Mainebass1984

Careful stocking ANYTHING into the lake. Although the shoreline is privatized it still is public water in the state of NH. If you want to do anything involving harvest outside of fishing regulations that are already imposed speak with your regional biologist and game warden. Do not stock anything until you get approval. Once a species is introduced it is there forever. Extremely hard to remove. Unauthorized stocking and harvesting over your limit is illegal. You could get in a lot of trouble Before you do anything make sure you get approval from the regional biologist and game warden.

Ovarian weight is usually 20 % of body weight at the time of spawning. Stating the bass grow 1 pound per year in most states is a very broad generalization of growth rates.

Wow. That is terribly slow growth. I've never heard of such growth. Are you sampling these fish yourself ?

Fish as many tournaments as possible. NHbassin is right, join a local bass club. From there you can fish club tourneys while learning a ton of info. Its also a great way to meet friends who you then could fish open tournaments with. In my experience the more $ an open tourney costs to enter the more difficult it is to win. Once you start doing well in 50-100 boat tourneys then it at be time to think about doing some trail series.

Largemouth bass in the northern extent of their range have limited growth opportunity. A pair of mature bass spawn when temperatures are around 58-63 degrees. The largemouth spawn typically happens in the first 2 weeks of June on most bodies of water in northern New England. Specific water bodies may vary slightly because of there size and depth. Once the eggs have been laid it takes up to 10 days or them to hatch depending on the daily water temperature (DTUs). These young of the year fish grow rapidly and attain on average 4 inches of length by the end of the growing season which typically ends the beginning of November or the end of October. It has been noted in several studies that if the yoy bass do not attain 4 inches in length their chances to survive the winter are near 0. The period from hatch out until they reach one year of age is the most critical time for survivability. At year 2 they are on average 8 inches in length. The 3rd year they are 12 inches. At this point growth rates typically slow slightly to on average 3 inches per year until they reach maturity at 18-20 inches. Once they reach 20 inches in length growth rates slow considerably. They may not gain an inch a year. At this time much more weight is gained by girth then by length. Growth rates vary from water to water do to habitat, forage, population, DTUs, species competition. Growth rate can vary from year to year as well. If you catch a 20 inch northern largemouth it is not a young fish. It has taken several years to attain that length.

Seems to be good growth to me. The fish you caught on 5-31-16, did it look like it had recently spawned ? A pound of growth in less then a year is above average to in my opinion. Were these fish in good condition when you caught them ? Pre spawn ? Post spawn ? The length gain seems to be average for both fish. Smaller fish tend to grow quicker until they reach a specific size or age and then the growth rate slows down significantly. Tagging fish is illegal in some states. Be careful.

Although ice fishing is not for everyone... It can be a blast. Jigging up a large bass on light line with a jig rod is fun. Sitting around drinking beer waiting for flag to go off can be boring. I prefer to actively search for them. They get very concentrated. Once you find them you can catch a lot of fish. I use a vexilar flasher. You can see how the fish react to your bait. To me it is very fun. Landing large bass over 6 lbs on 2 or 4 lb test with an ultra light 2 ft rod is a challenge. Sure beats not fishing for 4 months.

Once I see the water temperature is from 65-75 degrees it is ON. Still plenty of green weeds too. Weeds have just started to die off as the water temps are now 55-60 degrees. I am not sure about the baitfish in your area but there are several species of baitfish here in New England that spawn in the fall. They will congregate and be shallow. I hate junk fishing. I am always trying to get on a specific pattern. One specific pattern seems to unfold for me in September that seems to always produce. Getting away form the shoreline is part of it.

I fish a lot of slop in August with a frog. Ive caught good fish doing that,, 5s and 6s, and it is a very fun way to fish. I haven't got any 7s on a frog in August. I have put in a lot of time and effort attempting to do so.Given the choice between fishing deep or fishing at night, I always will choose to fish at night. I have had much better luck at night. The only 7s I have caught in the heat of August are at night. I have yet to get a 7 during the day in August. Once the calendar turns to September and the water temperatures begin to fall it is totally different. Big fish are feeding during the day. I take a 10 day vacation every year in September. The fishing can be some of the best of the season.

