DogBone_384

I've tried to get members together before for group outings. Cape Cod has many good waters for boaters and kayakers. Let's revisit it in the Spring.

A couple of us are planning a New Year's Day trip to a good SMB pond in Plymouth. It'd be great if you could join us. I've got some time off next week and will do some recon as we get close. Luckily, Plymouth & Cape Cod are the last to freeze around here.... gonna keep fingers crossed. Merry Christmas to all!

I don’t weigh mine, but I can guarantee it gets a little heavier every year.

Drive south. Plymouth, MA, and Cape Cod (good SMB) are still wide open.

6’6” - 6’10” medium (insert brand of your choice) with a fairly stiff tip. I had Kistler build me a spinning version of their 6’9” KLX casting rod. Kistler calls it mod-fast. I find it perfect for jerkbaits.

Welcome!

The blade bait's smaller than a lipless, so it resembles small baitfish better. Blade baits also transmit much more vibration than plastic hard baits. @5by3 sums up how I fish them in eastern MA & Cape Cod. My favorite brands are Yozuri and Binsky. Good luck, and keep at it.

Make some time to fish with @Saltysmalljaws down the Cape. Jake's a J-B guru. He taught me some of his tricks and now I'm pretty good with them.

…… #9 ……

Kistler has what he calls a light-medium-heavy rod. It’s a MH with a light tip with a mod-fast action. I have a few of them, including a custom one for my wife. I throw just about everything on them except drop shot and finesse. They’re great quality and built here in the USA. Kistler’s having a year end clearance sale now, you can get one for as low as $99. Good luck.

It depends on what kind of waters you have near you. I’m near Plymouth/Cape Cod, MA, where many waters are kettles where deeper water can be reached from shore. If you can cast to deeper areas in your local waters, you can still catch bass. Some things to remember: Slow your presentations WAY down. Jerkbaits, finesse softbaits, and blade baits often work well. Fish later in the morning. Give the water a chance to warm a couple degrees. Fish wind-blown shores if possible. Dress warm, and keep at it.

Yes. Mike, you still do. There’s no cure… Just different levels of control.

A second vote...

Same here, but NEVER say NEVER. I keep a couple 2-piece rods in my car with a small tackle bag … just in case. I did pretty well @ Canton Reservoir this time last year with jerkbaits. Have a few of these too…

Here's my Cape recap from last week: Tuesday: LPH: Two hours of chasing my tail. I didn't mark much. A few groups deep, but I couldn't coax them into biting. Threw dropshot, tube and blade bait. Water temps were 47.x, air pressure was 30, and winds 12-15 from W. Wequaquet: Fished the afternoon. No bass, but three big picks took a fast moving blade bait. Two were over three pounds. The biggest followed the blade to the boat and turned off. I let the bait drop in front of it and it took it. Nothing on jerkbait, or tube. Water temps were 44.x, air pressure 29.9, and winds 12 mph from W. Wednesday: Private pond, Chadham: I ran into 5 small LMB straight away on a V110 near the launch. Nothing after. Most traffic was marked on the wind blown shore where it drops to 20+ feet. I met the resident swan up close. It swam right up to my kayak, didn't make a sound, and raised its wings a little bit. I said good morning and pedaled away. Water temps were 45.x, air pressure was 30.1, and winds 15 mph from W. Sheep: Met @Saltysmalljaws here after lunch. It's one of his home ponds and one of my least successful. Nothing changed here. We fished close to each other using blade baits. He pulled up two SMB around three pounds. I pulled up two yellow perch barely bigger than my blade. Water temps were 49.x, air pressure 30.1, and winds 15 mph from W (though blocked by terrain). The highlight here was fishing with @Saltysmalljaws and seeing a bald eagle while pedaling back to the launch. I'm taking Sheep off my list. Hinckleys: I dropped into Hinckleys late to try to save face over Sheep. I barely got the kayak wet before dark. Marked lots of perch. Nothing, and didn't really expect anything, but figured a 'hail mary' can't hurt. Water temps were 43.x, air pressure 30.2, and winds 15 mph (but dying down) from W. Thursday: Great Herring: Fished for a couple hours in the morning before some family duties. It was typical GH for me. Near calm when launching, 2' swells and stiff winds after launch, and near calm shortly after boat's on trailer. Spent most time driving around looking at the Lowrance. Didn't mark much more than perch at the northern end. Water temps were 43.x and air pressure was 29.9. I've not caught much of anything here in the last two years. I should probably take this one of my list too. Snake Pond: I fished here after my family obligations were done. I generally catch a couple decent LMB or SMB here. Only one yellow perch barely bigger than my blade bait and one big pick on a green pumpkin/chartreuse Ned in 25' of water. Water temps were 46.x, air pressure was 29.6, and winds were 10-15 mph from SE. This trip wasn't what I'd hoped for, but the weather wasn't as bad as originally forecasted, and I still caught a few fish. If I don't get out again this year, I caught fish in open water every month except March.

