Mshutta

Seeing as how this is bound to go viral, I really think MLF should put out a public statement about it; things like this are what give a competitive bass fishing a bad reputation with the public all over the country. Anyone could have been around that blind corner and been hit, he doesn't appear to be connected to kill switch, and you could argue he was in a narrow channel and should have been to the right of center.. Even if it's not going to go viral MLF owes it to themselves, and the rest of us, to acknowledge that the driver made some bad decisions, some laws may have been broken, and they're (at least) looking into disciplinary action. (They do specify anyone involved in an accident during a tournament may be required to re-take a boater safety course). Am I overreacting? Thoughts?

Where'd you find it? I've been trying to find a copy for a while!

I was planning on doing some fishing in Maine this year so I stumbled on this thread.. useful. I know it's not worth anything now since all the lead bans are already in effect, but I wrote an article for a friends website years ago after doing some in-depth research on why the NE states have enacted these lead bans.. It's worth a read if you're interested in the facts. It also sites the research papers that were done that state's used to support their actions. My synopsis: Small lead weights do most of the damage, they could have banned 1/4 OZ and lower and saved anglers a lot of hassle of replacing majority of the weights and jigs we use. http://s480269097.onlinehome.us/Massachusetts_Lead_Bans.html

Barlows tackle sells unpainted jigs that work well. I'm starting to use those now, and have use a discontinued model that used to be made by Boss.

Hi everyone, I have a Quantum Tour Edition 101SPT baitcaster that has a broken knob. Quantum doesn't sell the knobs by themselves, only a handle assembly for $35. Does anyone know if I buy *** replacement knobs if they will fit the Quantum handle? I'm not even sure how the 13 knobs are designed to attach to the handle.. a stud and screw? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Haha! What a small world.. That construction on 116/Chicopee St is KILLING ME! I really hope they pave over the road after all this.. it's an absolute nightmare of bumps and potholes. I did get put in the dog house when I got the boat, but my dad sold it to me for a grand less than he was trying to get, plus i paid 50% down and installments for a year.. Ring is on it's way though! We'll have to meet up sometime

Oh yeah I forgot to mention: I used to live in Greenfield and Turners for years before moving to Chicopee. I have worked in Deerfield for 10 years. I probably see you while commuting to work! haha!

I actually haven't been able to explore much. My girlfriend and I closed on our first home shortly after this post was made, we were part of 2 weddings each, attended another, so I have had a pretty busy summer. I'm broke now too! haha. I've been putting the boat in at the oxbow before work lately but it's been tough. I've got kayaks but I've obviously been more into fishing from my new (to me) bass boat! Where about in Chicopee are you from? I'm in the Willimansett area on a dead end road that ends at the dike for the CT river.

I've used the 100% fluoro that walmart sells, as well as their pro-elite fluoro. Never had any problems with either. I've used everything from 10-17 lb on the 100%, and 12, 14 on the pro elite

Ever since I got them, I cleaned and lubed them at least once a season; more often on the ones I used more frequently. I think one of the drags may have been left tight over a winter, or is just plain worn out, it slips when I set the hook fishing a spinnerbait when it's tightened down all the way... I'll look into smooth drags and getting the bearing numbers. Thanks guys

Hey guys, I have a few older Quantum Escalade baitcasters that I would really like to overhaul with some new drag discs; problem is, the parts are no longer available for it through Quantum. Ideally I would be replacing a few bearings as well. I've been told a LOT of the non high-end Quantum reels shared a lot/most parts, and simply looked slightly different from the outside. I'm hoping someone has one of the newer versions of these reels and can take measurements of the drag for me and verify and bearings codes that are inside. Any help is greatly appreciated. I'm hoping I can tune up these reels instead of having to buy new ones..

I just looked it up, I drive past that lake on my way to work! I never knew what it was! HAHA

My girlfriend used to work for '47 brand, a sports apparel company so she has acquired a lot of shirts/hats/sweatshirts with some obscure teams; both professional and college. She's a Redsox/Patriots/Bruins fan though!

I was on the CT further north; I heard the Oxbow ramp was closed Sunday?.. I just moved to Chicopee from Bernardston (near Greenfield) and don't know any local spots yet; I'll have to check out Aldrich sometime. I got kayaks and I'll be buying a 16' alum bass boat in a few weeks so I'll really be living on the water.

Connecticut. I see you are from Western MA as well, where do you fish besides Quabbin?

