DogBone_384

1. How often do you go fishing? I try to go at least once a week. Last year I logged 63 trips. 2. What type of fishing do you usually do? (fresh, salt, target species) I fish fresh water, for large & smallmouth bass. 3. How do you hear about new products? Social media? Friends? Online? This forum and YouTube are my primary sources for new products. 4. When buying a new product what makes you finally decide to purchase it? Reviews? Friends Recommendations? Reviews and recommendations, frequently from YouTube channels. 5. Where did you usually shop pre covid-19? In stores? Online? Tackle Warehouse gets most of my business. 6. Does the fishing industry have enough gadgets? Too many for me. 7. How much do you spend yearly on fishing equipment Depends on the year. Usually $1,000 or less, however, I bought a Ranger RT178 this year.

I second this statement. I fished with Saltysmalljaws in March and did very well. This fall’s been tough, but following this thread can help tremendously. I fished Goose Pond yesterday to close out my first fall Cape Cod trip. I didn’t catch a seven pounder, but a nice LMB, just under three pounds, devoured a 5” T-rigged, green pumpkin swim Senko on the edge of a steep drop off. Yesterday’s water temps were 66.x, air temps in the high 60’s, winds about 15 mph from the west, and air pressure at 29.8. ADD: I forgot to mention that Goose pond was the only water I fished this week that had schools of bait fish on the beach.

My first fall fishing trip to Cape Cod's been tough. Fished Long Pond Sunday afternoon and Monday morning then Mashpee/Wakbey in the afternoon. I dropped my kayak in Bucks Pond this morning. Long Pond and Mash/Wake, combined, coughed up three SMB, with the biggest coming in at 1.64 pounds. Bucks, which is usually a guarantee, struck me out with three fast balls. The wind averaged 20+ mph Sunday and Monday and were closer to 30 mph today. Bucks has pretty good protection, but it didn't matter. I marked plenty of targets and bait suspended in roughly 25+ feet of water. I threw the kitchen sink, and without a green pumpkin Ned and black/blue 5" Senko, would have been completely shut out. Water temps were in the low 70's Sunday and 64.x today. Air pressure was 30.5 Sunday and Monday, dropping to 29.8 today. Gonna give it another shot somewhere else tomorrow.

Happy birthday Mike! My nephew, also named Mike, turns 34 today. Enjoy your day!

My first car was a '70 Pontiac LeMans that my father told me not to buy because it was a heap (not his words...). I paid $200 for it and probably put twice that into it to get it running/road worthy. Parents get so much smarter as kids get older... My next car was a pristine '72 Cutlass S that I bought from my 5th grade teacher that I bugged through H.S. for a chance to buy it when I was old enough. I came home from school one day and she was having tea with my mother. She told me Plaza Olds was giving her $1,800 trade for it and I had first shot. I ran to the bank as fast as I could and got it. Being 18 and not knowing what a steal I had, I ended up wrecking it. A '72 Monte Carlo followed the Cutlass. The Monte was sold for a '72 Skylark convertible. The ragtop was 350/2 bbl with drum brakes all around, but is the ONE I'd like to have back today. My dad had a '70 Vista Cruiser (the same color as "That '70's show"). He paid $3,400 for it, new, in 1970. The reason he drove it for 22 years was because he didn't let me, nor my brother drive it... All my old A-bodies were nearly 'as good'. That's why we had studded snow tires back then. I had the chance to buy a '69 Hurst Olds in '91 from a coworker for $12,000. $12,000 in '91 might as well have been $1,000,000 to me. Also would have been a 'six figure car'... woulda-shoulda-coulda...

