Eastern Ma & New England Area Fishing Reports

[DogBone_384]

Cape Cod trip # 2 is done. Wifey and I hit Long Pond Monday afternoon. The sky opened up just after we launched. We made the best of it until almost 6:00 PM. Needless to say we didn’t catch anything and the Lowrance showed the same as the last three trips: bait balls and fish suspended in about 25’.  Water temps were in the high 60’s.

 

We fished Wequaquet yesterday. I managed 1 SMB, 1 LMB, 1 yellow perch, 1 white perch, and a bunch of pickerel.  The SMB was 1.3 and the white perch .84 pounds. 
 

Wifey caught a bunch of pickerel and a yellow perch barely bigger than the LV500 she was throwing.  We both lost a few picks and a couple of bass.  Water temps were in the high 60’s when We launched and low 70’s when we left.

 

I planned on fishing today, but the winds are almost 30 mph from the South and much rain is expected later today as I type this.

 

We’ll be back down the Cape on Sunday for round 3.

[JAB50]

DogBone,

Spinnerbaits(double willow blade, 3/8oz) try using colors similar to yellow perch and white perch patterns. Gold blades with gold in the body and skirts. 

[DogBone_384]

18 hours ago, JAB50 said:

Spinnerbaits

I keep telling myself to use them, and bring them along, but just never do.  Maybe Sunday.

 

I hit Ponkapog for the first time in months on Thursday afternoon.  I started with my new Kistler 7'3" H/F with a t-rigged creature, a Yozuri square bill, and t-rigged swim Senko.  I took the weight off the creature, switched to a Damiki DC-100 square bill and kept the swim Senko.  That did the trick.  I grabbed two bass, a few pickerel, and a good sized yellow perch.  The big bass was a hair over two pounds.  My heavy rod cast the weightless Rage Tale Structure Bug very well.

 

It was mostly sunny with a 10 mph wind from the SW.  Water temps were high 70.x and the air pressure was 29.9.  Ponkie's water level is down almost 50% from what it normally is in the Spring.  The deepest section was less than 4'.  Most of the weeds I fished, which is ALL of Ponkapog, were still green and healthy.

[Mr. Aquarium]

Wow water still in the high 70s? 

[MassYak85]

On 10/3/2020 at 11:24 AM, Mr. Aquarium said:

Wow water still in the high 70s? 

Yea that's crazy I've been seeing low to mid 60's in central MA 

[DogBone_384]

Someone forgot to send Cape Cod’s SMB the fall feed memo... (could be THEY got the memo and they just don’t want what I’m throwing ?). Wifey and I fished Mashpee/Wakbey yesterday afternoon.  The weather was beautiful, with just a light wind and mostly sunny skies. 

 

Boss-lady came up with a nice white perch and I came up with a SMB I could have rehooked and used as a swim bait.

 

Targets were as they’ve been the last two weeks: suspended in 25’.  I don’t mark anything shallow.

 

Water temps were 71.x when arrived and 68.x when we left.  

 

I’’ll be out this afternoon and tomorrow morning, hopefully with better results.

On 10/3/2020 at 11:24 AM, Mr. Aquarium said:

water still in the high 70s? 

Yes, surprising, isn’t it.  Ponkie was only 4’ deep this trip.  My Lowrance read 70.8 until it started to get dark out.

[DogBone_384]

Spent just over three hours on Long Pond, Harwich this afternoon, with the story being the same over this fall.  Marking beaucoup targets and bait balls suspended in 25’.  I threw jerk baits, deep and mid cranks, LV500 (that I know WORKS), swim jig, and a Rage Bug Ned and couldn’t buy so much as a strike.  I finished the evening shallow, throwing the Rage Ned and a Rapala Skitter Walk, again, without so much as a whiff.

 

I’ll try to shrink and post what my Lowrance showed.  It’s mind blowing that I couldn’t conjure up even a strike.  I didn’t mark anything shallow.

 

Water temps were 70.x, the wind was light and decreasing as the afternoon went on.  Air pressure was 30.1.

 

This is five trips to Long Pond and only three small SMB to show for the effort.  Over all, this year’s “fall transition” has been a word I can’t post here.  I’m waiting until November and grabbing SMB at Hedges Pond with a blade bait.  I’m still on track to catch a fish in open water every month this year.

