DogBone_384

These, and any red during prespawn for SMB works for me.

You'll make me cry .... I'm stuck with 'average' waters around the Boston area. HHHMMMM ... Tuna on a kayak !?!?!?!? Now that's an idea... ? Good luck!

An underspin with Keitech was yesterday's bait of choice for me for all species I caught. Only one bass wanted a Yozuri flat sided crankbait... Congrats on another good outing. I might make a couple trips down your way this Summer, but not many. I really miss the ponds around Harwich & Brewster. Our timeshare is closed until August, which means my next marathon session will be in the fall!

Spent today socially distant with Fishing Rhino at a private pond in southern MA. Tom took his canoe and I had my kayak. The day started off with a good bass on a 3.8" Keitech Fat Impact on an under-spin. I can't count it because I let off just enough when I reached for my net and the bugger laughed and unhooked itself right at the kayak. I got two more good LMB, 3.68 & 2.84, respectively, with a smattering of small LMB, pan sized crappie, skinny little pickerel, and a yellow perch that was barely bigger than the Yozuri crank bait it chomped. Keitechs w/under-spin and a Yozuri flat sided crank bait were today's winners. This private pond is shallow, like a pie plate. All fish were caught in 4' or less. Water temps were 61.x - 62.x. Air pressure was 29.7, and winds were light in the morning, picking up some by mid afternoon. It was too nice to go straight home, so I side tracked to Mary's Pond, in Rochester. I caught a LMB barely bigger than the SMB colored LV500 I was tossing. I marked most targets suspended in 13 - 18' of water. There's not much for structure here. I did a lap, and left. A few other fishermen I spoke to there weren't having any luck either. Water temps were 58.x and it was dead calm. Based on what I saw today, Mary's looks like it's heavily fished. Overall, a very good day being socially distant.

They never do. I have a niece in NH. Her MA non-resident gun license is $100/year. My NH non-resident is now $100 for 5 years. But that's a non-issue here. I'm going SMB hunting today.

I wonder if I could transfer to any of the Fire Departments down there !?!?!?!

Congrats on catching another breed. Good to see you posting again.

I wouldn’t over think it. Go fishing and adhere to social distancing guidelines.

Give them a shake. Do they still rattle?

I had a '77 Olds '98 Regency two door with the 'velour couches' ... yup. Bad gas mileage, mediocre reliability by today's standards, but rode a lot better than todays cars for sure.

All the American cars still looked and rode great in the mid '70's, but thanks to our government, neutered the motors. Out of curiosity and boredom, I went to the garage and looked in my old Motors Manual for '76 Dodge 400 CID HP ratings. They ranged from 175 to 255 HP... My '07 1200 cc BMW motorcycle makes 165 HP. Ahh, the good ole days.

I have two favorite motors. The first is the 2.0 I4 that was in my '91 Nissan Sentra SE-R. I drove it for 8 years, SCCA auto-crossed it, and traded it in for my 1st Toyota pickup with 165K on it, WITH the original clutch. That little buggy was a blast to drive and gave me 30 mpg. The second is the 5.7L that's in my '17 Tundra. This is the 4th Toyota truck in our family. Combined, we've driven over 500,000 miles and have never repaired any of them. I have 11 years until retirement and I fully expect this truck to get me there. I've had Chevy, Olds, Buick, and Pontiac's from '70 - '72. While they were easy to work on, tune ups were annual (and WHY did Buick put the distributor in the front .. try adjusting points with the fan running just a couple inches from your hand), and you were lucky to get 100K out of them. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have my '72 Skylark convertible back, but not as a daily driver. Besides, I doubt there are any machine shops left near me to rebuild them.

That will change. I started kayak fishing in '14 when my daughter started HS. Fast forward to 2020 and three kayak upgrades later, I think I've fished from shore half a dozen times. Welcome to a great addiction.

Not much is changed for me. My Chief changed our work schedule to 48 hours on, 6 days off to minimize our trips too/from the station. On those 6 days off I help Mom take care of Dad, take care of my household duties, work my side-job, and go fishing once or twice a week.

