Tyfisher

Have a puppy named Fluke. Looking forward to bringing him fishing once all this snow is done.

Hey folks, I've been using straight flouro for plastics and hard baits, but have been considering trying out using braid with a flouro leader this year, especially for plastics. What would people recommend on a spinning and casting setup that are being used for all-purpose use? I mainly fish from shore and generally carry one spinning and one casting.

I've used the wtd lure and have had good success with it. As MO_LMB said, each lure looks really nice in and out of the water and they have Owner hooks on them (which is nice considering the sorry state of many hardbait hooks out of the box). The one thing that stands out to me is the lack of rattle in any of these lures, they are all "silent".

My first was on a wacky rigged berkley trick worm. I didn't really know what I was doing and just hung on. This was only a couple years ago, but looking back on it may as well be another life...I've learned so much and caught so many fish starting from just that one.

haha, I actually had this happen on Sunday (though with NH-sized bass). Was reeling in a dink and had two bass, probably in the 2-3.5lb range, come after him and take some swipes, but even if they had engulfed him I think a hookset would be unlikely. Certainly is fun to see though! I wished there was another person next to me to toss a plastic to them and hook up.

Where did you access Wheelwright from? I've always wanted to fish there, but haven't found any reasonable way to get access (this is speaking as a shore fisherman).

Always love your night fishing pics, Nev. Those are some quality fish. I was throwing a buzzbait for the first time last night and caught one just shy of 3lbs, was quite pleased!

This happened to me yesterday evening while fishing a small local pond. Was casting a 3/8 spinner on my baitcaster from a small clearing surrounded by trees...enough room to cast sidearm. After 10 or so successful casts I brought the rod back to cast again, brought it forward and the spinner nicked a dangling branch, but didn't get hung up and the cast followed through fairly smoothly. My line and lure started to go out and everything seemed fine, but when the spinner pulled the line taught it just continued on..and on..and on. I'm guessing the branch nicked my knot pretty good and caused it to break when it reached full extension. Ultimately I watched my spinnerbait sail halfway across the little pond and land with a solid plunk. I couldn't do anything but smirk and tie something else on.

Thanks, Nev, I'll plan to check out Turtle after class tomorrow. Will also plan to get over to Gilmanton as well, always happy to try some shore-friendly places. Thanks again.

Thinking about trying Turtle pond or Lily pond tomorrow. Have only been fishing a few small local places and have been getting tired of beating the same shore. Any thoughts? I'm in the Dover/Durham area.

Love it. I do about the same thing before I go, otherwise I get so overwhelmed with fishing stuff that I forget what I actually need! His handwriting is about as good as mine as well. Planning to head there for the first time this year in a few weeks.

Ed will be in my thoughts. Wishing you and your family all the best.

Posted in a previous thread, but my gf used a bushy green plant as a topwater on a 3/0 ewg and caught a little guy almost immediately...was quite funny.

I tie directly to the lure. I believe that crankbait type lures would be a lure that you could use a snap swivel with and not see much of a difference in catch rate. With something like a jig I would say that a snap swivel is going to have a bigger negative impact. I've seen these: http://www.cabelas.com/product/No-Knot-Fast-Snaps/701927.uts ... They seem like they would be the least-intrusive option for quick changes. Along the shore I've been finding a startling number of stray hooks connected to lures via huge snap swivels...just scratch my head and pick them up to be recycled.

Have had success using a "sexy shad" (or whatever name the company uses) spook while it's still light out. Have also heard numerous times that black jitterbugs are the way to go. Semi-interesting sidenote: today my girlfriend and I were fishing and she looked at a bushy, green plant growing next to the water and said "that kinda looks like a fishing fly". She took the trick worm off of her hook and put the bushy, green growth on...couldn't cast more than 4 feet, but it was an organic topwater that caught her a 5inch bass. Was quite funny to see it work out.

Caught a bass on a hollow-body frog for the first time today. Was around 5 p.m. in a little pond that I frequent. Only a pound or so, but was excited to finally hook up with the frog, have missed several due to user error.

Went to Bellamy Reservoir today for an hour and a half or so. Caught 2 on texas-rigged rage craw and trick worm. Second was a quality 2lber. Had one grab a hollow-body frog, but I just missed him. Been fairly good fishing from shore in the area (Dover, Durham), but nothing spectacular as of yet.

Beautiful fish, jitterbug. I'm still trying to break the 4lb mark. Can be hard to find good water available from shore.

I've found that bluegills and really small bass will "tap tap tap" as others have said. Bluegills and baby bass also seem to grab the soft plastic and run in short, fast bursts, whereas larger bass tend to inhale the bait and either sit or move off more slowly.

I'd be interested in this as well. I have the $18 Rapala digital scale and have had a lot of problems with it.

In my experience weightless soft plastics seem to rule the pond scene. Keep it slow and always be watching your line and you'll soon catch something and can begin to figure out where they're at and what they want.

I've only fished in a smallmouth lake twice, but its been very productive and I really just applied my LM knowledge and was met with success. Girlfriend caught a 3+lb smallie on the first trip. I was fishing clear water and found soft plastics to work best. I caught about 12 today, most of them on a wacky rigged Zoom finesse worm (summer craw, green pumpkin). Also had success with a T-rigged ribbon tail worm in purple. Smallmouth are known to prefer a rocky bottom and seem to cruise around rather than sit and strike the way LM do. Not really sure there is a good way to catch smallies over LM, downsizing lures might increase your chances? Either way, I wish you luck, I've had a blast catching them and they're a beautiful fish.

Any plans for another get together? I'm going to be done with school and would love to get out on the water.

I wasn't able to make it to this one, but will be finishing classes this week and will be more available. Definitely planning to get in on it next time and grab a ride with someone.

What is the best way to handle a pickerel and release it with the least amount of damage to the fish?