DogBone_384

I took a friend’s son to Ponkie for a couple hours this afternoon. Evan came up with a nice 3-5 Larry on a T-rigged fluke. Water temp was 74.x and the level is down a couple feet from Spring. I’ll go back tomorrow, weather permitting. Sorry Mike, centerpin fishing !?!?!?!?!?!, can’t help with that. Never heard of it.

I didn't catch them all but the ones I caught were good. We caught Larries, pickerel, white perch, crappie, and one bluegill (Tom). Tom caught more fish and species, but I lucked out late and horsed a 4-5 LMB out of lili pads as we headed back to the launch to grab the biggest of the day. Probably my best day of the year. A big thanks to Tom for giving me the front of his canoe and staying a little longer than planned....

Pretty unlikely... I’ll give it a heck of a try though.

I'm heading out with Tom tomorrow.... looking forward to some good Larries.

I keep a bag and a couple travel rods in my truck most of the year and have never had any problems or melted plastics.

I dropped into Great South just after dawn this morning and was met by G L A S S smooth water. Oh boy, I thought, TOPWATER SMALLIES!!! Four hours later I had two 3+ pound pickerels, four yellow perch, a frying pan bluegill, and four dink smallies ... ALL ON A NED RIG !?!?!?!?!!!? I have no idea where the big bite was, but three different topwater, a brown/purple jig, wacky Senko, and various DTs couldn’t buy a strike. Water temps were 71.x - 73.x. By the time I left the wind apwas too much for my five pound anchor. Great South sure has MY number this year. I know there are good size bass there ... ?... just WHERE they are ...

I can’t help with anything north of Boston, but Ponkapog in Canton is good, not over pressured. 3+ pound bass & pickerel are pretty common. You’ll need a kayak & cart to get to the launch from the Randolph street parking area. It’s 6’ deep and weedy. Houghton’s pond in the Blue Hills is wadeable. It’s pressured but you can usually grab bass & pickerel in warm weather. It’s stocked with trout in fall & winter. No boats of any kind are allowed here. Sunset Lake in Braintree, adjacent to the HS, was good before the town killed off the weeds in 2016. I’ve not been back since. Lastly is Whitmans Pond in Weymouth. It has a concrete ramp on Middle Street. I’ve never done particularly well here but have heard ‘tales’ from others. Almost any kettle pond in Plymouth is worth a shot. Some charge $15/day for non-Plymouth residents during the summer. This thread has a lot of good information on it:

I use baitcasters unless it's really windy or I decide to toss really light baits.

I just tripped over this thread. I still use them..... "if it's not broken, don't fix it..."

Launched at Ponkapog for a while before my wife's dance recital (yes, my wife dances even though our daughter stopped a few years ago... it's great). Not much going on there. Water temps were 69.x - 71.x and the weeds are in full bloom. Depth's are still 6' at the deepest. A few dinks and perch nibbled at my jig, a tiny LMB tried swallowing a 5" wacky worm, and a assumed pickerel bit the tail off my Rage Tail. I got a couple small strikes on a Zara Puppy and landed three LMB with a Yozuri square bill on the way back to the launch, with the largest being 1-15.

I fished Jacobs Pond in Norwell for a short while yesterday afternoon. I've not been there since October '16, the year Norwell killed off most of the vegetation. Jacob's is shallow, 3-4' at best, and the weeds are back in full force. I stayed for a little over an hour, got a coupe small bass to bite and packed it up. Water temps were 73.x.

Rods: ***, Abu Garcia, Kistler, Fenwick. Reels: ***, Diawa, Shimano, Pflueger (spinning).

What he said ..... 12-15 lb test to start. It's easier to pick out backlashes. Don't worry about catching fish at first. A smooth arc is key to distance and accuracy. Lastly: PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.....

Fishing Rhino took me over to Noquochoke, a pond in Dartmouth he'd not fished in a number of years. It was very windy, but his Chevy 350 of a trolling motor did an excellent job keeping us in place. Tom's electronics were out of service but water temps felt pretty good. Weeds are abundant here and my jig and Gamakatsu weedless wacky hooks did a respectable job, texas-rigged is highly recommended. We fished 3 1/2 hours or so. I ended up with 3 LMB and a small pickerel, all on a green/chartreuse tail Yum Dinger on a 3/16 wacky hook.

Not really. I’ve only fished Quabbin out that way. I figure something kayak and picknick friendly.

