Walkingboss

Howdy all..... It's been forever since I've been on. Fishing's been killer this year as I've been focusing mainly on Merrymeeting Lake. Many smallies over 3 and one whopper at 6.4 lbs.! Must fish DEEEEEEEP. Also spent 8 days in Minnesota and averaged 75-100 smallies a day with the wife. Good Pike and Lake Trout too. Anyway, I'm off to Umbagog Aug.15th. Never fished it before. Known for many Smallies. Any advice??? Taking my 19' bass rig....Will I sink it? Lots of shallow water and rocks....Also rumor of Musky. I know there are Pike. Any verification on the Muskies would be nice. Will upload some smallie pics this weekend.

Well, it just goes to show you, I had my tourny on Winni a couple weeks ago, water temps low 50's, air low 40's, wind 20-25, with fair skies. Couldn't buy a smallmouth, but crushed the largemouth in 2-5' of water! They were all stuck tight to the shady side of medium sized boulders in the sun. Rocks HAD to be in the sun to hold em' and weed lines HAD to be within 10 feet or so. Not enough weight to win though. Oh well. The Silver Buddy bite is on now for sure. I'm off to jig up some pigs.

I love this site....Thanks guys. I'm off to Winni this weekend and next to develop patterns for the 28th. Just going to try and do the 'math'. Given our recent cooldown, I figure the spots where I find them this weekend will be fairly reliable for the month if the weather is somewhat stable. Breakin' out the heavy lead (3/4-1oz jigs) and maybe swimmin' some white jigs around dying lillies. Shad or not, I do know they'll hit big targets this time of year, no matter where you are. Been playing around w/shakey's on docks. Guess I could twitch a few in the deep grass (15-20'). Thanks again...

I'm originally from Indiana and have only been fishing out here for a few years. Fall has always been my favorite time to fish, but I haven't had the 'go-to' success in New England like I did in the midwest, where we have resevoirs and SHAD! I last fished the last week of Sept. and the fish hadn't yet committed to a fall pattern. The recent cool weather and rain (thank God) should ease them along toward a feeding binge. Long story shorter...If I was back home I'd hit the creek arms and points just off them looking for schools of shad getting forced to shore. No shad out here....Winni does have smelt, but should I be following them or sticking to a crawfish pattern (jigs, etc.)? Water temps should be in the mid 50's to 60. I plan on looking for milfoil and other still-green vegetation in 5+' of water, flats in 10-15' of water, mid-lake humps rising from 40+' of water, and anywhere I can find current, although it's illegal here to fish within 250 yards of any tributary this time of year because of the stupid landlocked salmon spawn. Any solid advice from kind New England folk would be appreciated.

Rainy has provided me with both my pike and smallmouth p.b.'s. 6-8 smallie and a 23+ pike. Both on the U.S. side years ago. Caught the smallie in rocks on a mister twister :-[ and the pike on a 10" suick (sp?). I think it was 1981 and I was just a pup. Big lake trout up there too. Good Luck!

Fished/partied all weekend in Maine. Caught mostly largemouth in 8-15' of water, with a few holding tight to shoreline cover and and some others shallow along reed/lilly beds in the late afternoon (windblown shore ONLY). Water was 66 degrees +/- and lightly stained (visibility @ 10-12'. Spinnerbaits along windblown shore, jigs on shoreline cover, and GYCB twintail hula grub in deeper water. Best fish were out from shore. Smallmouth, the few that I did get, were deep. 18-25' on minimal structure. Grubs again. I've got to say the smallies will be swarming like yellowjackets soon. Hope I'm there for it.

Last weekend I fished not summer, not fall, but winter patterns to barely squeak my limit at the tourny. I was vertical jigging and drop shotting in 45' of water for smallmouth. The largies were still shallow and could be seen in the weeds at Squam, but couldn't get them to bite. Tried everything with no success and then started cruising around looking at the graph and found the fish suspending just above mid-lake humps. Saturday's coldfront was a killer. The weather has stabilized this week and I suspect the fish will be starting their annual fall feeding frenzy shortly. Jerks, flukes, spinners, traps over the flats should be hot. Jigs on inside turns off point drops should get your lunkers. I'm off to Maine this weekend to fish a great lake near Sebago....Can't divulge it quite yet as bass fishermen seem to be clueless to its location and I'd like to keep it that way for now...I'll just say that it's very near to W. Poland. I hope you all haul more than water this weekend.

It will work. I've used streamer flies on dropshots and killed smallies on the beds, but then again, you could drop just about anything on a smallmouth bed and get bit. But seriously, I've used flies on dropshots through the ice and have had good results. There is something to be said about the way a fly softly quivers in the water at the slightest twitch....something plastics just can't do.

I grew up in Indiana, which has mostly stained to muddy water, with the excepion of some pits. Now I live in New Hampshire, which has crystal clear water on most of its lager fisheries. So, clear or dark... Clear. Once you get over your fear of spooking fish, clear water can offer some great advantages. I've pulled bass out of 2-3' of water only 10-15' away. Watched them turn away, turn back, get curious and bite. Also when you do spook a fish you know where they'll be returning to and then after some time you can ease up on that spot again and feel pretty good about your chances. It's great to SEE the fish and develop patterns from there. Around here it's not unusual to see bottom in 25' of water and depending on conditions you might be fishing in 50-75' of water. At that point you're as muddy as the Mississippi as far as what might be eyeing your lure. Besides, I can go to Fl. or Tx. and hook up anytime...like to see those boys come fish Winnipesaukee in Aug.

