Mainebass1984

Where did you here the Mass record was full of lead ? I "heard" angler stories it was caught in FL then brought up to Mass and the angler said he caught it ice fishing. That fish was a giant at 15 lbs 8 oz. Maine record is 11-10 New Hampshire 10-8 Vermont 10-4

Its a love/hate relationship when it comes to fishing for suspended bass. I would rather try fishing for them somewhere else. Sexy shad ? Its a killer color for me too along with chartreuse shad. We really don't have any bluegills where I grew up in Maine. Even in central VT we don't have a whole lot of bluegills unless your talking about Champlain of course. Thinking outside the norm is great. I like to do it all the time. That day though I posted about if you weren't matching those crawfish you weren't going to have a good day fishing. Attention to detail is very important, whether that is matching the hatch or going the complete opposite.

It is a shame..... What Paul did was a bigger accomplishment. A northern angler going down south to an unfamiliar lake fishing against pros and anglers who call the lake home. I wonder if it is the fact that he is a northern fisherman ? Or is it just the media trying to give the pros there time in the spotlight for there sponsorships ? I think it is the fact that he is a northern angler. BASS has always had some kind of mindset against northern fisherman...

What was your lunker for the trip ?

Back to the live target crank bait subject. They work well when you can match the hatch. A couple years ago I was fishing a crankbait in chartreuse and catching bass. I caught a nice smallmouth and it spit up a bunch of orange crawfish. I tied on a live target crawfish all started catching big smallmouth and giant largemouth every other cast. It was the best fishing I have ever had. It was in April. I caught 19 largemouth, 20 were over 3 lbs, the biggest was 7 lbs 12 oz. The one that wasn't 3 lbs was 2 lbs 15 oz. That same day I caught 12 smallmouth, 10 were over 3 lbs, the biggest was 3 lbs 15 oz. The crawfish were coming out of there winter hibernation along a clay bank I was fishing. They were insanely stacked there for 3 weeks. At the end of the day I had 15-20 crawfish in my boat dead. The photo doesn't give them much color but they were orange. Given the right conditions, at the right time, the live target crawfish will slam em ! I tried other crank baits at the same spot with very little luck as if the fish weren't there. As soon as I took as cast with the live target is was fish on. Got to match the hatch. Of course they don't make this exact model anymore...

Awesome fish Shane. Totally jealous.

I have never caught one in Maine like that, or with any blotches. I have caught a couple in VT, in Lake Champlain. There are several ideas what causes it but not proof. We know what happens and why the fish is colored so. For some reason (yet unknown to science) something causes the pigment producing cells to produce an excess of melanin which cause the black coloration. There are several theories, increased handling from tournaments, human induced chemicals in the water, PCBs, poor water quality, etc.

If an 8 lber is a trophy southern largemouth then, in your opinion, what is a trophy largemouth from the Northeast ?

What's the name of your club ?

Live target makes some great lures. Live target crawfish.... Ya don't bother buying any of those

^^^^^ This is by far the most accurate equation for calculating weight. I have tested it out against my digital scale and it is super accurate. Always within a 0.10 of a pound. Congrats on the new personal best. It is always exhilarating catching a new personal best. Any pics ? We all love pics of big bass !!

Mounting a fish is a personal choice. There is not a set guideline to how big it must be. Perhaps a particular fish that wasn't very big could have a special memory attached to it. If your going to mount a fish depending just on size I think it entirely depends on the region of the country you catch it in. I have 2 mounted largemouth bass a 7-12 I caught with my dad on fathers day a few years ago and a 8-9 I caught in 2009. I have caught a couple fish bigger then the 8-9 but I have not had them mounted. All caught from Maine. I do not think I will get another mounted unless it is 10 lbs or close to 10 for largemouth. Last fall I got a 9-1 and have yet to decide if I want to get a replica or not. I am still waiting for a 6 lb smallmouth, they are very rare in where I fish and I do not fish for smallmouth much. For Florida strain largemouth and there hybrids a true "trophy" would be in the teens. A northern largemouth anything over 7 lbs and 5 lbs for smallmouth. When it comes down to it though, when you catch a fish its your choice to mount it or not no matter what the size.

I fish whenever I have free time. I do have more luck for big fish around full and new moons. When I am night fishing the full moon makes a HUGE difference. I do not plan my day time fishing trips around the new or full moons. I go when I can. Anytime on the water good or bad sure beats working !!

Sebago can be great fishing if it is spring or summer. The fishing gets real tough in September when they have the 2 day tourney. A 7lber is usually weighed in during the two day tourneys. Generally though if you on a 2.5 lb pattern in September your doing pretty good.

Cool. How did you do ?

I am not sure how many I will be doing but I plan on doing quite a few. Thinking about doing the big northen bass supply open on Sebago in the September again. I am debating whether or not to join a club in Maine. I like doing opens on Moose, Kezar, Mousam, Sebago, Lovewell and, few other ones.

I was just looking through the Maine tournament list. Is anyone on here planning on doing any ?

Yeah we got 21 inches

It is 26 degrees outside right now. Back below zero tomorrow night. It is snowing right now and we expect to get over 24 inches here in VT. There is 30 inches of ice on the lakes. YOU SUCK

You got a pic of your 10 lber ? We all love pics. My goals for the year are to catch a 10 lb New England largemouth and a 6 LB smallouth

A possible world record spotted bass weighing in at 10.48 lbs was recently weighed in at a pro/am tourney in California. Caught on a wacky rigged senko.

Basically YOU SUCK I mean that in the nicest way possible. I would much rather be fishing from my boat right now.

Shhhh No bass in Maine only trout and salmon That's a pretty awesome five fish bag in a tourney.

There are bass in China ? That is a pretty long drive to catch bass. There aren't any bass in Maine. I usually catch 15-20 bass per day fishing. Early, early, spring and very late fall it is around 10 bass typically. If I go out bass fishing all day and don't get 15-18 lbs for my 5 biggest bass then I feel like I failed and should have been doing something different. Every day I go fishing whether it is fun fishing or I am in tourney I am trying for 25 lbs in 5 fish. If I get over 22 lbs for my five biggest bass then it has been a good day. I would much rather fish for size then numbers. I have had some days where I have caught over 50 bass but I would much rather catch 10 or more bass all over 3 lbs.