MainelyBASS

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on ice out fishing, however my feelings on it arent based on opinion, they are based on facts and past performance. ICE OUT IS MY FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR TO FISH. Even if the ice isn't out and I have to make it go out, I can't get enough of it. If you adjust to the conditions, you will catch fish. FISH ARENT ALWAYS CAUGHT BECAUSE THEY WERE HUNGRY. Even the most lethargic, non-hungry fish will strike a reaction bait. This is why such a big deal is always made when a fish chokes a bait, or you land a fish on a trailer hook. The difference usually is one fish was eating, and one fish was reacting. I just posted a photo collage in the local fishing forum from this Saturday. Water was 41 in the state of Maine and I caught 22 fish, 3 of which around the 4lb mark. Its easy to say that fishing is tougher during ice out, but ive never let that stop me. They still live there even when its cold, they can still be caught.

Got on them early and often today. 22 total with 3 big ones.

I have some cheaper reels I'm looking to get more out of, so I'm thinking of replacing the bearings. The problem is I'm not understanding the purchasing part. According to their website, they don't have orange bocas to do a swap on a left handed pro qualifier 5.2:1, but they do have replacements for the right hand 5.2:1. The other reel I want to swap bearings in is a Abu Orra 2 winch left handed . They are available, but I don't know how many to buy to make it worth the replacement. On the auction site, the bocas are way cheap is this where most people buy them? I would love to hear from someone who has replaced with bocas numerous times.

Also, looks like the Pro Qualifier deal is no longer. In years passed, the Pro Qualifier Reel was half price. This year, they are selling the combo as half price. So now they get you for $100 instead of $49.99 for the reel only. It has been such a popular deal, there was a 2 reel limit per customer. Fortunately for me I always carried a pair of Groucho Marx glasses. Too bad about the reels.

I live 10 minutes away from Bunganut and have never fished it. Do you fish it often? I've heard stories of monsters being caught there but never had proof. Is there a public boat launch?

One thing worth mentioning is the speed at which you work the blade. 99.9% of people work the blade too fast. I only lift the rod tip until I can feel the vibration start to happen, then I let it fall back down on a semi-slack line. Most of my fish come on the fall after the blade vibrates. My setup is a 7ft M spinning rod with 10lb braid and a 6ft leader of 8lb fluoro. The braid reduces the stretch in the line and allows you to have better contact with the blade. I can detect the slightest bite or snag of weeds using braid.

Got out yesterday with my "buddy" fishing is still insanely good

Good thinking! I am a huge fan of swim jigs also. In tournaments where frogs are a big player I will throw the swim jig behind people throwing frogs and get bit all the time.

Can't fool me. Thats a Strike King Tour Grade Swim Jig, not a Dirty Jig. Nice try though.

Im sure plenty of people on here will buy them, but I can almost get 3 original rattle traps, or 3 red eye shads for the price of 1 River 2 Sea bait. I know there are ones even more expensive on the market but it makes me giggle when someone tries to reinvent the wheel and charge you triple for it.

Im fully aware that the practice doesnt work, however if these attempts continue to be made why would anyone want to come to Maine to bass fish knowing we are trying to eradicate the species?

They can do as they please, however the economic impact of the bass fishing in that area is unreal. So unreal it was ranked in the top 100 in the country, but they want to hold a kill derby to kill off the exact reason why Maine is starting to become a popular bass fishing destination. Major League Fishing brought $300,000 dollars to the local economy in just 2 weeks of being in Maine. People make a living guiding on Moosehead for trout and smallmouth. People vacation from far away to fish for trout and smallmouth. Why try and make it better for one group or another? The eco system is what it is now, this derby wont change it. If it continues to be a common practice the state of Maine will lose countless amounts of money from people who won't even want to come to Maine anymore because they are trying to do away with bass and bass fishing as clearly evident by the states attempt to ban rubber lures a few years ago.

I wanna see the numbers. You tell everyone to "do research into the subject" and you throw out that smallmouth are degrading the brook trout population. So because you have done the "research" you can show me the article that shows what the population of native brook trout was before smallmouth were introduced, and what the numbers are today.

Moosehead Lake Fisheries Coalition is holding a derby to kill invasive fish species including smallmouth bass and perch. The person who can kill the most smallmouth wins $300. This is in effort to make the salmon and trout fishing better. Is it just me, or is this insane? Moosehead Lake was ranked in the top 100 Bass fishing lakes in the U.S. because of its smallmouth fishery. Our state continues to overlook the economic impact bass fisherman have in the fishing industry. They continue to believe all the money comes from trout and salmon fisherman. It's a shame.