Hit two ponds today: Blue Hills Reservoir in Quincy, and Mashpee/Wakeby in Mashpee. Blue Hills was a short, lunch time trip while waiting for my Daughter to get her nails done. I nabbed two LMB and one yellow perch. Both bass were small, as was the YP, but it was the biggest YP I've caught there. One bass and the YP hit a ghost/chartreuse/shad LV500 and the second LMB took a 3.5" Swing Impact (regular, not fat) on a 1/8 oz. Cool Baits Under-spin. It was overcast, with a little drizzle and light breeze from the NE. Mashpee/Wakeby was more of a shake-down run for my upcoming Cape Cod marathon. I threw a couple different LV500's, brown/green chatterbait, bluegill DT16, big/small Keitech, and a purple/brown tube. I didn't catch anything, nor did I really mark much. It was a half hearted trip, but I have a basic game plan. M/W is a BIG, DEEP, pond, which it my weakness. I'm going to need a heavier drop shot weight to get to 30'+ where most of the fish I marked appeared to be. It was in the mid '70's with on/off drizzle and a 5 mph wind from the south. Water temps were 77.x and the air pressure was 30.2.

Took a late afternoon trip to Long Pond on Cape Cod on Tuesday afternoon. Only got an hour and a half in, and caught one small SMB on a SMB flavored LV500. I have a 'game plan' for my trips this fall. Most fish were marked suspended in 20 - 25' of water. The water temp was 77.x, winds were 5 mph from the SE, and the air pressure was 30.2. I met Saltysmalljaws and Dunks'N'Dinks at the ramp when leaving, and talked fishing for a few before heading home. I hope to fish with Salty again this fall. He's an 'encyclopedia' of Cape Cod fishing.

I've got five 3-day trips booked on Cape Cod from mid September to the first week in November for just that reason: NO TOURISTS and lots of smallmouth fishing!

Same down here in SE Massachusetts...

?????

I took and afternoon trip to Great Herring in Plymouth. I don't know what happened, but someone took all the big SMB somewhere else. I started with a slow lap around to let the Lowrance show the way. I didn't mark much and gambled on the cool nights driving fish shallow. That wasn't the case. I stuck with a LV500, chrome Rapala Skitter Walk, 4" wacky Senko, and two different size Keitech. I marked a few bait balls with "fish reveal" dots around them, but try as I might, couldn't buy a bite. Finally, just before dusk, I managed a SMB on the small Keitech, at the point that's to the left of the launch. A few casts later a tiny yellow perch thought it could swallow a LV500 that was bigger than he was. Water temps were 77.x, it was mostly cloudy, fairly breezy from the south until just before dusk, and the air pressure was 30.1. I gotta get some of Mr. Aquarium's mojo quick ... the fall onslaught is near.... It's that or my kayaks put bad juju on my new boat because I've neglected them for the last couple months.

Great outing! I’ll see you guys mid September when the Summer crowd is gone!

I took our friend's son, Evan, to Peter's Pond in Sandwich on the Ranger yesterday afternoon. Evan learned to cast his new baitcast setup. The weather was perfect, high 70's a light wind from the SW. Water temps were 81.x and the air pressure was 29.8. Evan didn't catch anything. I caught 4 yellow perch and a small SMB, all on the same ghost-chartreuse-shad LV500 that worked at Great Herring last week. I lost a good SMB too. A drop-shot, Keitech Fat Impact, and Rapala DTs failed. My Lowrance marked most targets suspended in 20+ feet.

It's late August, 7x.x degrees, and raining ... Am I the ONLY one that smells a great SMB season this fall !?!?!?!?

See above. I see other members are successful with GYCB’s Hula Grub. I’ve never done well with them. I might have to revisit them.

I have a 365 and love it. I'd guess it's got nearly 1K rounds through it without a hitch. I find recoil manageable, and accuracy is good for a defense gun. I own HK's, Sigs, and SW revolvers. I'm 6', 180 lbs, so micros are easier for me to conceal. In cooler seasons I carry a HK P30SK. My 'regular' carry piece is a 340PD, and the 365 my second favorite. I recommend it for a carry gun.

Congratulations! Get out, enjoy it, and good luck on a new PB with it.

