BassB8Caster

Im planning on doing a little bank fishing tonight after work for a bit and hopefully the weather cooperates tomorrow after work and ill get the kayak out and hit up a small pond by where i work. Maybe sunday as well. Weather has been all over the place this week. Hopefully they are still active. Think it is still too early for topwaters? Head some frog croaking last weekend. You making the trip over to Maine this weekend?

This sounds bigger than a fishing issue. Maybe find a better place to live? This is a big country, and if you have to worry where you fish without getting shot, in trouble etc, what about where you walk with your son/daughter, sister/brother, mother/father. Sounds like a pretty crappy area to live.

this is the gist of it. I went out to a small pond sunday morning. Was calm and overcast, around 40F. A couple weeks ago i fished this pond and did great (5 LMB 2.5 to 4lbs and a 4lb smallie). I felt i figured out where they were at. Sunday morning i threw everything at them. Not one bite. I thought i was going to have a great morning. This was the first early morning on that pond. So this may be 100% what i was experiencing. Sometimes you get them, sometimes they get you.

Thanks guys.

Went to a new pond today and caught my new personal best. She was just under 19". I'm guessing around the 4.5 to 5lb mark. She is a tank of a fish. Thick from head to tail. Very odd how it happened. I was fishing back in a cove and I saw a few roaming around so I knew there were fish in the area. They showed no interest in a few different lipped cranks or spinners. Finally got a bite on a flat sided square bill but I lost it at the surface. Kinda funny though as I brought it to my kayak there was another fish following it in. Both were around 2.5lbs. The fish very gently took the bait were I thought I just snagged something. So I didn't get a good hook set. So I tried the area with no more luck. I decided to go ashore and have some lunch. Decided to tie on a chatterbait and go back through the area where I missed the last fish and bam I hooked up with the fat girl. Had a good hook set in the top of her mouth but I netted her any way. Man talk about adrenaline. I was shaking for a good 5 minutes after I let her go. Didn't get a chance to weigh her, I wanted to hurry and get her back in the water. But by far bigger than 4lbers I've weighed in the past. Ended up losing one more due to a poor hook set. That was it. Not a lot of fish. But we'll worth it. No idea why these pics get rotated when uploaded. I tried everything to get them to upload how they are in my gallery?

Thanks. Ive been on there, many of the small ponds i fish are not on there. I contemplated on getting a decent fish finder but decided against it. I think another key thing with bass fishing (and fishing in general) is to try different things. Its easy to read through articles on here where a successful fisherman spells out how to succeed. You go out and try it and can get skunked. Rather than quitting, getting frustrated etc, try something different. Go against the grain once in a while. Last night i had this exact situation arise. I tried several different baits/presentations at a river (its a spot 10 minutes from where work that i will try when i only have an hour or so to fish). Started with a spinner, switched to a jig, then to a lipless crank. Getting ready to leave i decided to tie on a medium diving crank (daiwa dc shad) to get ready for the pond im heading to tomorrow. For the hell of it i decided to throw a few casts. Right away i caught a decent sized perch. Over the next several casts i caught 2 crappie (one of them i caught twice...it was a good sized one). This is fishing in the same exact spots as previously with the other baits. Its like a switch was all of a sudden turned on. I didnt end up catching any bass, but i was satisfied having success (vs going home stumped and fishless). I have caught some nice bass at this same spot in the past. so i know there are fish in there (its a very large river). Little things like this just make fishing more and more exciting. You just never know what the next cast is going to do. Put your line in the same water with big fish potential and you just never know.

Im a true believer in Oakley. Never tried any other high end glasses, but plenty of the cheap ones. I think a huge deciding factor for many here is the ability to take care of them (or not). Fishing can be a very expensive sport (as we all know). I have owned three pair of sunglasses (all polarized) since high school (say around 1999). All 3 were oakley. The last pair has lasted around 11 years before the lenses started pitting. Last summer i purchased another pair of the Oakley 5 squared polarized. I only paid $65 for them. I still shop for deals but wont purchased just any old cheap glasses. Ive learned being out on the water is worth the good glasses.

@Keith "Hamma" Hatch nothing wrong with sharing your passions. I agree with you 100%. I grew up in Maine, moved to northern new hampshire where i went to high school and am now back in western maine. I have always been an outdoorsman, whether it be hunting, fishing, hiking, snowmobiling etc. I love the outdoors and will never be a city boy. Growing up this is one of the values i was always taught by my parents, my grandparents, uncles, etc. As a "youngster" people often take for granted what we have. as we get older we value things much more. After getting back into fishing last summer (im 35 now and hadnt fished since i was a kid) i am really realizing what maine is all about as an adult. From nearly any location you have a handful of lakes, rivers etc at your disposal within an hours drive. Being a homeowner, it makes paying taxes a hell of a lot easier knowing what i have at my disposal. Right now i fish out of a kayak. I love hitting up the small ponds that hardly anyone fishes. Being out on a pond by myself with the animals is surreal. I know there are new records out there, its just a matter of time before someone pulls in a biiggg one. Ive personally lost 3 that i know where 6+. being an athlete all my life and getting older, i wasnt sure how i would mentally accept reducing and eventually removing playing sports from my life (being a mediocre older softball player isnt good enough for me). But i now found how i will do that, and i have now found my real passion....fishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass. I go out of my way at times to pick up a bottle, extra fishing line etc. "make it better than i found it", thats a motto every outdoors man should live by. There is nothing like taking a lunch with my and pulling up to a spot on land, an island etc and having lunch while fishing. So peaceful. But its sad when you look over and see trash on the ground.