Congrats! My season's not over yet. Gonna be down the Cape this week. The forecast isn't favorable, but I'm bringing my Ranger & a kayak and playing it by ear.... Best of luck to everyone else getting out in the cold.

This whole sport is a rabbit hole! ? I chose FeelFree’s Lure 11.5 for this reason. Their Overdrive and Motordrive units are a-la-cart.

I fish Ponkapoag, in Canton. It's shallow and weedy. If your local ponds are shallow and weedy, texas rigged soft baits are your most 'painless' option. Shallow running jerkbaits like Rapala's Shadow Rap or Rip Stop work, as well as square bill crankbaits. Cast around weedbed edges where you can. Good luck out there.

I threw my waders in the car and went south, randomly picking Little South. Starting with a V110 and gold Binsky, I found nothing but wilted salad. I quickly walked over to Great South and spooked a decent LMB away from shore. I tried to coax him into a jerkbait, but no go. I traded the Binsky for a Ned and worked the NW shore for a bit without success. There was topwater action, likely white perch, beyond my casting range, but I tied on a Rapala skitter walk and tried my best. Again, no go. I also spooked a good sized SMB, who was also right on the bank. I moved west along the bank, but just couldn't get deep enough do keep my jerkbait off the bottom. I swapped the Ned to a Sungill Rage Tail Menace on a Matt Allen jig head. A small SMB whacked it upon hitting the water. I saw one school of baitfish against the shore in the NW corner in some grass. I finished up at the NE corner where it drops off by a point. Couldn't get a bite there either, but a school of finger sized fish hung around my legs for a few then went on their way. Perch, perhaps? Today was just a case of being shore bound and simply not being able to cast to deep enough water. The highlight of my trip was not getting skunked and the Bald Eagle that flew over me just before dusk. Congrats to a coworker (that I can't get to join BR) on his 5-2 and 5-3 LMB. He got them at different ponds on the South Shore today, on a Psycho-Gill swimbait.

Congrats! And a big welcome to BassResource to @Frezzy. @Saltysmalljaws has some serious competition!

Plymouth and Cape Cod rarely freeze over. It might be worth a trip or two. There's also ice fishing.

I dropped into Ponkapoag for a bit this afternoon. The wind was stiff from the S/SE so I worked the northern shore, starting with a chart/white spinner bait, Rapala Rip-Stop, T-rigged Big TRD and Palmetto-Bug. I pulled up wilted salad for the first hour and a half so switched the Big-TRD to a 3.8" bluegill flash Z-Swimmer. Almost immediately, I pulled in a 19 3/4" pick and 1.96 pound LMB off the same point with the Z-Swimmer. Both fish were skinny. I didn't have any electronics. The water felt cold enough that I didn't want to fall in. Air pressure was 29.9 and there was nary a cloud in the sky.

Sounds very familiar ….? This sounds familiar too. I live on a penninsula and have stripers 300 yards from my house but will drive an hour-plus to Plymouth & Cape Cod for SMB …. Go figure.

Good luck, have fun, and wear your PFD.

The Bait Monkey bit me HARD today. A Vanford 2500HGF followed me home.