YungAngler

The bass were cruising the shallows. Got some early AM topwater hits and misses. I threw jigs, craws, crankbaits, but couldnt get them to take anything. There were guys catching bass near me, and they were using cranks. I was getting a few defensive strikes but couldnt hook any bass. I switched to a drop shot early afternoon, went deep, and caught 2 nice lake trout - one over 3 lbs. Caught a decent size perch on a jig. we left around 2PM so I'm sure the bass were getting more active as the water and air temp were rising. It was a little chilly to start the morning. We did rent a boat. You'll need to get there early on the weekend as there was a line at the gate when we arrived. Good luck, and let me know how you do.

yeah i can't wait. here's the pic of the 5 lber from last summer. We caught about 6 smallies over 4 lbs that day. They were schooling and the most active I've ever seen them.

I'll be at the Quabbin tomorrow bright and early. I know it's a hike for a lot of you NH guys, but if you've never been fishing there, I highy recommend it. Some of the beast Small Mouth fishing I've ever experienced. Such an amazing peaceful place to visit - a true Massachusetts jewel.

Hitting the Quabbin tomorrow. Hoping this warm weather the past 2 days has the smallies very active. Caught my PB 5lb Smally there last summer. Hoping to beat that!!

I grabbed one of those Rainbow Trout Mac Daddy Macs. Can't wait to try it out on some rainbow lakes.

I fished Jenness quite a bit last summer. It's a great little pond for canoers and kayakers. Caught a bunch of decent fish there, many in the 3-4 lb range. I love that place. Little hidden gem for sure.

Glad to see people out on the water catching nice fish. I'm hoping to get a couple hours in this weekend. So happy this awful winter is behind us. Here's to a long and sucessful season!

Nice to see everyone is still getting after it here in New England. Maine's 50 over 5 is absolutely amazing. His catches just prove how great the fishing is in this part of the country. I think we're all lucky to have such pristine and protected bodies of water in Northern New England. I've been to other parts of the country, specifically down south, that aren't so kind to their lakes and rivers. I haven't been on the water in a while, but I'm headed to Fort Lauderdale in a couple weeks for vacation, and I just booked a guide for a day on Okeechobee. I've only been really seriously fishing for about 4 seasons now, but it amazes me how much one can learn in a full season on the water. Not only am I catching more fish, but the quality of fish landed has gone up significantly for me. I caught my first ever 5lb SM, and hope to nab a few big Larry's in FL before the dreaded winter arrives.

Anyone on the board fish the Lamprey River in Newmarket recently? I haven't been there since the spring for trout and was curious how the bass fishing has been? Thinking of dropping my kayak in tomorrow afternoon for a few hours.

Fished the Quabbin Reservoir in Mass on Friday. The wind was brutal in the AM, but as always I ducked into a cove that has produced some very large smallies for me. We only caught a few small mouth, but they were very quality, including pics of a 4lber below I landed at the end of the day. I know it's a hike for us NH guys, but I can't say enough great things about this place. I'm convicned there's a record SM in there. Rattletraps and chatterbaits were the winner yesterday.

Bob, I went there not knowing about the remote camping they offer on some of the islands. I'm going to plan a stay out there next summer for sure. We ventured into Errol and stopped at LL Cote. Also, the ride up and back on Rt.26 thru Maine was very nice. A gem of a spot in NH!!

Stayed at and fished Lake Umbabgog State Park way up in the Great north Woods of NH. The fishing was slow but I managed a nice 3lb smally at the end of my fist day. There's nothing like fishing in a remote wilderness lake. I hope to get up north again a couple more times this fall. Here is a pic my buddy took and edited of me, that I though came out awesome. I hope everyone else enjoyed their holiday and got in some fishing. http://instagram.com/p/sc8qXsszgA/?modal=true

