Eastern Ma & New England Area Fishing Reports

[Mr. Aquarium]

Fished 2 new ponds today in search of my first winter giant. First pond was a grind but i found them. Got 3 bass biggest was 3-6 on a jerkbait, missed a good fish on the lipless, got a crappie and a few picks. They were on the wind blown shore. They wanted a jerkbait and lipless. Saw a lot of fish on top though. 
Hit a random pond real quick before sunset. Got a couple big picks and one dink bass. Jerkbait and swim jig 

[DogBone_384]

On 12/30/2023 at 3:13 AM, Don51 said:

That's a lot of time to put in for one perch!

Tell that to the bass.  

[DogBone_384]

20 hours ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

Got 3 bass biggest was 3-6 on a jerkbait

I think @Saltysmalljaws has his jerkbait hooks in you now … feels good, doesn’t it?  

Congrats on a nice close to ‘23.

 

I’ll be in your neck of the woods Tuesday in search of my first ‘24 bass.

 

Happy New Year!

[Mr. Aquarium]

46 minutes ago, DogBone_384 said:

I think @Saltysmalljaws has his jerkbait hooks in you now … feels good, doesn’t it?  

Congrats on a nice close to ‘23.

 

I’ll be in your neck of the woods Tuesday in search of my first ‘24 bass.

 

Happy New Year!

Been grinding the jerkbait for a year now. Feels good to have some decent ones I know that work. The biggest fish this year 7lbs 10 ounce came on a jerkbait 

[DogBone_384]

Checked off January with three nice smallies out of my favorite Plymouth kettle.  They were between 2 - 2 1/2 pounds and had that 'winter wallow' 43 degree water will do to ya.  My Lowrance showed them stuck to the bottom in 10 - 12'.

 

I threw the normal assortment: blade bait, lipless, jerkbait, DT10, and various Keitechs.  All they wanted was a 2.5" dark green tube dragged about as S L O W L Y as I could.

 

The weather was pretty blue-bird, near calm.  Air pressure was 30.  

 

A good first trip for '24.

[DogBone_384]

Took the Ranger for it's first '24 outing.  Threw the normal winter assortment: jig, 3" paddle tail, T-rigged Swim-Senko, jerkbaits, blade bait, and lipless.  I got one hit.  That one hit counted.  A 3.88 pound, 19 3/4", Larry found its way to my boat deck.  The baby bluegill LV500, dragged S L O W L Y down a slope in about 20' of water.  I didn't feel any type of hit, the line just got heavy.  

 

Water temps were 40.x - 41.x, it was partly cloudy, and westerly winds  slowly increased as the day went on.  Air pressure was 29.8.  

 

So far 2024 is starting off pretty good.  Good luck to everyone else getting out there.

[Mr. Aquarium]

That’s how they normally feel this time of year. Just heavy weights. 

[MassYak85]

The storm Wednesday should nuke most of the ice. Looks like the middle of the month we might start making some progress if there's any hope of an ice season lol. Not holding my breath and I'm perfectly fine if Spring wants to start in early March or late February like it did last year haha. 

[Mr. Aquarium]

2 hours ago, MassYak85 said:

The storm Wednesday should nuke most of the ice. Looks like the middle of the month we might start making some progress if there's any hope of an ice season lol. Not holding my breath and I'm perfectly fine if Spring wants to start in early March or late February like it did last year haha. 

Come down and fish the cape with us! Dogbone and myself are always getting out all winter. Just a short drive 

[DogBone_384]

3 hours ago, MassYak85 said:

The storm Wednesday should nuke most of the ice.

You have to move closer to the Cape…. I’m 45 minutes from ‘the bridge’ and haven’t been iced out in the last 4 years.

 

It’s worth the drive.

 

What a trip - @Mr. Aquarium and I think alike….

[ne_dan]

Got out and froze for 2 hours this morning, water temps were 35 degrees air temp was about the same.  No wind for the first half and hour but then just enough of a breeze to freeze wet hands.  Managed one bass that went 2.58lbs on a jig, dragging across rock piles in 15’.  Pretty sure I missed a couple more but it was a very light bite.  Did get a handful of perch and one pickerel on a jerk bait working the drop off from a flat to deeper water.  Happy that the first trip of the year didn’t result in a skunk.

