Mainebass1984

What won this friendly competition last year ?

I'm all in. Go BIG or go home !

You can find clubs listed online at vtbassfednation.com. Click on the club central icon.

NEjitterbugger- I have had great luck using a buzzbait and spinnerbait at night. Fish them around thickest weed beds. Shane J - 9-1 is a huge largemouth in new england. You got a picture of that hawg ? Do you fish mostly southern NH ? It seems like you like to fish a jig. So do I they may not catch numbers but they sure do catch lunkers. Lake Champlain is an amazing bass fishery. I fish it as much as I can. If the bite is on you can catch over 100 bass a day over 2 lbs. I think bassmaster magazine rated it in the top 5 bass lakes invthe country.

join your local bass club

jig

It is very common for there to be ecto and endo parasites in and on bass. The the only time that that they cause health problems is when they occur in very large numbers. What happens is the large number of parasites cause stress on the fishes immunes system as well as loss of fluids in the case of leeches. The added stress on the fish effects its health. Instead of using all of its energy ( in order of importance ) for maintaining bodily functions, enzyme formation, fluids, muscle repair formation, and growth it now has to use more energy for its immune response which is a primary bodily function. Instead of using the usuall 30 % of energy obtained through feeding for growth it now has less energy for growth which leads to a thin or sickily looking fish. I think the most common parasites I see in or on bass is black spot, nemotodes and leeches. The pictures above are of leeches. They dont help heal wounds. If a fish appears healthy on the outside and is still skinny the problem could be on the inside which is usually a nemotode problem like a tape worm...

I have had my best luck when the water is that cold using jigs blade baits and jerkbaits. Start fishing slow and then fish slower. It should take multiple minutes for each cast. I would start with a blade bait. They slam smallies in cold weather.

Thanks man ! There some huge largemouth in Maine. Midcoast Maine seems to get all the attention but... There are other places in Maine where giants swim. A couple years ago I did a tourney in western maine. A guy got a 9-3 and he didnt even get lunker in the tourney !

Here are my biggest three from last year. All caught in Maine. 7-14 7-13 7-12 I am going to see if i can find some pics of an 8-9 and an 8-10 I caught a couple years ago.

Join your local bass club. They will have tournaments for sure and you will become a better bass fisherman.

I was thinking 8 pounds. Personal best is from Maine at 8-10. Im goin for a 10 lber !

I was wondering what everyone would consider a trophy bass in New England ?

Right after ice out suspending jerkbaits work really well. The slower the better, jerk jerk pause for a good 20-30 count maybe even longer. They will hit it on the pause. I have had success with a jig fished around main lake points in 10-20 feet of water, s-l-o-w-l-y dragging it along bottom. A blade bait worked at similar depths along points and super steep drop offs work well. Aggressively rip the bait off bottom and let it flutter back down to bottom. They will hit it when its fluttering down. When I go fishing this time of year I try to fish during a warming trend. The fish seem to be more aggressive on the third or fourth day of the warming trend. This could bring them up pretty shallow, square bill crankbaits along rocky shorelines produce well. A spring time cold front up north always makes for slow fishing. Another spot worth checking out is any rivers or streams that enter the lake. The rivers bring warmer water in to the lake in the early spring, they warm up quicker, as well as food in to the lake. Fish can stack up at the mouths of rivers big time if the water is warmer. The fishing right after iceout can be slow but, can also produce some huge fat females. Chances are there wont be to many bass fisherman out yet either. Green weeds in 10-15 feet of water can be good too, most weeds this time of year are dead. The bass will key in on the green weeds. There are some ideas for you to try anyway.

If all you wil have is a kayak or canoe paddle up the missisquoi or the rock rivers. Both hold a bunch of smallmouth. You might even catch a muskie if your lucky.

Welcome ! Maine has some amazing bass fishing !

Fishing that time of year can be pretty tough. Although Missisquoi Bay can be really good for largemouth. There is a ridge in the middle of the bay that the FLW pros always are talking about it produces some big bass. The water in the bay is usually really stained. Visibility can be very very limited less than a couple of feet. It would be a good idea to get a map. There are afew unmarked rocky humps in the bay that could easily tear off a lower unit. Dont limit yourself to fishing Missisquoi Bay there are several launches within a short drive, Rouses point, Tabor point, North Hero state park, Dillenback bay and St. Albans bay all have launches and good fishing. The area south of Tabor point known as teh inland sea is known for its smallmouth fishing as is rouses point.

I just signed up to this site a few days ago. I live in Vermont , but have spent most of my time bass fishing Maine. I typically spend around 100-125 days on the water a year searching for giant largemouth. I have been seriously bass fishing for about 12 years now. I have fished in open and club tournaments I enjoy the competition. I am looking too pick up some new skills and techniques as well as some fishing buddies. I will be putting up some pictures soon. I am ready for the ice to metl up here so I can get out bass fishing !

The bill will never pass. The same legislator has also introduced a ban on hooks. Yeah hooks. The guy is just plain out of his mind. I participated in a study at Unity College, where I received a bachelors in fisheries biology, for the Maine dept of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife using soft plastics for feed for trout. The trout have a very very difficult time passing the plastic through there system. Most cases they could not pass it through there system. It essentially became a block in there digestive system. They could still feed but there capacity to digest prey was greatly diminished. They had less room in there stomachs. This also caused them to feed more frequently. The study also suggested that stocked trout were more prone to ingest soft plastic baits then native or wild trout. Most soft plastics are impregnated with salt as is the feed that hatcheries use. All this being said I have yet to see a trout that died from eating soft plastics. Usually the soft plastics are discovered by anglers after they have caught and killed the trout.

Ive fished a few tournaments in Sept on Sebago. Northern bass supply has been having an open that time of year on sebago for several years now. It certainly can be tough. I would catch a limit of smalies then try and upgrade with largemouth. It certainly can be tough that time of year for sure. If you get a 12-15 lb you will be in contention. One thing that you may want to consider when prefishing. They draw down the lake in sept. usually around 5 feet sometimes more. I grew up 30 min from the standish launch. If you want to do some prefishing in Sept let me know.