1984isNOW

Yeah I can see a huge fight with a fish over a hundred pounds and then losing it being physically,mentally, and emotionally devastating. @bowhunter63 That bites bro, one time I let a fish swim a bit because I was using light gear... so it swam around a dock pole and broke me off - now I try to get them in unless its open water. Thanks for sharing y'all!

@A-Jay I respect that you want to respect the OP, but that was 2 years ago as this was recently resurrected, and we were still talking about the specific topic posted - chatterbait rods. Thanks for your thoughts, I haven't had a chance to actually use it for a chatterbait, but I'll let you know how it feels. I went shorter for 2 reasons - more accurate casting around cover, and that was the rod on sale haha. @AlabamaSpothunter Thanks for sharing both your negative and positive experience, I'll take an ugly functional rod over a pretty dull rod any day. If I didn't just buy what is supposed to be a chatterbait rod and could buy a rod over 100 bucks I would definitely give that one a go - you got me amped with your description. Given that the rod I got is moderate and not moderate-fast I'm thinking I'm going to use braid. @AlabamaSpothunter What line were you using on that set up?

Thanks for the tips and warm welcomes y'all. I will say, I have never heard the term bassachusetts in my life. I do know that the further west you go the better the fishing is in this state. Wachusett is over an hour away and Quabbin over 2 hours, only shore fishing at Wachusett and if you don't know where to go its just a waste of time. Quabbin is gigantic and has the same issue, even if you rent a boat. And its not that there are ZERO big fish here, but percentage wise the likelihood of catching a biggun is significantly lower here than most parts of the country, but without a significant population of smallies to make up for it. SMallies are in very specific waters around here. And living in the north shore there is practically nothing for me here. Merrimack has a good reputation, but it killed a couple of kids and a mom last month and Iv'e heard that kayakers paddle at their own risk there because it is such a dangerous river to traverse. What I've literally heard is kayakers don't kayak there haha. If anybody knows any spots in North East MA I'd sure appreciate it, thanks y'all.

@A-Jay Yeah man, good stuff. So what do you think about the specs and techniques of the rod I mentioned? Really curious what you think about the spread of techniques it says.

@A-Jay Can we be friends? Solid catches in those videos man, I'm not a jealous person - but you got me turning green like the hulk haha. With your set up for chatterbaits, you still using a moderate rod with 15# fluoro? I just bought a FItzgerald, here's their description: VS68MH 6'8" MH Casting 8+TIP 8-15 1/4 - 3/4 MOD 14" Jerkbaits, Topwater, Finesse Cranking, Chatterbait I got it trusting its versatility for the 4 techniques listed, Anybody have any thoughts on that rod and the listed uses? If not that rod specifically, thoughts on its power and action for those techniques... Thanks yall

I freed a whopper plopper from a snag once and caught a treble a good ways deep into my palm. I had stopped to fish on the clock in between locations. I was only hoping to throw out for 5-10 minutes, but it turned into a bit of an ordeal. I realized then how unprepared I was and how grateful I was that I reacted quick enough to block my face and eyes. I ended up pouring a bunch of hand sanitizer on it and using an old relatively dull pocket knife to cut my flesh where the barb was so that I could pull it out. I now carry cutters with me to cut the hook if I have to push it through and cut it at the barb. As for unhooking a trebeled fish, if I can't lip'em safely I'll lay him on his side in the yak and always use pliers, forceps, or the long metal grabber lookin one.

Or they were all sunfish just yanking your line! I'd rather convince myself of that than the opposite, if you didn't see it you can convince yourself to believe anything - probably just stuck on a stick. Much love

Yeah that's a gut wrenching pic. My cousin keeps bass, I mean I get it because we grew up with very little and that's dinner - but he even keeps the ones worth catching - 5.5 pound smallie should be released for some kid to catch one day, just put another trout or white bass on your stringer bro. You wanna cull some little guys and make room for the big fish to get bigger, be my guest, but killing respectable fish - I can't respect that. @WRBIt almost feels like I'm talking to a legend with how many years I've been reading your posts. Thanks for the history lesson here, lotta respect for you my man. Much love

That's awesome bro! Hopefully the good little fish listen and go get mommy sometimes haha. @gimruis I wasn't directing my comment at anyone, just rolling off of your comment that it was odd. I just think there are some natural unforced common divides we see occur as children develop and turn into adults. Males and females tend to have many things in common, and some lines where men and women will have stronger inclinations towards things than the other group. I think in general angling is a sport that is more attractive to men than women, nothing wrong with that and nothing against anybody because of their sex on either side. But I also think it doesn't typically matter in fishing anyway, aside from the example you gave and perhaps some deep sea fishing. and even then, I was just out on a charter boat owned and operated by a woman. I just don't think we ought to be making a note of who has what genitals because it doesn't make a difference here is all. As many have said, they know plenty of female anglers, and I'm sure respect them as anglers and its not like "yeah, she's good for a girl." Much love

Thanks, I came up with it all by myself! I'm sure you're familiar with having to tell a fish what to do. I've heard my wife have to get firm and make a bass her fish! Sometimes its finesse and gentle light line and soft talk, other times you gotta pull out the big rod and get rough, 65 pound braid and a punch rig - You Can't Hide From Me Fish! Much love

The braid will make the MEGA difference, either learn the FG knot or crazy alberto knot. Or both depending on how into your gear and saving time you are. @Conclusion That looks like you might have stretched the line out too much while trolling, which leads to line that wants to warp and bend and tangle because it gets weak and kinks. Watch your lure weight, line strength, trolling speed, and drag when you're trolling. Much love

