DogBone_384

X2 on your being safe & getting back to shore. Best you can do is park it, keep your eye out for 'deals', and/or pick up more work when you can & replace it when you can. Another question: do you own a kayak or canoe?

X2 I've had a tough time figuring out if I should back up or paddle slowly then turn around to hit my targets from the kayak. I figure my casts are 30 - 50', plus or minus. I'm sure that'll improve my catch ratio. Good luck figuring it out.

My favorite $99 rod is Abu Garcia's Veritas, followed VERY closely by ***'s *** Black. They're both light as a feather, sensitive, and the Veritas loads up nicely. I own 3 Veritas and 2 ***. If you search around this forum some, you'll find most rods in that price range are well liked. Neither is made here in the US. My advice to you is make a short list of recommendations from members here and go handle as many as you can. Bring your reel with you and mount it, if the store lets you. The one that feels the best is the right one... Best of luck.

Welcome to the best fishing forum on the "Interweb" (Rawlings, 2014). I'm just south of Boston and fish Plymouth, northward back home. Here are a pair of fishing report threads local to us where you'll keep up with what's working/not working in our neighborhood. http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/100208-anyone-have-any-luck-in-southern-nh-yet-4612/ http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/102228-eastern-ma-fishing-reports/ Best of luck out there.

I'm in your boat.... so to speak. I've been to three different ponds at least once this season and have two pickerel, a good sized crappie, a blue gill, and one feisty little yellow perch. I've thrown the kitchen sink in the water and am still waiting for bass #1..... I saw two good sized bass in the shallows of a small reservoir I frequent, but they just laughed at me and swam slowly away.... I know it'll get better, but I get frustrated when I read other members 'killing it' and I can't seem to catch much of anything..... Other members local near me gave up some kind words and advice that I'll pass along to you: don't forget fishing is fun; when your luck is down, back up and go back to basics you know work; if one area isn't working, move. Best of luck.... try to keep a positive attitude.

I'm glad to hear some of you catching lots of good fish out there. I went do Whitman's pond in Weymouth for a couple hours after dropping my daughter off at school. After a couple hours of nothing and one too many backlashes I got frustrated and packed it in. I've not caught one bass yet this year, and really not much other than that either. I keep trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong, but it seems no matter what I try or where I try it I don't really catch much of anything. I believe I just don't have any fishing mojo.

Looks tasty, but too far to drive to from Boston....

I'M JEALOUS!

Sounds like my trip to Wampatuck State Park yesterday. Threw the kitchen sink at them in multiple depths for 6 hours and still came up empty. It was windy, but my claw anchor kept me in place.

Congratulations.... my 1st bass for '15 is waiting out there somewhere! BTW, where do you drop your canoe in the water? And do you have to be an Ashland resident to park out there? Thanks.

I have a 128T and yes, they have scupper holes. I didn't mount mine there because the bottom's a little too flat for my liking. I believe it could get ripped off in shallow/rocky areas. I ended up using a 3" plumbing flange from Home Depot and mounted it through the hull. It took me about an hour to do it at a $15 cost. Here's how I did it: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/149282-kayak-bass-fishing/page-3

Sounds like my day yesterday in Hingham, MA. I fished Arron River Reservoir in Wampatuck State park from 10:00 to 3:00 and couldn't buy a strike no matter what I threw in the water. Surface temps here were also in the high 50s. I wonder if the 30+ degree temperature swing shut them off.

Took yesterday (Tuesday) off because the forecast was too good to pass up. Loaded the kayak when I got off shift in the morning and took off to Wampatuck State Park. Got in the water by 10:00. I started with a Bluegill DT10 between two fingers on the south west that dropped to 15' quickly on each side. Moved to a wacky rigged Senko. Without so much as a whiff, I moved down the fingers to the shallows where there are many big rocks and a small island. I tossed a shallow Shad Rap, in line spinner, chartreuse spinner bait, and the whacky Senko as I gradually moved along the banks back to the deep section where I started. Depths ranged from 3' to 8' back to 15'. Again, not so much as a strike. For that matter, the only other living creatures I saw were turtles sunning themselves and a flock of turkey vultures. After a couple hours I stopped to eat lunch and ponder where ANY fish were. I paddled to roughly the middle where the depth ranged between 18 - 22'. I started with a chrome/shiner DT10, changed to a bass flavored DT16, then to a chartreuse/white chatter bait (varying between hop-hop-hop and steady retrieve), and finally to the whacky rigged Senko again. Still, nothing. With only an hour left to fish, I moved to the north west corner where the depth ranges from 12 to 5', is fairly flat, with some large rocks between shores and some grass areas. I split that time with the Shad Rap & T-Rigged Senko. I finished the day without even a strike. Surface temperatures in the southern section were in the high 50s and low 60s in the north, towards the end of the day. Throughout the day my Lowrance didn't show much traffic, though the reservoir reportedly produces good bass but can be tricky, I'm going to chalk the day's poor luck to my inability to find fish and the 30+ degree temperature swing throwing them off. It's a big water for a kayak. I'm going to spend as much time there as I can this year to figure the place out & what the rich bass in Hingham eat....