You might be surprised by what constitutes a 'joke boat'...As far as I'm concerned, such a boat doesn't exist. There was one good ole' boy in Alabama that took a tourny fishing from a canoe! Anyway, there are many ways to get started. My boat pales in comparison to most of my competition, but it's the fish that count. Notice what I'm fishing out of in the picture to the left. On a different note....I have a tourny on Squam Lake this Sunday. I've never been on Squam before. I've heard great tales of smallmouth fishing there, but largemouth are going to win this tourny, I'm pretty sure. I've heard Squam holds some good largemouth, and have one tip from a friend, but would appreciate any input you all may have regarding this. I'm assuming Squam is a very clear lake with moderate to minimal vegetation, like Winni. Back bays and silty bottoms are where I'll look for the largemouth, but on these types of lakes, the largemouth are usually only found in certain lake areas. Any clues?

As far as I know there is no age limit. If you have a boat, for example, and are over 16 and have more than 25 horses, you'd need your 'captains' license and a valid fishing license. The 'draw' tourny's are where you stand a chance of getting on someone else's boat, but many boaters already have partners, so you have to cultivate relationships. Try logging on to Bubba Bassin to learn more. That's my club, but there are many, many more throughout the state. Google NH bass clubs, or something similar, and I'm sure you'll find a club in your area.

I'm going to double up on posts.... I am almost finished with my first full tournament season. It has been a lot of fun and I've learned a boatload from the guys I'm competing against. There have been 130 teams that have competed in the trail I'm in (not 130 boats every tourny, usually @40) and my partner and I are sitting 4th with two regular events and the Tournament of Champions in late October at Winni left. Our best 8 fish bag was just under 20lbs. and good for third place at Pawtuckaway, also our best event finish. We've been in the top half of every tourny we've entered (Massabesic in April the exception....big fat 0), and have been lucky enough to be in the top 15 more often than not. I guess I'm saying this to encourage all to join a local club and fish some of the tourny's going on around here. There are usually club events that allow non-boaters to be paired with boaters as well, so not owning your own boat doesn't have to mean your out of luck. I can't speak highly enough about it. So, as my club's motto goes....Quit wishin' Go fishin'.

I'm one of those arrogant shimano/g.loomis guys, but they've NEVER let me down. However, I do own a few All-Star rods and they are very nice as well....and easier on the pocketbook. As far as lures go....I will always recommend jigs first and foremost for all occasions. Spider jigs/tubes/skirted/deerhair you name it. I usually have an Uncle Josh pork trailer attaced in a color that matches the jig (tubes excluded). Clear water stay natural in color (browns/pumkins/greens). Stained go brighter. Dark sky? Dark color. Spring? White. Next I'd say soft jerks like Sluggos and flukes. Hard jerks like the X-rap and Stike King's new King Shad are going to be hot again soon. Blade baits like the Silver Buddy and Heddon's Sonic Blade will pull boatloads of bass out of deep water haunts all year long, with Spring and Fall being the best times. Shakey head worms have been working well around docks. Spinnerbaits of course and chatterbaits, which again can be a lifesaver in early Spring and late Fall. Now for pike...Trolling a good sized Johnson's silver minnow has never let me down, but it's kinda boring. Big bucktail spinners. Mepps makes some as do many others. Really big spinnerbaits (3/4-1 oz.) with willowleaf blades burned just below the surface get their attention. Big Huskey jerks. My favorite all time pike bait is a wooden jerkbait called a Suick (sp.?). I've never seen them in New England, but I own several and even have one that's 12 1/2" long! They destroy larger pike in late fall. My advice for pike fishing no matter what you throw is to make noise. Splash your lure hard into the water near the boat now and then like you were trying to get weeds off of it. Pike are at the top of the chain and are pretty territorial. They WILL come around to see what all the commotion is about. Then it's up to you.

I fish in New Hampshire and water temps have been generally in the mid-70's. I don't know much about turnover specifics, but I'd have to think that up here a lake wouldn't begin to turn-over until temps got solidly into the mid 60's. At any rate the smallmouth have already began bunching up under baitballs (especially smelt) and hanging 3-10' above the bottom in 35-45' of water. The largemouth are jammed tight to cover as shallow as can be. I pitched a jig-n-pig on a large stump in 2' of water yesterday and pulled three 3+ lb. bass off the shoreline side. They were literally laying on top of one another. I have 3 tourny's left this year and the pigs have got to be ripe for the pickin'. I'm pretty good getting at the smallmouth, but if ya'll have any advice on northern tier fall patterns for largemouth, I'm all ears.

I think I'd have been arrested that day after I chucked a 1/2 oz. jig at the idiot's head. > Or perhaps I would've found his dock and did a little snorkeling that night, if you know what I mean His waterline might be a little lower the next day. :