"hamma"

try massbass.com

kezar is a bit large for a kayak in my honest opinion, unless its a calm day, if you stick around the ramp area and go south you could probably do ok,.. Lovewell would be better its smaller but like mainebass stated its a finicky fishery, somedays are good others are bust

I started buying shimano's 35 years ago and havent stopped since, I did try a diawa, and a couple abu gacia rounds, which werent "bad" ,...but no comparison. the oldest shimano i have is a spinning reel and i think i had it serviced once, and it still works fine, As for my curados? i have several and they all but one still perform like new, even after heavy tournament use for 4 -5 years. One big plus for me is that shimano offers most of their baitcasters in left hand retrieve. Something i jumped on from the beginning of my bass fishing,... I dont own any right hand retrieve baitcasters

do you fish a jig and pig? if not ,...do so

I believe that bill dance did a show on this subject and defined it as so: structure is the variables and nuances from the deepest water in a body of water to the shore ,...ie: channels drops ledges humps points or any other irregularity which makes up the lake bottoms topography. cover was defined as anything the fish can snuggle up to or hide in or under,...ie: weeds docks rocks trees and brushpiles etc. the key 'SPOTS' will be structure with cover on it ,...ie" a drop=off with rockpiles on the edge,... a weedbed with a channel running through it,.... a point with trees and stumps extending out to deep water., etc. I think thats what he was saying

thanks jg233,... when i get my boat back (its getting a newer motor) i need to install some new gear then test it out. After that id be ready to fish and i have no problem meeting new anglers to fish with.

Kezar lake is one of my favorites, but for iceout i prefer lovewell off the saco

other good lures for clear cape ponds include, a silver/black backed jerkbait, or a herring or alewive patterned slugo on a slider jighead,. a green pumpkin jig and pig, white double willow spinnerbait with chrome blades,. and white bellied topwaters. and a crippled herring spoon good luck

Id try a 4 inch finesse worm, or a 3 inch grub,....allowing the cover to dictate the technique. typical inactive methods

you can rent boats at quabbin res. they are first come , first serve, so if you get there early you get the better ones, they dont have trolling motors or fishfinders last time i was there,.. but you can bring your own, if you google quabbin res. im sure you will find their site for pricing and such.... as for camping im sure theres some campgrounds around that area hope this helps, good luck

for burning spinnerbaits i dont discriminate about makes, its more about weight, blades, and color,...white,..white /chart in 1/2 or 3/4 oz sizes with double willow blades for burning,. the heavier weight will aid in keeping it under the surface. As for buzzbaits? if im to throw one its going to be a double buzz in again 1/2 or 3/4 oz sized and in the same white,..white/chsrt.,..and a silver or flashabou skirted one as well for cloudy days I rig both spinnerbaits and buzzbaits with a manns spinnerbait trailer with the very tips of the tails dipped in red dye I will bend the wires so the blades just barely tick each other as they spin,... A good buzzbait tip,...if the blade leaves a trail of bubbles on the waters surface, your in the right area,, that trail usually dictates good ph level.

I always have a 1/4 oz jighead with a 3 or 4 inch grub tied on a rod, be it a football head for rocky lakes, a darter head for suspending fish, or a stand up head, These i use in deeper waters... as well as a 3/8 oz rubber skirted jig with a pig or plastic craw trailer, i trim the skirt and add the trailer so its no longer than 3 1/2 inches.... i'll pitch, flip, or skip the skirted jig at docks, trees,and shallow boulders, and bounce it down sharp drops, the trick to its success is to match the color of the crayfish in that lake. and... fish it like a texas rigged worm paying special attention to the line at all times its in the water ,.. if your not watching the line,..it probably wont work for you,... "Most" hits arent even felt, it happens usually on the initial drop

