Cousin Vinny

The strippers and the blues were awsome this year down here. I bought my first boat this summer and everyone has told me this was a great year to have bought a boat. (19 ft trophy w/ 150 merc OB). Diamond jigging is the way to fish in this part of the season and since the blues are moving on, it'll be mostly strippers now. But this past weekend I tried 2 new spots (from shore at ponds) in Ridgefield Ct. Same luck as usual. A couple of keepers but nothing crazy. Though I believe these spots will be awsome come the spring. It was still a great time and a guy I never met let me and my son take his Jon boat out on one of the lakes. That was real nice of him so I gave him my cell and told him if he was ever down near the sound to give me a shout and maybe head out on my boat When it gets warm again, i hate the cold)

Stabilize maybe, but its gonna stay cool, at least from what I saw. I'm in lower Fairfield County, near the sound and they're saying low 50s in the AM to the low 60s during the day. Even a couple of upper 40s in the overnight. I've gotten use to carrying my pole and lures with me all the time and I love to try those discrete unfished private ponds (and try not to get thrown out) that look like bass heaven. But I've been getting simalar results as you for the better part of the year except for 1 private pond i got permission to fish at. That one yeilded 18 inchers most times with alot of smaller ones but then recently, I got nothing there. Kinda weird. I may have to accept the fact that the largest bass i will see is on the ESPN Bassmaster elite series. I was up at 4:AM today and thats what I watched. :'(

Now thats a fish. Awsome. This is going to cause a run on swim baits.

Yea, that is an awsome day. I'm off to the cape, LOL

Any suggestions??

Why dont you elaborate on it a little?

But it was rediculous this week end. I tried out 2 new spots that looked very prime. Both in Wilton Connecticut. And at both places I just couldnt hook a nice one. On Friday after I finished work at 12:00 I went and tried this one smaller pond. Its probably 150 by 300. Not big but the up side being most people in that area would bother getting a little dirty or risk a tick bite, so I thought this would be perfect. I observed the natural sounds and sights of the pond and concluded they wanted surface stuff. They were defietly feeding at the top so I tried anything that floats. Got nothing. So I tried the mid depth stuff. Got nothing. Then I went to plastic worms and amphibs. That drew a little attention. Got a few pint sizers. I even tried earth worm. Same results. Got bored and decided to move on. So I went to another pond in a national preserve just up the road. Again, it looked like it should be LMB paradise. Did the exact same things and got the exact same results. (everyone knows the definition of insanity, right?) I must have caught a dozen 4 to 8 inchers. Anyway I made a commitment that I would thoughrly check these places out early Sunday morning and I would pull all the stops. So I go to Fishermans World to pick up a couple of new lures that I didnt have already and a dozen shinner minows. (I know the minows were a childish idea, but I had to know for sure) Get to the first little pond (around 7:AM) and tried everything I owned including the minows. The only thing that got attention was a jitter bug. It got 2, 13 inchers. The rest were too young to talk about. At the second pond (at about 8:30, but still real cloudy) I got nothing but young ones again and they couldnt care less for the bait too. Now I am a firm beleiver that if there are small ones, there are big ones. More than a couple of times I have proved that right. I think the fact that I pulled a couple of 13 inchers from a pond that only the day before I couldnt get above a 6 incher proves it. So I ask, where were they?? What else should I, could I, Would I have done??? :'( Dont get me wrong, I loved the time itself. But I did want to catch fish too.

You dont recall where you got it?? That would be nice to have.

I fished a small pond today during lunch in Pound Ridge N.Y.. I was between job sites and couldnt resist. Beides, I did paper work all week end and felt i deserved it. : In about a half hour I caught 4 LMB. No killers but they ran from 10 to 14 inches. (I gotta buy a scale) Compared to only a week ago when I fished my favorite private pond, today was great. I was consistantly pulling 16 and 18 inchers from this place and then last week.....nothing at all. I think the lack of rain and heat was getting to them. I would believe this rain fall helped, but I could be wrong

LOL, I guess the fish won. He drew first blood and I promtly allowed him to go home. I actualy do have a picture but its a little too embarresing.

Sorry I didnt see this sooner but its a little late for that ride. I have fished a small lake right off exit 6a in West Greenwich last year. Have you ever been there?? If your going north on 95 its a right off the exit and straight up Hopkins Hill Rd. on your left side past some areas of state land. Caught a couple of nice LMB and my first pickeral. He tried to use my thumb for a snack before I released him though.