I had a decent couple days out with the new Ranger. A coworker and his two 'youngins' came with me to Monoponsett in Halifax yesterday. We didn't catch much, but the kids had a blast. Towards lunch we saw a stick all by itself. I tossed a 4" perch Senko at it and came up with a little LMB. Dana's daughter, who's 7, did the same and came up with one too. Water temps were in the low 80's. I then went solo, to Great Herring in Plymouth in search of some smallmouth bass. In typical Cape Cod/Plymouth fashion, it was pretty calm until I launched. Shortly thereafter I may as well have been on the ocean. Water temps were in the high 70's here. I tossed a ghost-chartreuse-shad LV500 lipless and hooked onto something ticked off. I assume it was a good size SMB, but it got off under the boat before I could hoist it. I nabbed a nice white perch with the same LV. Nothing else I tried worked. All targets were found suspended in 15-20'. Today's adventure was to Lake Chaubunagungamaug in Webster, MA. I launched at dawn and stayed until lunch time. I got 4 LMB and 1 SMB to the boat, lost 2 SMB and 1 LMB. The biggest was a 2.94 LMB that was caught in 8' on a 3.8 Fat Swing Impact. The other bass came on a bluegill flavored Rapala DT16 suspended in 25' and the SMB took a 4" perch Senko I let sit at the bottom of a drop off in 20'. It was nearly calm and water temps were 81.x, a perfect day for topwater, but I didn't mark much in the shallows. It seems to be a trend the last few trips out. The state records are still intact, I'm getting more comfortable with the new boat and electronics, and SURE AM looking forward to September & October hunting SMB on Cape Cod!

3.8” Keitech Fat Swing Impact on a swim jig head. Black/blue Ned. LV500 in Ghost Chartreuse Shad (unless stained water)

I had an afternoon off, so I took a ride to Great Herring and get more familiar with the Ranger and Elite TI2s. I launched around 1:00 PM and stayed until almost 6:30 and managed only a few white perch nips/follows on a black/blue Keitech Easy Shiner on a 1/8 oz. underspin. I threw the kitchen sink, shallow and deep. I marked most of my targets suspended in 20+ feet of water. Even a drop shot by 'the hump' failed me. I talked with another group on a nice old Nitro, who was there before me and left when I did. They came up with 2 small SMB and 1 Sunny. I don't feel so bad... So far I really dig the new boat. I think the Elite TI2's are WAY more fish finder than I need, but they're paid for and installed... there's no going back now.

I planned on installing Hook2 7" & 9" on my new Ranger but ended up with Elite TI2's. Lowrance says they share sonar information when networked, so I thought I could use the side scan on my transom on the front, 9", unit. Yes, they'll share sonar, but only 2D, not down or side scan. Shame on me for not reading the 'fine print' and jumping before looking. Hopefully they'll be able to share down/side scan information with future updates. Lowrance's 'fish reveal' is excellent. I also bought the Yamaha/Lowrance connector for the NMEA 2000 network that shows engine information on both screens. To do over, I woudn't spend the money on the Elites and instead buy Hook Reveals. If networking, touch screen, and blue-tooth connectivity are important to you, YES, the Elites are very good units. Best of luck choosing your units.

Bummer. I guess you'll have to suffer with some of the bigger LMB in the US... Best of luck!

Hook onto a 3 or 4 pound SMB on a drop-shot and you'll know why it's worth it.

Finally got the Ranger in the water this morning for a few hours at Great Herring, launching at dawn and staying until around 9:30. It was overcast and breezy from the south. A good topwater day, or so I thought. I spent much of the time getting used to the electronics and overall boat operation, but managed a white perch and smallmouth, both not much bigger than a double quarter pounder. I marked most fish suspended and on the bottom in 25 - 30', but try as I might, nobody picked up my offerings. Water temps were in the low 80's, and air pressure was stuck at 30.0. I planned on going back, but the forecast called for wind gusts as high as 30 mph. If I don't work this Friday, I'll have all day to fish.

Happy Hatch-Day, and congratulations on a great outing!