Janderson45

alternatively, on a large river like the Charles, you can look at online nautical charts or even call them up on your phone if you desire... Navionics has a phone app that is very nice for getting a general feel for depth contours and what not without a sonar... I believe it is 10 dollars. If you don't want to pay that you can also access their charts for free on their website... I suggest using the charts that include "community edits" as it'll be the most up to date, detailed, and accurate chart. Welcome to the forum and back to fishing!

Thanks for the replies/advice everyone. I went with 550 paracord and was able to fit close to 90 feet on the wheel instead of 60, which should suit my purposes... 60' is likely enough in most scenarios, I was just looking for an alternative so that I had more line available.. If I can hold my position with an anchor in 25 FOW I can also let an excess 50' of anchor line out and "drift" down something like a drop off or weed edge on roughly the same angle I started at... I attempted this maneuver for the first time this weekend and it worked pretty well, just needs a little bit of fine tuning. I I think the mono COULD work, but after taking into consideration it digging into the spool, line memory, and not truly knowing how much stretch it has in it, paracord seems to fit the bill more appropriately.

figured the TW sale was a good enough reason to start to get into the smaller hard swimbait game, so I ordered: 6" Triple Trout Yellow Perch 6.5" Bull Herring Blueback Herring swimbait 7" MS Slammer in Black Beauty Spro BBZ1 Rat 50 plus a few other odds and ends that I "needed" .

Did plenty of fishing the past couple weeks... Had good success on the Norton Reservoir early last week, mostly with a chatterbait in a bluegill pattern, but also caught one on a frog and a couple on a texas rigged rage craw... Repeated that same pattern and success on Winnecunnet pond the following evening, but more success with the frog on top and more pickerels in the mix... caught probably my personal best pickerel that was just shy of the 5lb mark... hit a bluegill pattern chatterbait by a weed edge in about 6' of water, absolutely crushed it, 14lb sunline sniper fluorocarbon didn't flinch during the fight and I didn't even feel the need to retie after landing the fish.. I've loved everything about this line since first trying it this season.. well other than the price tag maybe Hit "Puds Pond" in Easton, MA in the kayak a few days later... pond is located in Borderland State park, and access is located off of a dirt road... pond was created by damming a river, and was dredged numerous times over the past decades to keep it from getting too shallow.. because of this the pond is nearly 12' deep near the middle, a nice contrast to the many very shallow ponds in my immediate area... anyways, I don't think this pond gets fished out of a kayak or boat very often, everything I threw was getting bit... squarebills, spinnerbaits, shakeyhead, texas rigged craws, topwaters and a floating jointed rapala... didn't catch anything to brag about as far as size, but had a very fun evening with constant action from largemouth and pickerel. I fished Lake Sabatia in Taunton, MA recently as well, struggled a bit more here.. It was a bit of a windy day, and jetskis/power boats kept me off of the main lake for the most part... I fished the inlet of the snake river that feeds into the lake.. I've done well here in the past, but not so much the few times I've fished the river this year. Tried weedless topwaters, a shakeyhead worm and texas rigged plastics without very much luck at all... options are limited in the river due to abundant lily pad growth. Over the holiday weekend I fished with bass tackle for inshore species off the southern coast of rhode island, had a blast while taking a limit of black seabass. Also caught plenty of Blues, Tautog (not in season unfortunately) and a few small striped bass to round out the day... all of which were a blast on a heavy action bass rod, 14b fluorocarbon, and a low-profile bait caster (shimano chronarch Ci4) Yesterday I was still down in RI and fished Worden's pond in Wakefield. I love to fish this pond whenever I'm in the area (quite frequently) but it really kicked our butts yesterday.. wind was blowing 15-20mphs out of the SSW and was unrelenting... still thought i'd be able to find a good chatter bait/spinnerbait bite if I hung out long enough and fought the wind... I was wrong. Tried mainly targetting weed edges and windswept points... not even a whiff. Also tried a bit of topwater and pitching some soft plastics to holes in the vegetation.. again no luck... one small white perch was all that bit in 5 hours. Oh well, a beautiful sunset made it not seem as lousy. Water temps nearly everywhere I've fished lately have been 78-82.. although in fairness I haven't fished any deeper/clearer/larger lakes that usually hold on to cooler temps in a while... Hope everyone is enjoying the fishing season, I recently bought a go pro and a mount for my kayak, so i'm going to start trying to snap more pictures and some video footage that I can share on here.

