Mainebass1984

It is nice to see that few people have referenced New England. Hopefully most people will vacation to the south and out west for bass for years to come.

I know it sounds exaggerated and outlandish but the average largemouth I catch in the wonderful state of Maine is 3 pounds or more. I have fished these lakes for a long time and only fish the lakes that have the largest populations of big bass. I spend all of my time fishing for big bass on the some of the best big bass lakes in the state. I weigh my fish regularly and make a point to weigh every single bass I catch that is near or above 3 lbs. I take a lot of pictures of the bigger fish. I keep detailed records of every day I spend on the water. The past couple years I have spent most of my time fishing a particular lake. On an average day the biggest 5 bass weigh around 22 lbs. I know it sounds exaggerated but that is not the case. I am sure there will be a few people who would assume that I am full of it. Come on out to Maine and I will show you.

A couple guys from my club were out there last weekend. They caught some nice smallies fishing deeper.

This time of year a silver buddy can be very productive. At times it will far out produce a jig. Slow, slow, slow is the name of the game this time of year. Jerkbaits work as well.

Fishing in the snow can be pretty fun in the spring or in the late late fall. One thing is for sure you wont be bothered by people water skiing or jet skiing

The tail marking of the 6-10 is from spawning. During the spawn females get injuries to the caudal fin usually the lower portion from fanning the rest and also from the male attempting to stimulate her. At the first the caudal fin injury is red, or bleeding essentially and open wound. What you can see I the picture is that the injury has healed well over time. Or... it couldn't be from spawning at all... In my opinion though it is an old spawning injury that has healed over again and again. It is a birth deformity or a genetic mutation. In my opinion it is just a big old girl who has spawned many many times.

This past weekend was really good fall fishing for me in Maine. One day the silver buddy bite in 25-40 feet of water was very productive. It was also a great day to be on the water calm and somewhat warm. Here are my biggest 5 for sat. Biggest 5 for exactly 17 lbs. I went out again on Monday and it was pretty windy and not nearly as warm. I went to a different lake even though I had some success on Saturday. The jig bite was on. I was fishing wood in 8-12 feet. Biggest 5 went 23 lbs 11 oz. I got all my fish on a jig with either a rage craw trailer or a rage bug trailer. Of the 5 biggest a 5-7, 4-9, 3-14 and a 3-3 were on the jig and rage craw trailer. Got the biggest fish of the day on the jig with a rage bug trailer. It weighed in at 6 lbs 10 oz. 5-7 6-10 Rage craw and jig combo. A big fish catching machine. Hoping to fish a few more times before it ices up.

Its a tough time of year to bank fish. I would try around the dam a lot.

This past Monday I had some time to get out fishing. The fore cast wasn't perfect, 50-55 degrees, but the wind forecast was 15 mph with stronger gusts. I decided I should go anyway. I figured there wouldn't be too many more days before all the lakes freeze up maybe 6 weeks. I got a pretty late start to the day. I had a couple things to take care of in the morning. I was making my first cast at 1130.The water temperature was 52 degrees and the wind whipping around 10 mph or so out of the west. I decided to start the day with a jig using a rage craw trailer. I was targeting deep trees, wood. On the third cast I felt a slight "tick" in my line. I set the hook hard and the fight was on. I could tell it was a good fish and after getting the net untangled it was in the boat. A heck of way to start the day. Not the best picture I know. She weighed in at 5 lbs 7 oz. On the very next cast the another good fish hit my jig, a 4 lb 9 oz. At this point I was thrilled I had decided to fish for a few hours. After making two trips around this particular spot I had landed 7 bass, nothing nearly as big as the first two. At this time I decided to give the spot a rest and fish a coupe other deep trees I know. I got a hit and missed it on the next tree. It is always a bummer missing fish this time of year. A few moments later at the next woody area I caught another fish on the jig/rage craw combo. Here is what it looks like. I motored across the lake over to a set of two trees in deeper water 17 ft or so. The first tree I got nothing. I tried other lures here too like a drop shot, silver buddy and a texas rigged worm. The first cast on the second tree produced a quality fish. A 3 lb 14 oz largemouth on the jig and rage combo. The next couple spots produced a whole lot of nothing. I decided to fish one more spot and then head back to the spot I started the day at. After a 15 minute motor I was fishing an off shore rock pile in 8-10 feet of water. I took a few casts with the jig and that wasn't working. I started throwing a squarebill crankbait banging it off the rocks. I caught couple pickerel pretty quickly. I figured I would stay with the crankbait a little longer. I was rewarded with a 2 lb 13 oz smallie a couple moments later. At this point I decided to go back to the spot that was so good to me in the morning. It took awhile to get over to the spot I was on the opposite end of the lake. Once I got there, I slowly crept up to perfect casting distance. First cast I was rewarded with a 2-15. I continued to fish the jig and unfortunately the bite wasn't as good as in the morning. After the 2-15 about 20 casts late I caught a 3 lb 3 oz largemouth. After that fish the bite all but stopped. It was getting a bit later in the afternoon. In the late fall I have most of my luck during the middle portion of the day, the lull in the action in the late afternoon was expected. I decided to change things up a little bit. I hadn't had a bite for quite a while. With an hour or so left before I needed to leave I put a rage bug as a trailer on my jig. I fished some offshore trees that I had fished early in the day and with no results. I was swimming my jig and rage bug combo back to the boat when I felt a very slight yet recognizable tick. I set the hook and realize its a real good fish. It puts up a heck of a fight, pulling down deep nowhere near the surface. I get it to the surface and see it has a huge head and mouth. I slide it into the net and oh man it is a good one. She weighed in at 6 lbs 10 oz. That was the last bite of the day. I had to go in at 4 pm. I caught 12 largemouth, 1 smallmouth and 2 pickerel for the day. My biggest 5 were 6-10, 5-7, 4-9, 3-14, 3-3 for a 5 fish limit of 23 lbs 11 oz. A pretty awesome late fall day of fishing.

