"hamma"

Nice fish! This trip will be one she will never forget. Its outings like this that really bring home the sense of family time. My 3 girls can describe and talk about every time I took them fishing, and they really enjoy doing so. Congrats to you both

I fished a draw club for a few years and they had a rule that the co-angler was to be allowed half the day on his "spots". Beit running the trolling motor or not.,..... If the co-angler didnt get their "due" time. They could speak up at weigh-in and the boater would be automaticly disqualified from that days tourney. Even losing the days weight from the aoy. I think this was the result of many co-anglers being left high and dry at tournies over the years.

Good luck out there Derek, I had a good time fishing with you and wish you, nothing but success out there. Our outing was one of only 4 (so far) in total this year,, thank you

Its a saintly task you have taken on there nitro, kudos to you, and good luck in the next wounded warrior tourney.

hello Matt, try lake massabesic In Manchester, theres some good shore access there

Honestly?, both,... they both have their place, as Cranks4fun described. and in New England? you will "need" a couple different sizes in both pork and plastic. unless you are relegated to just one lake

A black jig and pig with a rattle, and a purple french fry on a 1/4 oz jighead, again with a rattle, fished close to shore.

#101, or #11 pork rinds, and the look-a-like zoom salty chunk jr.,...

Try a 1/2 oz silver Johnsons weedless spoon tipped with a white 3 inch grub, works great on the pads and when in open water it wobbles and flashes like crazy. Ive got some vicious strikes both ways.

You can use a longer med heavy spinning rod if you like with a 12# test line. But when im up in Maine?? My preferrence for a "largemouth" rod is a 7' 6" flipping stick with 12# green stren (baitcasting rod) with a jig and pig or texas rigged plastic. Kicks butt, and allows the leverage to pull them out of cover quickly after hookset. Which is key for those "Maine steriod jacked buckets",...if you know what I mean. Some lakes up there they just have shoulders like a linebacker. Hence,.. yet another reason why I love Maine so much

I did use a 1/4 oz arky or stanley depending on what I was skipping under, but since the new lead ban in Massachusetts. Ive been forced to use the cheapo 1/4 oz tin eagle claws, as a good 1/4 oz has eluded me so far. They work, but im sure someone is pouring a better one.

OH,.. Contraire! The more you learn about bass fishing the more you "will" need. More lures, more rods, more line, more tackle boxes, more boats (as in ,... puddle jumper, canoe, bass boat, kayak, etc:). and yes ,.even more knowledge,.....The "needs"???? are almost endless. Ive been bass fishing for 50 years, and im still learning, as new techniques evolve, and still buying, to apply those new techniques. Although some like the senko, and ned rig Ive yet to jump in on, Im sure I'll get to them some day.,..Its more like I have older techniques that do much the same.

You have a med action rod now? Id go for a med heavy for single hooked applications. Of the 3 you originally listed Id suggest the berkley. There is no rod ever made that had more money spent on its development, testing, and engineering than the lightning rod. I bought a couple for my daughters to use, and for the money they perform great. The new lightning rod shock,.. I think is for braided line if your going to use braid, consider it. The rods mentioned above are all good rods and for the prices are good deals. The st croix mojo bass for 80 bucks you cant go wrong there. But I digress,..you mentioned 3 so I answered your question, if you dont mind spending more? go for the mojo.

Often,.. the only way to gain confidence in a "new to you lure" is to go out and fish just that lure, nothing else. Stick to that lure! Dont get mad, be stringent on learning the new lure,..or if you still get mad?, you can use that anger to be defiant towards your lack of knowledge. Get it in your mind that you are going to learn this topwater thing no matter what. You can even go so far as to just leave all other type lures home. Instead, take a few different topwaters with you ,.like a heddons torpedo for choppier water surface, or a zara spook for laydown surface,.. etc. If you do fish smallie waters from a boat, find a rocky lake with a bunch of submerged rocky hazards, go out in the early morning and fish those hazards with that pop-r,.. It will work, smallies love crayfish and those rocky hazards, should have some, at least most lakes rockpiles will I know that when you have a technique or lure that works for you, its difficult to avoid using it, when what you are doing isnt working. But, although getting stuck on just a few lures will work to put some fish in the boat, you will catch more with more techniques I think there's a topwater thread here in the Tackle forum, describing tips and techniques on how to use each topwater lure. check it out

