DogBone_384

I'm brand loyal for rods. Kistler, specifically. Reels, baits, lines, and terminal tackle, no.

CONGRATULATIONS! to @Mr. Aquarium for an unbelievable fish! I took kermit to Ponkapoag last night, along with a creature bait, a Rapala Skitterwalk, and Senko. I got NO love from any baits. Ponkie was as low as I've ever seen it. My Lowrance reported 3.9' where I usually see 6' to 7'. Water temps were 75.x and the rain had just moved out. I woke up early and went to one of my favorite ponds in Plymouth in hopes of some good SMB. Launched with the sun and stayed until 10:00, throwing a mix of jig, tube, topwaters, crankbaits, and finesse plastics. No interest from SMB/LMB, but six white perch, all a pound or more, made it to the kayak. Water temps were 74.x, it was nearly bluebird. Winds were light at dawn and picked up to 12-15 mph by the time I left. Air pressure was 29.7 last night and 29.8 this morning. I'm not sure where the bass went my last four trips, but I'll find them.

Firstly, welcome to the forum @PUTitinYOURmouthFISH. I'm a south shore/Cape Cod guy, I don't fish north of the Neponset Bridge, sorry. Secondly, I took the kayak to Cape Cod late last week and had mixed results. I did well at Stetson Pond, Hedges Pond, and Lovers Lake. Didn't do well at Snake, Hinckleys, or Sheep. Deep waters with little structure are my kryptonite, which Snake and Sheep are. Hinckley's was a short 'hail mary' trip in attempt to salvage my time at Snake Pond. Treble hooks produced better fish than soft baits, specifically, jerkbaits and pencil topwaters. I had a few fish around 2 1/2 - 3 pounds, but most were +/- a pound. All but a couple fish had good bellies on them. I also hooked onto a BIG snapping turtle ... a first for me. I freed the big dude by holding him at an arm's length with my paddle and getting the lure with my pliers. Boy he was ticked! Water temps ranged from 74.x to 75.x. Winds were pretty light, overall, and air pressure started @ 29.9 on Thursday and ended at 30.1 on Saturday morning. I'd say the fall blitz is starting. Good luck to y'all getting out there!

I dropped into Massapoag this afternoon to get my sidescan transducer working on my kayak (A Lowrance story for another thread). Got it squared away and fished for a while. Got two SMB, two good picks, and one LMB. My big SMB ate a green pumpkin/red Rage Tail Structure bug and the little guy tried eating a T1000 Whopper Plopper 110 that was almost his size. The two picks and LMB also chomped the Whopper Plopper. The coolest part of the trip was how I caught Larry. I 'skipped' the Whopper Plopper under a dock just for fun and as soon as the WP cleared the dock ... PPOOOFF ... down it went. Shame on me, however, I let up just a little when Larry got to the kayak and he self-extricated. It was a good fish, 2 1/2 - 3 pounds. It bounced off the kayak's hull, so I'm counting it. My big smallie was 1-15, and had a FAT belly on it. Water temps were 74.x where last week they were hovering around 79.x. I'm on Cape Cod the next couple days but haven't decided on my Ranger/kayak/both. That'll be a game-time decision. Winds on the Cape are supposed to be 20+ mph on Friday....

Cape Cod waters get to the mid-high 30’s at their lowest and hover around 40 during winter.

I fished Mashpee-Wakeby on Cape Cod twice last week. It's 70' at its deepest and water temps were 78.x - 80.x. I won't see the mid 60's until October. Luckily, Cape Cod stays warmer all winter and usually doesn't freeze like the rest of New England so I get to hunt SMB year round.

My daily driver was a 2017 Tundra until I tripped across a 1999 Honda CR-V with 97K on it for $500. It's green and slow so I call it 'Turtle'. When I'm not carrying much, I ride my BMW K1200S.

Took another ride to Mashpee- Wakeby yesterday, launching around 1:00 pm. I threw a jig, Ned, wacky Senko, Rage Menace, V110+1 (and Jr.), various drop shot baits, and a couple LV500's over 5 hours in 5' to 30+' with nothing more than a few 'pecks' from panfish. I covered a LOT of water, was tired and frustrated but made a 9th inning hail-mary across from the launch in some grass with a Munky Butt Whopper Plopper 75. I'm glad I did. I beat the skunk with a 1-4 SMB and had good sized follower. A few minutes later a 4-15 swallowed the WP and made it to the boat. A new PB SMB by 4 ounces and just 1 ounce short of 5 pounds. It seems like reaction baits are the only ones that worked for me this Summer with the exception of a private pond @Fishing Rhino and I fish at. The nights are cooling quickly. I'll be on the Cape for a couple days next week, hopefully my good luck continues. Best of luck to everyone getting out this month. It's gonna be a good one.

