Mainebass1984

The most money I have won for a tourney $5,250 Winning Angler of the Year in my bass club and the respect that came with it was far more valuable to me.

Keeping a fishing log will certainly help you become a better fisherman. Not only will patterns emerge from your notes but other details will emerge as well. The best lakes for bigger fish. The best times to fish each particular lake. The best jig lake. The best lake to fish on a sunny day. The best lake to fish at ice out. I can keep going. I fishing log takes time and dedication but it will certainly make you a better fisherman and help you put more and bigger fish in the boat. I have made some small adjustments along the way but I have been keeping a fishing log since 7th grade. I graduated college in 2008.

If is 3 pounds or over I am weighing it. Its just the way I have been for years and years. It is part of the fishing log I have kept for much longer then a decade. I like to weigh fish. I like to be able to tell people how big the bass was when I am asked. I like to keep track of my 5 fish bag. If you don't want to weigh or take a picture of your fish then don't. I like to do both. I am not taking a picture unless it is over 5 lbs though. Each to their own.

Congratulations to him for the win on his home lake. Casey Ashley still had to get the bites and put those fish in the boat. I have no problem whatsoever that he caught some fish off of brush piles he planted. It was stated the he planted 50. I wonder did he planted them all right before the tournament or had he planted some years before ? It really doesn't matter though. Just because you plant a brush pile doesn't mean that automatically is going to produce fish. For the past 5 years my club in Vermont has been creating brush piles and planting them in a local lake. We need to get a permit from the state to do so. We use Christmas trees that are anchored by concrete. The brush piles are set in 10 - 20 feet of water in a lake that has very little wood to fish. We have had club tournaments out there every single year and a bunch of the guys in my club fun fish that lake as well. Very few of the 75 plus trees hold fish. They suck. You would think that some of these trees, some over 12 feet tall, would hold big fish all the time. It just isn't the case. Just because you plant a brush pile doesn't mean it will hold fish. It doesn't mean that your going to win every tournament on that lake because you know a few brush piles. It is not like they are off limits to every other fisherman. With todays electronics anyone can find them. I have planted some brush piles, very few. Usually with some pretty crappy results. They are a pain to make and they usually don't work worth a crap. Some rot away over time. Fisherman have been doing this for years and years this isn't something new. It is a non issue. Nobody is breaking any rules then it should be fine. Almost every single lake that anyone on here fishes has had a brush pile planted in it.

Welcome ! This a great forum with ton of information and a lot of really good anglers. I fish VT, NH, and a lot in Maine. I see Somerset is your favorite lake. Lots of quality smallmouth in there. Maine is worth the drive if you want to catch lunker largemouth and a ton of fish ! Good luck out there. There is a bunch of ocal anglers on the Northeast fishing section under the southern NH thread.

I love targeting fish under though conditions. Usually happens around me in late Oct and Nov. With the water temperature in the high 40s and fishing 40 feet deep I would go with a silver buddy and a jig. Under those conditions I usually get more bites on a silver buddy but if you get a bite on a jig it usually is a quality fish. Fishing the jig painstakingly slow is key. I would assume you will get a few bites on the initial fall with a sliver buddy. I prefer to cast my silver buddy out let it sink and then very, very, slowly hop it back to the boat sometimes waiting 30 seconds or so in between hops. You can fish the silver buddy vertical as well but like I prefer to cast it. I do believe that they had an Elite series event on the Alabama River last year or perhaps the year before. I just watched the show. I think that the winning pattern was fishing the small ponds just off of the main river channel.

This past year was an exceptional year for me. It would have to be an A. I did not get a personal best nor did I catch very many over 7 lbs. The consistency was difficult to beat. For the season I landed 56 largemouth over 5lbs mostly form Maine. I also landed just shy of 1400 largemouth. Didn't land any big smallmouth nor did I land an exceptional amount only 182 but I don't target them. My heaviest 5 fish bag for the year was exceptional for New England in my opinion weighing 5 fish for 30 lbs 6 oz. I would give this past season an A because of the incredible consistency. The season started off very well and the fishing never seemed to slow down. I did well in my club tournaments finishing 3rd, 1st, 1st, and 1st to win angler of the year as a non-boater beating all the boaters as well, 43 members in my club. Finished well in the other 4 tournaments I fished 4th, 5th, 3rd, 4th. I would give 2013 an A as well, landing an incredible amount over 7 lbs out of Maine and Vermont, 13 over 7, 3 over 8 and 1 over 9, including my personal best at 9 lbs 1 oz. The past two seasons have been exceptional and hopefully this will be a great year as well.

Goldfish from the pet store don't count. Only thing I've seen you catch.

Smallmouth fishing is excellent in May.

