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It's been a cool spring in New England and, as every season for the past 25 years, I had been anxiously awaiting the opening of Quabbin Reservoir in central Massachusetts. Quabbin is a highly regulated body of water because it's Boston's water supply, but it's also one of the best smallmouth fisheries in New England. Anyway, my first outing was April 23 and I can report that the weather was beautiful! Seasonally cool, sunshine and light breezes. If you want details on how the big smallies were caught there on this day, you'll have to ask someone else. I was humbled. Undeterred, I headed out a few days later with Bassmaster Brad, a very savvy fisherman. Yesterday's rain had stopped and it was supposed to become partly sunny. We were ready to get 'em. Smallies. Big ones. So what's this? It's a lake trout. These salmonids take up residence in the depths in the summertime but mix in with the smallmouth until the surface temp reaches the low 50ºs. (Today's temps ranged from 46º to 51º.) Another one? This laker sucked my blade bait offering off the bottom. My blade was nickel; Brad was fishing gold. Nothing wanted the variety of hair jigs or suspending jerkbaits that they were offered. Nor soft plastics for that matter. Hmmph. Mid afternoon the wind was up but we kept covering water hoping to bump into an active pod of smallmouth. Brad put out a drift sock and we made repeated passes over an area that's been productive in the past. Hey! Finally. If you've noticed that the blade bait hanging from the upper lip of this smallie is missing parts, you're right. Go to the Tackle Making Forum for information on how to make this simple, inexpensive bait. Catch you next week with another true tale from Quabbin. Will Wetline

Don't tell my creditors please, but this season I'll be fishing Seaguar Tatsu. I first learned about this superior stuff from RichZ's September 7, 2009 Bass Blog in which he said, "Seaguar just announced the release in the USA of Tatsu. I don't know what it will cost. But from an end results/fish in the boat standpoint, it doesn't matter." High praise indeed from a well respected bassmaster. The product description on ***.com reads as follows: "Like the flexible, lithe, and armored scales of a dragon (tatsu means dragon in Japanese), Seaguar Tatsu Fluorocarbon has a tough, but soft exterior, which hides incomparable inner strength." This really fired my imagination. Would I like to battle bruiser smallies with a dragon protecting my presentation? Of course. Would I care to spend $36.99 for 200 yards of reptilian ruggedness? Uh, no. How about on sale for $26.39? That I could rationalize - barely. With guilt I clicked on add to cart for a spool of 6 lb. And, hand to forehead, a spool of 8. Well hey, let's go fishing. The day started cool and gray with Quabbin's surface mostly unruffled. I had the pleasure of fishing with Bassmaster Brad again who is both a gentleman and a very savvy smallie guy. We spent the morning fishing Brad's spots which you can access from either Gate 43 or Gate 31. Brad, using a Silver Buddy was having a multi-species morning featuring smallies, lakers and Yup. That is a landlocked salmon. I too had been throwing a blade bait but neither the fish nor I were getting good vibrations. Hmph. Can't say that Brad was front ending me (not that he would under any circumstances) because we were fishing flats offshore mainly, working 10' - 20' depths. I decided to try one of the baits I pour, paint and dress. I liked the looks of this jig head from the 3/16 oz. cavity of Do-It's Tapered Tube jig mold. To fish legally in Massachusetts I used the 281 alloy from rotometals.com which is 58% bismuth and 42% tin and weighs about 25% less than lead. It's dressed with bucktail and a few strands of pearl Krystal Flash. And I'll tell ya, with that Z-Man Elaztech Split Tail Trailer, it sure looked sexy undulating through the water. Here's a bass that thought so too: This fish came unexpectedly. I had switched my rod to my left hand so I could grab the net and hand it to Brad. While doing this, the rod came to life. So now I know a smallmouth will pick up a jig dragging bottom. Why not try the 1/8 oz. (alloy = 3/32 oz.) ball jig with eyes. (I like the eyes - I don't believe the fish care one way or the other.) Pleased to meet you! There are two grizzly hackles running down the top of this jig. Feathers can be fragile but these stood up to five smallies chewing on them and will fish another day. Brad tied on a black jig with a few strands of Wapsi Flashabou Accent. And so it went for a couple of hours mid - late morning. Unfortunately I was not able to reciprocate with fish on my spots. Maybe next week when the water is a few degrees warmer. Today we fished 47º - 51º . . . slowly. Considering the lack of wind and not much sun, I was well satisfied with the day's net results. Thank you, Bassmaster Brad, for your excellent company and fine net work.