fmoore

I've always had three batteries with a 2 bank charger. I use a portable charger for the cranking battery. The charger went bad last fall so I now have a 3 bank. Much more convenient.

Saturday the 23rd on Spofford WILL NOT work just so everyone knows. That's opening day for trout and the ramp will be filled by 4 or 5 AM. The place is an absolute zoo on opening morning. I try to stay far, far away.

Depending on how quickly we warm up this spring Spofford should be in the early stages of a pre spawn pattern by that time. Had a tourney on Spofford last year May first and most guys were picking fish off beds while we won by targeting the prespawn bass. So if last year was any indication the fish should be starting to get hungry by the 22nd. That time of year, there's a very real chance of a 5 pound smallie or 2 from Spofford (and largemouth that size as well) not to mention a very good chance at a 15 pound pike if you target them all day. I say we go to Spofford, but then again I'm a bit biased I've always wanted to fish Stumpfield but have never gotten around to it and I really don't know anything about the other places. I will most likely have an open seat, depending on whether anyone will skip school with me or not

I have a tripod for the camera since I'm into photography. Set it up wherever I want and wet the timer. If I didn't already have the tripod I'd probably take the seat of the pole in the back of the boat and build one on that

There was talk of this in the old thread, but I think a prespawn get together would be awesome. I know Jay mentioned Spofford, which is just about my back yard but man that place is awsome prespawn/spawn. Lots of big smalies and plenty of 10 to 20 pound pike cruising around the flats. Jealous of all you guys getting out. The CT river is still locked up in W Chesterfield. Ice should be breaking up well this week though.

Not sure exactly where you guys are fishing on the river but this could be of help with the issue of pulling water/not pulling water. http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/index.php?wfo=box There's nothing for the Merrimack here but I love this site: http://www.h2oline.com/ Just thought I'd pass the links along.

Beautiful smallie Shane. Congrats. Does the River stay open most of the winter or did the warm weather last week open it up a bit? The CT River in my neck of the woods is locked up from Dec to March.

One thing to remember is that when the wind starts to blow a storm system/front may be associated with that wind. That would explain the 'they turned on/they turned off' discrepancy. As has been said, wind is your friend. Learn how to use it to your advantage and you'll become a better fisherman.

A little late to the party huh Shane? haha. I think my first day on the ice this year was December 9th or thereabouts and we've been playing on the 4 wheelers and sleds for close to a month now. I've always liked ice fishing little ponds more than lakes, maybe because I'm fishing big lakes all summer. Check out your Clark's and find somewhere that looks like it's out of the way and doesn't get too much pressure and go have some fun. That's what I'd do anyway. And good job milking the open water for all it's worth

the method of drop shotting you describe is certainly effective and i use it fairly often if i need to go to a finesse presentation. but if youre not drop shotting vertically youre missing out. summer is a good time to do the traditional drop shot thing as is winter. when the fish are deeper (and especially when theyre schooled up in the winter) is when it may be beneficial to use your electronics to drop shot. ideally you want to be on the bow watching your bait on your graph. the first time you see a fish actually eat your bait on the graph youll be hooked. when the water gets down into the 30s the fish are usually well schooled and a drop shot fished vertically can be absolutely deadly.

I got out there too on Tuesday. Fishing was just so-so but it's not often you get to fish without a shirt on in October! Hoping to fish through late Nov.... And I agree about this fall being bad. The whole year really has been a little weird.

Yea...The real big fish are in Spofford and the River, though. I know for sure of pike up to 15 pounds (maybe bigger?) in Wilson Pond, but of course there are a few 20 or close to 20 caught on the river in Hinsdale every year. Spofford used to hold the state record, so fish over 20 in there too. All three fisheries have excellent largemouth fishing, and Spofford is an amazing smallmouth fishery on top of the largies. Wilson gets absolutely hammered by the ice fishermen, which is too bad. Really puts a damper on the fishery. Don't get me wrong, I ice fish every chance I get. But there have been some interesting surveys taken in SW NH that found that the majority of ice fishermen will keep an 18" or bigger bass. That's just not good for the fishery any way you cut it. Somehow, Wilson Pond still manages to be an excellent little pond. I'm afraid it will be on the decline in a few years though if the pressure keeps up.

