DogBone_384

X2

I received a mysterious package yesterday that sounds like it might mean a new state record for smallmouth in MA in ‘23. Thanks very much Sunny. I’m waiting until Christmas to open it. Thanks again, and Merry Christmas!

You forgot Firefighters …. I work 24 hour shifts. It worked out great when I met @Fishing Rhino, who’s retired. We’d fish two or three days a week, depending on my side work…

All you need is one that looks like baitfish in your waters. The Bait-Monkey will get you to fill a deep 3700 as time goes. I believe @Dogface listed a cheaper alternative too. No matter what, jerkbaits are fun, and work.... Again, Merry Christmas!

Get yourself a Vision110 to start. They just plain work. Rapala’s Rip Stop is my favorite shallow water jerkbait. Sit down with your favorite beverage & watch some YouTube … then get out there & fish! Best of luck & Merry Christmas!

They run around $1,000.

A new pedal kayak is going to cost roughly $1,500+. FeelFree is a brand where you can buy their kayak and add the pedal drive later. I bought a Lure 11.5 and added the pedal drive after I saved enough money. Good luck in your search.

THAT looks fun. Wouldn’t work up here …. I live in a city.

Absolutely agree. DON’T skimp on a PFD. Not only must it be comfortable, but it must work. As far as a paddle, stay away from metal ones. They get hot in Summer and cold in winter. Also, any flex robs you of efficiency. Again, best of luck.

You'll want a sit-on-top (SOT) for fishing. If your budget is $500, I'd stick with your local want-ads. Check your local shops, maybe they have a demo or a 'scratch 'n dent'. Best of luck.

You're missing out .... but that's why I have a 170 HP sport bike ... that one honks great! I set my cruise around 70 too...

How do you average 17 mpg? I have a '17 Tundra DC SR5 and might average 14 with a 50/50 mix of highway & city?

My package was delivered yesterday. Merry Christmas!

… and of course I put my foot in my mouth … nothing but ice in Abington & Hanover this morning. It should open up with this week’s rain.

Breath deep Mike, @MassYak85 lives further north … we have Cape Cod, which freezes last, if at all… And IF it freezes, I have a shelter & tip ups….

My package went out today… tied to four pigeons … EXPRESS shipping!

I drive a '17 Tundra, '99 CR-V, and a BMW K1200S. I scored the Honda for $500 with 97K on it. My bike has 1 horsepower for every 3.5 pounds and gets 35 mpg ...

Congratulations. It’ll open a whole new world for you. I prefer my kayak over my Ranger boat. Don’t get me wrong, the boat is nice, especially when friends come along, but overall I can hit 30 ponds for every one my Ranger’ll fit in. Funny you’re getting off the bank where I’ve been relegated to the bank for the last 6 weeks, which from the Cape I just got back. I fished Hedges, Snake, LPH, Goose, Bloody, Bucks, Schoolhouse, and Mashpee-Wakeby over the course of this week. I struck out at Bucks and Mash-Wake, grabbed a small yellow perch at Bloody, a small Larry at Schoolhouse, and a small Sally at Snake. Goose gave up two nice yellow perch and a 2 pound rainbow. I lost a good size LMB too. It unhooked itself at my feet, running into my leg as it escaped to deep water. Everyone at Goose grabbed a 4” Bluegill Flash Easy Shiner on a drop shot, dragged slowly at the bottom of a steep drop off. The rainbow was a nice suprise. Hedges never disappoints. I landed a total of 6 SMB over three trips. Three came on a 3.5” Electric Bluegill Easy Shiner on a drop shot and three ate a Hot Snakes Finesse TRD. #6 was hand reeled in: I cut my line because of a wind knot / blow up and was bringing in my Ned - it felt like dead weight all the way in. No matter, I’ll take it. S L O W or still was the key here. All Sallies were 1.5 to 2 pounds and had their winter ‘rosy throat’ in full display. LPH was a pleasant surprise this morning. I had a miserable ‘22 here and all but wrote the place off but figured I’d try a steep drop off accessible with waders. I saw minnows breaking the surface shortly after arriving. I switched my drop shot to a perch V110 and just a few minutes later landed a chubby 2.22 pound SMB with great colors. This morning’s fish was just the third smallie I’ve caught there in the last 10 trips here, dating back to November ‘21 (LPH is NOT my friend). There were huge clouds of minnows tight against the shore here, which a handful of ducks were chasing around trying to get some breakfast. Overall, a good week fishing. S L O W was the ticket. Air pressure was 30.3 - 30.4 on the days I goose-egged. I caught fish in open water each month for the 4th year in a row. It doesn’t mean I’m done for ‘22, but mission accomplished if I don’t catch anything else the rest of the year. PM me when you’re ready. I can help you out with wiring & setup.

X3 .. Dad nicknamed me ‘Charlie Brown’ when I was a kid and I’ve been missing that football my whole life! ?

Bruins, Bruins, Bruins ….

I 'third' Kistler Heliums ... I have 24 Kistler rods. seven are Heliums, including two older ones. I agree, when they're on sale, nothing else comes close. Unfortunately, I believe the sale ended last night. And remember, they're a small American company. I once called to pay an invoice and Trey Kistler answered the phone.

I was on the north shore today and stopped by Wright's pond in Medford, hoping to do some exploring. Unfortunately the gate was locked. Maybe come Spring time .... All I really need is one fish in open water during December, then I've caught open water fish in every month for the 4th year in a row. I will, however, get out every chance I get....

No plastic boat or waders?

I use diluted Simple Green in an ultrasonic cleaner. If OT is good, I send them to Mike at Delaware Valley Tackle. He does great work.

Fished Snake and Hedges with waders today. Grabbed a little SMB from Snake on the first cast on a perch Rapala Rip Stop 9. I got nothing else for the next couple hours, throwing a 2.8" Keitech, tube, and Damiki blade bait. I hooked onto two nice smallies @ Hedges with the 2.8" Keitech but failed to get them to shore. I lost the first one when my hook broke and the second one just did what smallies do well ... All in all not a bad day without a boat/kayak.