Not sure if its odd per se, there is absolutely no separation or advantage to either sex in fishing (the strongest fastest biggest prettiest highest jumping smallest farthest.... it doesn't make a difference here), the only difference is a natural occurrence due to no outside forces other than a trend in interest. @waymont honestly I have no idea who on here is a female or male unless there avatar is a personal pic, but really I don't care what genitals you have if you have something to teach me about fishing I want to learn from you. If we could only look up to or learn from the same sex as us then I would be much dumber and less successful in life - because about 85% of my teachers from kindergarten through 6 years of college were women. I respect and appreciate their input, and if they had a thingy it wouldn't have made a difference to me. I have been able to discern through the chats on the forum there actually are a number of active women here, but again - I don't think it makes a difference who tells me to set up a rig this way or that way or use this gear or that so long as I feel I can trust their experience and input. Much love

Yeah, that was a hard read my man. How do you rig up your shiners? I don't fish them often, but I feel like I might need to try more just to start the healing process and pull in some fish. @Jaderose Yeah that's a tough one too. I don't frog much because the hook up ratio is lacking, but it always makes the heart thump when a fatty jumps to attack. Much love

@ol'cricketyI can't add anything because I think the other answers make it seem worth trying at least once, but do you know any good spots up in Maine between Oxford and Raymond or around there worth hitting up? Much love

Great stuff y'all, thanks for sharing. My heart is breaking for some of you too, and then mine own is breaking again when people say things like yeah I've caught a few DD bass or a 20 pound bass and I'm like - that is literally an impossibility out here. Once my girls are a little bit older I'm going to have to get a guide somewhere in the country to hook me up with a DD, otherwise it might never happen again. Much love

That my friend, is a broken heart if I've ever seen one. If you're still talking about it 25 years later she's either a lost PB or a high school sweetheart haha Much love

I hooked into a good size pickerel the other day and a monster snapping turtle came out and tried to chomp at it wile I was bringin it in, I never wanna dangle my toes in the pond again. Was freakin crazy! I'm sure any ecosystem out of balance will have a negative impact on a particular or a few species that inhabit the area. I feel like turtles are all the things above, good, bad, ugly, beautiful - show us where bass might be and where bass might not be. But they are a huge pain with they bite your bait. Much love

Glad to have ya

Everybody; share your heartbreak story of the one that got away, lets learn from each other's mistakes. I casted a small red crankbait out behind my kayak on a very clear water (30ft+) good size lake in Maine, let a bunch of line out, and started paddling. It was on a spinning reel and I got snagged on something while I was paddling - at top speed to catch up to me then girlfriend now wife - and so I had to yell to her to stop cuz I got stuck. I think it was on a dock rope or an old buoy line or something, but as I'm pulling nothing is happening at all, it won't budge and I'm still drifting forward coming to a stop. Then all of a sudden my reel starts screaming at me and my line goes darting away from me almost as fast as I was kayaking. Immediately my heart starts pounding, and as I'm reeling it in from about 40 yards, because I let line out for the cast to troll, I see it jump out of the water. She was far, but I could see the girth well enough to know she was a fatty. Now my heart isn't pounding anymore, because it's in my stomach, and I am reeling as fast as I could and yelling for my girlfriend to come back and see this thing because I'm pulling in a monster. She comes up about 10 feet away from me and I feel the fish starting to head in between us. I can tell by the way that the line is moving that it is going to jump again and only be a few feet in front of her kayak, so I think it would be really cool to let her see it jump right in front of her eyes. As the fish leaps towards the clouds my heart absolutely stops - has to be double digits, an absolutely majestic beauty - the fish flips me the bird ,spits water in my eye, and my line goes limp, and then my crankbait ends up floating gently all by its lonesome on the water. I once heard an old timer in NH who ran a tackle shop out of his house say it took him almost 60 years to catch a fish over 8 pounds, and when I lost that fish that came to mind and I thought - I don't think I have another 60 years in me to get a second chance at the fish of a lifetime. Completely heartbreaking, it still hurts like 5 years later, and it genuinely causes me to struggle with the thought of even bothering to continue fishing or not. Around here (MA) a 3 pound fish makes your day, a 4 pound fish gets you worked up for weeks, and a 5+ pound fish will be your PB for a long time (I’ve only caught 4 fish over 5 pounds in 20 years) - that’s the icing on this heartbreak cake. It can be a battle for me to do this thing I love now, because I know my potential for worthwhile fish is so low. But most of the time, if I have time, I’ll still try to get out there and appreciate what God gives me, from tiny feisty sunfish to big ol’ logs I pull in - I’m just trying to be more grateful, and I'll never let another fish jump again! That was for you @ol'crickety Much love

@padlin Yeah fishing the Berkshires ain't too bad from what I hear, NY got some good spots worth a trip. I'll post the story in the appropriate forum and tag you. Thanks for the welcome ya'll - hopefully something good comes from all this Much love

What up y'all - I live in MA been fishing for 25 years and can't wait until my 2.5 year old daughter is old enough to handle waiting for a fish to bite so I can get a combo in her hands - I already bought it for her haha. This is the worst part of the country to fish and it breaks my heart that I let my once in a lifetime fish get away in Maine. I guess I'll keep trying, although I often feel like why bother because of that. Much love yall, peace

Hey all, I've been on this forum for years - just never set up an account. I'm new to the North Shore area in MA - grew up in South Shore. Anybody know any good spots with either numbers or size North of Boston, or even into southern NH? Thanks