the memory could be a problem, i actually hadn't really considered that.. I did however consider that the inherent "stretch" that is in monofilament could be a problem... I've got a whole bunch of multicolored 400lb monofilament leader that I use for shark fishing... it's rather cheap actually. Braid is more expensive, and less abrasion resistant, both features that make it less desirable to me in this application. It would also further decrease the diameter, which I don't actually think is a good thing, braid under any serious load is a good way to injure yourself, whether its just a cut or a finger amputation.. stranger things have happened. The only advantage in this case that braid would have over mono is that it's not going to have any memory.... really heavy duty hi vis braid might fit the bill too, but I'm not sure.

Hey everyone- I fish primarily from a kayak, and one of the toughest issues I face on a regular basis is boat positioning. I don't have a trolling motor to position me, so more often than not if I want to fish certain structure I need to anchor. I have an anchor trolley installed, and just purchased the "anchor wizard" kayak anchoring device. This anchor wheel holds 60' of anchor line, ideally I'd like to fit more line on it... Which brings me to my question. If I use something like 4 or 500lb monofilament fishing line instead of anchor rope I could have a lot more "anchor line" to play with. It is a 3lb folding anchor that I'm using, and the weight of my kayak loaded down with gear + my body weight is about 300lbs. Is this a plausible solution? Has anyone else done something similar? Thanks!

Lol that video was pure comedy man, congrats on the first carp you definitely worked for it... You might want to give a little NSFW or language warning next time though.

This would be a new state record fish... I can't find anything on google about it? If it's a state record they'll at least tell you where it was caught. Rhode Island would be the state in New England that I would least expect this fish to call home, I'm going to guess that it came from a body of water that is seldom fished, but then again I suppose RI probably sees the least amount of freshwater bass fishing pressure in New England as well...

I would think the spawn should be in full swing right around that time, probably a mix of bedding fish, staging fish, and some post spawn as well. The cape has some decent smallmouth waters too, they spawn in a bit cooler water obviously. Apparently some fish were coming up to start the process a week or two ago, but now we've been hit with a fairly lengthy cold stretch (especially over night lows) and I think it's probably put a pretty big halt on any spawning behavior that was occurring. I'm heading out somewhere this afternoon to make some casts, so I'll report back on water temp and if I notice any signs of spawning activity.

It's all a preference thing, you could do just about anything with a MH spinning rod as you could a MH casting rod, there's just some differences in the way you operate the rods obviously... A few of my friends are spinning rod only types, they use MH spinning rod for Texas rigs, spinnerbaits, larger top water plugs and jerkbaits, etc.. It wouldn't be a rod I'd pick for reasons mentioned above, I'd prefer a baitcasting rod for all of those types of techniques and lure weights, but I couldn't of passed it up at 59$ either. What a steal for a nice sensitive blank.

Smallie was taken on a 1/4oz chrome/blue kastmaster, moderate retrieve fished near the bottom. No idea the depth the fish struck at but I was fishing a point where the water quickly came up from around 80' to 10' or so. Laker was caught in the same location.

Went out on the A1 on Thursday, about 4 1/2 hours in the yak, got skunked. Threw a jig/craw trailer a shakey head with 6.5" plasma tail, and a big lizard. Nothing. The water was really muddy, temp was 54.x degrees all afternoon. Went to the Wachusett res yesterday in the gorgeous weather, bluebird day with 70+ degree air temps, water was still only 48 degrees. Was slow for the majority of the 5 or so hours we put in out there, but within ten minutes me and my fishing partner both Hooked up on good fish, my friend with a 3lb 13oz lake trout and I hooked up with my new PB smallmouth. 4lb 15oz , 20" long. Smallmouth hit like a freight train, I couldn't believe the size of it when I got it in. Friend kept the laker to eat, I considered for a moment that I had a state pin fish, but quickly decided I'd rather release her. we also saw numerous eagles and loons, awesome spot.

