Boat, Baits and Bass on a Cold Quabbin

[Will Wetline]

Unless I get an invitation from a fishing buddy with a "Quabbin" boat (Quabbin Reservoir is highly regulated.), you'll find me riding a rental. I know a number of my fellow BR members are trying to learn the ways of this big New England water so let's have a look at how I set up one of the 14' boats you'll be renting:

 

 

Starting from the stern you'll note a large dry bag. It contains three Plano 3600s, a portable camera mount which I clamp to a gunwale for fish pics and room for my down vest and fleece as the day warms.

 

The swivel seat is greatly appreciated by my aging back and butt.

 

See my stationery store tackle box on the floor. It could be a portable file holder for taking work home from the office but it's of much greater interest to sort through six Plano 3700s for just the right bait. You'll find miscellaneous support gear in the utility carrier: marker buoy, sunscreen, bug repellent, needle nose pliers, clippers, small boxes of weights and hooks, scent and dye.

 

Early season when the lake trout are shallow, you want fish grippers so they don't wriggle out of your grasp. You recognize the other items on the rubber mat on the middle bench seat.

 

Out of this photo and as close to the bow as you can get 'em are lunch cooler, 12 lb. river anchor with approximately 75' of 1/4" braided nylon and, yes, a chunk of granite. Why the weight in the bow? Because if you go solo at full throttle the bow is going to point heavenward at a 45º angle. You must balance the boat for running.

 

Alright. Let's go fishing.

 

 

Hey! Here's the first smallmouth of the season and the first one I've caught on an Underspin. Wish I could tell you about the presentation but there wasn't one. See, as soon as I lifted the rod tip, the fish was on. From what I've read about retrieving Underspins, you want to work it slowly, steadily, feeling it tick the bottom. And wait until the rod loads before you set the hook.

 

 

These are 1/4 oz. models from a Do-it Herring Head mold. The top two baits are dressed with Z Man's Swimmin' Trout trick, the bottom a Super Fluke JR. Willow blades are size 3 but I'm going to try 3.5 because master bait maker smalljaw67 says he likes that size better.

 

 

Blade baits are the #1 go-to for many Quabbin smallie guys when the water is under 50º. Buying "body blanks" from Barlow's I get to choose the hooks and I've been experimenting with arrangements for three seasons now.

 

 

I started with a pair of split shank doubles and found I could hang these in the rocks as easily as trebles. Last year I used a single treble in the rear and that worked okay. Over coffee and conversation in my tackle room with Crestliner2008, he insisted that a 1/0 Siwash was the way to go. Two improvements over split shanks or rings and trebles are obvious at a quick glance: the Siwash hook is much more substantial than the others and there's no need to mess with split rings! Great tip, Crestliner2008.

 

I don't hear too many smallmouth fishermen in these parts talking about using plain, old-timey, bucktail jigs in these parts. That's fine with me because that means fewer fish will have sore mouth and will eat eat the undressed bucktail I will be throwing!

 

 

Another? Okay.

 

 

I love molding, painting and tying these jigs. It's a winter hobby that gets me focussed on something productive rather than sitting around and obsessing unhappily about the hard water season in Western Massachusetts. If you're interested in jig making first try a variety of "Search" terms on this forum - there's a fair amount of info to be found - and I also urge you to subscribe to smalljaw's YouTube channel. Smalljaw has posted many very good tutorials.

 

For now, have a look at my tying bench setup:

 

 

 

 

[Dwight Hottle]

Great write up as usual. 

[jbw252]

Thanks for sharing your adventure with us.

[Jar11591]

I always enjoy reading your reports. Well done.  

[Yakalong]

Very nice 

[lonnie g]

nice info , good looking fish. when your catching fish like that you seem to forget about the cold.