Khan of the Res

thanks for the info. where are you from? I feel like I have seen you somewhere before as weird as that sounds haha.

definitely gonna try this. is that electrical tape you have put above the weight to keep it from sliding up and down the line? what kind of bait is that? it would work well as a trailer on a grass jig.

The sharper teeth are closer to the back of their mouth. If you can get the hook in early theres a better chance of it staying on because the line won't be in its mouth. This also allows you to fish without using a a metal snap leader or leader wire that detracts from the presentation.

2/0 hook with an early set can save you a lot of pain haha

Thanks for the info. We call um slime darts where I live.

Old Chainsides ain't no nuisance. Especially when he's on my dinner plate.

Chain Pickerel. Elusive, fight hard, tasty if you know how to clean them.

What do you guys think the best bait for Pickerel are? I find fluorescent green worms work well. However, the chain pickerel is elusive in my fishing holes and I've only ever caught 3 with one of them being ~24 inches long. It's my favorite freshwater fish. Share some insight if you have any.

I'm from Massachusetts and through my years of fishing I have never caught a fish on a a hard plastic lure (crank bait, spinners, poppers, etc.). Last year, I tried a rubber swim shad and caught only 1 juvenile bass on them. I religiously use texas rigged rubber worms which the bass seem to love when they are feeding from the bottom of the shallows but, whenever they are feeding on the top, I can't get them with the worm and when they go deep, the lightweight worm doesn't cut it. Whenever I put weight on the worm, it just dredges the bottom and gets stuck on everything - the same goes for any sining lure, especially spinners. Theres a reason I don't have a tackle box and that is because I have never in my life caught something on a lure that wasn't rubber and unweighted. Help me out guys. I really want to get a bait caster this year but its pointless if I don't know how to work hard lures. If anyone from the New England area knows what kind of lures the bass (and more specifically Chain Pickerel, my favorite fish) around here enjoy.

Hey I'm from Ashland MA. Come to the res sometime we got great bass fishing.

Hey everybody! I'm new to this forum and just wanted to introduce myself. I am from Ashland MA and my main stomping grounds are the Ashland Reservoir. While largemouth bass are my bread and butter, chain pickerel are my prize fish. I only seriously got into fishing last year although, I have been fishing my whole life just as a hobby to spend time with my dad. Now I spend all the days I can out on the lake catchin bucket mouths and slime darts. The biggest fish I ever caught was a ~24 inch pickerel out of the Ashland res. Still have the head in my freezer. I'm chompin at the bit to get back out in the water. 90% of what I like about this sport is sittin around doing nothing. My setup is a Shakespeare ugly stick, 10lb spider wire monofil, 2/0 hook, texas rigged senko or other rubber worm. This year I am looking tinto getting a baitcaster and some crank baits, jerk baits, poppers, swimmers, top water frogs, and chatter baits. Here's one of the best fish I caught last year. Couldn't get my fingers around him.