Will Wetline

Admiring a resident of Boston's water supply.

It was a slow start in central Massachusetts but improved to near normal smallmouth activity according to my records.

Excellent report of a great trip. Thank you.

Congratulations!

Details about this catch and others in "Flakes in the Sun and the Wind."

Lake has got a great smile. Of course, his dad's coaching and catching had something to do with it.

Yes indeed - monsters!

You've proven to be a pretty savvy young bassmaster. Keep casting and analyzing results.

My idea of fun is battling a good smallie on on a ML rod and 6lb. line.

I was out today on my home water in central MA and saw several beds. The surface temp was 62º. I'd say the assessment of your lake is accurate.

Was it the weather change? Maybe. I had higher expectations for the 7th of May, thought the smallies would be more active. What the 5 medium sized smallies ate were baits dragged along the bottom. The first took a TX rigged Hula Grub and the rest picked up a Ned rig, (3/32 oz. mushroom head with Z-Man Finesse TRD). Pics of 3 of the 5 that made up the slightly under 12 lb. limit:

Yessir, a great day. Congrats.

First smallmouth of the season, approximately 4 lbs. A blade bait assembled from components is hanging from its lip.

Vibrating blade baits are a very effective tool for getting the attention of chilled-out early season smallmouth. I like a small hair jig too but the blade may be a better choice when the wind's up because 5/8 oz. of metal provides control in blustery conditions whereas an 1/8 oz. bucktail jig . . . well, forget it. Right off, I have to credit Crestliner 2008 for the hook arrangement on this bait. He convinced me a couple of years ago that the best setup was a single 1/0 Siwash (for the 5/8 oz. size). It's a substantial hook simply installed by closing the eye. No split rings to mess with. Squeezing the eye closed in a vise gives me better control than using pliers. All the components that you see in the photo below come from Barlow's Tackle. https://www.barlowstackle.com/Vibrating-Blade-Lure-P2631.aspx Siwash hooks are available from Gamakatsu, Mustad and VMC if you prefer. Eagle Claws have worked for me. You may note that I cut off the brass tab for the front double or treble hook. This looks better to me but the bass's interest is eating, not aesthetics. You can leave it on if you like. That's about all there is to getting low cost, good vibrations.

It's been a cool spring in New England and, as every season for the past 25 years, I had been anxiously awaiting the opening of Quabbin Reservoir in central Massachusetts. Quabbin is a highly regulated body of water because it's Boston's water supply, but it's also one of the best smallmouth fisheries in New England. Anyway, my first outing was April 23 and I can report that the weather was beautiful! Seasonally cool, sunshine and light breezes. If you want details on how the big smallies were caught there on this day, you'll have to ask someone else. I was humbled. Undeterred, I headed out a few days later with Bassmaster Brad, a very savvy fisherman. Yesterday's rain had stopped and it was supposed to become partly sunny. We were ready to get 'em. Smallies. Big ones. So what's this? It's a lake trout. These salmonids take up residence in the depths in the summertime but mix in with the smallmouth until the surface temp reaches the low 50ºs. (Today's temps ranged from 46º to 51º.) Another one? This laker sucked my blade bait offering off the bottom. My blade was nickel; Brad was fishing gold. Nothing wanted the variety of hair jigs or suspending jerkbaits that they were offered. Nor soft plastics for that matter. Hmmph. Mid afternoon the wind was up but we kept covering water hoping to bump into an active pod of smallmouth. Brad put out a drift sock and we made repeated passes over an area that's been productive in the past. Hey! Finally. If you've noticed that the blade bait hanging from the upper lip of this smallie is missing parts, you're right. Go to the Tackle Making Forum for information on how to make this simple, inexpensive bait. Catch you next week with another true tale from Quabbin. Will Wetline

Congratulations to you young bassmasters! That's some savvy patterning and presentation you did to place 2nd in a field of 266. And thank you for your usual excellent report. (I'm guessing you're an English major.)

I use the ground presentation to catch squirrels. It is, admittedly, difficult to revive them for release after I've run them over.

I know I've got a few in a box in the closet. I should find them and put them to use.

Excellent report. No question, you are a savvy young bassmaster. Congratulations!

Yes. Set the heat dial on 3. You absolutely must use Drop Out if you plan to get the finished casting out of the mold because bismuth expands as it cools. Too, this alloy is hard enough to grasp the jig head (rather than the sprue or the hook) itself and lift straight up without marring it. This is the easiest way. Not shown in the photo is a large blade screwdriver which is used to adjust the plunger from time to time to "resettle" it to stop dripping. There will still be the occasional drip however, and that's why you see the tin from a pot pie beneath the spout. Work safely, have fun and don't hesitate to ask questions as they arise.

King Fisher, I've looked over all sorts of fancy stuff in catalogs and on websites but my short term goal is to get more efficient tying a fairly basic bucktail jig. I have worked a bit with some of the synthetic hair materials in the past but prefer what nature produces. I have tied a few football jigs with bunny strips for tails and will be tying hackle behind bucktail as well. There's nothing original about what I'm doing but, being a perfectionist, I pay close attention to balance, color combinations and the quality of craftsmanship. The fish don't require this fussiness but I enjoy it. To close this reply, if you want to see a variety of materials put to good use look up smalljaw on YouTube.

A few more pics for you: Bucktail, flash material, and a grizzly saddle spread out on a table. I'll look this over inspired by a cup of strong coffee and mix and match what appeals to me. I'm an advocate of TLAR ("That looks about right . . .") design principles. Of course, I've been looking at other tiers' work for years. In time, you develop a sense of proportion for the various parts of a jig and you just know what looks right. The Hard As Nails topcoat over the eyes has dried overnight and these heads are ready for the vise. This final finish adheres beautifully to the powder paint. Those eyeballs can't be budged by a fingernail. You may have seen this photo before but in case you haven't, here are the tools and head cement, Loctite super glue brush-on, which first came to my attention from one of smalljaw67's videos. (Thank you, smalljaw.) I like it and use it carefully throughout the wrapping procedure and then as a finish coat. If you're wondering about the X-acto knife . . . My inner perfectionist would be in an uproar if I didn't trim the hair that had crept up the back of the head while tying. This last step is done after the super glue has cured.

A great effort and a well written account - you guys are good.

What works for me is putting the head in the vise, grasping the sprue with pliers and snapping it off with a minimal amount of force. Then give it a few strokes with a file if you're so inclined. The topic of the keepers loosening came up on www.tackleunderground.com and one response was to use lead with a bit of antimony in it. This was probably the alloy: https://www.rotometals.com/antimonial-lead-metal-5-pounds-3-5-antimony-lead/ I should mention that I cast jigs and fish them in "no lead" Massachusetts and work with bismuth/tin and pewter alloys, both of which are much harder than lead. (What isn't?)

Pewter heads were ladle cast in Do-it's light wire football mold. Owner 5313 hooks used. Bear and bunny fur.