Mainebass1984

I have been good ! Ready to get out there in search of giants. Sadly it looks like a couple weeks before I can get to the places I like to fish. I probably will get out on Champlain before then. How much longer up your way ?

Most of the lakes near Lincoln still have a lot ice. Driving south is your best bet. Id recommend Florida.

I totally agree Smokinal. I ice fish quite a bit. Last weekend there was still around 20" of solid ice in southwestern maine. A river is your best bet. You will be hard pressed to find any open water for awhile.

When the water is barely above freezing I have my best luck with blade baits and jigs. When you think your fishing slow.... FISH SLOWER ! I also have had good luck with small swimbaits, a suspending jerkbait, and a drop shot. Typically when the water temperatures are super cold right after ice out you can find fish right where they were at ice up. In most lakes and ponds these areas tend to be deep, 15-45 ft deep with sharp break lines. In larger rivers deeper holes in river turns, set backs with structure as well as deeper water nearby can be good. You also should never overlook bridge pilings with deeper water.

That does look like a good fish. You said it weighed 9.8 lbs... The mouth in the second link looks especially small for an almost 10 lb fish. Usually if a fish is 7 lbs plus you should be able to fit almost both hands in its mouth. I do realize I sound like a hater. Sorry if that offends you but I have a heard time believing that fish is almost 10 lbs. I would recommend buying a better scale.

I am not making up any definitions. I posted several definitions earlier from credible sources. Scroll back and look. It seems you sir no matter what I post or say will find a way to disagree and attempt to prove me wrong. Plain and simple. I'm not sure what you learned in college 20 years ago. I can tell you that I have a bachelors degree in fisheries biology and have worked all over the country Alaska, Maine, Vermont, Illinois, Missouri and Florida. I currently work with fisheries biologists all across this country. I myself am a fisheries biologists. It is sad to see misinformation being presented and overly opinionated anglers feeling they know more then fisheries biologist who have been entrusted with managing the resource. I am not making up definitions or stating anything that isn't indeed factual. Salmonoid refers to all trout and salmon species. Brook trout and lake trout as I said before are not actually trout they belong to Salvelinus genus which are commonly referred to as Charr. Trout and salmon found in the Atlantic belong to the Salmo genus, brown trout and Atlantic salmon amongst others. Trout and salmon occurring in the pacific such as rainbows, cutthroats, pacific salmon, etc belong to the genus Oncorhynchus.

I prefer to fish deeper but have had luck in 10 ft of water. I use braid with an 5 ft long 8 lb test fluorocarbon leader on a 7ft medium action spinning rod.

An invasive fish/plant/mammal species is a species that is not native. Yes for sure the term invasive is does have a lot of negativity surrounding. There aren't any native trout in New York or New England for that matter. "Brook Trout" and "Lake Trout" are both Char. All of the trout species you mentioned are all invasive. When electroshocking here in VT with federal fisheries biologist anything that isn't native falls under the invasive category, including rainbow and brown trout. If it isn't native it is invasive. It doesn't matter if that fish was introduced intentionally or not. All I fish for is bass.

Its all a conspiracy ? All fisheries biologists, state and federal, they are all wrong ? Any species, plant, insect, fish, mammal effects the ecosystem it is introduced into. They compete for the same resources.

I usually count to 10 in between hops, after the bait has already fluttered to bottom. I have my best luck near the steepest drops. I like targeting rocky areas, boulders, ledge or "hard" bottom. If I pick up any weeds on the treble hooks then I move to another spot. I do not have nearly as much luck near grassy bottoms fishing a blade bait.

I upgrade all the hooks and add split rings to my silver buddies. My friend makes his own silver buddy imitating blade baits. They are pretty good as well and come with eyes on the front of the bait.

Ask your local biologist. Any species effects the food chain and eco system they are introduced into.

