Mainebass1984

Nice smallie AJ. What did it weigh ?

It was a nice warm day, dead calm. Bluebird skies. Water temperature was 43 degrees and unfortunately the water was like chocolate milk. Super muddy. I couldn't buy a bite with a jig, or basically anything else I tried. The only lure that I could get a bite on was a crankbait In5 hours of fishing I caught 6 bass, 4-7,4-4,3-0,3-0, 2-15 and 2-9. I had a picture worthy fish come off right at the boat. That sucked. I also had another fish come unbuttoned. Bummer. Would have liked to have landed that bigger fish. So it goes. Hopefully get out there again soon.

Yep winters are long. The bass never stop biting, even in winter.

No way. She knows how it is. Got to lay some ground rules at the time of first contact.

LOL. Not single. My girlfriend lives with me.

I don't have a bass room... I do have all of my mounts in the living room, 8 lb 9 oz largemouth, 7 -12 largemouth, 9 lb 2 oz brown, 4 lb 3 oz brown, 4 lb 3 oz brook trout. I have a couple of the big checks I've won framed and some trophies including Angler of the Year I got last year. My fishing gear is also in the living room too... I would like a 6 lb smallie to complete the collection... and a 10 lb largemouth from Maine.

Get out there AJ ! The lakes aren't frozen yet and the fishing has been good. I went to day to a smallie lake I had never been too. Bluebird skies, 10-15 mph, 45 degree water temperature seemed less then ideal. I fished 10-230. I spent a lot of time searching. Once I found one spot with what I was looking for the fishing was good. I landed 7 bass, 3-9,3-6,3-2,3-2,3-0, 2-10, and a dink 1 lber. All on a silver buddy in 15-25 ft near an offshore rockpile. Going after lunker largemouth tomorrow. Time for a jig. I'm going to keep on fishing until all the lakes are frozen solid.

My friend and I went to a lake I had never been to in Vermont. Smallies only. Bluebird skies, 10-15 mph winds and 45 degree water temperature did not sound ideal. We fished for 4.5 hours, 10 until 230. I boated 7 bass and my fried boated one at 3 lbs 4 oz. My lunker was 3 lbs 9 oz to go along with the other 6 I caught, 3 lbs 6 oz, 3 lbs 2 oz, 3 lbs 2 oz, 3 lbs 0 oz, 2 lbs 10 oz and a 1 lb dinker. All of the fish were caught in 15 to 25 ft of water with a Silver buddy. The fish were located on the rockiest offshore hump we could find. Giant schools of small perch were nearby. All the bass were caught off the side of the hump along the rocky drop off, not on top of the hump which topped out at 8 ft. I would deem it a success, especially since I had never fished there before. Spent a good amount of time searching. Tomorrow I will be lunker largemouth hunting. A forecast of calm winds and 58 degrees sounds inviting. Hopefully isolated offshore cover and structure will be productive. No searching needed. All the spots are already locked in on my gps.

I think this Sunday I will try and see how the silver buddy bite is. Monday I will be fishing a jig in trees in search of giant bass. Hopefully these patterns hold true.

Given your favorite lakes I am assuming you fish in the northeast. Every year the same patterns unfold for me. I am sure there are many many patterns that work. I have the best luck fishing a two prong approach to this time of year. Once the water temperatures drop to around 50 degrees or below the deeper smallmouth bite really heats up and is very consistent in my experience. I target the steepest rockiest drop offs in the lakes I am fishing. It could be a hump, a point, a ledge or a very steep dropping shoreline. Smallmouth love this type of structure this time of year. They congregate in these areas using the steep drop to corral schools of baitfish such as alewives, smelt or young of the year perch. I am typically fishing 15-40 feet, sometimes a little shallower and sometimes a bit deeper. I fish a silver buddy in these areas. I cast out and make small 1 to 2 foot hops back to the boat. Lift up your rod, feel a small vibration, let it rest back on bottom. I do not rip it up off of bottom. Fish will hit the silver buddy on the fall, on the hop, or while it is resting so be prepared. If you have downscan you can also "video game" fish in these same areas. You see the fish on your screen and drop you buddy right on hits head. You can see your lure fall and how they react to it. Most of the time you can catch fish that you see on your screen. If you come a across a school it is almost guaranteed you will catch atleast one of them. These spots will replenish with fish all day long. Its a great tried and true pattern for me. Every year it has been very productive for me. In the bodies of water I fish this pattern produces quality smallies and largemouth too. Most of the bass I catch fishing this pattern are over 3 pounds. Another of my favorite patterns for this time of year is isolated offshore cover.. To be more specific submerged trees way off of the shoreline, some well over a mile from shore, targeting big largemouth. At this time of year perch tend to congregate around these trees and so do the bass. Once the water temperatures hit 50 degrees and below these areas will hold fish. More often then not some of the biggest fish of the lake will be there at this time. I usually fish these trees with a jig, dragged excruciatingly slow. I want to make almost constant contact with the trees I am fishing. I also have had good luck with a squarebill crankbait, even with water as cold as 44 degrees. I'm basically looking for a reaction bite with the crankbait. I want to make contact with the trees I am fishing multiple times on every single cast. In my opinion this is one of the best times of year to fish, fishing pressure is low, many people are hunting, pleasure boaters are long gone, kids are in school and most fisherman have given up until next year. I can assure you some of the biggest bass of the year can be caught right now until ice up.

