DogBone_384

I drove by Ponkie and Canton Reservoir today. Both are wide open.

All of them... can't pick just one.

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Derek and I launched at Sawdy around 11:00. The weather was pretty good, with temps in the mid/high 40s, mostly cloudy, and a breeze from the South. I threw a green w/red flake tube, black/blue 5” Senko, and bluegill chatterbait to start. I alternated the chatterbait for a Vision 110 and Yozuri squarebill here and there. I nabbed bass #1 of 2019 on the tube in 5-6’ of water. It was about 1 1/2 pounds with a good belly. That was it for the day. Water temps were 40.x We’re almost there!

Derek and I are heading to Sawdy, in Westport, tomorrow morning, expecting to get there around 10:00 AM. If you find an orange Tundra parked there, that’s us.

No problem. My truck gets great gas mileage... I don’t mind at all!

I got down to the Cape and reconned from Harwich/Brewster back up to Canton, MA. Here’s what I found: Cape Cod Hinckley, Seymour, and Long Pond are wide open. Sheep is iced out from the boat launch out about 200 yards or so. Flax is mostly solid. The ice looks fairly thick, soft, and gray. Cliff is mostly open with some ice by the launch/beach adjacent to Little Cliff. Little Cliff is about half locked out. Wequaquet is wide open. There was one bass boat out when I drove by. Pimlico is open. There’s a nice, unimproved, ramp on Pimlico road. Peter’s is locked up. Snake Pond was about 1/2 skimmed over and is likely open as I type now. Plymouth Hedges is 80% covered and thick enough to take at least a few days to open up. hopefully not! Triangle, Great South, Little South, and Little Pond are solid and gray. South Shore Jacobs is mostly solid. Houghtons, Ponkie, and Sunset Lake are locked up and don’t show signs of opening anytime soon. Canton didn’t plow Ponkie’s access. I almost got my Tundra stuck.... Although I SHOULD HAVE brought my kayak, I cheated and brought waders. I made a few casts at Hinkleys just for the heck of it. I caught four branches and lost a gold Binsky. My plan is to get out with Fishing Rhino and Jigfshn10 this week and grab my first fish of the year. My goal for a fish in open water every month is shot, so I’m gonna focus on breaking the five pound mark...

Good luck Mike!

Can’t get south this weekend. I’m off tomorrow so I’m headed out tomorrow to check my favorite waters.

The wife's working tomorrow. I might take a ride south, to the Cape, perhaps, to see what's what. Going on Jiggy's comments, there was 1/2 - 3/4" of ice on most of Snake Pond in Sandwch when I launched there a couple weeks ago. Five hours later it was open. Air temps were in the high 30's -low 40's with bright sun that day. Everyone cross your rod tips and hope for a quick melt.

Good thing Tackle Warehouse has a big sale every Spring!

"In like a lion, out like a lamb..." "In like a lion, out like a lamb..." "In like a lion, out like a lamb..." "In like a lion, out like a lamb..."

I use Lowrance Hook5's on my FeelFree Lures. The head attaches to the rail with an accessory mount. Lowrance has a scupper mount for the transducer. I use a Hobie grommet kit to run the wires in the hull. They're powered by Milwaukee M12 batteries kept in a small Pelican box, velcroed inside the hull. I find the screen is as big as I'd ever need on a kayak. Anything bigger, to me, would get in the way. I don't have any experience with any other brand. Lowrance works well for me. The menus are easy to navigate through. I fish 300 acre and under waters most of the time so the downscan really doesn't do me any good, but it's there if I want it. I use 'high-chirp' setting. The Hook5 has GPS, which is good to leave waypoints where I find structure I'd like to revisit. I want to say I paid $199 or less for them at season's end a couple years ago. Best luck finding a fish finder for your 'yak.

I own a couple mod-fast Kistlers and one Abu. I find I use them more and more when kayak fishing because I take only 3 rods. They’re about as universal as you can get.

That works for me. I work 24 hour shifts so when I'm not working at FD or my second job, I'm available during the week.

I'll second your comment. They're my two favorite brands.

I've got two FeelFree Lure 11.5s I'd love to share and have an open work schedule. If you're around, I can meet you. Ponkie and Canton Reservoir are my 'home' ponds. Come spring, I burn a ton of gas going to and from Plymouth, fishing for smallmouth. I'd like to plan a camping/fishing trip in Nickerson State Park this Spring/Summer with as many members as possible. Cliff, Little Cliff, and Flax ponds are in the park. I'd be a great, low cost couple days of good fishing and socializing.

It was a surprise for sure. It was in the reeds by the walking path/retaining wall. I threw a black/blue chigger-craw and whump..... I spoke to some divers who were surveying the pond for the state and they said there were some big bass in there. They were right. Thank you very much, that'd be great!. I'll let you know when I'm coming down

OK, the dim light just went on. Hope to see you there again this Spring. I'll be there late this month and early April.

I had an Ascend 128T and now have two FeelFree Lure 11.5s. All three are more than stable enough to fish standing up. I'm sure the membership will also chime in with other makes/models that are stand up stable. If you're driving a Honda Minivan, a light, 10' SOT can be secured to the roof with the above mentioned foam blocks and tie downs. Keep your eye on CL and best of luck finding a kayak!

Do you drive a Suburban?

You took a 7.5 out of Houghton's !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? No, I don't fish there much because it's so pressured. The few times I have, nothing bigger than a couple pounds liked my offerings. I consider Ponkie my home pond, which is only 20 minutes from home. I also prefer fishing from the kayak now that the wife works full time and our daughter's in college. Ponkie's slow to open up too. That's why I don't add up the gas receipts to Plymouth with a Toyota Tundra. On a side note, I took my 4-11 PB LMB out of Blue Hills Res just after ice out in 2016. I'll make a point of scouting the local ponds in the next few days to see how thick the ice is/isn't. Good luck if you get out somewhere.

Yeah Jiggy, I'm right with you. My kayaks are covered with snow and I was on open water less than a week ago. With this weekend's snow, I'm going with the old pre-spring adage about March: In like a lion, out like a lamb.

Congrats on the larry & sally. I'm going to be in the Harwich/Brewster area on/off from the end of March to early April sally hunting. Where did you grab that smallmouth? When I'm on the Cape I most frequently fish Hinckley's, Flax, and Sheep (though I've not caught much at Sheep).