You answered your own question. If it feels right, it's right. I still have a 5'6" BPS Pro Comp Graphite pistol grip that's probably from the early '90s like yours.

Firstly, welcome to the forum. I know a few people that cast with both hands. It's a great talent, congrats!

According to MA's website, there are SMB in Lake Massapoag, in Sharon, MA. (https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2018/02/01/Lake_Massapoag.pdf). It's about 1/2 hour from home, so I went SMB hunting from 3:00 to 6:30 pm. It's BIG, at 392 acres, and is a lot for a kayak. Luckily the wind blown shores were north and west, so that's where I began. I started by tossing big and small Keitech's on underspins, a Rapala jointed Shad Rap, Lucky Craft jerk bait, and a black/blue chatterbait (I left my box of lipless cranks at home ?). I worked the N & W shores from 18' - 3', marking most fish in the 16' range and came up with a 1 3/4 pound pickerel on a black 2.8" Keitech, in 8' of water near a floating dock after almost 3 hours. I also pulled up some bright green vegetation in the flat, shallow areas in the western cove. Maybe a jig, LV500, and tube next time? Water temps were 50.x - 52.x along the N & W shores and 48.x on the east shallows where I caught the pickerel. Wind was light from the east and the air pressure was 30.3. Massapoag looks like a good lake, with a cement ramp and parking lot for 4-6 trailers. It's posted with a 60 HP limit. I found the water kind of dark (though it was mostly cloudy this afternoon), like Wampatuck State Park, but the two waters couldn't be any different. I spoke to a couple locals. One said there were SMB here, and another didn't know.

“High-sticking is the name of two infractions ... that may occur when a player intentionally or inadvertently plays the puck with his or her stick above the height of the shoulders or above the cross bar of a hockey goal.“

I just checked MA's website regarding Quabbin's opening day. It's open for shoreline fishing and boat opening day is 'postponed' until May 9th (hopefully). Good luck to all you 'westerners' ...

They sure are. I live just outside of Boston and have only a few decent ponds to fish. Like you, I'm experiencing some tough local fishing but did well on the Cape in March. I guess that's the reason my '17 Tundra has 41K on it already! ADD: I just looked at MA's website regarding the Quabbin. It's open for shoreline fishing and boat opening day is 'postponed' until May 9th (hopefully).

If you went by retail pricing, it'd be an Abu Fantastista Regista and Shimano Core. Luckily, I bough both at 50% off when Gander Mountain went out of business. The Abu's a nice rod, but I can buy two Kistlers for the Abu's $499 retail.

I fished Ponkapog yesterday, from about 10:00 to roughly 2:00 PM, beating the rain we're supposed to get. I was a grind, but I finally bagged a small LMB and equally small pickerel around 1:00 on a T-rigged black/blue 4" Keitech Swing Impact along the east shore. Everything else I threw, Keitech's w/underspins, chatter bait, square bill, jerk bait, and Yamamoto Kut tail, brought up nothing but weeds. Water temps were 49.x - 50.x, winds came from the east at 6 - 8 mph, and the air pressure was 30.1 (falling). Ponkie's been tough so far this year, but it matches my April 2017 - 2019 around the Boston area. I dunno where the LMB are around here, but I'll keep at it. Maybe it's time to break out a white spinner bait...

I fish from a kayak. 15 mph with gusts not much higher is about my tops.

No, I don't. I had good luck on Cape Cod this March by fishing them to their max depth, meaning if I was in 8-10' water I threw one that dove to 10', cranking it slowly while still varying the speed and pausing it periodically. My best performing flats are Yozuri 3DR Shads. Maybe I'll play around with weights... thanks for the tip. Time for RED cranks, lipless, and squarebills. Just ask Matt Allen and Tim Little!

Have you tried fishing a lipless like blade bait? To RigsForPigs: I’ve had some luck with a SMB colored LV-500 in Plymouth & Cape Cod when lifted & dropped. I had good luck in February & March (water temps in low/mid 40’s) with blade baits, flat side crankbaits (fished S L O W w/ long pauses), and 2.8” Keitech’s on an under-spin. Best of luck, and don’t give up.