Since your name is Detroithiker, Im imagining your fishing some smallie waters. And since you mentioned ability to move to different sections of a lake, Im thinking you have a boat. Do you fish in the early morning? Early morning smallies on topwaters is EPIC! Fantastic! and Phenominal! How a bass angler in such a locale, could even consider negating topwaters, just boggles my mind. Before your next fishing trip,... Go to your local tackleshop or basspro, buy a rebel pop-r with a white belly, Use a med action rod, with 10 pd test green stren line, attach the pop-r via a small snap. Head out early in the morning just as the suns rising, with a slight ripple or even a laydowned waters surface.. squirt some scent on the pop-r, to mask yours and factories scent, cast it out as far as you can over any semi-shallow cover, be it rockpiles, weeds, laydowns etc.,... allow the rings from the splash to disipate. Slowly reel up to the pop-r, Just before the line pulls on the lure, give a quick twitch to the rods tip. This should create a distinctive "BA-Bloop" sound. Wait till the rings disipate again, repeat. If this lure doesnt get slammed by a smallie, there's either none around, or you made to much noise. And if you think the waters too deep? smallies will come from 40 to 50 feet of water to slam a topwater.,.. As for hollowed bodied frogs? any emergent weeds can hold bass, in the summertime til those weeds die off, especially under clear skies with sun beating down,. I just cast it out on top of the weeds and slowly, consistently, reel it back to me. These two techniques are, and have been, staples for many years now. and if they fail? theres no fish there, slowly move along and continue to fish, you should get a hit eventually. Be diligent, stick to it. Sooner or later, your going to get a bite

Yes, with your back to the sun they can see your shadow, But, I read that, with the sun to your face they can see YOU easily. I guess its got something to do with their vision, and light refraction under water. Their eyes are different than ours. Also, they dont like looking into the sun, hence why they hide in the shade so much. So I've always tried to keep the sun to my back, and cast ahead of my path of travel. Not only does this avoid them seeing my shadow before I get a lure in their faces, but, this also aids in a bottom bouncing technique as its easier to snag the bottom if your dragging the lure behind you. Cast ahead and you dont snag so much. And it doesnt hurt while fishing a search bait as well. Id rather they see my shadow "after" I fished their hiding spot, than, them seeing me before I can get a lure in there. Im sure some will disagree, and thats fine. I respect others opinions. and in some situations you cant fish with your back to the sun. But I prefer to do so.

How many ramps have you been to that had the same degree of angle? Not many for me up here, and alot of the ramps around here arent designed for low water extending far out into the depths. If they are concrete, they end abruptly, and after just one tourney of powerloading the ramps end drops a couple feet to the sand/mud. This is the "why" as trailers arent designed to drop over the edge of a concrete ramps. I check every ramp out, once I get there. If it looks like I cant launch a alternative lake is then chosen. If it looks like I can launch, I do so ever so intently, and slowly watching for my trailer to "suddenly" start dropping. If it does so,.. I stop immediately and pull back out. Because this means the ramp is compromised and the ramps end drops off to a washed out hole from powerloading. Its the launching that determines how I load the boat back on the trailer. If its a short distance to the ramps end and I barely got the boat off while launching I will get the trailer in as far as possible without going over the edge, and float the boat back on, winching the rest.. If its a good ramp then I can get it back on no problem, either floated or powerloaded. If the ramp has a no powerloading policy, I will follow suit even though my trailer is a powerload type bunked trailer. Just back in a little further than needed, and float it on.,.. This is where angle comes into play. loading on a steep ramp with the floating method can put strain on the boats bow eye if not done right,... when you pull out, the tension changes on the bow eye as the angle changes. So be careful, leave just a "very" little play on the strap, and I mean slight,... dont crank it so tightly as you would actually pulling the boat on.

