DogBone_384

I stayed close to home this afternoon, fishing a very weedy and shallow pond a half hour from me. I was shocked to see how low it was. My Lowrance said 2.5 - 3' at most, when it's usually 5 - 6' deep. This pond is mostly salad, which was still pretty healthy everywhere except the eastern quarter. I kept it simple with assorted Flukes, some 1/2 oz. punch jigs (@Siebert Outdoors, naturally), a couple spinner baits, and the required Senkos. I caught two dinks straight away with a Fluke and around the 8th inning got a decent bass on a green pumkin/red jig with Keitech Crazy Flapper trailer. Water temps were 62.x and air pressure was 30.4. Winds were 5-7 mph and came from all directions during my trip. The highlight was a pair of Bald Eagles cruising around the pond. Year after year I hope for the "Fall feed". I've never found it. "One of these days" I'll find it. Maybe this weeking in NH.

Yep. JB's are my favorite technique and the one I've spent the most money on. I have three JB specific rods and three deep Plano boxes for them. From Lucky Craft to Megabass to Rapala to Berkely to ... you get it... Right now I'm on a Rapala Mavrik kick. They're a nice V110 'copy' and aren't $25 each. Emerald shad has been my best performer this season. I only carry a few when I'm on my kayak and the whole kit & kaboodle when I'm on the ranger. I purchased most of my V110s from Kittery Trading Post in Maine. They have flash sales throughout the year and their discount code always worked on Megabass products.

No. We're all adults. I'll talk fishing and ask how the other person did, that's about it.

No. I live in Massachusetts and am very limited in the number of lakes that allow my RT178 w/70HP Yammy and Ghost TM on it. I have FFS on it, which is cool to see my bait and 'fish' live, but FFS only helps locate fish. It doesn't make them want my bait any more/less. FFS pulls ones' attention away from everything around them. I'd rather see live, active nature around me. Yes, I can carry a lot more gear in my boat, but often times that gets me overthinking EVERYTHING. My kayak is easily loaded in my truck and there are 50 places I can launch it within an hour of home. The bag of chips is irrelevant. I can scoff them down anywhere. You, like many of us, have to move to Maine and enjoy some of @Swamp Girl's success.

'Boss lady' works from home so I made myself scarce yesterday and took the Ranger to Plymouth. I hit two ponds and came up with one smallie at each. The first one came on a tube in 25' and the second ate a 4" Senko I tossed under a floating dock. My scale stayed off. I marked most targets in deep water. Winds were easily 12-15 mph from the SW. It was mostly clear. Air pressure was 30.2 and water temps were 68.x at the first and 71.x at the second lake. I'm fishing NH this weekend. Hopefully I'll have better luck and the rain won't be too heavy.

$99 @ 50% off? I started with a few Veritas rods when I got back into fishing ten or twelve years ago. They were $99 at full retail then.

I loaded my kayak in my truck and headed to Plymouth for the afternoon. Caught a 1.5 pound white perch straight away on a emerald Rapala PXR Mavrik jerkbait (ya'll might consider picking up a couple of these ... they make a great V110 replacement). I crossed to the big water in search of some big smallies. I nabbed two that just made the 2 pound mark. The first on a coppertreuse Ned and the second on a dirty perch Slo-Flow on a drop shot. Both were 30' deep. I hooked onto a really good smallie late in the afternoon on a clown X-Rap, but it got off while airborne. I marked a lot of big targets suspended in 35 - 40' but couldn't get anyone to commit to anything I threw. Water temps were 71.x, winds were light from the S, and air pressure was 30.2. With any luck I'll get back down there tomorrow. I figure I'll reach @Swamp Girl's 1,000 bass in another seven or eight years. ADD: I just logged onto TW. The Mavrik's on sale for $12.88, which sure beats $24.99.

Hey.

I'm 'resonably' careful with my Lure, but wearing them down goes with your membership in the plastic Navy. I've worn through two Lures over the years. I take a piece of S40 pipe, slice it length wise with my table saw, heat bend it until it fits, then epoxy it in place. Here's my last one.

Head to Maine where @Swamp Girl lives. You'll meet your goals in a few hours.

