DogBone_384

Dropped into Sunset Lake for a couple hours late this afternoon. Water temps were 60.x - 61.x. Weeds are already growing. Pickerel hit almost anything I threw at them, including one poor fella that still has my little square bill in its mouth. Caught 7 pickerel, the biggest was 3-6. Got one dink LMB to the boat on a 5" wacky Senko in perch.

IF I downsized to one 3700 box. It'd be Plano's deep Prolatch (http://www.planomolding.com/deep-prolatch-stowaway-utility-box-3700-series) ... it's 3 1/2" deep. I'd epoxy my own dividers in it and keep a couple of my favorite baits in each category and some soft plastics too.

I'm not. Fishing Rhino and I agreed: we tried, didn't like it, and would rather travel to Quabbin for smallies.

WENT? The Cape was on lock down today. Fishing Rhino and I launched at Long Pond just after 6:00 this morning. By 2:00 or so Tom caught 4 SMB and 3 Yellow Perch, all on a gold Binsky. None were worth the scale. I threw the kitchen sink in the water and got one bite on a jig that I blew the hook set on and a couple tap-taps from perch on a 4" wacky Senko. We split and went to a pond in Mashpee we've done well at. After nearly two hours there neither of us got anything to the boat. Hamma met us at Long Pond and followed to Mashpee. I don't think he caught anything either. Long Pond's water temp was 55.x - 57.x and Mashpee was 62.x. Long Pond is BIG chunk of water. I'd rather drive to Quabbin. I've more confidence out there. Luckily this was only skunk #2 for me this year.

Gotta do something productive with my Masters Degree... I fished Hinkley's today. It was nearly as windy as yesterday. I worked the whole place, yeilding 6 Yellow Perch, 5 SMB, and AT LEAST a dozen fresh water clams. The perch were good sized, probably 3/4 - 1 pound, and the SMB were 1 1/2 - 2. No scale killers, but I'll take it. I caught the perch on a gold blade bait, Mepps spinner, chartreuse jointed Shad Rap, watermelon/red Rage Tail Menace on a 3/16 Keitech jig head, and a wacky rigged 4" perch Senko. The SMB were pickier. They ate the Rage Tail and a T-Rigged Zoom U-Tail in gourd green. Water temps started at 57.x and peaked at 60.x in the shallows. Barometric pressure was higher today at 30.1. Fishing Rhino and I are attacking Long Pond tomorrow... gonna look for some Janderson45 mojo.

Got out of work this morning, did my chores at home and beat feet to Seymour Pond in Harwich. Launched about 12:30 is a steady 15 - 20 mph head wind. Made for some tough paddling. I started on the west bank where it was fairly calm and worked my way back across with a gold 3/4 oz. blade bait, a brown/orange hair jig, and a green pumpkin/red flake Hula Grub on a 3/16 oz Keitech jig head. Got one hit on the jig but muffed the hook set. I caught a white perch, roughly a pound, on the blade bait in 20' of water. I thought it was a SMB when reeling it in. It hit hard and had some fight in it. Nothing else for quite a time. The sun finally broke the clouds and the wind died down some. I changed the Hula Grub to a green TRD and caught a 3-8 LMB in 3' of water right in front of a downed tree. It was getting close to sunset and I'd fished most of the pond already so I made my way back west where it was flat & calm. I caught a 1-13 SMB on the first cast of a black/yellow Whopper Plopper. I finished the day drifting back to the launch switching between the gold blade bait and a jointed 10' Rapala that looks like a smallie. No takers. All in all it was a LOT of work for just three fish, but I didn't get skunked. I'll take it. Water temps were 57.x - low 58.x. Barometric pressure started @ 29.7 and dropped by 1/10 by the end of the day. Gonna try Hinkley's first thing in the morning, then play the rest of the day by ear. A big congrats to Janderson45 for a good outing at the Quabbin. I'm gonna have to pick your brain about your 18 fish day to Tom/my 7.

My work schedule allows such sacrifices. It's tough.

Just doing my part.