Any info on spy pond? Been wanting to fish it for a little while now, one of my fishing buddies just moved to Arlington and we're thinking about hitting it soon.

I was out on Saturday 4/2, took the kayak down to Wordens pond in South Kingstown, RI to meet up and fish with a few of my buddies. We knew it was going to rain but we weren't anticipating it to be quite so bad, we got pounded my numerous heavy downpours. One of my friends was a bit under dressed for the conditions so we only managed 4 hours of fishing or so, from 8-12. I caught 2 yellow perch (on a yellow perch rapala xrap funny enough) but that was it, neither one of my buddies even got a whiff. I was throwing suspending jerks, lipless cranks, and the new spro BbZ-1 Rat (really just to try it out and see if I could tempt a large pike, I wasn't overly optimistic about a cold water top water bite in pouring rain), my friends were throwing soft plastic t rigs of different flavors. That was the last time I got out, had a bit of a crazy work schedule lately, but I'll be getting out again tomorrow as I've got the day off. Can't decide if I want to get back out in the yak somewhere or if I want to go and give wachusett a shot. Seen lots of pics of salmon/lakers getting caught there recently, along with a handful of smallmouth. Thinking that the fishing might be better at wachusett, but I'd prefer to fish out of my kayak than from shore, so it's a toss-up! Ill report back with where I went and how I did...

I cant speak for DVT, but most all casting reels can benefit from a tune up, even if they're brand new.. thorough cleaning, oil, grease, lube all applied in the correct quantities in the correct places, possibility to upgrade stock bearings for longer casts/smoother retrieves and operation, upgrading stock drags to make them perform more consistently throughout their range of pressures, etc.. If you're a DIY kind of guy this can all be done fairly easily by yourself as well, countless videos and walkthroughs on the web to help you disassemble, upgrade/clean and then reassemble your reel.

I got out on Lake Sabbatia for a few hours yesterday afternoon. It was mostly sunny with a very light wind when I launched, right around 50 degree air temps. water temp was 52.x degrees where I launched from, the snake river which feeds into the northern end of the lake. This was only in 2-3' of water most of the way however, and it was already 1PM. Main lake temps were 48.x I spent some time exploring the river to try and get an idea if there were any active fish feeding up in it, I didn't see much life and nothing was tempted by my bladed jig or shakey head, so I headed down the river towards the main lake. I found the channel where the water dropped abruptly to 8' or 9' of water, fished that with the shakey head for a bit.. nothing. Headed out to the main lake, the wind had picked up considerably at this point, 6-10mph out of the southeast which was not what had been forecasted. I worked my way up the northern bank where there is a rather drastic ledge, quickly dropping to 20+ feet of water, and marked what appeared to be some pretty good fish on my lowrance. I was in about 16' of water and the bass were suspended in groups of 2 or 3 in about 8-12' of water. I did mark a few that were orienting to the bottom as well, but mostly they were suspended. My initial game plan was to anchor in the shallow water closer to the bank that was facing into the wind, but this was a surprisingly hard surface. I could not drive my stakeout pole deep enough into the bottom to hold me in place. I used a folding anchor a bit further out, in around 12' of water, and was able to make some casts towards the areas i had marked fish, once again they wouldn't take the bladed jig or shakey head. The shakey head was tough to maintain contact with in a slight chop and fairly deep water, it probably needed to be upsized and I likely would've been better off dragging a jig or Carolina rig. The fish just weren't interested in the bladed jig either, I fished it at a lot of different speeds and depths with various retrieves without any luck, I should have tried a jerkbait but i didn't. It was getting late and I was having trouble positioning the boat in the wind, so i headed back up the river. On the way back up I snagged a 15" pickerel with the shakey head, a 3/16 ball head and a 6.5" biospawn plasma tail in green pumpkin. That was it for the day. All in all it was a fun day though, felt good to get out. I got to try out a new reel, I had never fished a bladed jig, and it was my first outing with my new stake out stick as well. The stick performed very well in the river where there was a soft bottom, lots of the places I fish in the area have shallow softer bottoms, so I think this will be a real asset for me this year. I hope to get better at positioning the kayak this season, sometimes it can be a real chore to target the right areas or fish that you've found if there's any wind or current. I also hope to get better at catching some fish out of deeper water, the majority of my catches come from 8' of water or less.