I ground it out for roughly 10 hours on the Cape with my Ranger. Out of that I got a handful of dink SMB, LMB, and white perch. I threw the kitchen sink and then some. This has been most of my year. I don't take my scale out anymore. Winds were stiff from the SW. Water temps were 67.x - 68.x and air pressure was 30.4. I talked to a couple guys at the ramp as I was coming off the water. They said they caught a few 2# bass. The older guy's son is interested my Ranger. I gave them my # and told them I'd meet them so they could run my boat if they were really interested. With any luck he'll buy it. It's time to get rid of my boat and stick to small water on my kayak.

I have a couple O L D Abu Veritas 2 piece rods. A 7' M/F & 6'9" MH/F, respectively. I keep them in my truck for just the reasons you say. To me, they're great 'universal' rods. Today's Veritas' run $119 on TW. I cut a spinning rod sock down & shrink tube the top to cover/protect both pieces. They fit nicely in my under-seat storage. You might be impressed if you can get ahold of them at a local dealer. That's my two cents. Best of luck picking out your rods. ADD: I also have a 7' M/F Diawa Ardito travel rod in my truck. It comes with a semi-hard case. I believe they're $140. I'll take a Diawa over an Abu rod any day.

I use 3/8 oz for general use and 1/2 oz for 20'+. Stick with the basics, green pumkin, black/blue, brown/orange, and something with chartreuse. @Siebert Outdoors sells kits to make it easier to get your foot in the door. One note, spend the extra $.30 and get your skirts with wire ties. Good luck, and stick with them. I spent most of this year using jigs almost exclusively just to gain confidence in them.

I recently installed Active Target on my Ranger. I see the same happening. It’s cool to see, but it won’t make me a better fisherman.

I’ve been here my entire life … I might be able to guess why you might have left …. 🙄

Faith and the mustache will get you through. The prayer list is never too full to add another name. I grew up near a shipyard (think WWII) and an Edison power plant (coal powered until the mid '70s) and as a result the cancer rate here is very high. I was also a career Firefighter, which raises my risk significantly. I get my PSA tested annually, with full body scans every other year.

I've purchased a few reels from Japantackle.com over the years. They are legit. Jun Sonoda is the owner. Shipping is quick and communication is excellent.

Welcome to BassResource. What part of New England are you from?

No contest! BMW for the win.

sounds like … Ford vs. GM vs. Dodge … but to answer the question, I use a Kistler 7’3” KLX MH/MF for bladed jigs.

I fished 4 different NH waters from last Saturday through yesterday afternoon. I had about the same results at all four. I caught a few dink SMB, LMB, picks, and yellow perch that weren't worth putting on the scale. I had two SMB just over two pounds, the highlight. For the most part the fish were SHUT OFF. A green pumpkin purple/green flake Hula Grub was about the only thing the smallies wanted. The weather was spectacular, light winds, sunny, and in the high 60's durning the day. Water temps were 71.x, 66.x, 71.x 68.x, respectively. The highlight was fishing with Sean Snover of ReelNorthernBass (YT) in Meredith on Sunday. He out fished me 4-5:1, but we caught roughly the same size SMB. It was good to fish with someone that's as good as he is. I learned a few things about changing technique and using Active Target. I fish alone 99% of the time. It was a huge bonus having someone else to kabbitz with while the fishing was slow.

I use Evapo-Rust for old car parts and rusty tools. It works wonders. Let your rusty everything soak overnight, rinse with water, dry, and wire wheel/brush them off. They'll look new. I buy it at Harbor Freight Tools. https://www.evapo-rust.com/rust-remover-crc/

... we'd all be cats .... Dad nicknamed me 'Charlie Brown' when I was a kid .... I've been missing that football my whole life! 😉

I use Solunarforecast.com - they had 0732 to 0932 ... ha. I don't live by it, but it seems to make a difference. I believe there's some truth to it because my cats hunt a lot more during 'peak times' listed on their website.

My Ranger followed me over 'the bridge' to a Cape pond I've only fished once or twice. I got one decent Larry on a @Siebert Outdoors swim jig w/4.3" Keitech on it early on and nada the rest of the trip. I didn't really mark much and threw my normal assortment with a Kut Tail and Rage Menace added in. I packed it in around 1630 hours. Water temps were 73.x, winds were light/moderate from everywhere, and air pressure was 30.3. Dunno if I'm getting out tomorrow, but I'll be in NH fishing with Sean Snover of Reel Northern Bass (his YT channel) this weekend. Good luck to everyone else getting out there. You're not alone ... been there, done that....