Smallies are different to a point. They prefer cooler waters than largemouth (they spawn earlier) The name itself tells one that smaler baits will work, but then yet ive caught 3 to 4 inch smallies on a full sized zara spook,. when they spawn they usually bed deeper in lakes than the largemouths. and will do so with deeper water close by. They tend to be a bit more agressive than their green counterparts, and ive noticed that when i have a tough day on a lake, like after a front moves in, if i go to a river, the smallies are hitting where the buckets "seem" absent. Smallies seem to move seasonally the same in a lake or pond, just deeper and sooner than buckets, As for gear? that depends on what lure you choose to use.,... of course lighter lures dictate a lighter rod but you still need "some" backbone for jigs and worms. If im throwing a 1/4 oz jighead with a grub i use at least a med. action spinning rod. but then thats me and everyone has their preferrance Hope this helps some

athought a light or med. light would be a fun rod for smallies they really dont offer the backbone for the hookset a single hooked lure requires for "consistent" hooksets. For treble hookes lures? sure they will perform. but plastics? i go with at least a med action for smallies I came to this same crossroad many years ago, i was looking at high end rods, G loomis, st. croix, etc and realized that they really didnt offer much more than a traditional diawa tony bean smallie rod matched with the td1300 reel... so i went with that, and havent bought another high end rod since. I havent had any issues with hookup/catch rates, saved some cash, and still use that same setup 20 years later without any issues at all. it casts fine, has the action i was looking for, and works for jerkbaits and topwaters as well. It may be shorter in length, but the hooksets were more important to me back then, as i was tourney fishing with it. everyone has their own opinion/preferances and i respect that. But when it comes to gear you need the right stuff to be consistent. That one hookset that fails may be your personal best swimming away. just my honest opinion.

Being a co-angler has its advantages too. you dont have to control the boat, so while the "pro" is setting up his position you can be casting away,...and DO SO! watch where he casts and dont cast there,.. go between his targets,....if he's hitting docks,.. watch where he places his cast and place one elsewhere.,... fish "your" strengths dont get caught up in fishing the lures and colors he's using. a tournament is no place to learn a new technique or lure. Use what you usually use in the situation presented. you get to relax and just fish,...he is thinking of where to go next, what patterns are prevelant, what he has to do to win,....you get to chill and fish,..do it ! Once you do the success will come. the scenerio you were faced with is actually a good thing to get past, you faced it already, learn from it,.. move on, but,..be aware of the possibility for it to happen again and refrain from falling into the same outcome.,.. Best lesson learned is one applied.. I used to say that the best pattern ever is "the fish are in the water", so keep ya line wet! good luck,

thanks dogbone, i will check them out

Hi guys ,.im new to the south shore. as i read this last page of this thread dogbone mentioned "bhr" and "mike@dvt" could you tell what bhr and dvt are? I have a few curados that need new bearings and kind of at a loss as to good smaller bass ponds,....i do know the bigger waters like monponsett, long pd lakeville and plymouth.,... and billington sea is where i caught my personal best,..these are lakes i learned when i was tourney fishing,..the smaller ponds on the so. shore im at a loss. thanks for your time,...and keep ya line wet!

take note of the winds direction, it will position them, throw a jerkbait,... suspending or floating i try them both til they tell me what they want.

clear water in Maine is staple, try a jerkbait to start, fish it slow, id prefer a original rapala, and a grub on a 1/4 oz jighead, again, fished slow,... that slow rolled spinnerbait will work,... as the water warms pick up on the retrieve speed and add a jig and pig to the arsenal.,.. really long casts are necessary on those clear water ponds. these are what i start with up there good luck