 

It’s time to dump the boat and go back to small waters with my kayak.

[DogBone_384]

I closed out Cape Cod trip #3 this morning at Santuit.  The water looked like pea soup and was 66.x degrees.

 

Not a bite, didn’t mark much of anything, had some equipment problems and is spiraled down from there.

 

I’m canceling trips 4 & 5 and hang it up for a while.  Best of luck to you guys this fall and winter.

[Don51]

The bite has to pick up soon. I always liked October and always thought it was one of the best months of fishing. A real good chance of hooking into a monster!  ?

[Bassin_Harrison]

On 10/2/2020 at 1:27 PM, JAB50 said:

DogBone,

Spinnerbaits(double willow blade, 3/8oz) try using colors similar to yellow perch and white perch patterns. Gold blades with gold in the body and skirts. 

I know this post was a week ago now, but THIS^^ 

 

My dad and I were fishing in the Hanson area last week (from the bank) and we weren't having much luck, he was throwing a horny toad and I was throwing a small underspin w/ a little paddle tail. Few pickerel and a small bass, but that's it. But then my dad lost his horny toad and threw on a spinner bait, silver/white skirt with silver and gold blades, and just absolutely lit them up. Pretty sure it was 4 bass, 2 perch, and a pick in a span of 15 minutes. Absolutely crazy.

 

It blew my mind that I could be throwing something so similar with a blade and catch one bass in 2 hours, and then he throws a spinnerbait and just destroyed them. 

[Bassin_Harrison]

Also I see some of you have said September was a really hard month of fishing... for me it was quite the opposite. I broke my PB on Sep. 5th at a hidden gem we found in Plymouth, 7 lbs 10 oz. This shattered my PB of 5.0 that I caught in July. And to make it even better I caught her out of my FeelFree Lure, water was crystal clear and I got to watch her come up and engulf the Zoom Ol Monster. So amazing and easily one of the best moments of my life. 

 

But to get back on track here: after my PB, I continued to have pretty good luck. I caught two or three more around 3 and one that was 3lbs 14 oz. Mostly been throwing a 6th Sense blue gill swim jig w/ a 4.8 Keitech, it's my most consistent bait for sure. And if I'm not catching bass I've been hammering the pickerel, they're all over the place right now. 

 

If anybody is in or around the Whitman/Hanson area, let me know how you've been doing. Bite has slowly started to get harder, would love to know how other people are going about it. 

[MassYak85]

On 10/6/2020 at 11:29 AM, Don51 said:

The bite has to pick up soon. I always liked October and always thought it was one of the best months of fishing. A real good chance of hooking into a monster!  ?

I tied my PB (again smh) last October slow waking a slammer over some remaining weed flats. Not a pleasant day it was like 50 raining and windy. 

[Mr. Aquarium]

7 hours ago, BigBass'n_Harrison said:

Also I see some of you have said September was a really hard month of fishing... for me it was quite the opposite. I broke my PB on Sep. 5th at a hidden gem we found in Plymouth, 7 lbs 10 oz. This shattered my PB of 5.0 that I caught in July. And to make it even better I caught her out of my FeelFree Lure, water was crystal clear and I got to watch her come up and engulf the Zoom Ol Monster. So amazing and easily one of the best moments of my life. 

 

But to get back on track here: after my PB, I continued to have pretty good luck. I caught two or three more around 3 and one that was 3lbs 14 oz. Mostly been throwing a 6th Sense blue gill swim jig w/ a 4.8 Keitech, it's my most consistent bait for sure. And if I'm not catching bass I've been hammering the pickerel, they're all over the place right now. 

 

If anybody is in or around the Whitman/Hanson area, let me know how you've been doing. Bite has slowly started to get harder, would love to know how other people are going about it. 

d**n a 7.10! Nice bass. Plymouth you say! Wonder which gem it was in. Those are my stomping grounds.  So mucj great water 

[Chowderhead]

Just wanted to chime in as a lurker from Omaha. Love reading the reports from the area I grew up in. Fond memories of Long Pond, Massasoit (Lake Rico), and Johnson’s Pond in Raynham where I caught my PB of 7-3 back in the late 80’s. So to all those that post on here, thank you and please keep it up. 

