Yakfish

Two Excedrin migraine before going to sleep kills a hangover before it starts. It may be bad for the stomach but it works!

I caught saltwater eel in the LI sound as a kid. Those suckers are notorious for swallowing your bait and putting up one heck of a fight then you have to beat the living hell out of them to get your hook back. The old timers swore that they made great soup but I didn't even want to look at them let alone eat 'em.

I heard about that and thought the guy was pulling my leg. Your hand/forearm is basically your bait???

d**n, you've been bit big time. I know the feeling, every time I get an e-bay purchase confirmation I get the evil eye from the Mrs. BTW, do you fish the sock weighted?

It is a moderate power/medium action. I fish mostly soft plastics and crankbaits so if what I have is best suited for cranks what would be ideal for soft baits?

I am asking the man in red to put a new rod/reel under my tree this year but am not sure what would best suit me. I currently have a 6'6" medium action spinning combo and am wanting a second rig. First, can someone either give me a quick rundown on the benefits of a baitcaster vs. a spinning rig or direct me to a post that covers this topic? Secondly, I like my current setup as it has worked well for me all around (meaning that I have caught some decent fish with it) so I want to keep it but also want to make sure that I'm using it to its best advantage. What types of bait is this best for? Lastly, what would be my best bet for a second rig; longer/shorter, heavier/lighter? And what would work best with soft baits/cranks etc? I know that these are probably elementary questions but I just got back into bass fishing this year after a long time off and was never that knowledgeable to begin with. Thanks.

I'll second that. Since fairly drastic drops in temps that is just about the only thing that's gotten me any bites around here. Deep running, suspending shad raps (especially jointed) with a little twitch now and then along with loooong pauses have done the trick with the lazy LM's in the cold water. Baby bass, crawdad and shad have been very productive. I wouldn't be without a couple in my bag.

Floating Rapalas? I have a couple of jointed that work well for me during the warmer months when they're hitting top water baits.

Ice setting in already in your world huh? I saw a thin layer on the water in our pool cover the other morning but none on the reservoir yet. Last Tuesday it hit 68* and I only managed a total of four bites in four hours and only one was a fish I was interested in, a small LM who went after a DT-6. I'm thinking that I'm just about done but who knows, a few more days in the 50's may come our way so I'll keep my gear in the truck and be ready to take a few casts if I can.

Very cool pic.

Aw c'mon it comes with a free extra bobber. ;D

whittler, that's beautiful. Nice work.

That reply was a little lacking in tact but look at the caption below his avatar. : Syfer, I've got a Quantum rod and reel and like 'em a lot. My rig may not be top of the line but for the money I'm happy and catching fish!

I'm with ghoti and Chug Bug. Deep runners and suspending cranks have been productive but nothing shallow is attracting any attention around here lately. The Baby 1- is a great bait but like my shallow raps and floaters they'll be in storage until spring.

Yep, real cold spell has set in here in NH. Took advantage of the 68* we had the other day and managed one LM on a DT-6 as well. This guy was 1.5lb. The only other bites were a couple of small perch and a really ticked off pickerel.

Lost a red craw DT in a tree one evening in late September and not being able to see it I left it for another day. The next time I visited that spot all the leaves had changed (red of course) and I still couldn't make it out so I let it go until all the leaves dropped. Climbed the tree last week and got it back along with a Rat L Trap.

DT-4 in red craw has worked for me but my JSR-7's in original craw and baby bass have ruled this fall when it comes to cranks.

Very nice fish! Hey, what are those green things hanging from the branches on those trees in the background??? :-/

I worked in Leominster for a number of years and heard from a lot of folks that Red Tail was a beautiful course. Although with my game I have no business on a nice course but I still wouldn't mind taking a few beaver pelts out of its fairways.

Nice fish man. I can't judge weight from a pic but unless you're 3 feet tall she's a keeper!

Great vid and awesome fish. I need a day or two like that!

Got out for a couple of hours on two occasions this week and skunked on both "outings". We weren't out for very long and didn't move around as much as we usually do (shore fishing) but we've never both left without having caught at least a dink or two. First time plastics have failed to produce although I did have a couple of half hearted nibbles. I think any crank is moving too fast, even my JSR's which have been working well lately with a slow retrieve and I'll keep trying a jig but it looks like things have slowed to the point where if it isn't sitting right in their face they're not going for it. Have you guys had any luck over the past week? If so what's been working?

A couple of links I found for spots here in NH. I've only touched the tip of the iceberg as I just got back into fishing this past summer but there are a lot of promising spots. I've spent most of my time at the Wilton reservoir and a little time on Massabesic, heard there's some real pigs in there as well as good sized pike. Had a real disapointing time on Potanipo with the wind ravaging us on our kayaks but it also looks like a great lake on a calmer day and I have some buddies who've had a lot of luck on it. My brother has good things to say about Powder Mill pond and I've also heard that Baboosic and Silver Lakes have some good fishing. So many spots so few days off. Plastics have gotten me the best results by far. Certain cranks have worked well too but my go to bait around here is green pumpkin w/ red flake Yamasenkos. http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Fishing/bathy_maps.htm http://www.nhoutdoors.com/fishing_spots.htm

I've used a friend's kayak for a few trips and found it to be a great platform for all of the reasons above especially its versatility, virtually no maintenance, easy in/out and relative low cost. I plan on buying one in the spring and with two pole holders, a lightweight paddle, leash and an anchor I should be equipped to offset all of the negatives that are inherent to using a kayak for fishing.

Yep, it's definitely getting chilly around here and they're not chasing their food like they were even a few weeks ago. I mostly fish the Wilton Reservoir which is always good for a few 1-2lbers and the occasional 3+. There are are a few wily lunkers hiding in there but my mistake luck (or ineptitude) has kept me from meeting them personally...so far. It's close and most of it can be shore fished. My brother and I have done some kayak fishing on Massabesic Lake and Lake Potanipo but didn't have the most productive days at either. Massabesic was a bit large for us to do as much exploring as we would have liked in the limited time we had that day and the wind on Potanipo had us spending too much time correcting our anchorless kayaks. There are a few other spopts we're still hoping to hit before the ice sets in and come spring we'll be looking for some new holes. Any suggestions?