some things not mentioned: get you and your wife both a hat with a visor and pair of polorized sunglasses, a pair of pliers and fingernail clippers ,... and learn a couple of knots to tie, the polomar and improved clinch are a good start. fish are actually offended by the oils humans produce in the skin, so get a fish scent to mask the oils, i like real craw as its a sticky oil itself. If you bought spinning rods, look into videos and tutorials regarding line twist, best way to avoid line twist is to never reel in when the fish is pulling drag, another good trick is to tie on a snapswivel and attach it to a fence or something and open the bail and walk further away from the fence than a casts distance. now close the bail, hold the spool with your hand, and apply enough pressure to the line by walking a few more feet away and pull a few times to stretch the line some. now reel in the line as you walk towards the snapswivel. this will stretch that new mono line and take any twist out. the info about rigging lures and such here on this site is incredible,,..you could spend a small fortune on lures and such. keep in mind that there are six basic lures for bass fishing,: spinnerbaits, topwaters, crankbaits, jigs, worms, and spoons.,.. within each category there are a myriad of choices. I recommend you find out what the previlant baitfish are for the lakes you are going to fish. mirror these baitfish within the "six basics" of your choice id imagine that walleye isnt a good pattern for a crankbait in ok (just for an example) but shad, or crappie may

check the laws on transporting live fish first.,in my state its highly illegal, .... then do some research on pond management there's plenty out there online.,.. there may have been a reason fish and game backed out. : like the pond may not have the potential to succeed,.. the water quality may not be up to snuff to support bass etc. i wouldnt just go and do it,...look into it first

thats what i fighured north, thanks for the input. I hope this will not only allow me to fish, but fish more productivly. I do have some nice shorelines here that im sure this will help out on. Even better i got some spots out on lake winnepesaukee that this will lend itself nicely. usually these "spots" are hard to stay on as they are out in the middle of the broads and wind blows you off of them, but they usually hold awesome smallmouths depending on the winds direction I should be getting my boat back next week and when i finally install the ulterra and hummingbirds i will let you 2 know how i like it,..lol im gunna "have" to test it out !!!

Thanks for the reply Nitro, i can see how it would take some time as you need to get out on the water with this technology and use it to get the tracks, waypoints etc. I cant wait til i get my boat back so i can.. I'm pretty sure the deploy/stow feature will add to the ease of me being able to fish again,.. and with autochart,the go to feature, and spotlock i definately see the oppurtunities that this will open up for me on the larger lakes up here. Maybe when i get comfy with the new gear i will try my luck again in the tourney scene and put my theory to the test,.,,, the stow and deploy alone is a godsend, a tap of my foot or a button on the remote is all it will take and the motors deployed and a couple prompts on the chartplotter and "go to" track 231 will take me all the way around the hump, weedbed etc. ,...Maybe im just overwhelmed by reading this manual, but from a bass anglers standpoint, i think this is awesome. Even fishing other species this will aid anglers greatly trolling for trout, salmon, or walleye. spotlock will keep you on a spot like an anchor but without a rode from a anchor, good for crappie fishing id bet. your last sentence about an advantage over others it would be in use already I totally agree with, hence my question,..are some using i pilot link already, adding the waypoints and tracks now for future t's on those waters. I could see minn kota reps pushing this but maybe the tourney anglers found something they didnt want, or like,... which is another reason i posted this question. i hope time will tell. Maybe when i finally get on the water i will face the answer myself I do know the more i read the more im amazed at the capabilities,... hopefully some others will reply that have this technology already

