nhbassin

Up until 2 years ago I had fished jigs here and there without any luck as well. I spent a few days of using nothing but jigs to build confidence in how it should feel and how to detect bites. Now it is my go to bait and you won't find me on the water without one tied on to one of my rods. Put in some time with them and it will certianly pay off for you

Today is the day, boys! See you all in Hooksett.

If I were to take my best guess as to where you could find a big, sloppy largemouth pushing 10 pounds in NH, I would guess in the lamprey river in Durham/Newmarket. The amount of food there is unlimited with the alwive spawn in the spring plus fish and game stocking it multiple times per year with trout. Ive seen pictures of 9's out of there.

I agree with NEJitterbugger and Mainebass1984. I throw a large, black spinnerbait with dual colorado blades 90% of the time when I night fish and have had great luck with it.

Here are some bassy youtube videos from 2009, 2010 and 2011 featuring me and clr8899 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76jXiX_OgaE&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcF8qcT729w http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI4t3e5Ruxg

My biggest bass of 2013: 6.5 pounds 2nd biggest bass of 2013: 6+ pounds My NH Personal Best from 2009: 7.1 Pounds

Baitcasters have far more moving pieces and the quality of the reel makes more of a difference compared to spinning reels in my opinion. I would go with a pro-qualifer reel from the pro shop if you are looking for an affordable/quality reel.

You will likely catch some fish using that set up, but I would only use that for very small (1/8th - 1/4 oz) jigs. If you plan to spend a lot of time on the water I highly reccomend getting a few different baitcasting set ups for jigs, crankbaits, spinnerbaits/topwaters, etc. along with your spinning set up. Having the correct set up for the lure you are fishing makes a huge difference.

If I were to reccomend any 1 jig that can be used year round, I would go with a 1/2 Oz. Strike King KVD Swim Jig in Bluegill color with a rage craw trailer. Keep it on the bottom and look for transition areas where deep water is real close to shallow water for the spring time. In the summer you can swim it around cover. A medium-lite spinning rod is not the ideal set-up for jigs either. I use a 7' Medium-Heavy rod with a baitcaster for my jig setup. Try focusing more on sturcture (points, drop offs, channels, etc) rather than cover in the early spring.

No way! That is awesome that your heading to the Guntersville. I went to the St. Lawerence River stop of the Elite Series last August and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I can't even imagine how crazy the classic will be.

Leaving work early, skipping my evening MBA class, and waiting out front all afternoon to be the first customer through the door! It will practically be my 2nd home.

That is awesome! Did you do the aging yourself or send it somewhere to be tested? I am interested becasue that would be cool to do with any monster bass.

Last year I dont think there was any open water on lakes until the last few days of March, but rivers will definitely be open. My first bass of 2013 was on April 8th. Hopefully the conditions will allow for that to be earlier this year.

http://www.bassmaster.com/slideshow/best-winning-photos-catch-week Mainbass1984, congrads on the 11th best bass of the year according to bassmaster.com

Check out the "Any have any luck in Southern NH Yet" thread. It goes back a long time and can tell you nearly anything youd need to know for bass fishing here in the granite state. This same questions has been asked and answered on that thread many times. Enjoy!

I was out on the ice on Sunday and got a perch, 5 pickerel and 8 largemouth. Biggest was only 2.5 pounds, but it was still a beautiful morning until the wind picked up.

Yes, Pleasant Lake has an easy boat ramp to get down, plenty of parking, and is a decent lake for larger boats. There are some sections with shallow rocks, so beware. It get a lot of boating pressure in the summer, but I have caught some decent largemouth there.

http://www.nhbassfederation.com/federated_clubs.html Check out this link. If you contact the club presidents, I am sure some of them have spots for co-anglers. Good luck.

If I only had 1 baitcasting setup to use, I would go with a 7 foot Medium-Heavy rod with a 6.3:1 left-handed reel.

I got out and did some ice fishing yesterday morning in southern NH. I was by myself, it was raining, and the ice was about 2.5 inches thick, so I decided that I would stay near shore where I knew the water was 3-6 feet deep, incase I ended up falling through. I did not expect to catch any good bass that shallow, and my results were in line with my expectations. 1 pickerell and 1 big yellow perch. Im going to give the ice another week or two before I head back out to try some spots in deeper water.

I phrased that poorly. When I go ice fishing the emphasis is typically on a big fire, good food and beer...with the occasional flag being a bonus. Ice fishing 100% can be a sport if you approach it like soft-water fishing and adjust to where you think the fish should be. I will be going out on the ice on Sunday and ill post some pictures if I get any good bass.

I dont find much sport in ice fishing, but there is adequate ice for it now. I saw snowmobiles and a 6 wheeler out on the ice today in southern NH.

I feel that the rod type (a 6'6-7 foot with medium-heavy with a soft tip) is just as important as the gear ratio for worming and top water with light baits. You dont need a 5.4:1 like for deep cranking, but a 7.1:1 may not give you the power you need to pull fish out from under docks and other cover, if thats what your going to be fishing around. I would use a 6.2:1 for top water/worming.

I got out for an hour and a half last week and threw crankabits, jigs, spinnerbaits and some weighted soft plastics in 10-20 feet of water. Only bite I had was a 2 pound 2 ounce largemouth up against shore in 8 inches of water when I was getting out of the canoe. They had me stumped, but I plan to give it atleast 1 more try before the lakes are iced over.

There are cetainly better baitcasting reels if you go into the $200-$500 range, but the "Pro Qualifier" from the bass pro shop is $99, and sometimes goes on sale for $79. In my mind, its the best deal for the dollar for a decent quality reel. It is important to know that baitcasters do take a little more maintenance then spinning reels and even expensive baitcasters wont work properly unless oiled, greased, and maintained regularly.