jbmaine

hi all, I've been using these a while now, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on them. I picked up a pack of these in 4" KVD magic color and paired it with Owner twist lock 3/0 1/16 oz. hooks. It was easy to get the hook in straight and lip the point in so it was weedless . First impressions in the water- it moved well and tracked straight. the paddle tail gives it good action. It went thru weeds and over rocks with out getting hung up. Catching fish-- Yes it does, quite well. I don't know if it's the size, shape, action, or the coffee scent ( or all of the above) but it catches fish. As a matter of fact every fish I've caught this year has been on them, and we are having a great year. Comparison-- We've fished four bodies of water so far this year and it's caught fish in all of them. I fished a stretch of water with a shadow rap and came up empty, went back over it with this bait and got three fish. Presentation-- Fast, slow, deep, shallow, on the drop-- all catch fish. I've caught LM, SM, and pickerel on them. Durability-- About 4-5 fish per bait. Hookup-- So far, all have been solid, in the top or side of the jaw. I first bought a pack of these because of the coffee scent ( I'm a firm believer in coffee scented baits, but that's another story). But for me anyway, they work so well, I've just ordered a bunch more of them. Thanks for looking Jim

I hear those words more often than naught from my wife when we go fishing. She has a variety of health issues, one of which causes her to have very little strength in her hands and arms. Because of this she can only use a push button spin cast reel, fish a lite bait, like a senko, and only fish for a few minutes before resting. Her casts are a two handed lob, and they often don't go where she wants. We spend a fair amount of time trying to get her untangled from bushes and tree limbs. With everything above being said, my wife is the best partner I could ask for, fishing and otherwise. We have so much fun doing just about everything together, and fishing is no exception. We laugh all day and enjoy every moment. I couldn't imagine fishing without her. My wife also has the best luck I have ever seen. Her errant casts have produced more 4-5 LB bass, in the oddest places, than I have caught, throwing my bait exactly where I wanted it to go. When she catches a fish it's a mad scramble to hand off the pole to me to reel it in, she doesn't have the strength to do so . Anyone who says a zebco won't handle a big fish, I beg to differ. And yes, some of the pics of me holding up fish are one's she caught. At the end of this narrative I guess I just want to say how blessed I am to have someone so special in my life, and I hope you all have, or will have the same in yours. Jim

Hi all, Last week I posted about a huge LM that my wife called a mega monster. . Well we finally got out again, and sad to say, we could not find it. However, we had a wonderful day. Fishing anywhere out to 50 ft. from shore over rocky bottoms we caught several SM. I'm guessing they were males just off from guarding the beds because they were all 1.5-2 lb's. We then shifted to muddier bottoms and shallower depths and caught LM after LM after LM. We caught several 3+ lb. with 4.0 the biggest. This is really exciting for us because this place has never been known for LM. We were catching them under cover, out in the open, pretty much anywhere we cast. My wife caught all hers on a pearl senko. Mine were all on a swim n caffeine shad. Here's a few pictures Thanks for looking Jim

Hi all, Work has been busy, but it looks like we'll be able to get back up there soon. There is a day coming up where it is supposed to be overcast with a chance of showers. Perfect day for fishing. As of now my game plan is to run up to just shy of my GPS mark, and make a couple of passes back and forth using side scan to see if I can find it around the rock pile. Then we'll stand off a bit and fish the area from top to bottom starting at the top. Top water-- Live target sun fish, then a frog, then a jitter bug If no results then mid range-- a shadow rap, then a swim bait. If still nothing then Bottom--- My largest jig, then a coffee tube, then a shaky head worm. If none of this works we'll head off and fish other spots and try again later. You know it's funny. This is X2 the biggest LM I have ever seen,( we've caught our share of 4-5 LB bass) and as much as I want to catch it. I'm not desperate to catch it, if you know what I mean. Just knowing there are fish swimming around like that in this pond, and never knowing when, or what, you might catch, just makes the whole experience and journey that much nicer. Jim

mega monster, that's what my wife calls it. All's I know is it's the biggest bass I've ever seen, by far. It has to be double digit's. We were fishing a pond that's mostly known for SM, and having a good day. We were in about 8' of water and I'd just hooked a SM, about a pound or so. As I was getting it in close a shadow came out from under the boat. For a moment I thought it was a loon, swimming under water. Then it turned and headed for the fish I'd hooked and we saw it was a LM, as I said, by far the biggest bass we'd ever seen. It came up to a ft. under the surface and started following the fish on my line. The poor smallie was going nuts trying to get away, and the LM kept following it. We were kind of dumb founded just standing there watching it happen. It really kind of looked like a bus next to a VW bug. After a minute or so the LM lost interest and went back under the boat. My wife saw it swim toward a submerged rock pile, while I came to my senses and released the smallie. We drifted a bit closer to the rock pile and saw this big bass hanging out on it. We tossed everything we could think of at it. Every so often it would come out and look at our baits but we couldn't get it to hit. Eventually we gave up and decided to come back another day. I'm glad my fish finder has GPS because this rock pile is out in the middle of nowhere and it would be hard to find. ( We've fished this pond for yrs. and never knew it was there.) So one day real soon we are going to head back up there bright and early, stop just off the rock pile, toss our biggest baits at it and see what happens. Jim

