Anyone Have Any Luck In Southern Nh Yet? (4/6/12)

[luvfishing]

Got to try out my new Berkley shock rod, and sonora reel today. Hit Hermit lake for about 6 hrs. Not the best day but managed 5 bass. Nothing over 2.5 lbs

[NEjitterbugger]

Fun day today in greenfield, hitting zephyr and sunset...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nashua Nev]

This one did not want to be caught.   Jumped 5 times , completly out of the water. Hit a top water weedless mouse the moment it hit the water, didnt get a hook set. hit it again, no hook set, 3rd time, no hookset.   thru a black weedless rage worm weightless to the same spot and let it sit.  finally it took off.  and started jumping.

 

 

[DevilDoc]

Nice one!

[DevilDoc]

Nice one!

[NEjitterbugger]

New PB 6lbs 5oz!!! And more HAWGS!!! Here are the biggest four!!!

 

 

 

4lbs 14 oz

 

 

 

4lbs 12oz

 

 

 

2lbs 9oz

 

 

 

[Nashua Nev]

Now that's what i call a nice day of fishing.

[Shane J]

Whew! Had my biggest 5 fish weight of the year in NH today. 21 lbs for 5 in a little over 2 hours. The Blue Craw Rage Craw on a Tx rig with a pegged 1/4oz Tungsten was, and has been the ticket for the fish I'm finding in 9-12 fow. The fronts don't even matter any more. You just have to be patient, work slow, and be very persistent, sometimes pitching to the same thing 3 or 4 times to get the bite, but they're there. Watching. Waiting... For a Rage Craw.

 

Kicker!

[DevilDoc]

Without a doubt my PB but I don't have a scale to give numbers. I named her One Eye Willy as she had a cataract in one eye. very happy as I had an hour to kill before leaving on vacation with the wife. One week of no fishing

[Nashua Nev]

Some Nice fish guys.   keep on em...some really nice ones. 

 

I found a new PB this morning  6lb 7 oz  24 3/4 inch in the Nashua river.  Got this one about 10 minutes after 7 just off the launch area.  There is a tourney going in the river right now.  I got this just after they all took off.

 

 

 

 

[NEjitterbugger]

PB week!!!

[bobh64]

Did Great East today, I only concentrated catching smallies the biggest was 3.77lbs. Great East is great that you can key in for each species habitat. I was mostly on the NH side today. 

[Shane J]

Nice one, Nev! Congrats on upping your PB again! Good week, huh, guys?

[NEjitterbugger]

2lbs 2 oz and 2lbs 1 oz river smallie...

 

 

 

 

[Beverly Bassman]

To all the guys having success with the Rage Tail Craw:

I am happy for you guys that you are having luck with this bait. I am not. I have fished it extensively on three different bodies of water. Not so much as a single nibble (meanwhile I have caught some fish on senkos, drop shot and a finesse worm). I have used the full size craw, texas rigged on a 2/0 gammakatsu EWG worm hook with a 1/4 oz tungsten weight. I am throwing it in 6 to 15 foot depths, in rocky areas with relatively clean bottoms, and in a few weedy situations. I am working it slowly and somewhat erratically on the bottom. No luck at all. I did try a few different colors. It's trying my patience.

Any suggestion?

[bobh64]

When I did Great East yesterday I was catching them on a senko black with blue flecks wacky rigged 3/0 weedless wacky hook , pumpkinseed tubes 4/0 hook, and texas rigged 6 inch pumpkinseed tournament worm from basspro 6/0 hook all weightless, a lot of my hits were within 3-4 feet of the surface over 8-12 feet of very clear water with rocks or grass for the bottom most of the time I could see the smallies charging. I will be doing Alton Bay  this coming Thursday and will be using pumkinseed tubes and missle baits to get the smallmouth's there.

[NEjitterbugger]

Check it out, hope you guys wanna participate...

 

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/122653-whos-wants-in/

[Nashua Nev]

I dont know what to tell you Bassman,

 

I love em, I fish them weightless a lot, as well as keel weighted.  redish,blueish,greenish, as well a my favorite pearl white. I do fish other things, Popr (3 sizes) , spook (usually with noisemakers inside), spinners (colorado blades),  buzzbaits , jitterbugs (black , usually only at night) ,flatfish (black , silver, white , orange , usually only the large ones)

 

Throw them weightless / weedless onto the heavy weeds, Throw them right in the middle andThe craw and babycraw is sit right on top of weeds,  drag them slowly across, when you get to the edge of the weeds just let them free fall.  Rage lobster is larger and heavier , usually breaks thru the weeds and sinks. a different effect so i usually go smaller.  I have great luck with them weightless.  as well as on the bottom.

 

senda PM to Shane J , ask him. The man knows his stuff and has helped me a lot.   The ragetail site has lots of good rigging too.

 

As well as assorted other rubber stuff,  Rage Hawg, Space monkey, Lizard , chunk ,  etc..

 

cannot tell you why they are not working for you.

[Beverly Bassman]

Nev,

Thank you for the note. What you are suggesting is not at all how I have been fishing craws. Weightless, on top of vegetation, I mean. In that situation, I normally throw a senko, or sometimes a weightless fluke. I have been using the craw with 1/4 ounce weight, on the bottom, mid depth (6 to 12 ft), rocky areas, as a crayfish imitator. It is not getting bit for me in that scenario.

