Eastern Ma & New England Area Fishing Reports

[DogBone_384]

On 11/27/2019 at 4:04 AM, Don51 said:

I guess you like Hedges! lol That's a lot of driving back and forth for you isn't it?

Yes, Hedges is my SMB go-to, especially when cold.  I stick to small waters when the temps get into the 50s.  If I ever go for an unplanned swim, I want to be close to shore.

 

As far as the drive, yes, it's a hike from my house, but luckily my Toyota Tundra gets great gas mileage....

[Dunks N Dinks]

Anyone care to share their end of season analysis? and perhaps what your strengths/weaknesses were?

I went through my 2019 freshwater log last night and came away with these stats which you might find interesting/helpful...

-> Biggest smallie (5.1 caught on ned rig in early May), biggest larry (5.2 on drop-shot in late May), 2nd biggest smallie (4.7 caught on tube in early October), 2nd biggest largemouth (5.1 on swimbait in early September) - unsurprisingly, this suggests the spawn and fall feeding windows are the most likely periods to catch better than average fish. 

-> Most keepers in a day (27 largemouth, 20 of which came on Megabass Jerkbait in late March) - this day caught me off guard for sure at the time, and now with the benefit of hindsight, suggests to me that some early spring outings (even within days of ice-out) can be magical if the right conditions are present (warming trend, sunlight, shallow and schooled up fish) 

-> Bait breakdown for >4lb bass (24) - roughly 30% on a jerkbait, 20% swimbait, 20% ned rig, 10% drop-shot, 10% topwater, 5% chatterbait 5% flipping plastic - what's interesting to me is what baits are absent (no jig fish, senko-style, spinnerbait or crankbait), not sure if that's reflective of the conditions or my lack of skill with those techniques haha   

 

-> Baits breakdown for all keepers (top 7 by #s) - 1) jerkbait 2) swimbait 3) senko 4) ned rig 5) drop-shot 6) chatterbait 7) topwater - once again, jigs, t-rig plastics, spinnerbaits and crank baits didnt make the list, which is surprising to me given how often i throw them. I guess one takeaway could be that at least I was able to set those baits down fast enough to recognize the fish wanted something else.   

-> Seasonal Strengths/Weaknesses - Based on number of keepers and limits in tourneys, pre-spawn and spawn seems to be a strength of mine, while the post-spawn and late-fall period seems like an area to focus and improve in.

 

-> Depth Observations - 82% of my keepers in 2019 were caught in 8ft of water or less, which tells me that I need to work a bit more on my offshore game...at least find more confidence in mapping and then giving offshore deep spots time to develop. This was definitely a focus of mine early this year (with some marginal success catching pre-spawn smallies ) but i kidna got away from this as the year progressed.

 

-> Bait breakdown: best bait colors by season - Pre-spawn (green pumpkin, red, orange), Spawn (gp, brown), Summer (gp, yellow, black, purple), Fall (silver, gp). While certainly biased by my preference for green/brown shades, my guess-timation here is that perch (green,orange) and craw (brown,red) might play a larger role in forage early in the year, with craw (brown) and bluegills (green, yellow, purple?) playing a larger role in the summer before alewives/minnows (silver, black) come into fashion in the colder fall months...just a thought.    

-> Off-season goals: simplification. I want to pare back my tackle (color and technique-wise) to what are proven baits and then only selectively throw new baits/techniques in situations ive struggled in. I think this means I can pretty much give up on expanding my spinnerbait and crank-baits boxes until I can find scenarios where they can outperform a chattterbait (which i think has filled that vibration/flash role for me). Technique-wise, I think I definitely lean more towards trying to force a power-fishing bite to a fault , which means a weakness might be slowing down (hence my impatience and inability to get bit on jigs this year). Elsewhere, I definitely want to get more confidence fishing deeper...which likely means more time with a spinning rod and finesse gear in hand.   


 

Edited December 6, 2019 by Dunks N Dinks
added bait color breakdown

[Mr. Aquarium]

I didn’t bass fish much this year. I caught 4 new species broke 7 PBs. 
biggest largemouth 5.10z biggest smallie 3 lbs. 

I caught the 2nd biggest striper. Biggest boat striper @ 26 lbs. we did well with big stripers this year. Lot of 20lb class fish. 
 

