clr9933

I would be satisfied if I were fishing big water by the first week or two of April. Hopefully some of the smaller ponds open up sooner than that, a few days of mid 40 degree weather could speed things up nicely.

Right on Maine! That is awesome. It's nice to see a post of a recent catch on here, makes me want to get out even more than I already did. Were you jigging or using bait?

I have a similar set up for froggin'. A 7.1:1 reel with heavy braid on a 7'3" MH fast action Veritas rod. I know some people use heavier rods, even 8 footers, I just can't justify using something like that. That seems like the kind of thing you might get if you can keep it in your boat all the time, but for fishing from shore or from other peoples boats or smaller boats it becomes more of a pain. I use a 7'3" MH fast Veritas for flipping/pitching too and haven't come across any situations yet where I felt like I would have benefited from having a heavier rod. What are other peoples setups for heavy cover fishing?

That's awesome, I did the exact same thing today, traded in an old rod and reel and got a sturdy combo for setting fat frog hooks. Can't wait to use it!

Confident and not losing fish is always a good place to be, keep doing what you're doing.

That's a good point that "finesse" doesn't have to mean smaller line and tackle. I remember when the elite series went to Falcon Lake last year Edwin Evers was throwing a "shakey-head," but it was a magnum worm on a "pumpkin ed" jighead. Kind of a shakey head on steroids. Not small stuff but still a finesse approach to catching his fish.

Almost all year long I have a 6ft medium action spinning set up with a green pumpkin twin-tail grub w/ exposed hook on it. The weight on the hook goes from 1/16oz to 1/8oz throughout the year but that's it. I have caught some decent bass on it, smallmouth and largemouth, but the point is that it nearly always will catch fish. I started fishing Champlain a lot last year and a drop-shot rig quickly worked its way into my set up. Im still not super comfortable with a drop-shot but have realized that tying it right is important, then just start tossing it where you know some fish are. Small lures get bites right! You've got me beat with the 4lb line, 8lb will probably be the lowest I go this year.

Thank you Shane, that's what I was hoping to hear! Good tip also, wouldn't have come across that anywhere else online.

I've read different things online, but was wondering if anyone on here knows from experience about the shelf life of flourocarbon? I have always debated purchasing the mammoth spools of it because it's expensive and I don't want any to go to waste. I only want it for one of my rods that I use very often. I guess worst case scenario is I change out my line every 30 seconds like the pros. If a big spool of it were to sit inside at room temp how long would it be safe to use?

I hope so. The power of positive thinking! I like it.

Yes, they'll be on Rage Craws. Yes, they'll be from you. Just kidding, I hope I get one in that top ten. Mainebass whacked some giants last year too.

Strike King bitsy bug jig with rage craw trailer

I think it will take a miracle to break that this year, but we can always hope right? My first bass last year was on April 6th also out of a small pond.

I wasn't a part of this last year but I checked out the thread using the link you posted, I ended up reading every single post from page one all the way through. That sounds like fun to me, you guys crushed em'. I can't wait for the water to soften up a bit, til it does I'll be pitching into coffee cups in the living room!

That has to be frustrating but don't be too hard on them yet, I'm sure they've been slammed since the doors opened. I love the pro qualifier casting reels, I've kind of narrowed down the reels I'm buying to those ones. I've had one of mine for several years now and the level-wind finally started getting a little screwy so I sent it to BPS and they fixed it for free. It was back in my hands ready to go two weeks after I shipped it. Good service.

Thanks for posting this, there's a lot going on here. For the people who were talking a while back about finding and joining a NH bass club this link should be helpful. Last year I joined a club in VT because I'm going to school there and the way I did it was by calling every single club I could find and leaving them a message hoping that they might get back to me... It took a little while to hear back from any clubs but I eventually did and ended up having some of my best days ever fishing from the back of the boat in the little club tournaments. If you're debating joining a club at all you should just try it, you wont regret it!

I Should have phrased that different, I wasn't putting down ugly sticks, just meant that they're popular.

I asked the same question to the BPS guys, they said that wasn't an option though, just one discount per rod. Probably a smart idea on their part otherwise I bet they'd end up with a ton of old ugly sticks and be sold out of expensive rods haha.

I asked the same question to the BPS guys, they said that wasn't an option though, just one discount per rod. Probably a smart idea on their part otherwise I bet they'd end up with a ton of old ugly sticks and be sold out of nice rods haha.

That's awesome to have access to a place like that, especially for a lifetime. Definitely put some bass in there. You can grow giants in farm ponds that don't get pressure, just make sure to harvest it right! As much as it hurts to take fish from the water if you don't you could end up with an over populated pond full of 10 inchers.

The rod and reel trade in works like this... You bring in any working rod and reel, and there's a place near the entrance to Hand them over to BPS staff. Then the discount you get is based off of the price of the rod or reel you choose to buy (discount has nothing to do with the value of what you trade in). If you choose to buy a $30 rod you'll get $5 off, if you choose a $100 rod you'll get $20 off, and discounts everywhere in between.

I like the layout of the new BPS also, they did a good job with the building they had to work with. I do like the two stories that the one in Foxborough has, but there's no way I'm going to complain about a more convenient pro shop. That place puts a smile on my face just thinking about it. What casting rods were you looking for? Only wondering because there is a rod trade-in coming up, I'm thinking of turning in a couple older rods for a discount on a new casting rod or two.

That's awesome. I was so pumped when I bought my first baitcaster, I spent a long time just casting in my yard to make sure I had it down. I'm sure you'll love it, they're way more efficient. Not to say I put away my spinning reels!

Hey there guys, I'm a student at Burlington College and this is my first spring in VT. Last weekend I finally got my truck up here so I can start exploring for more spots. To this point I have only fished along the bike path by North Ave. and some of the Winooski River. I've been dying to get out to some small ponds... I've done a little research using google maps. Any advice you'd be willing to share on where to go would be appriciated! Spent the past two weeks pitching into a role of duct-tape in my living room, can't wait to get out!