Don't blame it on the reel. Learn how to use it correctly and you'll like it way more than that Citica.

Wilson Pond in Swanzey, Spofford Lake (which is now closed to fishing for the season) and the CT River. Everything grows big in the river, the pike in Spofford feast on the stocked trout and there are tons of bite sized bluegill and perch in Wilson Pond.

Both are great reels. I think at this point what it really comes down to is mag breaks or centrifugal brakes. I prefer the Revos but you can't go wrong with either. Something to keep in mind: Revos will cast light baits better than the Curado.

Not sure about Nashua area but if any of you want to get some pike fishing in in my area I can put you on some fish. Been hitting them real good this fall. Nothing over 10 pounds though.

I have 4 of these reels and I love them, but one of them acts differently. When I start to reel, it's very hard to actually get the handle moving. As soon as the reel gets moving, it's as smooth as the others. I guess you could compare it to the spike that happens when you start to pull line off your reel. You might have the drag set at 8 pounds but it takes an initial force of 9 or 10 pounds to start line coming off the reel, and after that the drag's smooth at 8 pounds. If that analogy makes any sense? It's been like this since I can remember. Not sure if it came this way new (1 year old) or not. Any help is appreciated.

I would get a chartreuse spinnerbait (or a color that will match forage) and just keep throwing it. Smallmouth are aggressive little fish, and although you may not catch as many as you would with the spinner the fish caught on the spinnerbait will be bigger on average. I'd note the places where you catch fish on the spinnerbait and go back and throw texas rigged senkos in that area. If you do decide to fish the carolina rig, shorten the leader up to around 2 feet or so. I think for below a dam, though, a carolina rig isn't necessarily the best presentation.

Geez Shane. Nice fish man. I went fun fishing for the first time in at least a week and a half tonight. It was nice to relax with the dog for once. Boated 10 or 11 smallies on the CT River. Fall bite will really be turning on soon!Another week or so and it should be red hot.

Dockman...are you local? I live 10 mins away from Spofford. The smallmouth bite is on fire in the spring and fall with fish over 4 pounds not uncommon at all. It should be picking up shortly. They are very hard to pattern in the summer. I usually target largemouth in the weedbeds after post spawn passes by in Spofford. Find the big bluegill schools with your graph and drop shot in the schools. I pick up some smallies in the summer that way. The like isolated rock piles as well. You just have to find them. As the water cools, they'll move up on the flats near their summer hiding spots. Look for them in 3-10 feet once the water temp dips below 60. Here's a 4 fish 17.52 pound bag out of Spofford last May. I'm on the left. Both of those smallies were over 4.5 pounds. Everyone else was bed fishing, but we were on the prespawn bite 8-)

Looks like a great way to kill all of the young of the year seeking shelter in the weeds to me.

Nice fish Shane! What a pig. Look at that belly! We fished the tournament of champions for the Friday night league we fish in (TOC is a full day tourney) and placed 2nd on Monomonac. We picked up our 5th fish with 10 mins left in the day. We fished our ***** off all day and only caught 5 keepers. I had three smaller ones and my partner had the two bigger ones. Can't complain with second, we did all we could to catch fish. A 4 digit check for first would have been nice though :-/

I can't speak for the river down there, but up here in NH the fish will be either on the milfoil edges or hanging around wood in the pads/weeds. The river is highly pressured around here so finesse presentations usually work best. If you are going when the water temp gets a little lower and they're fattening up for winter I'd use reaction type baits over the milfoil and on the edges and flip the wood. But this is all in my section of the river in NH, keep that in mind.

harpoon.....I'm not familiar with that part of the state but I'm sure some guys will be along shortly to point you in the right direction. If you want to know more about waterbodies in NH, though, I strongly recommend you go to this link http://www.nbswebstore.com/cgi-bin/web_store/web_store.cgi and type "Clark's" in the search bar. It's not the only place you can get it, either. Plenty of great info in that book. And as for not having fishing buddies, who cares?! Time spent on the water alone can be some of the most relaxing, rewarding fishing you will ever experience.

Nice fish NH! Can't beat a day like that.