I am not looking for a bait to drag over the tops of weeds to fall down in the openings. I have many options for that, if the fish are there. I am finding that fish are a bit deeper and I need to get down to them and trigger bites. I find that a wacky rigged senko or a drop shot will sometimes work in the scenario I mentioned. But the drop shot seems to attract smaller fish and the whacky senko bite has been inconsistent (same for jig/grub). I have had no luck with lizards, so I thought I woud try the craw. So far, it has not worked. Still looking for a good way to catch the deeper fish.

[Shane J]

Beverly, While there are a million different ways to fish a Rage Craw, and catch fish, here's the one thing you need to do with it right now. Rig a Rage Craw (I'd start with a Falcon Craw, Watermelon Red, or Green Pumpkin Purple Gold, depending on cloud cover and water clarity) on a 5/0 heavy wire hook, peg a 3/8oz tungsten weight to it, and go fish your off shore ledges, channels, rock piles, and brush (deeper structure). When you get to your spot, come in quiet, and lay a nice silent pitch in there. Let it fall on a TIGHT line until it reaches the bottom. From there, you will have to feel it out, and decide if they want a slow drag, a hop, yo yoing, or whatever. They will eat it if the fish are there.  

 

[NEjitterbugger]

My shipment of rage craws and what not is on the way, so I had to throw pit bosses today in the Nashua. Got a nice 3pounder...

 

[Nashua Nev]

Nice job Jitterbug,   way to go Shane. 

[Beverly Bassman]

Shane:

Thank you for the input on Rage Craws.   I have been using a smaller hook.  The 5/0  hooks that I own look like they would not be usable with a rage craw.  They seem too long, almost like the hook would be longer than the body of the craw.  But I will give it a try.  I have been using a 1/4 oz. weight, rather than 3/8, so I will try upsizing. 

 

But otherwise, I am doing what you are saying.  It isn't working.  I will fish this way for 30 minutes or so with no activity, when I have marked some fish with the Humminbird.  I will switch over to a drop shot with a gulp minnow, maybe 12 inches above the weight, or a wacky rigged senko and right away catch a couple of smaller fish.  So I know they are down there, but they are not biting the rage craw.  I have been hoping to attract the larger fish with this bait.  Sick of catching bass less than a pound.  Anyway, no luck at all with the Rage Craw.  Maybe my retrieve approaches are just not right.  I have tried fishing this lure over some rocks in shallow water, so I can see how the lure moves and try to make it look realistic.

 

People on this site will say to forget about senkos or drop shot, because they are "idiot" techniques, and you don't learn how to catch fish with the "real" presentation until you work with them. But every time I try this I get skunked.  When I go back to senkos or drop shot, at least I catch something.  But no size.

 

This happened two years ago, when I made a concerted effort to work with the Rage Smokin Rooster on a keel weighted swimbait hook.  I caught fish on my first two casts with the lure.  Then I have gone two years without a single hit on the the bait.  I don't know why, but I just don't get bit on any of the Rage product line.

 

I will keep trying.  Maybe I am missing something.  Anyway, thank you for the help.  You are a fantastic fisherman, and you are generous with your advice.  We all owe you a debt for the help you offer to us.

 

 

[Shane J]

Thanks for the kind words, Beverly, and I really wanna see you turn this around. I think if you keep fishing 'em, you'll get bit here real soon. Also, if the slower horizontal fall of the Senko is getting you fish, try the Craw on a keel-weighted hook, and work in the same areas. Let me know if I can help with anything else.

 

Ps- the 5/0 is perfect for the Craw. I use the Moaners with the screw lock, so I go a touch bigger with the 5, but a regular 4/0 without a screw lock is also fine.

[bobh64]

Shane:

Thank you for the input on Rage Craws.   I have been using a smaller hook.  The 5/0  hooks that I own look like they would not be usable with a rage craw.  They seem too long, almost like the hook would be longer than the body of the craw.  But I will give it a try.  I have been using a 1/4 oz. weight, rather than 3/8, so I will try upsizing. 

 

But otherwise, I am doing what you are saying.  It isn't working.  I will fish this way for 30 minutes or so with no activity, when I have marked some fish with the Humminbird.  I will switch over to a drop shot with a gulp minnow, maybe 12 inches above the weight, or a wacky rigged senko and right away catch a couple of smaller fish.  So I know they are down there, but they are not biting the rage craw.  I have been hoping to attract the larger fish with this bait.  Sick of catching bass less than a pound.  Anyway, no luck at all with the Rage Craw.  Maybe my retrieve approaches are just not right.  I have tried fishing this lure over some rocks in shallow water, so I can see how the lure moves and try to make it look realistic.

 

People on this site will say to forget about senkos or drop shot, because they are "idiot" techniques, and you don't learn how to catch fish with the "real" presentation until you work with them. But every time I try this I get skunked.  When I go back to senkos or drop shot, at least I catch something.  But no size.

 

This happened two years ago, when I made a concerted effort to work with the Rage Smokin Rooster on a keel weighted swimbait hook.  I caught fish on my first two casts with the lure.  Then I have gone two years without a single hit on the the bait.  I don't know why, but I just don't get bit on any of the Rage product line.

 

I will keep trying.  Maybe I am missing something.  Anyway, thank you for the help.  You are a fantastic fisherman, and you are generous with your advice.  We all owe you a debt for the help you offer to us.

 

                                                                           ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The big boy I got this year on my gallery pics was caught with the wacky rig. I like letting the rig reach the desired depth and with the tip of my rod down i just twitch it side ways this way I always feel what ever is nipping no matter how faint of a bite then I would slow it and wait for the pull. also once I know I have fish in the area and understand the terrain I turn off my fish finder. Everyone finds what will work just give it patience and you've won half the battle, Even I have learned different techniques on this forum.