. Im going to guess that your not supposed to pull off on the side of the highway though, so make sure you dont do it in front of a cop. It looks like an intimidating hill, but ive done it many times in my Hyundai so any vehicle can make it.

A blade bait (silver buddy) on the steepest drop offs you can find if the jerkbait doesn't get them biting.

Squam has rentals (http://www.squamboats.com/rentals.htm) and is convenient to Lincoln. I have a few shore fishing spots around the Plymouth area that I can share if you are interested. Shoot me a PM if so.

Will you be looking to fish from shore or will you have a boat?

As most of the others mentioned, green pumpkin or black with blue flake will be effective for soft plastic baits. For spinners and chatterbaits I have had the most success throwing bluegill pattern for largemouth, any time the water isn't crystal clear. Good luck.

I have thrown white or silver spinnerbaits to imitate the alwive in the spring on the main river. I would google alwive and try to match their color with your spinner. There are some backwaters and pockets where I would throw wacky rigged senkos or jigs for largemouth on beds. As bob mentioned, if it is early in the spring then keep it slow.

Welcome to NH! I would start by trying the Lamprey River in Newmarket, near the Dreher - Durham Boat Company on 108. There are huge alwive spawns there in the spring so bass have the forage to get big. I also would try Mill Pond in Durham and you can fish your way up Oyster River that slowly flows into it. Both have slow current and should not be an issue for a kayak. Good luck!

As salmotrutta said, crayfish are a huge portion of their diet as well as small yellow perch (which you can not use as live bait because of their spinney dorsal fin).

haha. Last Sunday I saw two guys putting tip-ups in on Turkey Pond in Concord. Two days prior it was open water. Some people are crazy.

My buddy just texted me that Cobbetts still has a bunch of open water, so obviously check before taking my advice and testing the ice.

4 and a half inches of ice in Merrimack this morning! By tomorrow most places should be safe for ice fishing.

http://www.bassmaster.com/news/new-hampshire-smallies-await Here is a cool article that bassmaster published in 2012 about fishing the Connecticut River in NH during the month of November. "Catching 20-60 quality bass per day is not uncommon" and "About a third of the smallmouth weighed in during our two tournaments last November were at least 4 pounds." are pretty convincing arguments from this article that fishing is still on up North until the water freezes over.

I got out on the water yesterday for 2 hours and had nothing to show for it. There was a steady breeze and water temps were 49. I started with targeting the few remaining pieces of live vegetation on the lake with a slow-rolled spinnerbait. Next I moved to a jerkbait on a large shallow flat where sunfish were present. I then focused on downed trees with a jig, and finally a spook in some backwater areas and I just couldn't put anything together. I did mark a few fish about 2 feet off the bottom in 14 feet of water, so if I make it out again this week I may try to entice them with a drop shot instead. Anyone else in NH getting out on the water still?

You should become a member of the Bass Angler Sportsmens Society (B.A.S.S.) if you are not already, then that will allow you to join your local bass nation club. Check out the following link for specific PA info. (http://pabassnation.com/). Expect around $100 in annual dues plus a fee for every tournament as well as gas money for your boater. Fish as a co-angler for your first year and learn how the tournaments work and you will learn an incredible amount from your boaters every tournament. From my experience, fishing tournaments with others is the fastest way to increase your individual skills as a fisherman. Good luck!

Right now I would start at Paugus bay first thing for largemouth around docks and marinas then move to the 8-14 foot range for smallies back on the main lake once the sun is up, with jerkbaits and spinnerbaits. Be careful, because if the wind picks up it can get rough real quick, especially if you have to cross the broads to get back for weigh-in. Good luck

I got out last night from 5:15 - 7 and caught 10 largemouth. The notable fish were a 3.2 on a zara spook, which hit while the bait wasn't moving, as well as a 4+ on a jerkbait, also hitting on the pause. Water temps were down to 63 and it seemed like the better quality fish were a little hesitant to hit faster moving baits like spinnerbaits and squarebills.

Any time during the day, wacky-rigged senkos are the most fool-proof bait you can use. Natural colors like green pumpkin are a safe bet. I would recommend trying this when you are looking at new spots around NH.

Thanks for the input Keith. My buddy and I fished the northern portion of Belleau lake from 5:30 am - 10:30 am on Saturday. Even in the middle, it rarely got deeper than 3 feet. I managed 1 smallmouth, 1 largemouth, and broke off a 2.5-3 pound smallie at the boat. We couldnt get anything on top waters, spinner, squarebills or chatterbaits, but did get a few with a kut-tail worm. Belleau is far different from most lakes I have fished, but I would go back if I had some good electronics to search for some ditches/channels.

I am hitting up Belleau Lake in East Wakefield for a bachelor party this Friday-Sunday. A few of us plan to put in some solid hours on the water, but we cant find much info online because NH Fish and Game does not have depth charts posted of the lake. Does anyone know if there are decent smallmouth or largemouth in there?