Hi All, My wife and I were out fishing a pond Friday. There were about 5 other boats besides us fishing that morning. The Maine warden service came out and started checking everyone. He came to us first and checked our Licenses , flotation devices, etc. We had seen him on North Woods Law and had a nice conversation with him. Then he went to check the other boats. Within a few minutes he was heading back to the launch, escorting one boat, with another boat in tow. From what we overheard as they went past us, one boat didn't have PFD's, and the one being toed had someone on it who sounded drunk. I don't think either of their days ended well. It got me thinking how easy it is to do everything correctly, and have a safe fun day. And how not doing so can spoil your day real fast. Jim

I turned Switchfire ( and everything else I could think of) off and on, no difference. Jim

Hi all, I was out fishing yesterday and had something strange happen with my Helix 5. I was anchored in 5 ft. of water when I noticed the digital display kept swapping back and forth from 5ft. to 20ft. The graph showed the bottom at 5ft. I also had fish ID on and it kept showing fish below where the bottom was. There were no fish under the boat. ( I could see the bottom). I was on a rocky bottom so I turned the sensitivity way down ( thinking it might be some kind of a double return). It made no difference. The water was calm, so there was no wave action on the boat. I turned the unit off and on but still got the same display. I have had this unit since last summer, and up into now it worked great. Once we started moving it cleared up, and worked as expected. When we went back to the boat launch it was showing the correct depth in shallow water. Does anyone have any thoughts on what might be happening? I'd hate to think this thing is going bad after less than a year. Thanks Jim

Thanks everyone, I'll give them a try. One day some years ago I took my dog for a walk on the beach after an Atlantic storm. Hundreds of dead squid had washed up on the beach. These baits smell worse. Jim

Hi all I picked up a package of Keitech easy shiner baits yesterday. When I went to put them in my tackle bag I noticed it said they had a strong squid scent. I opened the package up and they weren't kidding, man they smell bad!. Are bass really attracted to that kind of scent, or are these made for salt water? Thanks Jim

We have a Cabelas about an hour from us, in Scarborough ME. The way they have the fishing dept. is terrible. All the tackle seems to be by brand rather than type. One isle will have owner hooks, three isles over will be Gammy hooks. the same with worms,etc. If I want to compare creature baits, I don't want to walk thru multiple isles to do so. To me, it isn't worth the trip. I'll just order on line. Jim

Hi all, I fish several bodies of water that are milfoil free. There are other bodies of water not to far away that I have not fished because they are milfoil infested, and I would hate to think I might contribute to spreading it. As a boater/angler, Is this thought process reasonable or am I being overly cautious ? How would you deal with a situation like this? We have people at the boat ramps who check our boats/trailers for milfoil, but my understanding is, the smallest piece of this plant is enough to get it started. Thanks Jim

We fished Great East yesterday. Weather was perfect, overcast, cool, lite breeze. But the fishing was kind of slow. We fished the upper basins all morning, then moved to the lower end of the lake for the afternoon. On the way back I saw some activity on the sonar (on a hump) and fished that for a bit. By the time we left we only caught 1LM -1 pickerel-2 SM. Nothing worth bragging about. I know GE has a lot of nice fish in it, but we have yet to hit the right combo to make it pay off. On a side note-- we are coming back to the launch, in the channel between the markers, and we got stopped cold. There was a dive flag with two divers in the water, right in the middle of the channel. We couldn't go around them. I kept tapping on the side of the boat to get their attention, but they ignored us. It was 10 min. before they swam far enough away to get to the launch. Then on the way home at the small rotary intersecting RTE 4 & 109 an out of state car turned LEFT onto it. Horns honking, tires screeching, but luckily no one was hit. So far GE has been a tough nut to crack for us but we'll keep trying Jim

I'm with you, Summer fishing can be very frustrating. But like others have said, you need to stick with it. Bass always need to eat, the hard part is figuring out the when, where, and what to use. There is a stretch of shore line on a lake we fish. You can fish it all morning and catch nothing. Come back mid afternoon and catch fish. It took us a long time to figure it all out. Jim

