DogBone_384

Practice, practice, practice; great reason to fish more.

Kittery Trading Post had a sale on MegaBass before Christmas. I bought four Vision 110’s.

I use solunarforecast.com While I don’t live by it, I keep track of my catches and compare the ‘forecast’ from time to time. I find my better days fishing often coincide with the moon phases.

I packed my good rain gear and hit Hedges for a spell this afternoon. It looked almost perfect at the beach, with nary a ripple and misty fog around the tree line. I forgot my blade bait rod so I made do with various crank, jerk, and lipless trebles as well as a black 2.8” Keitech Fat Impact on a 1/10 oz Ned jig head. I also brought a 1/16 hair jig on a 9’6” Float’n’Fly rod to entice some yellow perch. My first fish for ‘20 came anout 1/2 hour on the water when a 1 1/2 pound SMB took the black Keitech off the bottom, with just a ‘tick’. It was quiet for the next 45 minutes when two more smallies, 2 and 1 3/4 pounds, respectively, took a SMB colored LV-500 lipless off the bottom. Everyone was caught in 12-15’ of water at the bottom of a drop-off on the N/NW side. It was the only part of Hedges I marked much on my Lowrance. All three fish had a respectable fight in them (for winter), had great colors, and decent bellies on them. Water temps settled in at 40.2 and the air pressure was 29.6. I have to thank Matt & Tim of TactialBassin for their YouTube channel. That’s where I got the 2.8” Keitech & LV-500 idea from. A good start to ‘20. Hopefully Plymouth & Cape Cod stay open and I’ll get February & March checked off too.

I'm planning on it. Probably Plymouth and not the Cape. Packing neoprene waders and my good rain gear. My first choice is Hedges, but if that's solid, I got a couple nice SMB at Snake pond, not too far over the bridge.

...man, nothing but crickets out here ....

Oops, the photo got turned 90 degrees when it uploaded...

Happy New Year and welcome to the forum!

And Fishing Rhino ....

NEED has nothing to do with it! Mortgage/HELOC rates, at least here in MA, aren’t bad at all!

My Lure is on top of my truck as we speak...

Hopefully the Cape will stay open. I will, however, drill holes if need be....

Tinnitus.

Took a ride to Plymouth, looking for open water. Hedges, my ‘go to’, is locked up. I then drove to Snake Pond, in Sandwich, and found it roughly 1/3 skimmed over, but accessible. I hit the water about 1:15 and stayed until 4:00 when the temperature dropped like a rock. I needed only the Damiki blade bait that worked well at Hedges. I got two nice, healthy, smallmouth in the kayak: a 1.24 and 2.02. Both were in roughly 20-25’ of water, near steep drop offs. Water temps were 39.0 when I launched, and 38.2 when I packed up. Air pressure was 30.4 and the wind was on/off at about 10 mph from the northeast. I’m going to try to get out again tomorrow, but if I don’t, I caught fish in MA, in open water in all months except January and February. All in all, a successful year fishing. Bring on 2020! ADD: I forgot to mention that Great Herring was wide open when I drove by.

Three of my eight Pflueger spinning reels are Supreme XT’s. They’re smooth, quiet, and just plain ole work. I’ve never had an issue with any of them. I find the Supreme XT the perfect balance between the President & Patriarch lines.

I heartily agree. I fish smaller waters from my kayak. I’ll take ‘em all! Merry Christmas!

Most of the SMB waters I fish requires me to catch two or three fish to get a trophy ... Still, the smallies in MA fight harder than larries too.

You sure DON’T live in Massachusetts ....

sounds like the Ford vs. Chevy thing starting up...

I bought a FeelFree Lure 11.5 from ACK in April ‘18. I was notified that it was at the freight depot and scheduled a delivery. I was too impatient and asked if I could pick it up in person. The freight company said AOK and I picked it up directly and after putting it together I went fishing. Overall a very good experience with ACK.

Welcome to the family Josh!

The wife and I were in Kittery one year and they were clearing out ice fishing department at 50% off. I couldn't pass it up. I put it up in my garage to check it out, repacked it, and there it sits in my basement. I bought a Nils manual auger at Kittery too. It's awesome, cutting 6" ice requires almost no effort. I couldn't justify the price of a power auger, never having ice fished. I've only been ice fishing once, for less than two hours just to do it, at Jacobs pond. Boring as heck when ice fishing alone.... I'm lucky being 45 minutes from the Bourne Bridge - Plymouth & Cape Cod stay open most of the year, as do SMB. You're right, this week's rain & warmth is good. When everything solidifies, I'd be up for a day on the ice with other members. I have a pretty open work schedule.

Don't give up! If the water's not frozen, keep at it. I live just south of Boston, MA, and in 2017 caught fish in open water in every month. I'm lucky that Plymouth / Cape Cod ponds don't always freeze over and are an hour away for me. I have 6" of snow in my yard but plan on getting out at least once or twice before the end of the year. My weather forecast for the next couple days in a rainy, warming trend ... which'll help out too! Best of luck and don't quit yet!

Mine is behind my shed. My shelter, tip-ups and rods are in the basement, ready to go (kayaks, too, are hung on the shed and also ready to go at a moment's notice if we get a 'warm' day in Plymouth/Cape Cod). I went once by myself last season and was bored to death. How about getting a group together and do a Saturday or Sunday on the ice (with appropriate food & beverages...)? I'm just south of Boston and am more than willing to travel.

I third it! Also, all the loot in the last page or two explains why the TW website crashed on my late Monday night!