DogBone_384

I've never heard this description ... awesome ... Glenn would delete the descriptives I tend to use... Great report, and welcome back!

Everyone needs backups, right?

$600! @A-Jay could buy SOOOO many Vision 110's with that cash!

The $150 price point offers a gazillion choices. I recommend visiting your local tackle shop and handling the rods you're interested in. I find fishing rods have a 'feel' the same way my wife & daughter approach shoe shopping. Questions to ask yourself: what action do you want? what handle type? what weight? how light do you want it? I own Abu, Diawa, Kistler, Douglass, FX Custom, St. Croix, G. Loomis, BPS and Fenwick rod and prefer a stiffer rod. Kistler is my #1 and FX Custom quickly becoming my #2. I've got 1st & 2nd generation Abu Veritas rods, which for $99 back then were great, but they're $199+ now and you can get American made rods like Kistler & FX Customs for that if you catch them on sale. Most would recommend a medium-fast rod for Senkos, but I found Kistler's light-medium-heavy (LMH) rods perfect for Senkos, tubes, finesse underspins, etc. The LMH has a nice, soft tip with a little extra backbone compared to a medium-fast. Good luck choosing your rod.

No.

Like @Boomstick, the NRS Chinook gets my vote. Mine has to be 8 - 10 years old now, has faded shoulders, but is still intact and comfortable. I last used it in March '24 when I went in 40* water to rescue one of my rigs that went overboard.

Tossed the waders in the car and hit my favorite "I need a smallie" pond. It was WINDY and I got off two casts with the bait-caster I brought and blew up an eagle's nest. I picked it out, walked back to my car and got my spinning rig. That lasted about 45 minutes and coughed up a giant wind knot. Luckily I bagged one 1.8# smallie on a green pumpkin / black & gold flake tube. Better one than none. April's checked off.

Tricks to catch MORE bass? I haven’t discovered any yet!

Hello, and welcome!

6.x for me.

I fished them last week. Their build quality is very good. They're a hair stiffer than my Kistlers. The only thing I didn't like about them is the hook keeper location is on the butt side of the reel seat. The 7'4" spinning rod makes a perfect tube/Senko/blade bait rod. I'll use the 7'1" casting rod for jigs/bottom contact baits. Hopefully I'll hook up with a good bass with it soon. I can't say I'll replace my Kistlers with them, but they're a really good American made rod.

I gave Thursday's lake one more shot yesterday. Winds were light when I showed up but increased to 15+ quickly after I launched. I stayed shallow, working points that lead to steep drop offs and one arm on the windblown shore. I threw the 'normal' late winter baits: bladed jig, jerk bait, shallow crank, wacky Senko, jig, and t-rigged worm and came up empty. After 3+ hours of not so much of a whiff, I packed it up. There were three other boats there. One guy launching at the same time I did said he caught a 8# LMB there recently. Water temps were 48.x and air pressure was 30.1. It was another tough winter/spring transition.... I'll figure it out one of these years.

I have BPS 100MPH. They’re three or four years old and holding up well. I bought them 50% at the end of season clearance.

Me too.

I own first and second generation Concept A, C, and E reels. The second gens are decent, cast well, but aren’t as smooth as my 1st gens, Diawa, Shimano, or Abu reels. I recently needed a part for one of my Concept A’s. I emailed Rapala inquiring about the part. They replied that they couldn’t sell me just the part but I could mail the reel to an authorized dealer for cleaning/repair, starting @ $40. My 13’s are good reels. I thought I’s share my experience with you. Good luck picking out your reels.

I fished a different Cape lake yesterday afternoon. I managed one 1# Larry with an Easy Shiner on an underspin, shallow, just off a point. Water temps were 47.x - 48.x. Winds were light from the NW and the air pressure was 30.1 It’s been a tough week down the Cape, but looking back at my log, I’ve only repeated my last 5 year history. I’m leaving the boat at home tomorrow and heading to smaller waters with my kayak this weekend. I’m heading back to the mainland this morning, debating if I’m hitting one more pond over coffee. They should be biting.

How far are you from VT, or Candlewood in CT?

You’re over thinking it. Leave your main power off and the key out of the ignition switch and the motor in neutral.

