jbmaine

I've loved fishing for as long as I can remember. I know people that could care less about it. I'm bored to death with sports. Others love sports. It takes all kinds.

Hollow body frog or popper at night.

Hi All, We spent some time today on a lake that used to be our go to spot. Back in the day a dozen LM easy was our norm. Then one year there were spring floods and we think septic systems got in the water. The next year there were weed blooms every where ( think Sargasso sea ) and the fishing went down hill fast. Once or twice a year we hit it to see if it might be coming back. It's still a shadow of it's former self. Fished it for hours today with only one pickerel to show for it. How sad to see water like this being so unproductive

If you just need something as a visibility marker, I wonder if reflective stakes ( like for marking your driveway in the winter) might work.

Personally, I would never lie to my wife, but even if I wanted to I couldn't. It's pretty hard to lie to her about fishing when she's sitting right next to me in the boat.

When I was a kid we had a camp on a lake. Fished off the end of the dock or in a rowboat. Caught fish. Would I have caught more with electronics? Maybe, Who knows. I have decent electronics on my boat for a couple of reasons. For the price of repairs on my motor I want to know when I'm getting into skinny water. The second reason is probably valid for most of us. TIME. Up until recently I had limited time to fish. I wanted the advantage electronics gave me to make the most use of the limited time I had. If you have all that $$$ in fishing stuff you kinda want to catch fish, electronics help. I will say, fishing the places I spend a lot of time on I don't need or use electronics as much to find fish. Would there be as many people out fishing today as there is now, if we didn't have electronics. I don't know.

 my 3 rd cast i saw the line slacked in a weird manner and i didnt even think i just yanked it and sure enough it was a bass You didn't even think, you just set the hook Congratulations, That's a great step in fishing. Here's to the first good bass and many more

All great answers, Here's my take on the why. If the water gets too warm, bass will go deeper or find shade to stay cool. Sunny calm summer days. Visibility in the water is much better so bass get spooked. They find thick cover not only to stay cool but for protection. That to me is why I find bass easier to catch on overcast, drizzly, or windy days. They feel safer moving around. I used to striper fish in the salt water from shore. Go at night or early A.M. and they would be everywhere in shallow water. As soon as the sun came up, they would all head out for deeper water. I believe that was because as soon as the sun started coming thru the water they felt less safe.

I find an anchor a must have. You may never use it, but in the event of motor issues, etc. it will keep you from drifting into shore. Also if your boat didn't come with one, I really recommend a boarding ladder. Our boat has one on the stern, and it's really nice to know we have a good way to get back in the boat, should we fall out.

I hear ya, I spent many years trout fishing with a fly rod. I know there's trout down here but you mentioned " native trout" That's few and far between down here.

Dang, those are some nice fish, If I had trout like that close to me I'd be doing less bass fishing

What does the town say. If they have a pump going I would hope they know what their pumping.

This is just the kind of info I was looking for. Thanks

Feeling the bite can happen several different ways. The tic,tic feeling or the line twitch are some what self explanatory. the "mushy" I relate more to a gut feeling , or instinct. This is what I believe happens. When you use a lure, say a tube, you cast it out, let it hit bottom, then drag or hop it across the bottom. You do this multiple times. Your mind is processing all the information. It feels / looks like this as it's sinking. It takes this much resistance to start it moving. If it bumps against a rock you feel the change and may set the hook. If there is nothing there then, just by the solid feel, you know it had to be a rock. If you feel a softer change in resistance and pull up a weed then you know what going thru weeds feel like. Your mind stores all this accumulated knowledge. At some point something different will happen. You may not consciously notice the difference but your mind is screaming " set the hook " I have set the hook on fish only because my mind "gut " said to. I have also set the hook on brush, sticks, weeds, all manor of things, but more often than not, it is a fish. I would suggest sticking with one bait for now. The more you use it, I believe the better your mind/ gut/ instinct, will tell you there's a fish on.

The coffee's on, see you in a bit

Thanks A-Jay, as always excellent advice and info. I think one of the hardest things for me on this lake is there is abundant food everywhere, good structure everywhere. I have never caught a thin fish there at all, and they spawn all over the lake. It sounds like I just need to follow your guide lines and put the time in. Thanks again Jim

Hi all, This year I am determined to have better luck, develop better skill in catching deep SM. I finally have the time, boat, TM, electronics, to do it. However I could use some *** on finding all these fish. I fish a very good SM lake around 1000 acres big. I know it's full of SM, I see hundreds of them during the spawn. Now that the spawn is just about over, they are starting their move to deeper water. I have read, watched all kinds of info. on deep water SM, and know to try for them on drop-offs , shelfs, humps, etc. The issue I have is this lake is full of them. I idle along, watching the fish finder for hundreds of yards, and there are areas where the bottom never stays still. Its like watching a roller coaster. So, with so many places for them to hide out, what's the best way to find them? I'm thinking I just need to keep moving until the fish finder shows fish, then stop and try to catch them. I'm wondering that with so much bottom contour, they don't gang up, and seeing just one fish here and there, is going to be the norm. Any other thoughts on how to approach this? Thanks Jim

Hi all, I started the post bad year for ticks, and it got me thinking. I've always lived locally ( N.H., ME. ) and I'm soon to be 64. When I was a kid I was always out in the fields, woods and never got a tick. Never even heard of them, except they were a southern thing. Now their everywhere , same with possums, I see dead ones on the road from time to time. It must be a migration north. What else are you seeing out and about that you never used to see?

My foot issues have done the same for me. One lake we fish has a handicap spot right by the launch. If it is occupied we go else where, because the main parking area is 100yards away up a hill. I simply can't physically walk that far. One day there was a lady sitting in a lounge chair in the spot. She said her husband was out on the lake trying out a boat, and that she was waiting for him there because it was in the shade. She refused to move. We left , but it really bugged me.

You are not alone, it happens.

Here's to the first and many more!!!

I forget to define from MK as to exactly what type of grease to use, however I was at my boat dealer this A.M. and asked the service manager ( they sell MK ) and he said the problems they are running into with using grease are if the grease runs ( from the heat ) it could stain, and thicker grease attracts dirt and things ( not good ). He said they recommend a shot of silicone spray, just not too much, and don't let over spray get everywhere.

This is just my opinion and my experience, so based on that, these are my thoughts. I have seen times when bass will take just about anything you put in front of it, and times when they will ignore 99% of the things you cast to them, yet go crazy to bite one bait. I have no Idea why. We fish in clear water so I can honestly say I have seen this happen. I once spent almost an hour site fishing to a bass cruising a shallow cove. I thru everything at it. It would look at it and swim away. Finally it took a bubble gum colored Senko. This was after I tossed four other Senkos of different colors at it. I have no idea why. I also once saw a fish inhale a cigarette butt. Go figure.

I have a Garmin echomap chirp CV on the bow with the transducer on my Ulterra. Honestly I get a decent image when on I Pilot, Spot lock, but I don't trust it 100%. With the head swiveling around like crazy your sonar signals have to be going every which way. I do love it for depth. When my shallow alarm goes off I know to trim up pronto. If you were on I pilot ( legacy ) in a steady breeze, with the TM more stable, it works fine. I kept my sonar with side scan on the console for just that reason.

Same here, same advice