Well done ww2farmer. You covered almost all the vegetation you will find here in the northeast. Very informative. I had similar results fishing the vegetation in the instances you described. I have had some very good days pitching in to isolated patches of eel grass especially if other vegetation is limited. If water chestnut occurs in the body of water you fish it usually will hold some quality bass.

Its pretty difficult to identify by pictures only. It looks like Chara ( also called musk grass). If it is indeed chara it should have a strong sulfur odor.

Ice drinking and ice fishing are completely different sports. No ice is 100 % safe but 4 inches of black ice and I will be out there. Some of the best fishing is first ice. If you wait for a foot ice you missed the first ice bite.

I fish for bass through the ice pretty often. First ice is usually the best action. January is good as well. February can be tough. Warm march day can be fantastic. I like to use the biggest shiners I can find. It can be very fast action. I target green weeds most of the time. Another tactic I have had good luck with is targeting the middle of a spawning cove 2-5 ft off of bottom. You can have some excellent days through the ice and catch some very large bass, the largest I have got through the ice is 6 lbs 8 oz. The action can be insane, 50 fish days are possible. We are allowed 5 lines in ME, 6 in NH, 8 in VT and 15 on Lake Champlain. The past couple years I have been actively jigging for them use a vexilar flasher. t is far more exciting then waiting for flags if the fishing is slow.

The silver buddy bite has been red hot lately. If you are in New England and find water temps of 50 or below it might be a good idea to have one tied on.

It is still a work in progress this fall... I have about another month of fishing before ice up. Its crunch time ! Only 100% sure way to find out would be to kill it and I don't want to do that. I am pretty confident that you would find that fish full of Smelt. I was fishing around huge schools of them and most of the fish were spitting them up on the way in.

Fizzing seems to be becoming more widely accepted as each year goes by. In my opinion piercing the swim bladder should be frowned upon and only done as a last ditch effort. Not only are you limiting the fishes use a very important organ, you are also introducing bacteria into their body cavity. This past week I was catching both largemouth and smallmouth on bottom in 35-45 ft. I think the deepest fish I caught was in 46 ft. In my experience if you fight them slowly, allowing them to time to use their swim bladder, they have the best chance at surviving. If you fight them quickly, get them in the boat asap you will have a lot of fish that will not be able to equalize their swim bladder leaving them floundering on the waters surface upon release.

I made the long journey this morning from Vermont to one of my favorite fall fishing spots in New Hampshire. The forecast for the day was chance of showers with a high of 50 degrees ( I don't think it ever did get above 45). I was on the lake and making my first cast at 11 am. Within minutes it started to pour. It wouldn't stop raining until 4 pm, an hour before I left. My game plan was simple. Go to the best spot on the lake and never leave it. It is a rather large offshore rocky hump I am very confident in this time of year. It consistently has been a good late fall fishing spot for me. I targeted 15-40 feet fishing a silver buddy. I was mostly making long casts and slowly hopping it back to the boat. I did catch several fish "videogame" fishing. I would mark a fish on my down scan and drop my silver buddy on their head. I caught several fish doing this. In 6 hours I caught 10 smallies and 7 largemouth. The average size was good. My biggest smallies were 4-1, 3-11, 3-4, 3-3, 3-2 and 3-2. The biggest largemouth were 4-0, 3-9 and 3-0. The biggest 5 fish went 18-9. It was a cold rainy day. I glad I toughed it out, it was worth it. At only 17 inches the 4 lb 0 oz largemouth was a bit fat. Looked like he had been eating well. Lunker smallmouth of the day at 4 lbs 1 oz I have all day to fish tomorrow. I will be going somewhere else and hunting trophy largemouth with a jig.

Keep fishing your strengths and what you have the most confidence in. If you are catching 3s and 4s then a 5 can not be to far away. You can increase your odds at a bigger fish by fishing ideal conditions and ideal cover or structure. Fish locations that you have caught 5 pound plus fish in the past. Personally I prefer to target lakes which give me the best chance at a true northern trophy. I sacrifice numbers for size. I can assure you that big swimbaits do catch big bass. I would recommend keeping a fishing journal. I have done so for almost 20 years. You wouldn't believe the amount of insight a fishing journal can give you. A fishing journal allows you to see patterns, and patterns within patterns that can and should allow you to dial in on big fish more often. This past summer from the middle of July through August I struggled to locate trophy northern largemouth over 7 lbs. I did not catch a single fish in the 7 lb class during that time. I usually struggle to find 7 plus pound fish at that time of year but it seemed harder then usual. I could only guess why and figured it had something to do with the drought we are having in the northeast. At times I questioned my lures, my techniques but ultimately remained confident. In September the fishing was amazing. Remain confident, fish your strengths, fish areas you've caught big fish before, fish as much as you can and I assure you will break out of your "slump".