How deep are you guys fishing ? On Saturday I was catching most of my fish in 25-40 feet of water on a silver buddy. Monday I was catching fish in the deepest water of the pond I was fishing in 8-12 feet with a jig. In my opinion this time of year the fish are very congregated. It may take time to find them but once you do the fishing can be some of the best of the year.

This past Saturday I was able to sneak away for a day of fishing. With calm winds forecast and temps approaching 60 degrees I had a good feeling about the day. Given that light winds were forecast I decided to fish a lake that had an offshore hump that produces very well in late October and early November. I got on the water about 9 am and trolled out to the offshore hump. The hump comes up from deep water over 50 feet on wide side to 2-3 feet deep on the top. I was targeting the steepest part of the drop off. Every year there are smelt there this time of year and so are the bass. the first few casts with a jig I got nothing. I decided to take a few casts with a silver buddy which had produced here in the past. On my third cast with a silver buddy I got my first bite of the day and it was heck of a fight on 8 lb fluorocarbon. 4 lbs 2 oz A few casts later I caught another fish over 2 lbs. They were hitting it after the initial fall while I was slowly hopping it to the boat. Not to much longer after I got the 4-2 I hooked into a good smallie. 3 lbs 6 oz Very next cast another better fish hit my buddy. This time on the initial fall. A very skinny 3 lbs 5 oz After the first time I had fished around the entire hump I had caught 7 bass. I fished very slowly and it took nearly 3 hours to go around the entire hump. I was catching fish in 25-40 feet of water. The second time around the hump wasn't as productive numbers wise. I tried some other presentations, a jig, a drop shot, Carolina rig, suspended jerkbait but on this day in this situation there was nothing out producing the silver buddy. During this second time around hump I caught one of the biggest smallmouth I have caught this year. 3 lbs 8 oz Several casts after the smallmouth I hooked into another good largemouth. This fish has sort of special significance. It was the 200th largemouth for the year over 3 lbs. 3 lbs 11 oz. I caught a couple more fish for the rest over the next couple hours but nothing good. I finished the day before 4 and had caught 6 largemouth and 5 smallmouth off of this one hump all on a silver buddy. Water temperature was 52-54 degrees. It was a beautiful fall day. Biggest 5 fish went 4-2,3-11,3-8,3-6,3-5 for exactly 17 lbs. A good fall day of fishing. I only missed one bite all day.

The past week has been very consistent when I have been able to get out on the water. All the rain the past week caused a lot of rivers to flood and lakes to go up a couple feet or so. This past weekend was the best fishing of the past week. Yesterday was real good, the jig bite was on.

I cast mine out to. Small subtle hops working it back towards the boat. I get a lot of hits as it flutters down.

I have the same "buddy".

^^^ SSHHHH No bass in there... I think it closed to fishing Oct 1st.

You should check the fishing regulations. You can do so online I do believe. I think that Moosehead Lake closed to fishing October 1st.

Unfortunately I am far enough north that you can expect the lakes to be frozen at the latest Dec and to thaw in early April. When the ice is so thick I cant break through with my boat then its time to go icefshing. You can find some amazing fishing spots icefishing that work well during the openwater season as well. I try and fish year round. I would much rather fish from my boat though. I just have to deal with icefishing.

Not to mention there will be a 20 degree difference from Fri and Sat to Sun. Should be interesting. I wonder how much it will come up. I have seen it so high you cant get underneath the bridge. Speaking of the bridge... there will be a lot of current going through there...hint hint. All the inlets as well will be surging with water.. hint hint. I think its going to be tough but someone is always on fish there. Let me know how it goes.

I am heading back to Maine on a bass fishing vacation for the next week or so. Hopefully will be able to get into some fish over 7 lbs this time. Was not able to break 7 a couple weeks ago but did manage a 6-15 when I was fishing with Shane J. The rain we are getting should help the fishing as long as it doesn't turn the lakes I fish into mud pits. Cold heavily muddied water is usually not very good fishing. The increase in water level is much needed I just hope that I do not have to deal with mud water. The water temperature has been cooling in the high 50s right now and without a doubt will be cooler when I return to VT October 27th. Given past experience and forecasted conditions I think that a jig and a square bill crankbait will account for the vast majority of my fish the next 10 days. I will be on the water tomorrow rain or shine. Hopefully it wont be flooding too bad and I will have some pics to post.

To become a better bass fisherman : Go early and stay late oh and fish a JIG

Thanks for the good luck man. I am sure I wont be fishing the St. John. Its around 7 or 8 hours away from where I will be in Maine.

So far it has been a 1/2 oz jig with a rage craw trailer and a KVD 1.5 crankbait. Next week I am on vacation in Maine. I plan on fishing almost everyday from Oct 17th - Oct 27th. I will have more info next week. I am assuming the 1/2 oz jig will still be working and that I will be catching some big fish on a KVD 2.5.

Spring from around 7 or 8 am until dark. In the summer I try and fish dawn until atleast dark. Some times I am on the water at 530 am and don't get off the water until 11 pm so I can get a night bite as well. I pack a lot of food and drinks for those long days. During the summer I try and mix in some 10 am until 2 am days to get the night bite during the hottest time of the year. In the Fall I am on the water at 9 am and fish until dark. My best bite this time of year is usually from 10 until 2 or 3 oclock most days. In the winter up here in New England it is ice fishing time. I am on the water an hour before sunrise and stay until at least an hour after sunrise.

That is one heck of a northern bass. Sweet

Mass ?