Once the water temperatures drop below 50 degrees the silver buddy, fished in the proper areas, is hard to beat. I have a lot on confidence in this bait. It has produced for me year after year from late October until ice up. The baits are very versatile too. At times you can catch them on the initial drop on the cast. When that doesn't produce a simple lift and fall presentation worked back to the boat will usually get bit. When lifting you only want to feel the bait vibrate 3 or 4 times at most before letting it fall back down to bottom. Another approach is "video gaming", you se the fish arch on your graph/imager and drop it right on there head. With the proper settings you can see your bait fall towards bottom and see hoe the fish react to it. It usually doesn't take long before they bite if they are going to bite. If they nose down on it or rise up from bottom to look at it then that fish is almost always catchable. If the fish doesn't react to the bait then you should move on to the next arch until you find one that is more active. It can be an extremely productive pattern and it is exciting to see the fish hit your bait on your graph. A silver is very effective for deeper water bass. I typically catch fish from 15-30 ft and at times as deep as 45 ft.

As defined by the American Fisheries Society: Invasive species: non native species disrupting and replacing native species As defined by NOAA: Invasive species: An invasive species is an organism that causes ecological or economic harm in a new environment where it is non native.

I shall disagree with your corrections, as would the vast majority of the scientific community. You are entitled to your opinion.

I am aware of this. Largemouth Bass are invasive species in a vast majority of the waterbodies they are currently found. Are the post-survey stocking numbers comparable to the pre-survey stocking numbers ? I was under the impression that stocking allocations were far fewer then they historically had been. Aside from protecting native steelhead populations hasn't stocking been ceased to protect the clear lake hitch ? It seems a stretch to me for California to produce a world record given the current conditions. Extreme drought certainly has strained a large number of waterbodies. The presence of Landlocked Striped Bass. The number and occurrence of trout stockings is way down from 90s or even 00s levels when it seemed all but certain California was going to produce a anew world record. It is always a possibility that a new world record could come from California but I think that there was a far greater chance of that happening in the 90s and 00s. I think Japan will produce the next record or perhaps South Africa.

I think that Japan and South Africa have the best chance at a new world record. It is sad to think that it wont happen in this country, in the Largemouths native range. Without a significant amount of trout being stocked in California lakes I do not think it will happen there. I may be misinformed but, it was my understanding that the state of California isn't stocking Rainbows as it once did because they few it as an invasive species where it doesn't naturally occur ?

Two weeks ago I though I had my last day on the water. Luckily this past Friday the weather forecast was decent enough to dig the boat out for one last hurrah. Usually this time of year in Maine and New Hampshire the ice has begun and shorelines are all iced in. The forecast the day was 45 degrees, partly cloudy with a 5 mph west wind. I arrived at the boat launch at 9 am with a game pan to fish 3 distinct spots on an offshore hump which has been producing for me consistently since October fishing a silver buddy almost exclusive.. It was a short 5 minute ride to the first spot on the hump that I like to target. Its an area of ledge that drops from 10 ft straight down to 21 feet with boulders at the base of the drop. With a water temperature of 41 degrees I was a bit skeptical about how many bites I would get. The first bite resulted in a nice smallie weighing in at 4 lbs 1 oz. I set up my camera, set the timer and then the camera dies mid timer. That was disappointing. I wanted to document the days adventure to prove to some friends that you can catch nice fish in December. Before moving to my next spot on a spot on the offshore hump I caught a 2-12 and 3-3 smallie. Once I had determined the spot had been fished thoroughly enough I slowly motored over to the next spot on a spot. The wind kicked up from 5 mph out of the west to 10 mph or so out of the southwest. It didn't exactly feel warm. The next spot on a spot I targeted was a point on the hump that dropped from 5 ft and boulders to 40 ft deep. I was fishing the side of the point on the hump which has the steepest drop. I quickly caught a 3-14 largemouth. I spent nearly an hour here and caught a 3-6 largemouth and a 3-7 smallie before moving on. The next spot is one particular boulder on another point on the hump. It is very rocky around this point. First cast I caught a 3-2 smallmouth. No action for awhile at that spot, I was committed to fishing it for awhile. My phone rang and it was a friend I hadn't heard from in awhile. I put him on speaker. While I speaker I noticed a nice arch underneath the boat in 25 ft. I dropped the silver buddy right down to the fish and it quickly picked it up. It was a 3-10 largemouth. After trying to locate more fish to drop my silver buddy on I decided to move back to the second spot of the day. The wind sucked blowing at 10-15 mph now and it had begun to snow, sleet and rain. I was comfortable but would have been much more comfortable if it was dead calm and sunny. Once I had properly positioned my boat the first cast resulted in a 5 lb 5 oz largemouth. I do not catch many largemouth over 5 lbs in this lake. It was the largest largemouth I had ever caught at this lake. The next 2 casts to the exact same spot , a 3-6 and a 3-7 came to the net. At this point the snow/sleet/rain had moved on and there was a double rainbow that began and ended on the lake, not to far from where I was fishing. My next cast was a 3-4 smallie. After repeating that same cast numerous times and soaking the area I moved back to first spot of the day. It took several casts but I did get another decent smallie there weighing 3 lbs 2 oz. After no more hits I decided to hit all three spots on the hump again. No luck this time after spending 20 minutes on each spot. It was getting near dark and I decided it was time to call it a day and a season. I motored back towards the launch. On the way back I saw an arch on bottom in 25 ft. I HAD to drop my silver buddy down to see if I could get that fish to bite. It took me lift and dropping the buddy a couple times before it hit. It was a 2-8 largemouth. Now it was time to call it a day for real. The lake was dead calm as I was unloading my boat. Reflecting back on the day I couldn't have asked for a better last day on the lake, especially on Dec. 2nd, 7 largemouth including 5 3s and a 5-5 lunker to go along with 6 smallies including 4 3s and a 4-1 lunker combining for a 5 fish limit of 20 lbs 5 oz. Even if the wind was much stronger then predicted and the weather wasn't nice out at times, it was a memorable last day on the boat until spring complete with good fishing and double rainbows.