I got my first white sucker, first Spanish Mackerel, first palimino trout, first white cat.  Got a nice fat albie. Few nice tog, couple nice steelhead, nice big rainbow, couple king salmon. A big shad. 

[DogBone_384]

This was my first year using the ANGLR app and bullseye.  It tracks data pretty well.  I fished 63 trips, was skunked 17 times, caught 206 fish in 9 species.  The tally came out to 89 SMB (biggest @ 3_9), 58 LMB (biggest just over 5 & a new PB), 28 picks, 15 yellow perch (biggest 1_4), 12 white perch, 1 Rainbow, 1 rock bass (my 1st), 1 pumpkinseed, and 1 bluegill.

 

My biggest fish this year was a Larry just tipping five pounds at Ponkapog on a creature bait.  I had multiple yellow perch over 1 pound, with the biggest at 1_4.  Overall my average bass was between 1 1/2 and 2 pounds, which is not bad.  I think it goes with other members' reports of this year that numbers were good but size was down.

 

I did much better this fall with treble hook lures than the past few years. 

 

My 2020 goals are to fish jigs and treble hook lures more, improve my patience (ha ha ha), break my PBs, and catch fish in open water (in MA) every month of the year.  Oh yeah, NOT BUY ANYMORE RODS & REELS!

 

Great South, Hinckleys, Sheep, and the Quabbin are waters I didn't do as well as years past, so those are priority targets for next year too.

 

The year's not over yet if I can help it.  Perhaps one more trip to Plymouth or Cape Cod for my December fish.

 

[MassYak85]

This is was a year to forget for me mostly. A dissapointing spring that didn't yield any big spawning females was followed by my worst summer in memory. No fish over 4lbs until late in the summer where I basically went back to basics and fished a stick worm for a while. Then no more big fish as the summer came to a close in September. Fall was good, I got more comfortable fishing late fall patterns, gained confidence in jerkbaits and tied my PB of 5.4 on a 9 inch slammer. 

 

Next year I want to go back to worms and jigs more, and focus on learning deeper structure fishing better. 

[Mr. Aquarium]

 

Incredible day on the water. Went to Nh on a pollack trip. Went out with Eastmans. 5 foot seas. 30 degree air temp. Rough and cold!   3 new species. 5 personal best. Smoked the polack. 13 pollack 10-20lb fish. Bunch of redfish. Few small haddock. A cusk and the biggest scalpun I’ve ever seen!!! 
hooked into 3 15lb pollack at the same time on the rig. Last time I use 3 hooks jigging for polack! 

[DogBone_384]

Awesome Mike!  

 

You really are Mr. Aquarium!

[MassYak85]

I got the ice sled ready today, feeling good about this winter season. I always debate whether to keep the rod I use for jerkbaits ready to go juuuuuust in case I get that itch and want to find some flowing water but I think I'll be chasing hard water well into March most weekends. 

[DogBone_384]

10 hours ago, MassYak85 said:

I got the ice sled ready today,

Mine is behind my shed.  My shelter, tip-ups and rods are in the basement, ready to go (kayaks, too, are hung on the shed and also ready to go at a moment's notice if we get a 'warm' day in Plymouth/Cape Cod).

 

I went once by myself last season and was bored to death.  

 

How about getting a group together and do a Saturday or Sunday on the ice (with appropriate food & beverages...)?

 

I'm just south of Boston and am more than willing to travel.

[MassYak85]

I still haven't pulled the trigger on a shelter yet. I had zip, zero, for jigging equipment so I just ordered my first decent ice combo and some tungsten jigs. Pales to what I spend on open water but I also got some stuff to upgrade some bait coolers, a bag for tilts, and a chair so it wasn't a cheap endeavor overall. But I feel pretty prepared now, only things left would be a power auger and the shelter but I'm gonna wait until next season at least to look into that, if I see some deals in the spring I might be tempted. Wouldn't mind getting together if schedules work out. 

 

Speaking of ice...I'm in central MA and we scouted some local places, let's just say I would have been out today if I had bait. Warm rain the next couple days will ruin things for sure but I don't see that as a bad thing. The places that looked promising were all white ice through and through, they had enough before the storm to hold the snow and the frozen snow is mostly what there was. The places that were a little behind and the storm "reset" had nice black ice. Soon though. I think I'll be out around christmas if the weather stays cold after Tuesday. Next weekend I'm staying up North in VT and will try and find some places to test out the new jigging rod at least. 