Had a day off yesterday and decided to try some new water. I set my compass South West to Sampson's Pond in Carver because my neighbor said he's had good luck there. Arrived around 10:00 and , WOW, the place is big for a kayak. Spent at least half my time paddling & exploring but ended up with a PB crappie of at least a pound, a decent blue gill, and a feisty little yellow perch. All were caught on a blue gill flavored Rapala Scatter-Rap. I also threw a orange/brown Senko, Chartreuse Chatter bait, Rapala Shadow Rap, and a Kreature. I'm still waiting for my 1st 2015 bass. My 128T tipped over while loading it on my truck and broke the plastic clips on the seat, so a quick stop @ Joanne Fabrics in Hanover supplied replacements. Figured I'd go to Jacob's Pond for a bit since it's right there. Was there about 20 minutes when I got called into work. Had a good hit on a chrome Rapala suspending minnow, but that was it. Tonight, after work, I hit Blue Hills reservoir. Threw a chartreuse chatter bait, black w/flake Senko, and my blue gill flavored scatter rap. Zilch. I spent some time walking the whole place slowly to see if the bass made new beds since the water is so far down. I almost convinced myself the place was void of life when I saw two pretty good bass hanging out on the north west stone bank. They snubbed me by slowly swimming off. I could hear them laughing. ADD: I forgot to mention the water temp @ Sampson's was around 57 & Jacob's was 60.

If I don't snag an OT shift in the morning I'm heading to Plymouth/Carver... Dunno yet. Kayak is on truck, ready to go.

I fished a goose egg today too, at a reliable reservoir in Mass. It rained during the past couple of days and was a bit chilly. No worries - it's a long season....

Congratulations - great to hear it's starting here in New England. I'm having a tough time of it. It's my first early Spring with a kayak, so there's a bit of a learning curve on my end. Still waiting for my first bass. Best of luck..

I can tell you they're not where I was fishing @ Wampatuck State Park, Hingham, MA....

Had some time this morning so off to see if Wampatuck State Park was open. Yes, it is. Got the kayak in to see if I could catch anything. It was very windy, but My 128T is as big as an aircraft carrier (read STABLE) so I parked it in 16' deep water between two big points that had steep drop offs & current going down the middle. Threw Rapala DT 10 (yellow perch) & 16 (bluegill) for a bit, without a bite. I tied a green w/purple flake Kreature on after my knot failed and THE DT16 flew away. Nothing on that either. I moved to the middle area when I found a dip that went from 15' to about 20' that held fish, according to my Lowrance. The Kreature struck out again, so I switched to a white/chartreuse chatter bait. Nope, nadda. Ran out of time, and even though I couldn't buy a strike, I had a good morning. The reservoir is quite large, so I know it's going to take at least a full season to learn. The surface temp started @ 53 and finished at 55. This is my 1st early Spring on a kayak, I don't really know if I'm looking in the right spots, perhaps the shallows would be a better choice later this week, time permitting. This might help: http://www.bassmaster.com/vandams-6-season-bass-guide?page=2 The best part of the trip was that the wind calmed down and sun came out about the time I had to leave.

6" Zoom U-Tale in gourd green, Texas rigged. I do much better with this than Senkos. I just bought some Fat Ikas & Kreatures out of curiosity, so we'll see how they go...

I'm also new to serious bass fishing (only 4 years) and this is is my 1st full season on a kayak. I spent more time last year learning new waters and had moderate success with Senkos & Zoom U-Tales, so that's what I've leaned on. I'm starting to play around with hard baits. Going to give them a go this year and see how I do.

I think we're a couple weeks away. The last two times I've had the kayaks out the water temperatures were hovering around 50 degrees and we've not really had enough warm weather to get any higher. The 10 day forecast said we're looking at hitting 70 next weekend. I think we need some of that to bring the water temps up.

If you live in the Norwood area, Plymouth is only an hour away. Do you have a rack on your car/truck to transport your kayak? If you have free time on weekends, good place to start fishing.

Billington Sea in Plymouth is supposed to be good. I fished there twice last year but spent most of my time paddling & mapping the place out with my Lowrance. There's a gravel boat ramp on the Morton Park side of Billington Sea. Whitman's Pond is still a bit of a mystery for me. Haven't caught more than some dinks and pickerel. There's a boat ramp on Middle Street. Jacob's Pond in Norwell is good. It's only 5' deep and is a bass, perch, and pickerel fest. By May, however, it's fully overgrown. They've got a nice kayak ramp off Jacobs Lane. Just park at the upper lot after you unload. I've not been down to Long Pond yet. That's supposed to hold nearly everything. Look it up on MAFishfinder.

Took my wife's friend's son and one of his friends to Houghton's pond today. We didn't stay more than an hour and a half because the boy's going through chemotherapy and tires quickly. The kids never fish much but they had a good go of it. Neither caught anything other than a tree where a Senko & in-line spinner now reside. Another party was fishing near by and landed a nice rainbow trout. It was rather windy, and all things considered, a great afternoon. I still think it's early for bass. I might try throwing some PowerBait on Monday and try for trout.