Fishing Rhino and I launched from fishing area #3 as soon as the gates opened. It was a slow start. I struck first with a lake trout (roughly two pounds) off a 3/4 oz. gold Binsky blade bait. We worked our way to the same place JG233 and I caught our Summer Smallies last year. It's about 20 minutes from the launch where two channels come together and form an X. Tom grabbed three good SMB between 8:45 - 9:15, all from is gold Binsky. I grabbed one SMB in the same area with, yes, a gold Binsky. All four SMB were between 2-3 pounds and healthy. We moved around for a while with nothing more than great weather. We started back around 2:00 and stopped by a couple humps by "Hamma's Island". I landed a nice 3-12 brown trout or salmon (?) on a brown/orange hair jig. Like a dope I took a picture of the scale and not the fish. It was brown spotted with a white bottom. All in all a good day at the Quabbin. Water temps were 56.x - 57.x in the eastern waters we fished and 53.x - 54.x in the western sections. Barometric pressure was 29.4 when we arrived and rose slightly during the day. We saw some good sized SMB schooled near a shallow section not a few hundred yards from the launch (on the left as you're leaving the launch). I had to get back home so we couldn't stop and cast. I'm going to be back on the Cape with my kayak Tues - Thurs next week. Planning on hitting Hinckley and Seymore (if possible) and perhaps Long Pond.

The Smallies at Hedges had a serious case of lock jaw today. I launched around 9:30-ish, worked the whole place, throwing everything but the kitchen sink in the water. Packed up and left at 3:30 to get to my daughter's Lacrosse game. Water temps were high 56.x to a shade under 60. There were a lot more beds today than the last time I was here. Thankfully a Yellow Perch liked the drop-shot Fluke jr. I threw, so no skunk for me. The plan is to attack the Quabbin tomorrow. Hopefully those fish will be more cooperative.

Congrats to a good start. More proof I need to retire somewhere OTHER than MA.

Got out of EMS class and drove to Halfway Pond where I fished with Janderson45 last Summer. The story didn't change: a few hits here and there from Yellow Perch and a small Pickerel. I managed one decent Pickerel over by the island on a Rage Tail Menace. I got bored and moved over to Hedges Pond where I knew the SMB would cooperate. Two SMB, each just under two pounds thought my gold/orange Rapala suspending jerkbait was good. Water temperature at both ponds ranged from 57.x to 58.0 degrees. Planning on attacking the Quabbin Friday... looking forward to it.

I'm on an E-1. Thanks for the cup holders and the A/C. My first pump was a 1/2 open cab 1978 Sutphen....

Issues!?!?!?! I have the lifetime subscription!

Funny how Milwaulkee got in this thread. I bought Their power tools because everyone else on job sites I worked had Dewalt. Turns out they're great tools. I use M12 batteries to power my kayak's Lowrance fish finder. I get about a day and a half from a M12 XL battery. As far as keeping from binge buying. Come to Massachusetts .... we don't call it TAXACHUSETTS for nothing. That and our daughter starts college next year ?.

You've never asked forgiveness from a Filipina, have you? ?

I'd love to hit the Cape Saturday, but the wife might have something to say ...

I didn't fish the Cape today. Reality called and back to the city. I got a chance to hit Ponkie late in the afternoon. It was on the cold side and windy. Water temps were higher than the air at 57.x to 60.x on the South West side, towards the golf course. I landed 5 pickerel and one LMB, all on jerk baits. I hooked onto something good with a Yamamoto Hear Tail, but lost it on a bad hook set. I'm definitely heading back to the Cape when time allows. Catching big SMB is great.

X2

My Grandfather worked for a stock brokerage most of his life and preached two things. The first was dividends and steady growth. The second was whatever you have left over at the end of the month when the bills are paid, keep half for yourself because you have to have a life, and save the other half. Best of luck to you.

A++

Looks like I'm going to burn a LOT of gas to and from the Cape for the next couple weeks.

My SMB PB is 4-7. I caught it with Fishing Rhino in Plymouth last Summer. Yesterday's big SMB measured roughy from my ankle to just below my knee.

I can't say for sure it was a PB because my scale crapped out ☹️, it was close for sure. It was a good one, no matter what!