[DogBone_384]

On 12/8/2019 at 4:04 PM, MassYak85 said:

I still haven't pulled the trigger on a shelter yet.

The wife and I were in Kittery one year and they were clearing out ice fishing department at 50% off.  I couldn't pass it up.  I put it up in my garage to check it out, repacked it, and there it sits in my basement. 

 

I bought a Nils manual auger at Kittery too.  It's awesome, cutting 6" ice requires almost no effort.  I couldn't justify the price of a power auger, never having ice fished.  

 

I've only been ice fishing once, for less than two hours just to do it, at Jacobs pond.  Boring as heck when ice fishing alone....

 

I'm lucky being 45 minutes from the Bourne Bridge - Plymouth & Cape Cod stay open most of the year, as do SMB.  You're right, this week's rain & warmth is good.  

 

When everything solidifies, I'd be up for a day on the ice with other members.  I have a pretty open work schedule.

 

[MassYak85]

18 hours ago, DogBone_384 said:

Boring as heck when ice fishing alone...

Yea I went once by myself last year... When the bite is off its mind numbing boredom. Luckily that was my best day of the year so I was constantly chasing flags. Sketchiest ice I've been on though, I was 50ft from open water and was on 5 inches of rapidly deteriorating white ice. Temps got into the upper 40s with sun that day. Wouldn't have done it if I wasn't extremely familiar with the pond. 

[Mr. Aquarium]

Anyone getting out this weekend??

[Brian Jackson]

Haven’t been able to get out to check on my local bodies of water lately. Everything starting to freeze over or are there still some late winter holes open enough to get a yak in. And I don’t mind breaking a little thin ice to get in. 

[Mr. Aquarium]

I did a shore trip today. Skunked not surprised. Oh well. 

[MassYak85]

19 hours ago, Brian Jackson said:

Haven’t been able to get out to check on my local bodies of water lately. Everything starting to freeze over or are there still some late winter holes open enough to get a yak in. And I don’t mind breaking a little thin ice to get in. 

Last year I launched my kayak in the Assabett River in February on a fairly warm (maybe 35 degrees) day. Flowing water this time of year is your best bet. Charles might even be open still idk. 

[Brian Jackson]

On 12/19/2019 at 1:35 PM, MassYak85 said:

Last year I launched my kayak in the Assabett River in February on a fairly warm (maybe 35 degrees) day. Flowing water this time of year is your best bet. Charles might even be open still idk. 

Where at in the Assabett? Are any areas better than others. 

[Fishing Rhino]

On 12/18/2019 at 5:34 PM, Brian Jackson said:

Haven’t been able to get out to check on my local bodies of water lately. Everything starting to freeze over or are there still some late winter holes open enough to get a yak in. And I don’t mind breaking a little thin ice to get in. 

Thin ice can do serious damage to wood, fiberglass or plastic.  It can act just like a saw at the waterline.  Be careful, and check the hull often when you are breaking ice.

[Mr. Aquarium]

Saw the weather forecast for today.(they were wrong) So I  thought it was going to be 45, blowing 5-10. More like 40 blowing 15-20.  Drove around Plymouth all locked. Head over the bridge checked some spots, some were frozen with little open water. Found a trout pond wide open. Trying for bass! Been checking out this place on the map for awhile. Knew the spot I wanted to fish. Paddled in the yak against the wind blowing in my face. My kayak paddle was broken. Only had 1 paddle instead of 2. That made it difficult.  Finally get to it.  Toss anchor. Couldn’t keep bottom. I’d get stuck then get blown off the anchor. New style of drifting?  I managed a few perch nothing big. I also had a good hit. All on blades.  I saw the drain hole under water. Legit started sinking. I barely got to fish.  But hey at least I tried.  At least I got out of the house for the day. Now it’s time for a pint and a burger at a local bar. 

I was hoping for my first tiger trout today. 
 

oh it’s  time to retire this beat to hell kayak. Put a lot of miles on it.   I need a John boat or crawdad 

 

[MassYak85]

19 hours ago, Brian Jackson said:

Where at in the Assabett? Are any areas better than others. 