I set the hook pretty hard. Not only am I getting great hook penetration I also am pulling that fish 2 feet away from the structure/cover with the hook set. I would rather set the hook a little too hard then not hard enough. I never worry about setting the hook to hard. If I rear back and set the hook with emphasis it is coming in the boat especially fishing a jig, frog, or worm.

Each state has its own set of rules and regulations. In Maine the only instance when you can keep fish alive is when you are participating in a tournament. All tournaments in Maine require a permit from the state that allows anglers to keep fish alive in there boats. If you are not in a tournament any game fish caught must be killed or immediately released. Anyone who gets caught with live game fish in there live well will face a hefty fine and even loss of license. If I were to catch a state record in Maine I would have to kill it to have any chance at the record.

They filmed it last summer

I have yet to catch a DD. I have been close. It is a tough feat to accomplish with NLMB in Northern New England. That will not stop me from trying.

I like the fall too. My favorite time to fish for trophy bass.

Handicap fishing accesses would be a good idea if he has a hard time getting around. I used to take my grandmother every know and then up until she was 73. She had a blast catching fish on a senko !

Fish an area with the largest concentration of fish at the time. Have confidence in the lure your fishing and the way your fishing it. Be optimistic and do not get down on yourself.

1/2 oz chompers brush jig orange/brown with bama craw rage craw 7 lbs 4 oz

In your opinion what is the best baitcaster you can buy for 200 dollars or less ?

There has been a few times when I felt like I was on my game. It sure is a great feeling. The first occasion that really sticks out in my mind happened a couple years ago. I was fishing an area with a black jig with a black trailer. I was catching a couple fish good ones over 3 lbs. One of the fish spit up three brown and orange crayfish in my boat. After that I decided to switch to a brown and orange jig. That sure was the ticket. I started getting a lot more bites and the fish got bigger. When I hadn't got a fish within 10 casts I would then throw a crayfish colored crank bait and then catch a couple on that before switching back to the jig. I fished that most of the day and looking back I should have never left it. That day at that spot I caught 20 largemouth, 19 of them over 3 lbs. The only one that wasn't 3 lbs weighed in at 2 lbs 15 oz. It was one heck of a bite. My 5 biggest bass that day weighed in at 32 lbs 9 oz. That has been my best day weight wise I have ever had. In my mind it all happened because I changed my lure color. It also turns out that the crayfish congregate there every year at the same time of year. Last year I had another great day at that spot. When I am fishing that spot I anchor. This past year wasn't quite as fast fishing as two years ago. I did figure out though that when you get a bite on a brown and orange jig it will be a good one. Every half hour I would get bite and it would be a fish over 5 lbs. I landed 6 over 5 including one over 7 but lost 2 including the biggest of the day. It is a great feeling to "call you shots" especially when the fish you are catching are big. Looking back I get that " I am on my game feeling " when I make adjustments small or large that in turn lead to me catching several larger fish, pushing my 5 fish weight upwards of 30 lbs which in my opinion is pretty good for fishing in New England.

7-4 7-0 6-15 6-12 6-10 A couple from last year. Hoping for some bigger ones this year !!

I totally agree 100 % it is boring watching them catch a bunch of 12 inchers. I fish in Maine a lot. With the format they use it forces them to target all the 1 lb dinkers. There are plenty of big fish in Maine, especially in the waters they are fishing. I would like to see them target the bigger fish. If the largest 5 fish weight were what won the MLF tournaments then you would be seeing 5 fish limits of 20-25 lbs winning or bigger. That is what it takes during all the local open tournaments. It is a shame that this show is giving viewers the opinion there are only small fish in Maine. At some point while MLF was fishing in Maine one of them caught a largemouth over 7 lbs.

From April through November I fish in between 120-150 days on average. Last year was 127 days. Some of those days especially when it is warmer the first cast is 15 minutes or so before sunrise and the last cast is an hour or two after sunset. I will stay out even longer if the night bite is on. Got to be prepared for those long 16 hour days.

That is about how I feel about winter right about now. Tomorrow morning -20 to -25....

They can be spread out over vast areas. Typically up around our neck of the woods landlocked alewives are in deeper water in winter and during the hottest portion of summer. In the spring and fall they tend to be shallower. Ice fishing on Sebago Lake the alewives are as deep as 150 feet. If a big school of alewives is in particular area bass certainly do key in on them. Lake Champlain is a great example of that. You find a cove with alewives in it the bass bite is usually on. I see that Ossipee is one of your favorite lakes. I have fished there a few times. Pretty good fishing. I do most of my fishing just across the border in western Maine.

If you catch the female off of a bed the male will not completely abandoned the bed. It may move off of the bed for a short period of time but it will return to guard the bed.