Of all the months that I fish open water I have caught the fewest 7s in August. I consistently catch 5s and 6s during the day but getting a fish over 7 is a challenge. I have caught fish over 7 lbs at night in August but not many. In my opinion most of the largest bass in a lake feed at night during the warmest time of year. In addition to the having the warmest water temperature. August also has the heaviest recreation use, swimmers, water skiers, kayakers, canoeist as well as fisherman. At times fish can be very very deep and on bluebird post cold front days it is a challenge. I do not know why it is hard for me to catch a fish over 7 lbs during the day in August but I do have a couple ideas. Perhaps fishing during the day I should target fish deep, 30-55 ft. I do believe though that during that time of the year most of the trophy 7 plus pounders are feeding at night. I should spend more time targeting them at night. I know it works I just need to spend more time doing it.

Maine and Vermont. The hardest time of the year for me to catch trophy bass is in August.

Lesson learned. Get a wrist strap for your lip grippers.

There are two methods for aging bass that are commonly used. The least expensive method that has been used historically is pretty simple. You remove a scale 3 or 4 rows down directly below the most anterior portion of the spiny dorsal fin. The scale is stained a deep blue then mounted on a slide. At this point it is most commonly viewed on a simple microscope. Under differing magnifications you can count the growth rings like you would count growth rings on a tree. Each growth ring indicates a years growth. The space between the growth rings vary each year but generally get closer together as the fish becomes older and its growth rate slows down. Some scales are more difficult to age then others. In recent years dorsal spine aging is becoming more widely used and accepted. In that method the second spiny dorsal fin is removed as far down as the base as possible. The spine is then soaked in a special solution to remove any tissue on the spine. After all the tissue is removed then the spine is taken to a very specific machine that slices the dorsal spine microscopically thin. Once the cross section is sliced it is then stained and mounted on a slide like before. Again it is aged as your would age a tree. It is scientifically accepted that the second dorsal spine aging method is now the method that should be used and is more accurate.

As a northern angler that prefers to fish for what I would call trophy bass I felt compelled to offer my opinion on the subject. In my opinion trophy "giant" bass in northern New England are usually pretty well educated. I would call a northern New England bass over 7 lbs a giant. It takes many years for a largemouth bass to attain that weight in the short growing seasons. In ponds with the conditions that are conducive to producing giant bass it still takes 10 years or more to produce a 7 lb plus bass. I have aged many bass for the State of Vermont and aged several bass from Maine in my own time. 7 lbs 6 oz aged at 15 years old 7 lbs 1 oz aged at 11 years old 6 lbs 8 oz aged at 10 years old 7 lbs 13 oz aged at 12 years old 7 lbs 14 oz aged at 11 years old 7 lbs 2 oz aged at 9 years old 9 lbs 1 oz aged at 19+ yeard old. Growth rings became to close to age beyond 19 years old but a strong possibility it was several years over 20 years old. I don't think that these fish which survived a decade or more did so without becoming conditioned and more difficult to catch. Anyone who takes a cast can catch a 7 lb bass but to do it consistently year after year takes time dedication and perseverance. For sure you can figure out very specific patterns that produce year after year. That is what I try to do every time I go fishing. On a typical year I spend 100-120 days on the water from April to November. I prefer and most often fish from dawn until dark30. It is not easy to catch giant bass in the most northern extremes of its range, or catch giant bass anywhere. There is no doubt in my opinion they are conditioned, more wary, harder to entice then smaller younger bass. In the past 6 years I have caught 26 largemouth larger then 7 lbs including 5 8s and 1 9. Giant bass are harder to catch then smaller bass especially after they have had a decade or more of being educated. If anyone thinks catching 7 lb plus bass (actual 7 lb plus bass, not guessing) in northern New England consistently is easy and those fish aren't harder to catch then I would be more then eager to listen. Catching giant bass takes a lot of time, dedication, effort, money, being mindful, and a willingness to learn.