I didn't catch squat that day lol. If you look on Google maps there's a small airfield along the river near the assabet wildlife refuge. That spot in the river is where I focused and it seemed promising. But I launched upstream there's a few places to launch cartop, most of the bridge crossings have a spot for a few cars on the side of the road. 

1 hour ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

Saw the weather forecast for today.(they were wrong) So I  thought it was going to be 45, blowing 5-10. More like 40 blowing 15-20.  Drove around Plymouth all locked. Head over the bridge checked some spots, some were frozen with little open water. Found a trout pond wide open. Trying for bass! Been checking out this place on the map for awhile. Knew the spot I wanted to fish. Paddled in the yak against the wind blowing in my face. My kayak paddle was broken. Only had 1 paddle instead of 2. That made it difficult.  Finally get to it.  Toss anchor. Couldn’t keep bottom. I’d get stuck then get blown off the anchor. New style of drifting?  I managed a few perch nothing big. I also had a good hit. All on blades.  I saw the drain hole under water. Legit started sinking. I barely got to fish.  But hey at least I tried.  At least I got out of the house for the day. Now it’s time for a pint and a burger at a local bar. 

I was hoping for my first tiger trout today. 
 

oh it’s  time to retire this beat to hell kayak. Put a lot of miles on it.   I need a John boat or crawdad 

•  

 

It's crazy you were on open water probably an hour away from me and I was on 6 inches of ice lol. I'll be on hardwater until late March I think, I don't think I'll be all that tempted to pull the yak out this winter. 

[Mr. Aquarium]

1 hour ago, MassYak85 said:

I didn't catch squat that day lol. If you look on Google maps there's a small airfield along the river near the assabet wildlife refuge. That spot in the river is where I focused and it seemed promising. But I launched upstream there's a few places to launch cartop, most of the bridge crossings have a spot for a few cars on the side of the road. 

It's crazy you were on open water probably an hour away from me and I was on 6 inches of ice lol. I'll be on hardwater until late March I think, I don't think I'll be all that tempted to pull the yak out this winter. 

I could of probably gotten on ice today. But i don’t think I’ll be tempted to fire up the auger this winter.  If I can get on open water all year I’ll be happy.  Haven’t Ice fished in years. I want to get an ice pike this year. I’ve gone a few years ago 

[MassYak85]

It's weird, when open water fishing I don't want the season to end and go to great lengths to extend the season, but as soon as I sniff safe ice I don't want hardwater to end. Something about chasing flags gets me excited in a different way than normal fishing. Ice season is short so I try and make the most of it.  Doesn't mean I won't have my kayak racks back on in March though haha.

[Mr. Aquarium]

11 hours ago, MassYak85 said:

It's weird, when open water fishing I don't want the season to end and go to great lengths to extend the season, but as soon as I sniff safe ice I don't want hardwater to end. Something about chasing flags gets me excited in a different way than normal fishing. Ice season is short so I try and make the most of it.  Doesn't mean I won't have my kayak racks back on in March though haha.

Yea I get it. I used to Be balls to the wall ice fishin. Everyday. Armed with just a jig stick. Used to slay  Bass trout pan fish and pickerel. Rarely used live bait.  If it’s going to be a cold winter I’ll definitely be out on the ice. But down here near the cape it’s a weekly thing. Cold frozen then warm and open. 

[Mr. Aquarium]

 

It was nice out so I had to try and get one last fish of the year. Headed out after work. Ponds were locked. Went to my favorite native stream.  
caught a handful on a 1/64 ounce jig I tied. I crimped the barbs and didn’t take the fish out of the water. These are such a beautiful gem. Not many people know they are out there  unless you know where to look.  this place is a guarded secret of mine.  I love these fish. they are my pets lol

[Dunks N Dinks]

Cape Update: Stocking Stuffers

A buddy and I got a handful of Xmas-eve eve hooksets in on Harwich...a real holiday miracle (at least compared to my low bar of expectations). Water temps were a balmy 39 degrees, but under 4 layers and in the sun I almost felt the urge to take off the neoprene jacket. After a good deal of graphing, we found a surprisingly shallow ledge with deep water access that had a couple tell-tale arches in close proximity. Over the course of a few hours, we nabbed a few brownies each and called it a day before the wind kicked up. My biggest (~3.75lb) came on a blade, while my buddy got a couple of 3’s on a mudbug Ned.