Mainebass1984

The coffee can usually holds any extra cord from my depth finder. It also is a very effective drink holder.

Blade baits work great in winter. Hair jigs are another good bet.

Thanks for the info. I was under the impression that they didn't go that deep. I'll look closer. Little Pond is reported to be infertile. I saw crayfish there as a kid, but don't know about current times. Massachusetts stocks it with trout. I wouldn't worry if the pond is classified as infertile. Being classified as infertile means that the chemistry of the lake water lacks nutrients that allow for much algae or weed growth. Usually the limiting nutrient in infertile lakes is phosphorus. Phosphorus limits the amount of photosynthesis which can occur which is the base of the food chain in all bodies of water. Since it is classified as infertile, that should indicate that the lake is very clear with few weeds and a smaller warm water fish population. Typically there is a smaller population of bass in these lakes because fry survival is low due to amount of feed available to the fry when they hatch. This may indicate slower bass fishing numbers wise but one of the side affects of a smaller population is a faster growth rate. Brook trout and Landlocked Salmon very very seldom ever relate to bottom in deep water. The arches you spoke of near bottom in deeper water are either yellow perch or bass. To me it sounds like an pretty good opportunity to get some experience with a blade bait. Once I mark a fish on my depth finder I try and drop my blade bait on his head. It works surprisingly well. Good luck !

The fish you are marking near bottom in 30 ft very well could be bass. If they are then they are VERY catchable. I had been catching them as deep as 43 ft near bottom until I put my boat away a week or so ago. Since the pond has salmon I am assuming it has a healthy population of smelt. Find a school of smelt near a steep drop off and the bass wont be far behind.

I trap my own bait every year for ice fishing. I usually end up with around 2000. I keep mine in a bait box I built in my friends brook. You could also keep a bait box in local pond or lake. Check the bait laws in your state. Laws very different from state to state. Keeping them outside has several advantages, doesn't cost any money, no upkeep such as cleaning, and they are already acclimated to outside conditions. I have attempted to keep them inside. It is costly and time consuming. You have to clean the tank periodically, pay for the lights, pay for filtration pumps, possibly even feed them, and when you want to use them you have to properly cool them down from an indoor environment to an outdoor environment.

In New England it is hard to beat a blade bait once the water drops below 50. Jigs worked ever so slowly work as well. Drop shots, jerkbaits, crankbaits and swim jigs will work as well. The last week of October and the entire month of November blade baits were far out producing all other baits.

Glad to see you are still getting out on the water. Unfortunately I think I am done for the year. Too busy to get out there before ice up. Catching 7 bass from your boat on December 6th in Maine is pretty sweet. I would assume that the brook trout that was caught had recently been stocked. It appears to me that it had been stocked. You can check the current MDIFW stocking schedule. Maine has a great fall trout stocking program with the intention of giving ice fisherman more opportunities to catch stocked trout. Hatchery reared fish generally do not spawn in rearing tanks or raceways. Most of the time fall stocked female brook trout are full of eggs. Typically they would spawn naturally in rivers and streams from mid October until early November in Maine. That is the biggest reason that rivers and streams close to fishing Oct 1st. Judging by the coloration of the eggs on the deck of the boat the eggs were no longer viable. She would naturally drop the eggs ( not spawn ) eventually if you hadn't caught her.

I would try a blade bait, 55 degree water temperature in the fall is perfect. A jig will work as well. I would continue to work the area thoroughly, there seems to be a few decent bass in the area.

That's unfortunate you didn't have a camera. A 10 lber in New England is a once of a life time fish. Where you able to weigh it ? Get any measurements of it ?

10 lbs from the northeast... That's a lunker. Got a pic of it ?