Solar power's a great myth. We put solar on our home in 2017 and go 7 months a year w/o an electric bill and make enough in SREC payouts to cover our gas & cable for the year. As far as EV's, to each their own.

Most of our waters have small ramps. I’ve fished with @Fishing Rhino for a number of years and that’s how he loads/unloads his Nitro.

Here’s the town website: https://ecode360.com/29563873#:~:text=No person shall operate any,feet of the shore or Good luck.

I dropped my Ranger in Mashpee-Wakeby Tuesday afternoon. It was a mixed trip. I landed a 1 pound white perch and hooked onto two good SMB and a third ????. The YP bit an American Shad LV500, SMB #1 took a green pumpkin/red flake jig, and SMB #2 hammered a Jackall Rerange 110 in 5’ of water. My mystery fish grabbed a dark/light green tube as soon as it landed under a dock. Unfortunately I left my good hooksets at home and the three good fish got off. Shortly after losing my ???? Fish, the skies opened up with a bit of lightning. I parked on a beach until it passed and beat feet with dark skies coming towards me. I marked a few bait balls suspended in 15-20’ but couldn’t pull anything out of them. Water temps were 77.x - 79.x and air pressure was 29.9.

I agree. A well built and very sensitive rod, but not worth the msrp. You can build a top notch Kistler custom for less. I picked mine up when Gander Mountain went out of business.

I dropped into Wampatuck yesterday afternoon to sort out some side-scan issues with my Lowrance and, of course, took some fishing rods. I took a zero after 2 1/2 hours, which is pretty normal here. Winds were tough and the water level was down at least 6 feet, which revealed a lot of structure for future visits. Water temps were 76.x.

Fished Massapoag in Sharon yesterday afternoon. As usual, it was nearly calm when I launched and quickly got to 10-12 mph. I came up with one 1-14 SMB, a 2-9 LMB, and two white perch. Sally ate a 5" watermelon bluegill Yamamoto Heart Tail. Larry and one YP took an American shad LV500. The second perch tried eating a clown Vision 110. The water level was down 2-3', and temps were 77.x. Air pressure was 30 and falling. And, as usual, the wind died down as I loaded up and pulled out of the parking lot...

I second .... great rod for short money.

Fished with @Fishing Rhino in his home pond today. As usual, he took me to school with at least four fish over 4 pounds and one probably 5+. He started off with 5 bass in short order to my ZERO, but I made a late charge with a black/blue chatterbait and bagged a new PB Larry at 6 pounds. Overall I'd say he out-fished me at nearly 2:1 for the day. Thanks again Mr. Chatterbait. We didn't have any electronics, but the water was bathwater warm. It was cool and overcast most of the morning and air pressure was 30.1.

Like others, I’m much better with a baitcaster than spinning, and get worse when tired.

‘Bout sums it up. Stress & bad things are part of life. Accepting that is 99% of the battle and dwelling on it only makes it worse. Look at the WWII generation and live by their example.

Fished Walkers Pond this afternoon, throwing assorted T-rigged baits, chatterbait, Whopper Plopper, jerk bait & shallow cranks and came up empty. Water was 86.x and winds were 20+ mph by the time I left. The water looked like coffee w/milk. I asked @Saltysmalljaws if it were normally weedy. He said yes, but there was no vegetation that I could find. Walkers reminded me of Sunset Lake a few years ago when Braintree treated the water, killing the vegetation - and effectively, the fishing. Regardless, don’t waste your time here. There are better ponds on the Cape.

Hold onto the truck and wait for someone that bought a boat in the last couple years and realized it wasn’t ‘for them’ and wants to unload. Base model trucks (4x4) of all manufacturers are $50,000+. Do you want to spend that? Your boat will come. Best of luck with it.

Fished Hinckley’s (twice), Goose, Buck’s, and Snake ponds over the weekend. Not much to report. One good bass at Goose that came in at 2 1/2 pounds, and a couple small bass & perch at the other ponds. I threw the kitchen and bathroom sinks. Water temps were 83.x - 84.x across the board.

Haverhill’s East of Worcester… welcome to the thread!

Don’t tell my wife!

What kind of car do you have? Does it have a roof rack? Other members offered good advice with two flush mount rod holders, a paddle clamp, and seat padding. I’d add an anchor pulley & cleat too. Because it’s your first kayak, keep it simple and choose your mods carefully/slowly.