I am a pattern fisherman. Pattern fishing works very well for me. Everyday I try and find a pattern within a pattern. It is not easy to find a pattern within a pattern but when you do, it can be some of the most amazing fishing you can experience. For example lets say that that the pattern you have found is that fish are holding on offshore rock piles. You are catching a good amount of quality fish fishing all around offshore rock piles. Most anglers are satisfied at this point. I personally try and take it a step further. Is there a "spot on a spot" that consistently produces cast after cast ? Is there a specific cast angle I need to make time and time again ? Is there a specific lure that will catch more fish at this spot ? Thinking like this can make a good day an amazing day. Every day I try and find a pattern within a pattern. I keep a very detailed fishing log and have done so now for close to 20 years. A lot of anglers think this is not necessary and shrug at the though of doing so. I am sure everyone's results would be different, I suppose. It has over time enabled me to find seasonal patterns, lake patterns, water temperature patterns, lure patterns, etc, for the waters I fish. When these patterns intersect, " a pattern within a pattern", I have found the fishing to be the best. During spring on lake x, fishing lure x, when the water temp is x, when the conditions are x, produces for me year after year after year. Yes sure I am fishing memory but I am fishing patterns as well. I fish quality spots from "memory" to find patterns that produce year after year. I like to "fine tune" a pattern. Attention to detail is extremely important. It really clicked for me when I got on some quality fish on my favorite lake in 2012. It was spring and I was catching big largemouth and big smallmouth on a black jig and pig. I was targeting a very specific spot, a 50 ft section of clay bank. At first the fishing was not fast and furious. I was consistently catching fish on the black jig and pig, good ones too 3 and 4 lb largemouth. Then just by chance one of them spit up a hand full of crayfish, they were orange and brown. The fishing slowed a bit. I decided to tie on a brown and orang jig with a crayfish piece of pork. On the first cast I caught a 7-6 largemouth. I started catching fish on nearly every cast, big fish to ( for Maine) for nearly an hour. Once the bite slowed a bit I tried to copy the crayfish pattern with a crankbait. Within the first couple casts I caught another big largemouth, a 6-8. Naturally I decided I didn't need to move from this spot. I stayed there all day. If I went 5 casts with the jig and didn't get bit I would switch to the crank bait and do the same with the crankbait. Most of the time I would catch a fish on the initial cast after switching baits. I stayed on these fish, in the same 50 yard section all day. By the end of the day I had landed my best 5 fish limit, 7-6,7-1,6-8,6-3,5-4 for 32 lbs 6 oz. My biggest 5 smallies weighed 18 lbs 2 oz that day as well. It was incredibly good fishing. In my mind I found a pattern within a pattern on a spot on a spot. A clay bank in the spring was the initial pattern, then fine tuned to it had to be an orange and brown jig or an crayfish colored crankbait. Of course the next day I brought my friend there. He is a diehard black on black jig fisherman. Once I had landed 9 fish to his 1 he asked me for a brown and orange jig. It simply had to be a brown and orange jig or you weren't going to get bit. Since then I have returned to the specific spot, during a specific time of year and water temperature, fishing those same lures and the results have been consistent every year. Athough I have never have had a 5 fish bag of 32 lb 6 oz since then I have had 30 lbs 6 oz and 29 lbs 15 oz. In 2014 when I had 30 lbs 6 oz I probably should have broken my best 5 bag but I lost a couple very large fish. That day though I did land 10 largemouth over 5 lbs. Every year consistently that pattern on that spot produces giant northern largemouth and big smallies. It has to be those specific lures or you aren't going to get many bites. My point to this long rant is that when you can combine a good fishing spot or better yet a spot on a spot with a fine tuned pattern the fishing can be amazing. That is what I try for every single time on the water. The fishing log I spoke of before enables me year after year to return to specific lakes where specific patterns set up every year. It gives me a very good idea of what the fish are doing well before I get to the launch. I guess to answer the original question to this thread is I fish a combination of spots, and patterns given the previous fishing experience to establish a fine tuned pattern. End rant.