Seeing as I haven't fished a tournament in any years , Im forced to wonder how todays technologies have impacted the tourney scene,..Please allow me to explain. When i was a kid my dad took us fishing whenever he could, not as much as he would of liked, but none the less. Back then there were no fishfinders, gps, or any other electronics available to anglers. Dad had his "spots" and they usually panned out. I"d ask him why they worked and other spots didnt. He replied "Im not sure" but was confident in those spots. seqway into the early 1980's,... Being a ***atic, I bought a small basshunter boat, 8" long and powered by trolling motors,one in the front for while fishing and a bigger one on the back to cruise with. and i added a portable fishfinder,,... after a few years i realized why dads "spots" worked i could see the reason on the finders screen. and was kinda amazed and taken aback just the same. Amazed at dads tenacity to have found these spots, and taken back at the fact that bass fishing was about to change. the unknown will soon be common knowledge . I knew that this would impact the bass scene and it did. the 80's exploded with bass tournaments and the game did "change" Mid 90's i fished a few years of tournaments as a non-boater and did quite well, caught many lunkers, brought home some money a few times, and even made a state team. after i got that out of my system i bought a tracker super guide v-16 , carpeted, with a pull start tiller motor, I wanted the tiller because it opened that size boat right up the console took up alot of space, I added a 12 volt powerdrive trolling motor, a fishfinder for up front and another for when im traveling in the rear of the boat and an extra battery up front for when my primary one dies, i also added the best battery charger i could get it charges 3 batteries at 15 amps per bank i could take off for several days of fishing without having to plug in and re-charge. ,....sweet huh? this worked quite well for me up til last year. when i was 20 i herniated two discs in my back, last years first few fishing outings ended in pain, the discs have progressed to being degenerated,.. pulling that motor to start it, and deploying and stowing that powerdrive trolling motor was brutal. I had to do something.. i am forced to, im not gunna stop fishing!! , but the pain was unbearable... im getting medical attention and things look good for the future. But up to a couple months ago i was kinda grounded,..... to combat this horrendous and completely unacceptable situation, the boat is getting a newer 40 hp electric start /electric trim motor and the new minn kota ulterra trolling motor. with the i pilot link, this motor will deploy and stow itself with the push of a button and has the i pilot link capabilities,.. im adding the new hummingbird helix's that work with the i pilot link. If you havnt heard of them, i recommend you check them out. The capabilities are huge for me for medical reasons but also will allow me more time to fish, and as i keep reading this minn kota manual im realizing that now the game may change again The ability to utilize a troliing motor without having to touch it seems huge to me, before i had to be on that footpedal and pay attention to what i was doing with it. stow and deploy it manually which doing a dozen or so times a day takes some time and effort. the new system im installing will eliminate alot of my lost time and offer me more time to fish, and fish better due to the finders abilities. the finder will actually "talk" to the motor, utilizing waypoints, tracks, and spotlocks with gps,.. directing the motor with finder. .and theres more Now i dont know about you,.. but i see this as a awesome tool that tourney anglers need to take a look at. it may not be the cable steering your used to,.. but I think its gunna eventually have the impact on tourneys as it should.,... think about it, another hour or so to " fish" in a tourney due to the ability to allow your boat to handle itself. time you used to handle your boat with will be almost gone, completely, while putting you on the spots you choose and tracking itself at the speed you choose with minimal interaction do you think this will eventually impact tournaments?,....i do,...Am i wrong ,...i dunno Id imagine some wary pro's will use this, or have they already? Please reply with your thoughts.,. i really am interested in what they may be,.

you stated you fish a small lake on the cape, the cape has some of the best bass ponds in mass, .whequaqet and mashpee wakeby are bigger lakes on the cape and hold some awesome sized bass, on whequaqet there are some incredible laydowned trees positioned just right.,.. skip the plastics up under there. and there are deeper weedbeds out on mashpee- wakeby that on any given day can bring in the winning bag in any tourney. and trust me these lakes receive some real heavy tournament pressure, but still produce. I choose these lakes as i dont know what pond you are fishing, i do fish many small ponds down there out of my tiny basshuner rig,.. but understand that some are clear as gin,.. and others as muddy as can be, others get a huge algae bloom, and i fish them completely different,... if you know they are there on "your pond" then, stealth and determination is all you'll need., like everyone offering info on this thread has stated, right lure, right time, right place, presented "right" is key. Is your silver worm key? i dont know, if you have confidence in it ,. it very well may be. your pond may be herring fed,..Out on the cape if i fishing a semi stained to clear small pond im throwing green pumpkin plastics and silver hardbaits does that clear it up for ya?