BaitMonkey1984

I tried my luck with a texas rigged rage craw. No bites, but lots of yellow perch following it into the shallows by a step drop off. Today was actually warmer than average here in the NE, and saw lots of baitfish in the shallows. No fish, but still good to get a line wet.

Congrats the boat looks great. I have been considering doing it to a 16 foot aluminum boat my grandfather gave me several years ago. I love to see when people take time to improve through ingenuity and a few bucks, rather than going out and buying something new. Nothing like taking pride in your new rig that you built, now go catch a PB.

Just make sure to hit the batteries with a trickle charge every few weeks and they should be fine, it has worked for me for years. I had someone move one of my batteries onto a concrete floor, and when I discovered it weeks later, the discharge rate was not affected at all. I think it held true in the past, however if you have a way to avoid the batteries sitting on a bare concrete floor, do it. I'd rather spend my money on crank baits than three new batteries for the boat.

I too am very hesitant to put the rods away for the year. Hunting season makes it a bit easier to swallow. I had both boats put away for the winter a few weeks ago, ending the season with a Personal Best Largemouth weighing 6.0 lbs even. I have had lots of 5-5.5 lbs however this was the first fish to break the 6lb mark, which is a very nice fish anywhere, but especially up herein Northern Massachusetts. Yet, even with ending the season on such a good note, I could not resist wetting a line today, with the day off from work in observance for Veteran's day. I was slow dragging/hopping a texas rigged Rage Craw from shore. I didn't get any bites but had several yellow perch following it. I would suggest you downsize to finesse tactics, light lines, small weights and like AsianBoyWonder mentioned- keep your retrieve painfully slow. Best of luck.

I recently purchased tow of the Lowrance Elite 7 fshfinders for my older Ranger. They were a great upgrade over the 10 year old electronics that came with the boat. The fishfidners work well, and the mapping works great. I personally thought that the DSI was going to be more crisp and clearer picture than it actually is. You may want to look into the version with CHIRP SONAR as well. Overall not a bad unit for the price point.

Mine would have to be early spring when the Bass start to move up into the staging areas, it is hard to beat a crawfish colored crank bait that time of the year. It is one of my newest techniques learned and getting me back into power fishing after primarily fishing soft plastics for the past two years.

I agree with the earlier posts in that you want to try to throw something that they haven't seen/ been hooked by in the past. One of my favorite lakes gets a lot of pressure for two months in the summer and I generally do everything to stack the odds in my favor...slow down the trolling motor, make long casts so they don't see you coming, use JJ's magic, and move off shore a bit to hit those spots the shallow water fisherman misses and I usually have increased success.

Hello everyone, I have been bass fishing for the past ten years, and have become more and more serious each year. I live on the MA/NH border, so unfortunately I have a relatively short season, so I make the most of it and fish as much as possible, generally 5 days a week. I am looking to take the next step and fish new waters, and am considering fishing local tournaments next sumer as well, so thought this would be a great asset to meet likeminded people. I dropped the boat off at the marina for storage two weeks ago, and already the bait monkey has a hold of me, lots of new square bills to try out in the spring- thus the username. Drop me a line if your in the area. Jordan