Although I dont typically fish senko's,... I did buy a few colors in the 4" size. Just to add to a jighead for a deadstick type lure, slowly stitched on bottom, for the extremely clear watered lakes here. Then, and only then, do I fish a senko.

During a tournament, the guy I was fishing with, would wait til I skipped my jig and pig up under a laydown and instantly step on the trolling motors pedal, snagging my jig on the tree. I must of lost 10 or more jigs. Nice guy huh? That was 20 or so years ago, and he is a "favored" angler still.,.. did ya catch the "favored" sarcasim?

Although I do believe that big bass are smart, wading birds will use stealth and tact to outsmart fish as well. Ever notice when I type out, "keep the sun to your back" while hunting fish? I guess the birds are reading this, (lol) as they will do so, and it works to hide your presence. And on the shorelines that have the sun beating in their face? They hide up in the trees, or bushes, standing motionless to camoflage their position. And, when they arent present?,... you can even see evidence of good areas, from "what they leave behind" on emergent rocks and trunks of laydowns. The huge whitish "deposits" they excrete when they take flight. I will fish a shoreline dotted with wading, or birds of prey. They know where to be, and when to be there. Their survival depends on it, otherwise they fall prey to mother nature's fickle circle of life. Only the strong survive! In turn? Those big strong bass will feed in those same areas.

have you ever tried fishing near the dam? Usually you can find deeper water there. Also, did you ever consider that the "small fuzzy blobs" on your finder, may actually be fish suspended and inactive? Im no electronics expert by any means, but you stated that your transducer is mounted sideways. Again no expert here but, Maybe if you turned it so its pointed in the same direction of your yaks nose it may provide a different view. Ive always mounted any transducer facing forward. and have no idea whether it makes a difference or not. I do know that my finders have a depth setting, if yours does as well,.. set it to the shallowest setting you can get away with. And, you can most likely get a manual for your finder online. To me?,..to fish such a body of water? with so much like depth and stained or dark water would be a herculean task. I get alot of clear waters up here, and varying terrain. So although shallow water fishing is a breeze, the deeper water fishing isnt and Im forced to using my finder alot, Nonetheless, Id "think" with all those trees, the edges of them would depict some deeper water. Also I noticed that alot of the "boat travel lanes" are close to shore, these as well should be deeper waters, and Im thinking these are old channels. What I would do is "bulge" a spinnerbait around all those tree edges, and any visible cover in the boat lanes, to locate fish, then target them with a bottom bouncer. Searching such a shallow body of water with a bottom bouncer could take you a awful long time before finding the better areas. You can also "search" with a jerkbait or crankbait but with all those trees? A spinnerbait can be your best friend here. Every Tv show I ever saw, beit: Jimmy Houston, Hank, Roland, or even Bassmasters that were on such a lake? they searched with a spinnerbait, and followed up in the best areas with a Texas rigged worm, or a jig and pig. Just an obseravtion, hope this helps some

I lived in Pittsfied VT for a while, loved it up there. Lake Bomeseen had some decent bass in it. The start of the colors changing on rt 100 is not only incredible for leaf peeping, (rated in the countries top ten drives) but also, dictating the bassfishing is fast and furious. Feed bag will be on soon, enjoy it before the ice starts.

Nice bass! and congrats on the the new personal best,...way to go! Maine rules.

