DogBone_384

Thursday’s weather was much better than Wednesdays, and the fishing was the same. I started out at the BIG pond in Plymouth around 9:00. After two and a half hours of nothing I packed up and headed south to Hedges. Not too long after launching I nabbed three SMB on a 1/2 oz. Silver Buddy and one on a chartreuse Rage Tail Menace. I finally broke the two pound mark for ‘18 with a 2-2. The other three were 1-14, 1-11, and 1-8. All four came in about a five minute span in the same spot. I moved around for another couple hours but struck out. Surface temps at the BIG pond were 37.x and Hedges showed 40.x. I wonder if that three degrees made up the difference?!?!?!? The big pond is nearly 10x bigger than Hedges so there’s more real estate to cover. 2018 is starting out pretty good. Travelling to Plymouth a couple times a week might require getting a third job.... The kids are on vacation next week so I’m taking a friend’s son to Hedges so he can get a couple smallies for himself.

Amen to that ... ?

Right with you .... but there’s a reason TW’s free shipping starts at $50.....

Even on a baitcast reel?

Right with ya! A rough estimate would be around 100: LMB, SMB, pickerel, assorted perch, and a handful of trout.

Got home from work this morning, gave the boss 3 dozen roses, did the housework and jetted off to Plymouth. Launched a little after 11:00. It was a l o n g and w i n d y day. Worked from South to North to East, covering as much as I could between 40' and 10'. I stuck mostly with blade baits (though three of them are still down there...) a Yamamoto Heart Tail, Sebile magic swimmer, and a couple different suspending crank baits. After nearly five hours without a bite, fighting the wind and a experiencing a bunch of equipment problems I started back to the canal. I stopped about 50 yards from shore near the canal I tossed a green/red Rage Tail on a 1/8 oz jig head and came up with a nice football of a yellow perch. A LOT of work at the big pond in Plymouth for a perch, but it beats getting skunked. Water temps at the big pond were 37.x. Water temps at the small pond you cross to get to the big one were a degree warmer. I fished there for a few, without any luck, on the way back to my truck. I might go back tomorrow for another try. I know there are BIG SMB there, just have to keep at it and try to figure out where they are. The big pond is nearly 300 acres, a lot of water to cover with a kayak.

Was in 40’s yesterday, caught 5 SMB and a yellow perch in Plymouth, MA. Not working Thursday where the forecast is 50’s..... going smallie hunting again...

I hit Hedges Pond right around sunrise and stayed until a little after 2:00 PM. Caught 5 SMB and one yellow perch. All the bass hovered just under 2 pounds and the perch right at a pound. Three SMB liked a gold blade bait and two inhaled a black 4" Texas rigged Zoom U-Tail. #5 nearly swallowed the blade bait in 5' of water. Everyone else was in 10-12' or so. Water temps started at just over 41 degrees and finished a hair over 40. Mike, I think you need to grab your kayak and hit PLYMOUTH. I drove by two ponds OTW home and they were open. Weather this week looks good. If I don’t pick up an extra shift Thursday, I’ll be back in Plymouth looking for big SMB...

Flipped a coin this morning and chanced a drive back to Hedges Pond. It was still half skimmed over, but there was plenty of area to to fish. I launched around 11:30 and stayed until dusk, landing three SMB (all hovering around two pounds) and one yellow perch that tipped the scales at 1-2. The first SMB came on a 1/8 oz Rage Tail Menace I let sit on the bottom a while. The other two SMB and perch liked a perch colored blade bait. Got nada on a bubblegum Ned and a couple hits on a black 4” Zoom U-Tale, but my ML spinning rod didn’t have enough OOMPH to get a hookset. Surface temps started at 38.x and just topped 40.x in the northern part of the pond. Weather permitting I’m going back tomorrow and/or Monday.

I fish Ned rigs on a 7’ M/MF Fenwick Elite Tech with a Supreme XT loaded with 6 pound test most of the time. The tip’s plenty soft to load up even with the smallest TRD schroom head.

I bought a Lure 11.5 in 2014 and have a ton of hours on it. My butt tells me it’s a great seat...

I reconned Plymouth today and here’s what I found: Great Herring: 90% skimmed over. Best chance of opening up this weekend. Hedges: 90% heavy skim. Might free up with a couple days around 40 (though I might risk driving down there again tomorrow.) Big Sandy: 75% ice/skim. Not launchable. White’s Pond: 50-75% ice/skim. Little Pond: 50% open. Tough launch. Billington Sea: Locked up. Ponkapog Pond: At least 5” ice as of 2/7. I’m planning to get out this weekend. If anyone finds an orange Tundra with a BR sticker parked at a pond in Plymouth ...yep, it’s me.

Only 66 days until the Quabbin Reservoir opens ....

Since you already own it and you're on a limited budget, your Lews is a good all around rod. I owned one fishing rod until I was in my 40s and the fish I caught never complained about the type of rod I caught them on. Go fishing and enjoy your rod. You've got plenty of time to save up and expand your arsenal.

Drove by Ponkapog OTW from Bass Pro Shops. I drilled down with a paddle bit. There's at least 5" of ice there which means two things: It'll be a while until ice out and I'm going ice fishing there tomorrow if it doesn't rain.

100 fish day !?!?!?!?!?!?! I'd love to have a 100 fish season!

I keep a Diawa Ardito 7' M/F casting and an Okuma Citrix 7'2" ML/F spinning travel rod in my truck for quick stops on the road. They're both great rods and come with semi hard cases. Lastly, Jet Blue allows them as carry-ons.

Congrats to the Eagles... the better team won tonight.

The two best teams are going at it tonight. It’s gonna be a great game! GO PATS?!

Venison chili ?!?!?!?!? If I PM you can you email me some?

Arai, Vanson (I’m lucky, Vanson is 45 minutes from me), and Alpinestar ... at least for me, for street and occasional track day. Anyhoo, back to PFD’s. I fish out of an Ascend 128T & Feelfree Lure 11.5 and wear an Ascend fishing PFD and like the full back and large pockets. As a parent and Firefighter/EMT, you should always wear one so try them all on and pick one that’s comfortable. Recoveries are NO fun. Ultimately it’s your choice.

If I don't work OT tomorrow you'll find me at Hedges pond. I'm going to try and get there by 10:00-ish. ADD: Hedges is skimmed over. I’m off to find some open water. ADD MORE: Hinckley’s Pond in Harwich is open. Looks great! More later.... It was a long day at Hinckleys. I started at the north end around 11:00 and covered most of the pond, tossing differend blade baits, a 1/4 oz brown/yellow hair jig, yellow perch jointed rapala, a couple different 4” wacky worms, a green/red Rage Tail, a couple Neds, and a 1/4 oz yellow Mepps. I left around 5:00 pm. I got a single yellow perch in the kayak. I would have loved to find some bass, but one beats none and February’s checked off the list. Surface temp on the north side was 36.9 and 36.2ish for the rest of the pond. It was pretty windy until about 4:00 pm.

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Abu Garcia and Kistler.

To date it’s Plymouth, Massachusetts. If there’s a better place to catch SMB & LMB in SE Mass, I’ve not found it. Of course, I can't stop searching. Isn’t that one of the reasons we fish, to continually seek better waters?