nhbassin

I went down to Turree Pond in Bow today and drilled a few holes to check out how much ice is left. Around 16 inches still. Its going to be a while before the lakes are open around here.

I stick to jigs and tubes for the first few weeks after ice out, then start using suspending jerkabits and lipless crankbaits once the water hits the mid-high 40's. Try looking for shallow flats that have a dark bottom and are protected from wind. The water will usually be a few degrees warmer up there and should draw in some fish.

I went to a bunch of ponds in Stoneham, Saugus & Medford today. 90% of the ice is gone and I managed 2 pickerell. 1 on a rage craw and 1 on a suspending jerkbait. Cant waite for the bass to start getting active!

Haha, that is the quote of the day. Shane catches bass that I would consider trophy largemouth (6.5+) on a weekly basis!

Thank you, I appreciate the info.

Hey guys, I know it was talked about on this post back in 2010, but has anyone had any luck at Robinson Pond in Hudson? How is the water quality? Whats the bottom made of? Have you caught smallmouth there too? I am going to view a property on the lake tomorrow and want to get at much info about the waterbody as I can. Any info helps. Thanks.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPageC?appID=94&storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1 Looks like your right. They are popping up everywhere except for your part of the nation!

The Pro Shop in Foxborough blows the Cabelas in Maine out of the water! Im sure the one in Hooksett will be pretty cool too, since its supposed to be 140,000 square feet

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20130305/NEWS02/130309642 Looks like Hooksett is going to have a Bass Pro Shop in 8 months! That will save a lot of trips to Foxborough.

If your limited to shore access, you will probablly have better luck trying to fish one of the rivers that flow into Champlain. The Winnoski River about an hour south of you and the river just south of you in Swanton should hold smallies.

I like it!

Out of all the ponds/lakes in the Pelham & Salem area that are now private, which ones do you guys feel were/are the best smallmouth fisheries and the best largemouth fisheries? For this group I am thinking of Gumpas, Little Island Pond, Big Island Pond, Arlingont Mill Reservoir and Cobbetts.

I got out on Turtletown on Wednesday morning and ended up with 4 pickerell and 2 largemouth around 1.5 pounds each. Nothing special, but it was nice to get out on the lake. That place gets a ton of pressure year round. There were 4 other groups out there when I went, so half of the lake was covered in tip ups. Anyone else do any ice fishing for bass yet this winter?

Does anyone know how much ice there is in the Concord, NH area yet on lakes/ponds? I want to do some ice fishing this weekend if possible.

Shane, which forum are those pics posted on?

Ive read a lot about those two fisheries and everything agreed with you. Huge Shiners produce huge bass there! Good luck and post some pics.

That looks to be milfoil that is dying off due to the dropping water temp. Dying vegetation emits CO2 instead of oxygen like live vegetation. Since fish typically prefer higher oxygen levels, which are needed for them to breath, I would move away from the vegetation all together. For your situation it sounds like Deep + Slow = Bass

I FINALLY got some time this morning to put together a video of all the bass that clr9933 and myself caught around Southern NH in 2011. Check it out!

Focus more on presentation of your lures rather than what type of lure to use. Yes, jerkbaits, jigs and spoons are the most popular in cold water, but you have to make sure to slow your retreival way down. If that doesn't work, slow down more. Its hard to fish too slow once the water is in the mid-low 40's

Im impressived Nev! November 1st is the latest in the year I have caught a NH bass that wasn't from the powerplant. If I dont head down to New Jersey for some stripers on Friday, I will be trying for some bass in the Concord area once the day warms up a bit. Ill post if I get anything good.

Im impressed that your still getting out on the water Nev! Definitely post if you catch anything this last in the season.

Its tough to beat google maps or that link that "The one that got away" just posted. And I agree with MassBassMan247, you NEED to go to the Quabbin if you live in western MA, especially in the spring time!

I think that an earthquake would only cause a steady vibration in the water for the 10 seconds that it lasted. The fish shouldn't react any different than if a motor boat drove by them and caused a heavy vibration to travel through the water for a few seconds.

Thats awesome that you found that flooded road bed. Let me know if it turns out to be a productive spot. I have been trying to purchase a property on the lake for a little while now and am very interested in specifics on how the fishing is there. Shoot me a PM if you have any other info that you wouldn't mind sharing about the Reservoir. Thanks.

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20120508/NEWS05/705089931 This article says how they are not making power there during low-energy usage months, but December-March it says they will be running. I have fished there a lot in the past few years and it is a very small area that gets extremely high pressure. As far as structure/cover, the only time when the bite is good is when they are pulling a lot of water and it will put the bass in the shallows right up against the bushes on shore, where they can ambush the baitfish. Really not much else to key in on as far as structure or cover. If they are pulling and you get out there before anyone else that day, pretty much anything you use will get you bites. On the other hand it can be misserable if they are not pulling and there might be 8 other people in an area the size of a football field.