[Mr. Aquarium]

First trip of the year. My first fish was a 5lbs 10 ounce. Super stoked, never got a winter 5 before. 
I hit a shallow pond. Never been here in winter but I fished the area where I did well last March.  Wind was cranking couldn’t get em on jerkbaits glides or lipless. The wind was making it really difficult to fish.  On my way back to the ramp after an hour or so of struggling I hit a section of trees with a jig. Missed one right off the bat.  Pitched the jig way up, that 5er smoked it! Next cast got a 3. Worked my way through these trees picking off a few more. 
 

total was 5 bass. 5-10, 4-2, 3-0 and 2 dinks all on jigs in the trees. 
 

[MassYak85]

Shallow cover fishing in the winter huh? Way to get them I would have never thought to try that. Was it a wind blown shore?

[Mr. Aquarium]

48 minutes ago, MassYak85 said:

Shallow cover fishing in the winter huh? Way to get them I would have never thought to try that. Was it a wind blown shore?

it was so windy, that everything was a wind blown shoreline! 

[DogBone_384]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I drove by Houghton's Pond and Blue Hills Reservoir OTW home from Bass Pro this morning and we're just about iced out there.  Houghton's was 75% covered and Blue Hills was 50-60%.  

 

I'm not very optimistic with the COLD weather we're getting over the next couple days.

 

Hopefully Cape Cod stays open.... 

 

CONGRATULATIONS! to @Mr. Aquarium for an awesome first trip out!

[1984isNOW]

@Mr. Aquarium good stuff bro, I respect the commitment

[Mr. Aquarium]

Thanks guys. Im so pumped! One of my best winter days. Never did well for bigger fish in winter! It was so windy I was a bit nervous. I was afraid I was going to flip my kayak if I got a bad wind gust 

[MassYak85]

I got on the ice the last two days. Had pretty consistent action on the tilts and did good jigging too. Lots of pickerel and crappie the first day, almost all bass the second day. Biggest was maybe 3lbs. The ice was 3-4 inches.

 

I wanted to take advantage because the weather looks like it's trending warm again, with 50 degree rain Thursday Friday and then back in the 40s after that for the foreseeable future. Not loving these 1 week long winters lol. But if it means open water fishing in early March I can't complain. 

[DogBone_384]

Can any of you NH boys tell me what water temps are in the 1st/2nd week of May up there?  I want to fish Squam lake around that time.

 

Thanks for your help.

[DogBone_384]

Took the Ranger 'over the bridge' yesterday and fished in Sandwich.  I could never get any groove going, didn't mark much more than some perch and the odd blip on the bottom, and lost interest after just a couple hours.  My first goose-egg this year.

 

Water temps were 37 degrees. 

[MassYak85]

Any of you guys ever try using an ice rod and jigging for bass? I feel like I do better through the ice with tiny little swedish pimples than I ever do open water in the cold months haha. 

 

It amazes me how subtle the ice jigging bite can be. It's almost all visual for me I rarely actually feel the bite, just the rod tip deflection.

[DogBone_384]

On 1/26/2024 at 3:10 PM, MassYak85 said:

Any of you guys ever try using an ice rod and jigging for bass?

I've tried it a couple times with a Rapala Jigging Rap, but not a 'regular' jig.  I've only gone ice fishing a few times and am still waiting for my first catch.

 

I went to Sandwich with the Ranger again today, hoping to make up for yesterday.... NOPE.  Even though the forecast said high 30s - low 40s, the wind and cloud cover was enough to freeze me out in less than two hours.  My layers and Milwaukee heated jacket just didn't do it.  My hands were numb after an hour and my gloves turned out useless.

 

I marked a few fish on bottom in the 25 - 30' range where there was some leftover grass.   Water temps were 37.7 today.  Air pressure was 30.2.

[DogBone_384]

I checked off February this afternoon with a nice 2_4 SMB, on a gold tail-spin at my favorite Plymouth kettle hole.  I also threw a T-rigged swim Senko, black/blue jig, V110jr+1, small   & large Keitech, and a Damiki blade bait.  

 

Water temps were 38.x.  It was cloudy, with little wind, and an air pressure of 29.8.

[ne_dan]

Got out for an hour after work the last two days, took advantage of the dropping water levels to wade.  Ice is on its way out around here; the difference between yesterday and today was pretty drastic.  Found out my waders are still leaking which if I had remembered to seal them would have helped.  
 

Yesterday I found a pile of trout that really wanted a jerkbait.  Today I could fish a few more areas with the ice disappearing, managed a couple of small bass on a jerkbait.   So I have my February bass on the board.  Hopefully the groundhog was right and we get an early spring

[Don51]

Leaky waders in the winter! Can't say that I miss that being down here in FL. I did years of wading and never found waders that didn't develop leaks. I'm sure it is by design. lol  I did find that Aquaseal works prettygood.  At least you found some fish.