His GoPro videos cut out right before you see the bait. It was a bait that he let soak, thats all i know.

Im surprised/not surprised that in his GoPro footage not even one fish came off of a crankbait. It was only footage of the first hour, so I am sure that once the sun got high he probably threw the crank until his shoulder fell off, but weird none the less. This tournament is obviously in his wheelhouse so if he can't pull out a W in this event, I would have to imagine it will not sit well with his confidence going forward, especially with his struggle to even make a 12 cut the past few seasons.

Without sonar, you are sort of stuck to looking at the map and just fishing the piece of land that sticks out the furthest, easy enough. With sonar, you can find underwater points, but it would be tough to find them without sonar. As far as baits go, the standards apply--jigs, texas rigged worms, I would say a deep running crank, but in a kayak I would skip that. My favorite is dropshotting points. I would also consider using Google Earth to look over the lake if you havent. It could help you find underwater points, or humps that you didn't know where there. You can do this by looking at the map and finding bright spots on the body of water. The darker the water appears on the map, the deeper it is. I have used Google Earth for every lake I have ever fished on, and it makes a huge difference. Sonar is great if the lake is mapped by Lowrance or Humminbird, but if there is no existing maps, you will only find humps and drop offs if you drive over them, or you can use Google Earth and find out many details you might not have known.

1.5 or 2.5 has about 50 different angles you can approach from. 2.5 has a more dramatic wobble, therefore better in the later months as the bait fish are more active. 1.5 runs tighter and less dramatic similar to bait fish in cold water. Also, 1.5 is smaller in size which is more appealing to a bass that is not looking to eat a whole lot when the water is cold.

Seems like slowing down will help quite a bit. If it was interested but didn't commit my favorite thing to do is throw back with a soft plastic like WRB said, something small and natural colored, especially if the water is clear. Drop shot, or wacky rigged senkos always trigger a bite for me.

Docks are always a good bet with a jig. Also, points should be your next target area after you have fished the shallow structure. Docks, logs, rocks and stumps will hold fish shallow. If they aren't there move off to a point and position your kayak a good distance from shore working your way toward the shallow area of the point. Also if there are river mouths those will hold fish as well.

Great point here about the boat not catching the fish. I can't tell you the number of times ive had my butt whopped by a guy in a jon boat with a Coleman cooler and a battery powered aerator, especially during the spring when the fish are shallow. Jon boats go where other boats cant go. I am also quite sure that if you took a top angler from FLW or the Elite Series and put them in a jon boat, they would still catch fish.

I absolutely hate bed fishing. Especially when there is more than 1 person in the boat. I just fished an event where the guy up front fished beds all day and I had nothing to cast to all day, it was beyond boring. When I have another person in the back of the boat I spend most of the time worrying that they have fishable water to cast to. That's not to mention the vulnerability of the fish...you could thread a cigarette butt on a hook and they would bite it.

Hardly ever for me, but if I do its just a snap. I personally don't want to add another chance of a failure to happen if I dont need to. When tying straight, only the knot is between you and landing a fish. With a snap, the knot could fail, and the snap could fail. Funny/not so funny story about a snap failing at the wrong time-- I was striper fishing and the guy next to me hooks up with a near 50" fish but needs to climb down rocks to land it. He asks me to hold the rod once he has the fish worn out and I oblige. At this point the fish is belly up crashing into the rocks and he hands me the rod. Mid way through his climb to the bottom, the fish rolls over and makes a short run, in the process straighten's out the snap and off he goes. Not only did I lose the fish, but he had a $30 lure hanging out of his mouth as well. I would never second guess this mans approach as he is a well know striper master, so as he told me, that was the first time that it has ever happened to him.

It has a seasonal influence as well. Sunny almost all the time during pre-spawn ice out times until the water warms up enough. You wont find too many beds on the shaded side of a channel.

I only fished lower Mousam that day. When i am targeting largemouth in the Spring, I don't leave lower Mousam. If I was looking to get into a smallmouth bite, obviously I would head up the lake a bit. To be honest, I shut down from fishing Mousam around Memorial Day and pick back up after Labor Day. The lake gets too busy for me and it often times is unsafe for fisherman like myself who fish off shore humps in the summer. People get so angry that I am not fishing around the shoreline like its some sort of forbidden rule that you can't leave the bank to fish. Coincidentally people also get mad when I fish around their docks out there too. You cant pay me to go out on Mousam in July or August. Spring and Fall produce really well for me out there. Lots of fish in the 3-5lb range.