the kayak has a console for installing a fish finder, I was missing a piece that keeps the unit waterproof. I ordered the piece and it'll be here tomorrow, so if you guys want to give me a time and meeting place I should be able to meet you all down at Sawdy on Tuesday.

I placed an order for a new console I needed with rush delivery, so hopefully it'll be here in time for me to get out fishing and enjoy the weather Tuesday/Wednesday. It's supposed to be here Monday, fingers crossed.

Bending branchers angler ace, 250cm. paddle weight and length is good, 2 pieces helps me out a lot, and the blade seems pretty good for my paddling style. I don't pretend to be an expert on kayaks or kayak paddles, but I think mine has suited me pretty well. Feels plenty solid in my hands while paddling, and the blades can be feathered if you desire. The measuring tape on the paddle is a nice feature, I find myself using it on most of my bass catches instead of reaching for a scale... the "hog troth" would probably be a bit easier to measure fish on, but it's an extra piece of bulky equipment to carry with you.. the "hook remover" included in the paddle is about the only negative I could find. It seems almost completely useless to me, I could potentially see a situation where it could possibly help you retrieve a lure, but I've never found an opportunity to use it. The only thing it's been good for so far is occasionally getting caught on fishing line or deck rigging/anchor line. Your mileage may vary..

Certainly a possibility for me, I've got Tuesday off and it sounds like it would be a good first day out. Hopefully I can find a solution for my kayak before then.

Yup, Tuesday and Wednesday next week look good, Wed might even approach 70 degrees supposedly. Hopefully the winds stay reasonable and they'll be a few good days to get out. I wasn't able to get out the other day, I'm missing the foam block that seals the console on my kayak, need to either locate it or order a new one.

Thought of a shakey head shortly after I posted, I'll likely toss that around some too, I've got some nice new 6.5" biospawn plasma tails I wanted to try out on a shakey head. Also considering the "Ned rig", fished it with a lot of success last year, but never tried it in this cold of water. Best of luck to everyone that gets out there soon..

Nice work! I caught my first jig fish only 2 years ago, awesome feeling. Your fish was better though..

Got me thinking the same thing dogbone.. looks like milder temperatures are going to hold until Thursday, I'm going to make an effort to get the yak out for the first time in 2016. Trying to brainstorm some presentations and tactics to hopefully increase my odds a bit.. I'm thinking of fishing some shallower hard bottom areas if I can find them, hopefully they'll be holding a little extra heat. Thinking of 3 presentations at the moment; lipless crankbait, suspending jerkbait, finesse jig .. I think a blade bait would potentially be a good choice too, but I've got zero confidence fishing them and only own 1 at the moment. anyone else got any thoughts?

While this is true, the post just seemed pretty snide to me... especially since whoever it was took the time to sign up just to post that comment. I'm not saying that I wouldn't want to know, I almost always have a scale on me while fishing for that reason.. my point is that arguing over the weight of a fish when no weight was ever recorded is complete semantics. I just entered his stats of 25" x 17" into 5 different fish calculators and got 5 different weights... Pretty sure since he knew to take length/width measurements he is also plenty capable of entering said measurements into the numerous calculators that are available via google to get a rough estimate. My issue was not with you giving him the BassResource weight calculation, nor him wondering some guesses on what the weight might have been, as I said before I just found the original post I quoted to be in poor taste. Fact of the matter is you'll never truly know how much it weighed if you don't weigh it... in my opinion fish calculators are just to give you an idea, there's way too many factors involved in how much a bass weighs for them to be truly accurate.