I'm down in Westport. I'd love to find a new spot if you dont mind shareing. I've also noticed the catch to be off quite a bit. Last Saturday we fished a local resivior and did badly so I went to a local pond I've been doing very well at. But on that day, I dont think i even saw a crummy sun fish let alone a LMB. Usualy I've been pulling 18 inchers out of there but nothing at all lately.

I guess your probably right. Another thing I wanted to ask someone, maybe you know the answer to this, when using a rubber worm do you cast and let sit or reel it in?? I caught them doing it either way. I remember catching LMB in the everglades that way, by letting it sit, and I caught taht way here the other day. But I also grabbed a few on the reel in. Whats your thought?

I went fishing at a private pond in Stamford Connecticut for my second time in about a month. I did great (by my standards). Caught a bunch of 13 and 14 inchers for fun and landed a nice 18 incher too. But heres what I dont get: Last time i went they hit both of my Rapala minnow lures. A red one and the grey classic one. They also hit a rubber shad minnow. Then I landed an 18 1/2 incher on a Panther Martin spinner. This time they wouldnt hit any of the above. My last resort was a rubber worm. A berkly power bait. I'm not even sure if it hit the water and WHAM. It was one after another from there until the sun hit the pond. I have the pictures but they need to be resized and I havent got the software and i havent opend a PB account yet, but i will when my brain can deal with it. So I ask, what changed. Same time of day. Same pond. Same fish in pond. It was a slight bit cooler with no humidity as opposed to a month ago when you could cut the heat and humidity with a knife, but thats it. Is that the difference and if so, then does any one understand why I should have known what to use for that difference??

Been away for a bit and just caught this thread. I dont have time to read 7 pages but if this thing is on, then when and where.

LOL, No I wasnt being a smart a$$. I just assumed it was a sizable event. At any rate, I'm not ready for a cometitive fishing trip, thats what i meant

Thanks for the suggestion IB

Hey Worm, if I email you the photos can you re size for me? I dont have any photo managment programs and I want to post the photo's. I didnt have any waders on. I'm home right now puting solarcane on my legs that are like hamburger form all the razor grass i had to walk thorough just to get stuck. I was pretty fortunate though I managed to make it out with my shoes on, but I must admit I was pretty stressed by the hole ordeal. I was walking out on the delta created by the incoming stream to the pond. It didnt get soft slowly, it just gave out all of a sudden. Then wham, there i was up to my hips in chocolate pudding.

18 1/2 iches in a private pond in Stamford Connecticut. Dont know the weight because i didnt have a scale, but it was fat. As soon as I resize the picture I will post here. Then we left there and went to a pond in Fairfield where i almost drowned in mud above my hip. Lucky I had my son with me and a rope in the car

Sorry, no. I'm not ready for the big time yet.

Westport. Where are you??

I knew about candlwood but never had a suitable lake boat. Never even heard of Lillanola. I'll look it up, thanks

Been there several times though i never realy focused on LMB there. Normally took my son when he was younger for sunnys. Its kind of hard to find an ideal spot there too. What do you think for bait?? Can you use minow there??

I dont know. Thats a good question. Though I seem to find different ponds of fish will feed on different things more agressivly. For instance: I fished 1 pond that primarily the LMB would hit earth worm with no weight or bobber. Then at another pond they will only hit live. Then at another they seem to love minow type lure's. Its hard to figure but I just go with the flow. But as far as would a particualr bait get over used?? I guess its possible but if thats what they hit, who are we to question it. BTW, I went across the sound to Northport yesterday. Nice place. Did a little salt water before we headed out and my son caught a beautiful striper.

Halls sound awsome but a bit far from me, especialy if i want to be there before 6AM. Maybe after i get a jon boat. That is definetly the next purchase. This time of the year I cant imagine any other way Do you guys know anywhere else down my way?? I paved a road a couple of years back and 1 of the homes on the sub division didnt sell for quite a while. The name of the subdivision is "Christmas Lake". Seeing the obvious, i asked the builder if I could fish it. He said go ahead. That was the best bass fishing i have ever had. 22 large mouth in 1 1/2 hour. It was crazy. They hit anything and every thing. Nothing too big, like 13 to 15 inchers, but no junk fish. Just LMB. Then of course someone did buy the place. (I couldnt afford the 3 mil price tag, or i would have bought it just for the fish) and that was the end of that. I found the wealthy dont want the rif raf fishing on thier property 8-)