Last Friday I ventured to my favorite smallmouth spot in NH, the weather and fishing was amazing. The silver buddy bite was on fire. In 5 hours I caught 6 largemouth, 2-12, 2-13, 2-13, 3-5, 3-6 and 4-0. I caught 12 smallmouth, 8 over 3 lbs and 1 over 4, 3-3, 3-1, 3-0, 4-1, 3-0, 3-10, 3-10, 3-4 and 3-10. The smallest smallie I caught was 2-11. I was fishing a silver buddy in 15-40 ft of water. I was catching them casting and video game fishing. It was dead calm which really helped with the video game fishing. Sadly after 6 inches of snow and a long term forecast only in the 30s I'm not sure if I will be out in my boat again.

Water isn't frozen yet. Last Friday it was 64 degrees and the fishing was excellent. Sadly though after 6 inches of snow sunday night and a very disappointing long term weather forecast the fishing forecast looks grim for me. It isn't going to be out of the 30s here for a week. Forecast is for more snow this week and next. Not Good. My boat maybe done for the year. That is sad. Friday the fishing and weather were fantastic.

Maine Largemouth 9 lbs 1 oz 23.5 inches long 19.5 inch girth Aged at 19+ years old Vermont Smallie 4 lbs 13 oz

Early and Mid fall have good luck with soft plastics. Late fall and early winter I tend to switch to other presentations, especially when the water temperature dips below 50 degrees. Early and mid fall a texas rigged rage craw with a bullet weight can be killer. Plastics will work year round. I just tend to have more success at times with other lures.I have caught bass, including big bass, through the ice using a wacky rigged senko.

I was in NH smallie fishing a week or so ago. I was catching quality 3-4 smallies fishing a silver buddy in 15-25 ft of water along the drop off of a rocky hump that was way way off shore. Biggest 5 went 18 lbs 9 oz with a 4 lb 1 oz lunker. This past weekend the silver buddy bite was on in VT too, a bunch of 3s. Lunker was 3-9. In Maine yesterday a crankbait got it done. Water was stained, fish wouldn't touch a jig. I caught 6 bass in 5 hours, 4-7,4-4,3-0,3-0,2-15, and 2-9. I lost a good one at the end of the day. I have good luck this time of year getting away from the shore line. Deep off shore isolated structure and cover.

Fishing in Maine and Vermont is still good. Plenty of good bass to catch. This past weekend in Vermont 3- 3 3/4 lb smallies were biting, silver buddy was working. Yesterday in Maine the crankbait bite was good even though the water was a bit chilly at 45 degrees. Jigs also work in the fall. Fishing will be good until ice up. Get out there and fish !