[Don51]

As the water gets colder stay with the shallow bog type ponds. Much easier to locate fish. Chatterbait, spinnerbait, jerkbait, rattlers and flukes will all produce. 

[Bassin_Harrison]

9 hours ago, Chowderhead said:

Just wanted to chime in as a lurker from Omaha. Love reading the reports from the area I grew up in. Fond memories of Long Pond, Massasoit (Lake Rico), and Johnson’s Pond in Raynham where I caught my PB of 7-3 back in the late 80’s. So to all those that post on here, thank you and please keep it up. 

That's awesome... I'm always scanning maps on my phone for new water and I saw Johnson's Pond once, but never had the chance to fish it. Guess I'll have to go check it out!

 

I've fished Lake Rico 4 times now and haven't had much luck, but I've only bank fished it. Do you think it would be worth it to throw in the yak? There's always a ton of people there so it's probably pretty pressured, at least around the shore. 

[Bassin_Harrison]

13 hours ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

d**n a 7.10! Nice bass. Plymouth you say! Wonder which gem it was in. Those are my stomping grounds.  So mucj great water 

Thank you man! Sent you a pm. 

[Mr. Aquarium]

7 hours ago, Don51 said:

As the water gets colder stay with the shallow bog type ponds. Much easier to locate fish. Chatterbait, spinnerbait, jerkbait, rattlers and flukes will all produce. 

I’ve always done better deep water ponds in the cold. But last winter was the first winter I had good success with shallow water. Big and small swimbaits! Not much else worked 

[JG233]

20 hours ago, BigBass'n_Harrison said:

Thank you man! Sent you a pm. 

Post up a picture! The people want to see.

[Bassin_Harrison]

8 hours ago, JG233 said:

Post up a picture! The people want to see.

You got it! I can't upload from my phone so we'll see if these links work...

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ey6HkllqwtQ4ESdaxmKJRR0TbNYjI2FG/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JpIKQ8iCwOTqdGEZVRNGOCwt5Cs5qIkf/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LcBP6lpJVtC6I1zOrMGMn-YyeF9_J6xx/view?usp=sharing

 

Sorry for pretty bad pictures, my phone was literally at 1% so I was going as fast as possible lol

[Mr. Aquarium]

Took the 2.5 hour drive west to the CT river for some walleyes. They were not cooperating. We got a few smallies, fallfish, rock bass and so many dam big eels,  I could of had enough striper bait for next season.  Broke 2 PBs for fallfish and rock bass!

[Chowderhead]

On 10/8/2020 at 7:21 AM, BigBass'n_Harrison said:

I've fished Lake Rico 4 times now and haven't had much luck, but I've only bank fished it. Do you think it would be worth it to throw in the yak? 

To be honest, it has been decades since I have fished there. Life has taken me far away from that area. With that said, yes fishing out of a “yak” (or back in my day a canoe or John boat) was always better. While there is decent shore-fishing accessibility from Middleboro Ave, it really opens up once you get out beyond the dam area. I sure miss living in the area and wish I could have had all those fishing opportunities had I still been there. Good luck!

[Bassin_Harrison]

1 hour ago, Chowderhead said:

To be honest, it has been decades since I have fished there. Life has taken me far away from that area. With that said, yes fishing out of a “yak” (or back in my day a canoe or John boat) was always better. While there is decent shore-fishing accessibility from Middleboro Ave, it really opens up once you get out beyond the dam area. I sure miss living in the area and wish I could have had all those fishing opportunities had I still been there. Good luck!

Fantastic thank you! I'll try to get in there before the end of the season for sure, I'll let you know how it goes!

[Dunks N Dinks]

Hadn't hit the sweetwater in a while (a bit busy in the salt as you'll see below), but with the commercial tuna fishery on the Cape closed until Dec 1st, a buddy and I spent a half-day on Wequaq on Sunday. It ended up being a pretty textbook fall session, water temps down to 61-62 and largemouth still in deeper water off the bank (10-15ft) relating to a mix of vegetation and rock. We managed a dozen or so keepers, two 4lbers in the mix that both bit a jig marinated on outside weedlines. Got a couple more fun bites on jerkbaits (slower cadence) and the chatterbait as the wind picked up out of the north. Pickerel were plenty active as well. Bass bite should only improve from here as temps get into the mid-50s...

[Don51]