Don't let the snow deter you. Id rather fish in a snowstorm then when its cold rainy. Id take snow and 35 degrees over 45 degrees and raining. Fishing in the snow can be very good too. We got 6 inches of snow last Saturday night here in VT. There has been snow showers every day since. The morning of the snow the fishing was pretty good. No giants but my friend and I caught 28 bass in 5 hours. There is more snow in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow. Even though there is snow in the forecast I am greatly looking forward to this weekend. I will be fishing sat and sun. The conditions now are ideal for silver buddy 3-4 lb smallies and giant largemouth on a jig. They will be very predicable from now until ice up. Hopefully ice up wont happen until after thanksgiving. Its the time to catch some of the biggest bass of the season.

Southern Lake Champlain has a ton of gizzard shad

In the fall I have a lot of success with a jig, a silver buddy or a crank bait depending on the day.

You are entitled to your opinion. Fisheries management should be left to the professionals. Sadly the invasive weed was most likely introduced by a careless uneducated boater, kayaker or fisherman. Just like any invasive species. I am sure the decision was made be highly educated professional with far more knowledge and experience on invasive weed removal then any fisherman. It is not a decision made lightly. There is a long process involving several people and agencies, not just one individual. The problem is public awareness. Few understand exactly what a fisheries biologist does or why they do it. You mention the weed returning. Couldn't it have been reintroduced by a careless individual ? Again, dredging has nothing to do with weed removal or eradication. You stated earlier that it may have been the lake association that dredged the pond. It is common for a lake association to dredge a pond so they can more easily maneuver there boats at launches or lake association docks. More often then not a chemical application is applied to a body of water to manage invasive weeds as they are almost impossible to eradicate. It is a common practice and widely accepted thought the entire country. If the weed is not treated then it could take over every surface inch of that entire pond making boating or even running a trolling motor impossible. That is most likely the reason a chemical treatment was used, to allow boaters and anglers to keep using the pond for their recreational activities. Would you had preferred the pond remained untreated ? Allowing the weed to take over every inch of surface water making all recreational activities impossible. If left untreated the weed could possibly consume every bit of available oxygen leading to a fish kill or winterkill every year. Large amounts of decomposing and dying weeds consume vast amounts of oxygen. Believe it or not such decisions are made with YOUR best interests in mind. Sadly no matter decision is made, it is never the "right" decision. There is always someone who does not approve, someone who thinks they know more for whatever reason. Sadly it's always "the states" or "the biologists" fault if anyone, angler or not, disagrees with there decision or feel the outcome isn't fitting for them. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I prefer to rely on science and facts not opinions. You know what they say about opinions ? They are like a******s everyone has one. What soapbox do you speak of ?

Your knowledge and understanding of electrofishing and weed eradication is all based on opinion. It seems you have no knowledge on electrofishing or weed eradication. Sadly what I have understood from your post is something that is far to common on this site. Anglers making statements without facts, without knowledge based on personal opinion, thinking that they are more knowledgeable about fisheries management then their fisheries biologist. In todays world you must possess a masters degree and several years of in the field experience before even being considered for a fisheries biologist position. These individuals should be entrusted to make the decisions about fisheries management, not an angler with a skewed opinion. How experienced are you with electrofishing ? Have you ever witnessed it ? Been involved first hand in the sampling ? How expensive do you think electrofishing is ? What exactly do you know about electrofishing ? I can assure you that the chemical used to eradicate the weeds back in the 90s has been broken down for many years. It is not an easy process to get approval to use chemicals for weed eradication. It must be a EPA approved chemical. You must apply for a permit through the EPA. It is not an easy process. The chemicals used break down naturally over a short period of time. Why do you think that after 25 years this pond is "screwed up" ? I am not sure exactly what you are referring to as "dredging " Dredging is usually done because overtime an area of a lake or pond has become silted to the point where boat owners want the silt dredged out so they can more easily use there boat in a specific location. It is usually done near a marina or association owned dock to create a channel for boat traffic. Dredging has nothing to do with weed removal. For give me If I am a bit hostile. I take offense when individuals make uninformed statements blaming "the state" or biologists. As you said you are not an electrofishing expert, how can you make any statement regarding it ? Or on weed eradication ? From your statements it is obvious you are not educated or experienced with either. Referring back to the original question. In any state in any situation, you want to stock fish or take more fish then you are legally allowed you should first speak with a fisheries biologist. Stocking of fish is a huge problem. Not only are you stocking the fish you are also adding any foreign or invasive organism from the water you are stocking with. Unauthorized stocking is highly illegal in most states. If you are caught stocking fish with out a permit, without approval you can face a huge fine, jail time and loss of your privilege to fish in your state for the rest of your life. For example in Maine you lose your fishing license for life, receive a $25000 fine and up to 3 years in jail. I am sure the angler that began this has only the best intentions but needs to contact his local fisheries biologist. I am also pretty sure he would hate to lose his right to fish for the rest of his life in his home state.

I'm curious. How does the state screw them all up ? How familiar are you with electro shocking ?