Except for last Saturday, they were. In general, 50* is the magic number. There are a few smaller waters around Plymouth / Cape Cod where you can catch SMB year round, pending ice, which I’ll leave to you to figure out ….

I fished Mash-Wake 4X since Saturday. Saturday was the only day I caught anything worth anything. I managed a swimbait sized SMB on a blade bait late Tuesday, and other than that it was pain and suffering. I marked little or nothing, threw 67% of the Tackle Warehouse catalog in deep, shallow, and in the middle. Water temps were 46.x - 47.x. It was nice but chilly yesterday, cold and drizzly today until the afternoon when the sun finally came out. Hopefully it’ll warm up next week. If it does, you’ll find me somewhere shallow. These big deep waters make my head ache this time a year…

I added Douglass and FX Customs rods to my arsenal this year. The bait monkey forced me to buy them through show pricing at the New England and NH Fishing expos. My Douglass additions were a LRX-724XF (7’2” M/XF), LRS-704F (7’ M/F) spinning rods and a DXC-745F (7’4” MH/F) casting rod. The two FX Customs were the MB71MH/F (7’1” MH/F) casting and MBSH74MF (7’4” M/F) spinning. Overall the Douglass rods are good, but expensive compared to the Kistlers I own and the new FX Customs. The X-Matrix (casting) rod is a STOUT medium heavy, rated 7/16 to 2 ounces. I’ve thrown a few 1/2 oz. jigs and it feels like it’s going to be a really good rod for fishing my home pond that’s very weedy. It’s very light for such a substantial rod and its build quality is exceptional. The two LRS spinning rods are good quality, but there are better in their price range. Douglass’ ratings are different than most other brands I own. The 724XF is more like a fast action rod whose backbone starts in the middle of the blank. I’ve used it for drop shot and blade baits so far. Douglass calls the 704F a medium fast rod, but it’s labeled for crankbaits and acts very much like the Abu Veritas Winch rods I have. Overall I’ll give the LRS line a B. Good, but I’m not going back for another serving. My new FX Customs casting rod’s fit and finish is superb. I’ve thrown 3/8 & 1/2 ounce jigs with it. It feels perfect for it with a crisp, fast tip, and plenty of backbone. The spinning rod also has a nice crisp tip. I’ve thrown blade baits, Senkos, and 3” paddle tails on underspins. It also feels ‘just right’. I bet I could press it and throw 1/4 & 3/8 oz jigs on it. The blanks FX Customs uses feel just like 13’s 1st generation Omen Black rods. Kistlers are still my #1 rod, but the FX’s and X-Matrix will be added to the regular rotation .

I’d start with matching the baitfish you have in your area and expanding from there, as needed, unless you want to take out a bank loan… 😉 I find perch is my best producer here in MA. Good luck. You forgot the Max LBO …

@Mr. Aquarium is a ghost… he fishes everywhere but nowhere! Firstly, welcome to BassResource and thanks for joining this thread! It’s nice to see members from outside MA here.

@Saltysmalljaws and I hit the Cape yesterday. We started deep where the smallies winter but only came up with small perch. We moved to the far north end and found everyone shallow. I caught two SMB, just over 2 pounds, and one rainbow. A Berkely Stunna jerkbait and unknown brand square bill did the trick. Jake caught a couple picks, LMB, and a rainbow on a jerkbait. We also saw our first Osprey of the season, so it’s officially SPRING. Water temps were 44.x in the south pond and 48.x in the north end. Air pressure was 29.8 in the morning and 29.6 when I left in the late afternoon. I talked with another boat coming off the water. They said they did well. Good luck to everyone getting out. It looks like the bass are waking up!

Firstly, how deep is the pond you’re fishing? Most shallow jerkbaits run 3-5’ deep. I find Rapala Shadow Rap and Damiki Slim Jacks run really shallow. As far as getting started, Tactical Bassin has a really good jerkbait 101 video. Look them up. ReelNorthernBass is another YT’er from NH that produces very good teaching videos. Like others above said, just get out there and try different retrieves. The fish will tell you what works. Start by bringing ONLY your JB rod and jerkbaits. Best of luck, you’ll get it, and you’ll be glad you did. Jerkbait bites are some of the best.