This past Friday was my last time out on the water for the year. The water temp had cooled a little bit from the week before down to 43 degrees. Unfortunately the wind was an issue most of the time I was there. For awhile it was blowing 10-15 with gusts to 25 mph. I am glad it was 50 degrees but that wind made it feel much colder. I fished from 9 am until 1 pm. The area I have been fishing for the past month continued to produce. A blade bait was the only bait that caught fish. I was again targeting a hard bottom adjacent to a steep drop in 15 -35 ft of water. The fishing was a bit tough dealing with the wind. I landed 2 largemouth and 7 smallmouth. My 5 biggest fish weighed 17 lbs 7 oz. Lunker for the day was a very skinny 3-12 largemouth. The rest of the biggest 5 were all smallmouth, 3-10,3-8,3-6 and 3-3. It is always fun hooking deep water fish on light line. It is always a bummer to know it is the last day out in my boat for the year but at least I had a decent day. It sure was a great season for me. I didn't get out as many times as last year but the % of fish over 3 lbs was up from last year especially for smallmouth. Landed 43 largemouth larger then 5 lbs. Lunker largemouth for the year was a 7-13. I don't really fish a lot for smallmouth but this was by far my best year for them. A new personal best smallmouth at 4-13, 60 fish larger then 3 lbs, 23 % of the smallmouth I caught were over 3 lbs. The most memorable day of the year I was lucky enough to share with my mom. It was in May and the bite had been real hot. We landed a lot of big fish that day. We had a double where we both caught fish over 5 lbs. That was the same day that I caught the 7-13 which she netted after some tense moments on the third attempt. We def were on big fish that day. It was the 3rd heaviest 5 fish bag I have ever had weighing in at 29 lbs 15 oz. Between the 2 of us we had 31 lbs 1 oz. One heck of a day fishing in Maine.

Every year before the onset of winter I do well using a blade bait once the water is around 55 degrees and below. Blade baits work great for small mouth.

I have good luck fishing a blade bait near steep drop offs with a gravel, ledge, boulder or hardened clay bottom. It is difficult to out fish a blade bait in cold water. You will get more bites then other baits. Smallmouth absolutely love this bait. If there are schools of baitfish near by you will catch fish. I fish until everything freezes thick enough so my boat cant break through the ice anymore. Once the ice is safe enough to walk on I ice fish for bass with lures.

This past Friday I fished a small New Hampshire lake. We had got an inch and a half of heavy rain as a front was moving through the area. The forecast was for a high of 55, calm, and cloudy. A cold front was predicted to move through in the afternoon clearing out the clouds. After several windy days in the mid 40s it sounded like the perfect day to fish in mid/late November. I arrived at the lake at 10:45. It had just stopped raining a couple hours before I arrived. I had one spot in mind that has been producing a number of 3-4 lb smallies with a couple largemouth mixed in. The plan was to fish in 15-35 feet fishing a blade bait around schools of smelt. I launched my boat with the surface temperature reading 46 degrees. Motoring over to the one spot I wanted to fish I retied my line on the 5 set ups I had brought with me. I knew the blade bait was going to be the best bet but I also had a drop shot, a deep diving crankbait, a jig and jerkbait tied on. The particular spot I fished is a hump tha comes from 40 ft to 3 ft that is composed of rock, gravel, ledge, hardened clay and boulders. With in the first few minutes I had caught my first fish a 3-12 smallie. With the skunk out of the boat and practically no wind I made cast after cast after cast to specific spots on the hump I had marked with my gps. The fishing was great. I was catching a fish about every 15 minutes. I couldn't have asked for a better bite. I was catching by casting out a blade bait and slowly hopping it on bottom back to the boat. I had noticed several arches under my boat using my down imager. I watched as my bait went towards bottom as the arch came up and slammed it. It turned out to be a decent largemouth at 4-2. I hadn't really had much experience using my down imager to catch fish while being directly over them. Every time for the rest of the day when I saw an arch I would immediately reel in and try on drop my lure right on the fishes head. It seemed I would catch that fish half of the time. The bite was consistent and pretty good most of the day. Around 2 pm a front moved through pushed the clouds out and the air temp dropped about 10 degrees. Not to be discouraged it was time to add another layer, dress for ice fishing. After the front moved through the fishing slowed considerably. In the last hour I did mange to catch two fish a 3-6 and a 3-12 smallie. I fished from 11 am until 3 pm catching 3 largemouth and 12 smallies all on a blade bait. Two of the largemouth were over 3 lbs, the biggest being 4-2. Of the 12 smallies I caught 9 were over 3 lbs and the 3 fish that weren't were all 2-12 or over. Lunker smallie for the day was a tie with two weighing 3-12. Biggest 5 fish for the day weighed 18 lbs 14 oz. I cant ask for much more then that for November 20th. Some great fall fishing. I am going to try and get out there atleast one more time before the end. Plenty of fish still willing to bite. Got to be out there to get them !