Careful. Stocking fish into another body of water is highly illegal in some states, especially in the Northeast.

I have been doing very well with the 130 size for big largemouth. At that size I do not catch as many smallmouth on it. You will get fewer bites but they will be bigger. I have been doing very well since the beginning of September on it. You got to commit to this lure. It does catch weeds easily but that isn't where I have had the most luck with it. I have been targeting submerged cover and structure offshore and I have been extremely impressed. Last week I got a 7-1 and a 6-6 on a Plopper as well as a lot of other bigger fish. Those big fish make a big splash.

Fishing has been great. I see you like to fish Curtis Pond. It can be good there in the fall. If i had to chose one place it would Lake Champlain. It is hard to beat this time of year in Vermont.

I will continue to fish until I can not break through the ice with my boat anymore. When the water is cold and the fishing pressure is light the fishing can be fantastic. I have caught some of my biggest bass in the late fall and early winter. It is big bass time for both Smallmouth and Largemouth. It is my favorite time to fish.

Once the water temp is around 50 degrees the silver buddy bite becomes very consistent for me. Usually most of the fish are in the 3-4 lb range. I will fish them right until ice up. I used to fish a jig in place of the silver buddy. I found that once I started fishing the silver buddy and sticking with it the number of bites I got tripled. I also have had great success "video game" fishing a blade bait. Its a exciting way to fish.

Nice fish guys. This past summer I fished a few tournaments and the fishing was good. I just had 11 days off, my annual September bass fishing trip. A couple tougher days mixed in on Sebago but overall it was fantastic fishing. The water temps cooled off significantly down into the low 70s and upper 60s. The topwater bite really picked up. I absolutely love big fish on topwater. I also had a couple great days with a crankbait and a jig. The fall bite has begun and it is my favorite time to fish. Later on today I will try and post some pics.

Seems to be a bit quiet here of late. The bite has been red hot lately guys ! Get out and fish ! With the water temps cooling into the low 70s and upper 60s the fish have been really hitting. From now until Thanksgiving the bite should be good. It is one of the best times of year to catch big fish. Big fish have been biting.

The big brown bass should be on my favorite spots very soon. Right now the big green ones are biting ! Bite has been red hot.

In VT you can only have 2 baits with hooks in them on the umbrella rig. In Maine you can only have a hook in one of the baits in an umbrella rig. It is unfortunate you can not have hooks in all 5. Doesn't really inspire me to fish an umbrella rig with only one or two hooks in it. For now I will be sticking with the blade bait and my other confidence baits in my fall smallmouth arsenal.

Fall has begun in Maine and Vermont. Water temps are in the upper 60s and the bite is on. As the water continues to cool and October arrives the smallmouth bite will really pick up. As long as the water doesn't freeze up the bite will be good until after Thanksgiving and perhaps beyond. My go to smallmouth bait far and above all else : a silver buddy I also fish a 1/2 oz football jig, a drop shot and a KVD crankbait in the fall and they all work well but most of the time I am fishing a silver buddy. Without a doubt for smallies in the fall an original silver buddy is deadly. Typically once the smallies go deeper here, 20-40 ft, they tend to congregate around bait fish near steep rocky drop-offs. The silver buddy excels in such a situation. I look forward to this scenario every year. It provides some of the best smallmouth fishing of the year for me. Last year my friend and I had an excellent day on champlain following the same pattern I described. Our best 5 smallies went 22 lbs 4 oz. If you intend to fish in the fall for smallies a silver buddy has to be part of your arsenal.

That's a huge bass for NH. Can you post a pic ? Id love to see it.