I hear ya. Was planning to get out today. But changed my mind. I like fishing in the rain, T storms not so much. What really annoys me is when the forecast calls for 5-10 MPH winds, but when you hit the water it's more like 20 MPH. Fishing around the constantly changing weather is challenge enough, but taking a vacation day to fish what's supposed to be a nice day, only to find the weather people got it wrong again, stinks. Jim

Senko and coffee tubes. Not necessarily my favorite to fish, but by far the most productive. Jim

Another thought mite be to have him try for pickerel. They are often easier to catch and can fight well. Top water frog comes to mind. Jim

7 1/2 lb LM at Baxter lake. Not mine. My boss was on vacation last week. He came in all smiles today. He said he caught fish all week, but by far the best was a 7 1/2 LM he caught last Mon. at three in the p.m. on a spinner bait. Wish I could have caught it, but if not, having my boss in such a good mood all day isn't a bad consolation prize. Jim

A friend at work told me he heard the story of a 10lber being caught at a pond he fishes a lot. Back in the day I used to fish this place for trout. From what I know of this place, and what my friend says of the bass fishing there now,(if this is the same place) I'll bet more bass this size are still in there. Jim

Like others have said, waders, with a float tube if it's too deep for just waders. Jim

My wife and I fished Great East yesterday. The weather report was for 5-10 mph winds, but it was more like 10-20 mph all morning, so fishing in a 14ft tin boat was a challenge. We spent most of our time in the larger basin. Fished the weeds close to shore and the main channel. Caught pickerel but no bass. I lost one (pickerel I think) that I would have loved to have seen. Big top water blow up, rod bent over, line going out, then he broke me off. I made one cast just as a big wind gust came up. That's why if you happen to look at a particular tree, about 12ft up, you'll see a new hollow bodied frog wedged in a branch. plowed through white caps all the way back to the launch. So at the end of the day. We were wind burned. Didn't catch any bass. ( we have yet to unlock the secrets of LM on Great East and have a multi bass day) Lost a 7$$ brand new lure. Wrenched my back jumping up and down in the boat, swinging a paddle to try and reach said lure. Did not get to tweak my new sonar so that it shows fish as arches, rather than lines or blobs that I think are fish. Used up a vacation day to do all of the above. On the way home my wife and I were talking, and came to the conclusion. Even with all of the above. we had a lot of fun, can't wait to go again. Jim

Thanks, that's good advice Jim

hi all, Well the bait monkey bit real hard and I got the hummingbird helix 5 si unit to replace my old Lowrance x125. We went fishing twice in the last few days and I got a chance to try it out. Here's a few thoughts. The screen is small, but that's no surprise. You just have to understand the side images you will see will be a lot smaller and more compact than the screen shots in the ad's. That being said the si does what it's supposed to do. I have seen logs, rock piles etc clear enough to know what they were out 100 ft on either side of the boat. I have also seen what I think are fish ( small white streaks). It's easy to mark these spots but (at least for me) so far it's more complicated to call them back up and get to them. The regular sonar is crisp and very clear. I have seen what I am pretty sure are fish but so far I am getting more short lines than arches. I spent some time adjusting the angle on the transducer but I still don't think I've found the sweet spot yet. I'm also playing around with the chart speed. The bottom detail is great. I do have some criticisms. The screen has more glare on a sunny day than my old unit. I'm thinking of making a shade for it. It does not come with a cover. When not in use I wrap a towel around it to protect the screen. The manual is on cd. Call me old-fashioned but after spending 5 bills I don't think I should have to spend more to print out the instructions ( it's 160+ pages). All in all I'm glad I got it, and as I get more used to everything it will do, I'm sure it will help our fishing. On a side note- I've spent as much time putting around looking at the bottom as I have fishing. It can be addictive. Jim

hi all, We hit Great East on Thur. Horn pond yesterday, and thanks to some great advise from Bob64 we are starting to be more productive. We spent a lot of time fishing the basins on GE. Caught more pickerel than bass but had fun. Our time on Horn pond was mostly spent fishing points leading to deeper water. Didn't catch too many but still had a lot of fun. (how can you not have fun fishing). Here's a few pics As you can see from the middle pic even the little ones were hungry Jim.

As luck would have it I just bought this exact same unit. I installed it on Sunday, but between work and weather I have yet to try it. I told my boss to not be surprised if I played hookey the end of the week. Do you have any tips on getting the most and best use out of this unit? Thanks Jim