I fish a lot of rivers in Maine and Vermont. I have found that spring time is usually best. In the spring the water is up and they can be much warmer then the lake or pond. Typically I have found that high water draws the fish out form the lake or pond it is connected to and they set up to feed in the river if it isn't too far from the pond. There are many factors that dictate how I fish a river, current, weather, time of year, woody cover, rock, clay, clarity, water temperature are a couple. Without knowing what river you are fishing and the type and amount of available cover it is difficult for me to really give you a clear answer. I fish a select few rivers as long as it is safe to do so. I am always fishing from my boat. What I have observed lately in the rivers I like to fish is that they have moved away from areas with decent current and are in deep water holes. Particularly deeper water holes where there is a steep bank. Generally I target these areas with a jig hitting all cover I can see or have located. I have great luck this time of year targeting laydowns out of the current in deeper water. Boulders/rock/gravel can also be very good this time of year especially targeting smallmouth. If I get into a few fish in a particular spot I anchor. It allows me to focus less on boat control and stay exactly where I want to be, focusing on catching fish. In spring I do find fish stacked up and man if you find them don't leave them. Clay banks where crawfish are emerging from there winter burrows can result in unbelievable fishing in the spring. In the fall, especially later in the fall like now, I find most fish in deeper wintering holes or have moved in to the lake/pond for the winter.

Nice bass ! Im surprised to see such success with water temepratures around 48 degrees on an Alabama rig. I didn't really think the water temperature got that cold so quickly in that area.

I was on Champlain last weekend. The blade bait bite was great for smallies in 15-35 ft. We had to be fishing around steep drop offs with rock and gravel bottom. We didn't get many I think we caught 18 bass for the day. Our biggest 5 smallies went 20 lbs 8 oz. We had to fish 15 ft or more if we wanted the bigger fish.

I will never fish a chatterbait, buzzbait or spinnerbait with out a trailer hook. You will be missing fish if you aren't fishing one. There is a KVD video on you tube regarding trailer hooks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWjinb0DwEE

I listed a few on the first page.

I have been using a 1/2 oz silver buddy. Targeting areas with rock, preferably a steep drop off, in 15 to 35 ft of water.

I would refer to a chatterbait as a bladed jig. Examples of a blade bait would be a heddon sonar, silver buddy, lucky craft ILV 50, vibe, or a binsky vibrating blade.

Last year I won AOY fishing out of the back of the boat during every tourney in my bass club. Finished the year with 3 1sts and a 3rd. I fished a jig, a frog and the hated senko most of the time. You should always pay attention to what your boater is fishing and where he is fishing it. Once he makes his cast and moves down the shore/area fish where he didn't cast. I caught a lot of fish on long casts especially with the frog. Seemed like a lot of guys weren't able to make long casts. Got to put your bait where other fisherman wont or cant go.

Has anyone had issues with paint flaking off of there s wavers ?

My go to bait would most certainly have to be a blade bait once the water gets 50 degrees or colder . I am surprised it has not been mentioned more. Perhaps people just aren't fishing them ? I fish right until the ice is too thick for my boat to break through. A jig will work too but you wont get nearly as many bites. Water temp has been 47-50 degrees in northern New England the past couple weeks and the blade bait bite has been hot. You got to be making contact with bottom while you are fishing a blade bait. Fish it just like you would a jig.

During specific times of the year certain lures produce much better than others. I have been fishing all over northern New England the past several weeks. In the three states I fished the same pattern emerged. Targeting deeper water fish in 15-35 feet with a blade bait. If you were fishing shallow than 15 ft you would struggle. Fish were most definitely in there winter locations and patterns. It is difficult to beat a blade bait once the water temperature drops below 50. Jigs do work but I don't get nearly as many bites as I do with a blade bait.