Hard to figure out

[jbmaine]

Hi all,

As others have said, this is a strange year. A couple of days ago my wife and I made a trip to one of the local lakes. This is a 1600 acre lake, mostly deep and rocky, good SM water. But there are off shoots ( we call them basins) that hold good LM, pickerel.

 Our plan was to go after LM early, then switch to SM as the morning went on.

We got on the water early and headed to what we call the upper basin. This is off the main lake, several acres of shallow coves 2-6 ft deep, covered in weeds, lilly pads, bull rushes, with a main channel 8-12 ft. deep going thru it.

 Our first surprise was hardly any weeds. I've never seen this on the beginning of July. We fish another lake 8 miles south of this that is covered in weeds, lilly pads, very strange.

 Our second surprise was no fish. We spent over an hour fishing tight to shore, across the coves, the channel, everywhere we could think of. No bass was not too unexpected, but we never even got a pickerel. This place is full of pickerel, how do you not catch pickerel?

 Then we headed out to the main lake and fished a submerged hump, rock pile, for SM. This area has done well for us in the past. It is about 100 yds. in dia. big rocks ( some the size of cars) just under the surface dropping to 20+ ft. 

 Well the SM weren't playing along, but I finally hooked a decent fish on a ned rig. Could tell right away it didn't fight like a SM and as I got it to the surface it turned out to be a LM, short but fat, just under 3 lbs. Have no idea what it was doing on the bottom 20 feet down in SM waters far from shore but guess I won't complain.  As I said, strange year.

  This is what we call the upper basin, looks like.

This is the LM, caught in the last place I thought a LM would be.

 

 

[TnRiver46]

Sounds like someone might have treated the vegetation with herbicide, although I would think that’s probably frowned upon in Maine. Nice largemouth, there must have been something tasty to him 20 feet down there

[Shimano_1]

Nothing about this year has made sense to me down here in the bluegrass state either. Everything that has always been consistent for me hasn't produced this year. All I can figure is the weather has just got them all kinds of messed up. Its aggravating but also fun trying to figure em out all over again 

[TnRiver46]

15 hours ago, Shimano_1 said:

Nothing about this year has made sense to me down here in the bluegrass state either. Everything that has always been consistent for me hasn't produced this year. All I can figure is the weather has just got them all kinds of messed up. Its aggravating but also fun trying to figure em out all over again 

Now that’s a good way to look at it! 

[Log Catcher]

I can agree with @Shimano_1. I haven't gotten to fish a lot this year due to lots of rain and life things happening. When I have been nothing has worked that should be working. Nobody wants to hear about what few little fish I have caught so far this year.

[bobby_stripes]

I was just up in Maine for my annual bass fishing trip and was surprised to catch a number of female largemouth that were very clearly post-spawn (split tails, super skinny) in one body of water and on another we had trouble finding the fish and I'm now wondering if they were actually not on main lake mid-summer spots but instead back in the coves spawning at this time of year!?.  In all my years visiting Maine during this time of year I don't recall the spawn ever being this late.  I was in the Belgrade Lakes region.  Is this the latest you resident Mainers have seen the spawn?

[CHIP-MAINE]

water was higher and colder this year because of spring runoff, androscoggin river is still that way with no weed growth. the smallies are just starting to hit. cobbesecontee stream is now low with lots of weed growth and the largemouths fishing has been amazing.

[bobby_stripes]

Thank you Chip!

[Ratherbfishing]

You didn't, I don't think, mention the weather.  Judging (only) from the pic, it appears to be, perhaps, a cold front day with clear skies and lower temps.  If this is true, even a good fishery can shut off and you'll be lucky to buy a bite.  A Ned Rig would be a good choice on a cold front day.

 

OR I could be completely off.  You tell me.

[jbmaine]

Well it's happened twice now this summer, on two different lakes. Fishing deep ( 20+ ft. ) on known spots for smallies and caught LM instead. A strange year indeed.