Zoom U-Tale in gourd green and watermelon/red. Old school and work ‘every time’.

Air mattress? Hammock on a pickup truck ladder rack? I just fished Cliff & Flax in Nickerson State Park. Lemme do some recon on camping & facilities. Anyone familiar with central MA do the same if they have time. Hedges Pond in Plymouth has a beach area and allows propane grilles. The only fish I’ve caught here are yellow perch and SMB. It’s posted $15/day for non residents during Summer months. Sanitary facilities are sometimes locked. Little Pond in Plymouth is like Hedges, $15/25 (?) /day per car, propane only, and good bass & trout. Non-residents are limited to front beach. It can get crowded in the Summer. Ponkapog in Canton has a small beach area and has no other posts/regulations. Ponkie is a shallow/weedy LMB and pickerel pond. There’s a campground I’ve never really investigated until now. Here’s the website: https://www.outdoors.org/lodging-camping/camps-cabins/ponkapoag

Hhhmmmmmm...... I’m thinking of a meet and greet somewhere where we can all launch kayaks/canoes and BBQ...... maybe camp a day or two? What says the membership?

Had a good trip to the Cape. Started at Cliff Pond in Brewster around noon Wednesday. It’s BIG for a kayak. I managed three SMB, all off points in 8-10’ of water on a green/red flake jig. Lost a couple. Water temps were 65.x-66.x and BP was 30.1. It was on/off breezy. Towards the end of daylight I moved over to Little Cliff Pond to see what was what. It was weedy and reminded me of Whitman’s pond in Weymouth. I landed two pickerel right quick and called it a day. Water temps were 68.x. A local said he’d grabbed 5 pound LMB out of Cliff eariler in the week. I hear that everywhere I go.... I’ve got to take better notes. I launched at Flax pond Thursday at dawn and grabbed a SMB on a Zara Puppy on the first cast. I mixed it up with a wacky rigged green/red Senko, brown swim jig, DT-6 Rapala, and a red/brown Ned rig. I packed it up around 3:00 and had 6 SMB and 2 LMB in the kayak. I also lost a few. Water temps were 66.x-67.x, BP was 30.2, it was pretty calm most of the day, with a breeze picking up after lunch. From Flax I moved to Hinckleys in Harwich . It’s not posted as needing a town sticker and the local Harbormaster (I was directed there by PD) said it was OK. I got five SMB and one perch there on the same lure mix I used at Flax. The biggest two were 2-4 and 2-7. Water temps were 67.x-68.x. It was too windy most of the time to fish topwater effectively. I had to head home Friday, but I fished Hedges in Plymouth since I pass it. I fished it from 6:00 to 10:30, landed 4 SMB around 1 1/2 pounds, having a couple more unhook me before I got them in the kayak. Best of all, I hooked onto what I thought were weeds, but it turned out to be a yellow perch blade bait I lost there in January, snap swivel, leader and length of braid.... what are the odds of that !?!?!?!?! Water temps were 67.x-68.x and BP was 30.1. All the SMB were caught in 10-12’ of water, deeper than I normally catch them here. Overall a good trip. The overall winner sure was a wacky rigged Senko.

Welcome.

Congrats!

Heading to the Cape in the morning for some marathon fishing. I’m planning on Cliff, Flax, Sheep, and Hinkleys as of now, depending on the need for resident stickers. Good luck to everyone else that’s getting out there too!

I have two Lure 11.5s, a ‘14 and a ‘18 w/Overdrive. Pros: ALL DAY comfortable seat. Overall fit and finish is excellent. Stable as rock. Wheel in the keel, makes it easy to transport short distances. I still use a scupper cart when transporting longer distances. FeelFree’s customer service is top notch. Good storage, though I’ve never stored rods in it. Overdrive is well engineered, including optional electric motor. Take the seat and accessories off and it’s light enough to lift on a pickup truck ladder rack. Cons: Rudder is almost mandatory. Try paddling/pedaling a bath tub. Wheel in the keel: axle wears out after a couple of years, especially if you trek across beach sand. I’ve replaced my ‘14’s twice. When Overdrive is installed you can’t open the front hatch with the Overdrive unit in the down position. A minor gripe, only a problem loading stuff when kayak is in truck bed.

It's absolutely worth it.... Listen to the membership and enjoy a better fishing experience!

Congrats on a great day! I'm sorry I missed out. Hopefully your mojo carries through the week...