Since the next month of weekends is booked keeping me from fishing, I decided to make this weekend count and fish all weekend. Saturday I went out with my girlfriend (who hasn't fished freshwater in many years) and brought her to an area I knew there were plenty of spots to fish from the bank, and in historically good pre-spawn areas. One area didn't produce anything at all, but on the next spot we wacked 'em good! I caught a 2.5 and a 4 and she had her first one break her off. She's new to the bass world so I gave her some pointers, retied for her, and she got right back out and ended up catching a 5-4! She did great fighting it and not horsing it too much; I'm pretty proud! Sunday the two of us joined my father on his boat and fished the same areas as Saturday. My girlfriend started thing s off nicely with a 4 pounder, and my father and I started catching a few 3.5's, even doubling up a few times. After a few hours and some nice picture fish we were almost ready to call it quits when I hooked a good one. With my girlfriend performing flawless net duties, I boated a fat, 7-4, Massachusetts pig! I left the river with a pretty good sunburn, but I'm still smiling!

What I meant by "hardly any" was that there may be only one or two brands that make each type.. we don't have nearly the same amount of options as lead jigs do; and they aren't cheap. I know a lot of people in NH, VT, MA that DO NOT follow the new laws.. they aren't throwing away buckets of lures and replacing them with tungsten ones. they can't afford to. When they can't afford to, they don't buy them from Northern Tackle. I'm not trying to argue, or say they are closing for one reason or another, but saying that I'm sure the lead ban in NH could have severely effected their profits. (And so could a BPS or Cabelas.. lol)

How many different types of jigs can you buy made from tungsten? Hardly any. I believe part of legislation that passed when the use of certain size lead weights were banned, was that retailers had to completely stop selling lures made from lead. Don't quote me on that though. I'm sure if you look into it you can find out more specific information.

I did some investigation on it and didn't find a whole lot to this "bird poisoning" tactic that is everyone's #1 reason to ban lead. Here's the paper I wrote on it: http://basstardfishing.com/Massachusetts_Lead_Bans.html It's based from a MA standpoint, but touches on other states as well.. I tried (unsuccessfully) to get it distributed to anglers in the Northeast. I sent multiple copies to many people within the department of fisheries and wildlife, and state representatives.. I got ONE BS response... Sorry, I get fired up when people bring up the Lead ban issue...

I know you wanted to camp somewhere other than a campground, near/on the water, but realistically, anywhere you can do that is either remote hiking to the spot (which means no boat), trespassing on private land, or next to water that isn't very productive. These spots aren't horrible to camp at (from what I've heard) and are near excellent bass water! Barton Cove in Gill, MA. It's Western ma, just below NH/VT/MA intersection. Campground is decent, Boat launch at the cove. A quick drive will bring you to another boat launch further up the CT river to Northfield, MA. Another drive further north will lead to a launch above the dam in Hindsdale, NH. Gill: 42.608043, -72.541771 Northfield: 42.715672, -72.452437 Hindsdale: 42.787689, -72.505374 Just past Williamsburg, VT is Somerset Reservoir. Camping available. Speed limit on the reservoir, if wind is N/S its difficult to fish, but it's absolutely beautiful. 42.973003, -72.946195 Camping a short drive from the launch, never camped there though..

I'm going to agree with this.. If the snow melts too fast, you're not going to be able to be out on the CT river for a while due to dangerous conditions

I picked up an array of rods and tackle from them as well. For a guy on a budget like me, it's excellent to be able to grab a few more rods with different actions, rather than use what I have for techniques that don't work well with those rods (or have a backup if I break a similar rod). I picked up the tech spec elite casting: Spinnerbait, Magnum, Soft Plastic, Swimbait, and picked up a Swimbait and Magnum for my father. The next day at another DSG I picked up a Spinning rod; forgot what the "technique" listed was, but for $17.50 I couldn't help it. Also picked up KVD frogs, tungsten worm weights, Mustad trebles (1.88/pack!), Abu Garcia Orra SX ($30), and a few chatterbaits. I would have loved to find some of the Model A wakebaits and Zell pops I see that some of you found.. They say "every season starts a Dicks" but in MA I say "every off-season starts at dicks" because that's when I'm able to sock up on some good cheap gear for the season ahead

Are those poured into a mold or is there somewhere you guys are getting unpainted jigs and modifying? The place I used to buy my chatterbait style heads doesn't sell them anymore. They got a cease and desist order from zman. Great looking work. I'm about to start a new batch of my own.

Hi all. My name is Matt, and I currently hail from Western MA Along the CT river. I just moved here from Bernardston MA, and absolutely breathe bass fishing! I fish all over VT, NH, MA, and will probably venture to NY and CT this year as I will be purchasing my first bass boat come springtime. I fish mostly for largemouth and smallmouth, but will target some big Northern Pike on occasion. I build my own Bismuth jigs and pour some dropshot weights to maintain legality for these ridiculous lead laws we have. I couldn't find a good forum online that had a good amount of traffic and finally found this place. it'll keep me sane through the long winter! Cheers!

This is what I do and find it works excellent. It only take a few seconds to drill out built up paint in the hole for the weed guard and epoxy my weed guards in after the fact. I've never had a problem with chipping paint.