The one that got away

This may help: http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/habitat/maps/ponds/pdf/dfwcoch.pdf (not sure if link works)

Now THAT'S a pickerel. The small slime darts are pretty annoying, but the big ones are plenty of fun. Nicely done

deep, I completely agree with you on multi-species on light tackle, it's undeniably fun. I don't have an ultralight setup, but picked up a 6' light action St. Croix Triumph late last year, put a $29 Shimano Sienna on it, spooled it with 6# Trilene, and caught my first trout. I then started catching more trout, then crappie, perch, pickerel, and bass. I mostly use Joe's Flies inline spinners - they work great and will catch anything that swims. Great to have when the big bass aren't hungry for normal offerings. Congrats on that first trout.

I got there at 6am. There were six boats launching all at once when I got there. Looked like they all knew each other and I assumed it wasn't the BR group because I think there was kind of a light turnout based on recent replies on this thread, and I don't know any of the guys yet. The lot was PACKED when I got off the water at 11:30. The morning was calm, but picked up a bit when I was leaving. I fished from the canoe, and my TM battery was almost dead when I got back in. Had some results - only one bass, a couple of perch, and more pickerel than I knew what to do with. I lost count after 15 or so. I also tried to get some trout, but no luck. If anyone else made it, I hope you had fun and maybe I'll meet some of you on the water some day.

I might be at Whitehall on Sat afternoon or Sunday. Don't know yet. Can't commit right now, so I'll probably bring my canoe if I'm able to get out. If you see a guy gettin' skunked in a green Old Town canoe with a trolling motor, that'll probably be me. Out of curiosity, what time are people meeting up on Sunday?

My team's out, but I'm still watching. No clear cut favorite out there, should be interesting.

pm sent

I'd still give Whitehall a try if I were you, but if not, maybe try Singletary in Sutton/Millbury? I've never fished Indian Lake or Flint Pond, so I got no help there for you.

Really nice colors on those smallies. Is that the Merrimack?

I have the 6'9" spinning model and have been extremely satisfied with it. I haven't read about or heard of anyone who isn't satisfied with these rods. I don't know specifically which rod you are looking at, but they have several different models, both casting and spinning. Amazon has great prices on some of them. Good luck with your search.

Awesome PB, and on light tackle no less. Congrats

I own an older model Crucial (the one with the full cork grip) and one of the Fenwick smallmouth rods. They're both nice and both come with the lifetime warranty. If I were to chose one, I'd go with the Fenwick. I have no experience with the newer Crucial or the Powell diesel rods. Good luck with your decision

If it's just an average fish, I'll enjoy the aerial show and won't mind if I lose the fish. If it's a good one, I keep the rod tip low or even in the water to discourage the jumping and possibility of losing a real nice fish.

I'll probably get bashed for this, but I never got the whole switching hands thing. For example, when I use a fork to eat with my right hand, I don't switch it to my left after it leaves my plate and before it gets to my mouth. I suppose I could switch hands, but what's the point. For fishing, I cast with my right hand, hold the rod in my right hand, and reel with my left. No switching hands for me, but to each his own.

Welcome to BR, je1946. Keep an eye out in the local forums, some of the area guys try to get together several times a year. I haven't made it to one yet, but hope to this year.

What reel did you end up buying after all that work?

I was hopeful to get in on one of these get-togethers last year, but just didn't work out for me schedule wise. Right now, I have no idea where I'll be April 15th. I assume one of my kids has a game somewhere for some sport. Their spring schedules aren't out yet. April is a busy time of year in my house, so I'm not too optimistic. If the 15th is open for me, I'll check in a few days before you guys are going and see if there are still any open seats. Sounds like a good spot that might have some trout action too according to tate's link above.

I got to BPS at 9:05am today and got a lefty in 7.1 speed. Saw about 5-6 other Carbon Blacks get sold in the few minutes I was there.

BPS has the JM Carbon Black on sale tomorrow as a one-day special for $69, at least at the BPS near me. I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on one, but I want to see if anyone has feedback on this reel. I think they only made this particular model reel for a year or two, which makes me a bit hesitant. I know the Johnny Morris is always well reviewed on the BPS site, but who knows. Pluses/minuses? I'm assuming it's a bit on the heavy side, but I'm fine with that if that's the only drawback.

I was just about to post that the Caras are in your price range, but $150 is a little different than $200. I haven't used the rod you're asking about, but someone else might. If you don't mind a good used rod, look around the flea market on this site, there's always deals to be made. I'd bet you could find a used Cara in your price range. Somebody here had a few Caras for sale not too long ago.

Knowing your budget limit would help, but if you're looking to stay around the $100 mark, maybe look for a used Avid MHF. I doubt you'll find any St. Croix users with buyers remorse on this site or anywhere else. I got a excellent condition Avid MF shipped to my door last week for $100 off Ebay. I'm sure others will chime in with suggestions if you give a firm price range. Nice reel by the way, I recently sold my used Revo SX and experienced immediate regret when I walked out of the post office after shipping it. Good luck.

I haven't used a Compre, but I do have an Elite Tech smallmouth spinning rod in ML power. Real nice rod. I think it's pretty much on par with my more expensive St. Croix Avid, but the split grip takes a little getting used to, at least it did for me. They retail around $129 but can be found cheaper. I have never used or owned a Compre, but isn't that the spinning rod that had kind of a "cut out" in the cork above the reel handle so you could put your index finger right on the blank? I thought that was pretty cool. If you're simply trying to get a better feel for your bait and what it's doing on the bottom, switching to braid helps in my opinion. I'm sure others will disagree. There's plenty of threads on that issue lately.

I have a 6'9" ML spinning rod that I got last fall and that's a great rod. I just ordered a 6'10" M casting rod off the amazon site for $76 and the free shipping. It came in a few days ago but I haven't been able to fish it yet. I love the handle on the spinning rod, but it feels strange on the casting model. Probably just me. The rod seems to be high quality, and I think I will adapt to the grip pretty quick especially considering what I paid for it. I haven't fished every rod there is, but I can't believe anyone makes a better rod at that price. Tthanks again to A-Jay for posting that link to amazon a while back. I never would have thought to look there for fishing gear.

Cavitron - especially in black

My screen name is in honor of a 50+ inch Northern that I lost at Lake Champlain, Labor Day weekend 2009. It was "the one that got away". Mid-afternoon, good conditions, in N. Hero VT just south of the Rt 2 bridge by a partially submerged dock way off to the right, 1/2 ounce white Terminator spinnerbait. Losing that fish will haunt me to my grave. Talking about anymore won't help. In fact, bringing up the bad memory might make me change my screen name.