Nowadays, I weigh any largemouth that looks to be over 5 lbs. and smallies over 3. I ask others fishing with me if they want their catch weighed, no matter how big it is.,.. My daughters want to weigh them all, ,.(lol ,.and can do so themselves now),... fishin buddies used to follow much the same criteria as myself.,... And when I do weigh them I do so pretty quickly. A truly big fish can actually break its jaw being weighed by the lower jaw, clipped on a scale, and hung there for an extended period of time. I may weigh it, but be chop chop about it. And while I hold a big fish I make sure one hand is under its belly holding its weight more there, than by the lip, while someone else gets the scale. And when I release it I will make sure its revived enough. Insuring theres adequate water in its gills, when closing its mouth making sure it closes all the way, till it decides to swim off on its own. If you are reviving a fish and its gills are flared and its mouth wont close 100%,...it may have a broken jaw. My fishing buds have either moved, or died. So when I finally do get back on the water?,.. its gunna be a trick weighing fish being alone. I do like Blues idea to use the livewell, and get the scale/phone ready... Thanks Blue

This subject is near and dear to me as my best friend went through this many years ago, and I helped him through it. I hope this helps someone here. Distraction coming from anything at all, will take you out of this bassfishing game. Your health, personal life, love life, business, anything like a flat tire on the way to the ramp, breaking a rod, etc. ANYTHING that distracts you, will ruin your concentration, which is more important than one may think. Whether you are tourney fishing, or fishing for fun. Once you allow distraction to interfere with your recreation, instead of using recreation to be the distraction needed from the daily grind ..its only a matter of time Tourney fishing can do this after just a short while. As time goes on you may "burn out" as your passion fades, things dont seem to be the same as it did when you found this seemingly endless entity to your recreation. Recreation is spelled out just as it should, "re-creation". With all this sport offers, many anglers will begin amazed at all it offers, Its "re-creation" if you will,.. and will put forth a effort and passion they have never attempted before in a pastime. Re-creating with every new technique learned, every new lake fished, and so on. As you "re-create" your gameplan towards something that "was" fun,.. towards something thats as demanding as a job. Things change, what you once saw as fun?,.. now may become tedious. Some tourney anglers overcome this "fun to job" situation. And go on for years without being burnt out, instead,,.. they may eventually get tired of the same grind of prefishing, fishing, prefishing, fishing, prefishing, fishing. etc.,... Its physically demanding. Something as small as changing clubs, or fishing a different organization can rectify this, as rules and direction changes. As for "burning out" as a funfisherman? I believe the repetition of fishing the same lakes, same spots, same scenery, same lure, will bore anyone eventually. This sport offers one the option to fish many different ways, even on the same lake. Most fun fishermen will just fish what they know, say a senko. It works for them and thats what they use. It offers the chance to disconnect from work, or home, or whatever maybe on their mind at the time. Offering a doorway from "distraction" to "re-creation" in their own little way,... But that right there is the pathway to boredom, eventually they get stuck in that track and dont change it up to say a jig and pig, or some other lure. Which in turn would change their perspective, and open a new and exciting "re-creation" to their downtime. Is there a way to avoid being burnt out in either fun fishing or tourney angling? I found that, just like changing a lure. Change your approach to bass fishing. It isn't as easy as snipping your line and re-tying a new one on. But its what worked for me. When I fished tourney's I fished more of draw tournies, than team T's. Learning new techniques and tips from every boater I could. This changed my approach to fishing bass, therefore keeping me interested, avoiding being "burnt out" from tourney fishing. My demise in tournies was from something else. What kept me from burning out while funfishing was a decision to fish as many different lakes, ponds, rivers and streams as I could. The different scenery, situations, terrain, all aided in keeping me interested,...I started my quest from my hometown and spread throughout my state from there. Then I did the surrounding states and so on. Also, I had bought a small 8' basshunter boat as a teen, and that was my bass fishing platform until I stopped tourney fishing (approx. 20 years). When T fishing ended, I bought a 16' deepv tracker, this opened a huge doorway to bigger waters and kept my mission to fish all the lakes and rivers I could, on the right track. I actually worked at keeping my fishing interesting, no matter what stood in my way,.. I found a way to continue my love for this sport. And now that I think of it.,... If you truely "love" bass fishing, burning out isnt an option, you will find a way