I've have good luck with most Rage Tail products. I mostly buy the craws just cuz their so versatile. As you mentioned they work great as a trailer. My advice would be to slow down your presentation, and don't be so focused on color. Try them weightless, or go a size up or down in weight depending on the conditions. Also, don't be afraid to throw them on a weighted swim bait hook. I'm sure other guys will chime in, but my guess is you're being generous with you're "30 hours" of throwing rage craws. When I'm not catching fish, time def. slows down. I've caught some very large bass on the craw, weighted as well as weight less. For sure, switch your baits if they're biting something else, but don't give up on the rage craw just yet. The fishing has been a a little slow for me the past couple weeks, but I've been consistantly throwing craws and jigs and catching very nice fish, many over 3 lbs. I think the rage craw is the best soft craw bait out there, and I've used probably all of them. Although a little delicate, they seem to mimic a real craw the best in the water. Most of the bodies of water I fish are loaded with craws. I've seen several in the bellies and throats of fish I've caught this year. That right there is a strong reason to keep one tied on.

While I agree with the above posters that 3/4 oz may be a little heavy, I almost always throw a 1/2 oz football jig in the rivers I fish. I like to cast into the current and swim the jig close to the bottom, feeling every rock and branch with the jig. I mix up my speed depending on conditions and what seems to be working. I know a lot of guys deadstick their jig for a minute and bounce it off the bottom while slowly and steadily retrieving. I seldom do this, but only because I tend to fish pretty fast. Keep in mind a jig bite can be very subtle. I've had bites that I thought were snags and ended up landing some very nice fish. Just remember to the set the hook as soon as you feel that bite. Don't get discouraged. Once you master the jig, you will always have one tied on. They seem to attract the bigger fish, partly because I think they mimic forage so well in the water.

It was very slow, Bob, but I managed 2 nice ones yesterday. One close to 5lbs. All near or around those islands in about 10'. I didn't even venture to the deeper parts of the lake. I'll be hitting Bow again for sure during the week very soon. There was nobody on the water yesterday.

Hit Bow yesterday at 6AM. Had a lot of action early on the Koppers Live Target Walking Frog. Caught a few small ones, but must have had a dozen strike and misses. It was very slow fishing after the topwater action stopped, but once again, on the jig and craw, I caught one slightly under 5lbs - pic below. I will be hitting Bow during the week again for sure. I was the only guy on the water for hours.

Thanks Bob. I've fished it a few times with limited success, but I wasn't fully dialed in with my Nucanoe at the time. I heard the docks hold some nice fish. I'll be there early in the AM. Looks like it should be a good day on the water tomorrow. If you ever need help launching your boat there, I'd be glad to lend a hand

Anyone have any pointers for Bow Lake? Thinking of heading there in the AM. It's a little bigger of a lake than I'm used to fishing in my Nucanoe.

Dropped my nicest spinning rod in the drink while catching a nice 4 lber. I kicked it right out if the Nucanoe while pulling her out of the weeds. It was either save the fish or the rod. I chose the fish. I tried diving to see if I could recover it, but no dice. Couldn't see a thing, and was having a tough time treading water in 20'. Time for a new spinning set up I guess.

I look forward to seeing some fish action on that camera.

Maine, you are so right about fishing too fast and moving too quickly. I tend to drift in my kayak and if I don't use an anchor it's tough to stay in one spot, even when I'm catching good fish. I tend to move around a lot. Also, when I hook a quality fish I tend to get complacent, and proud of myself, instead of putting a line back in the water quickly and trying to find her friends. If I can master my kayak, keep the tackle problems to a minimum, and be better prepared on the water, I'm confident I can catch bigger and better fish. I just wish I had a job that would allow for more time on the water.

Caught on the jig and craw btw. Can't not have one tied on while in the boat.

Been really tough fishing for me the past couple weeks. Had a horrible trip up at the finger lakes in NY. We didn't catch many and not one over 1.5 pounds on a boat for 16 hours. Then the last day of our trip, we pulled over on the side of the road near a lake we hadn't fished, and my buddy hooked a 3.5 lber from shore. Go figure. Finally fishing back in NH today and although I only got 2 in the boat, one was 4.5 lbs. My biggest LM of the year. Pics aren't great but I took a couple.

Thanks Man! Just UPS'd a few rods down there today. I found a guide who came pretty highly recommended so hopefully we'll get into some big fish. I'm leaving on Thursday. Can't wait!