I've gone in the andro there in Turner at the new bridge. The river is big. Do able with a kayak but it is big. I did ok. Caught a couple 3.5 to 4lbers. Basically hit the banks. I also went in the "pond" area on the turner side of the bridge opposite side of the boat launch. Went there twice. First time the water was extra high. Did really well. Was tons of largemouth in there. Most 2 to 3.5lbs.I actually went in there hoping to cut across into the andro (shortcut vs going via boat launch). But it shallowed out and didn't reach there river. So I just fished in there. I also hooked a huge pike in there. Lost it at the kayak but guess it was 2 feet anyway. Went in there a second time and water level dropped. Didn't do well at all. Did catch my first crappie in there that. That was cool. Andro is worth the try in my opinion.

Glad i came across this topic. Lots of valuable info here. I had the same issue/experience with roamers. I fish in a kayak and usually you dont see them until you are right on top of them. They didnt seem spooked at all. Just kept roaming. But i could not get them to bite. There were couple 5-6lbers too. Its awesome seeing them. But stinks not being able to catch them. The way i looked at it was atleast i saw them so i have an idea where they are. This was a new small pond so i had no experience and success finding fish there yet. The point of being out there is to catch fish, big ones at that. But there is also something about being in clear water and being able to watch fish in their environment, like watching an aquarium.

Awesome work! Those pigs definitely make it worth the drive. Whats your largest lm and sm caught in maine?

I just started bass fishing last summer. Did really well. This is my first spring and so far I'm 0 for 2. First time )March 31) out no bites, didn't even see a fish. Second time out (this past sunday) no bites but say a handful or so, one big 5 plus lber. Weren't interested in the 5 or so different baits I threw at them. Maybe they saw me and figured me out? Not sure. Was kind of discouraged. Now I can't wait for another Crack at them. Keep trying. Keep reading and keep putting what you read to work. It will happen. Good luck!

Fwiw these were largemouth. They we definitely cruising around (looking for food in my opinion).

Went out today to the same pond as last time. Only slightly better look. I didn't catch anything, not even any hits. But I did see a good handfuls of bass. Saw one big one (probably 5 to 6 lbs) and others from 1.5 to 3lbs. Also saw a really big perch. I threw nearly everything at these fish and no interest. They were cruising back and forth along a bank of a small island in probably 5 feet of water. They didn't act skittish or afraid of me being there. Tried jigs, spinner, crank bait, chatterbox, blue pit boss. To me they seemed active but didn't want anything I was offering. Ideas anyone? Water was clear, sunny, light wind, mid 50s up to 70 by 430.

Heading out to fish sunday. Should be a great day. Things are slowly warming up a bit. Any local guys have any tips for early success? Im fishing out of a kayak in small waters (100-200 acres). Mostly all are shallow ponds with soft bottoms. Water levels right now are a little high. They are slowly coming down. But still high. Will bass venture into these new areas created by the higher water levels? Will they be up top enjoying the warmth of the sun (so topwater vs jigs/cranks deeper)? From what i have learned everyone suggests jigs when water is cold. Then mix in crankbaits, jerkbaits and a chatterbait. Is it worth using a spinner to locate the fish or is it too early/cold?

That's pretty much my take. A day with no wind wouldn't be bad. I've gone out on the androscoggin river and it's a task as well. That's why I love the small ponds. Little fishing pressure and there are some big ones.

Would you guys recommend these two lakes to a kayak fisherman? I love the chance at some pigs, but can be a lot of work in a kayak. I typically fish small 100 to 200 acre ponds.

Yeah there are. so far ive caught lots of 4lb lmb and a fatty 4lb smally. Hoping to top the 5lb mark this year. Havent done any tournaments. There are even more this year than last. There are some i could do out of my kayak, and i dont have any connections with a boat for the other tournaments. Mostly trying to improve and learn.

Yeah I love the fishing here. 20 minutes and I can be at 6 to 10 different ponds and lakes.

I fish in western maine (Oxford hills area), mostly small ponds (50 to max 200 acres) out of my kayak. I just started bass fishing mid summer last year and did fairly well. this is my first spring. I try to read as much as possible and put it in action to improve as much as i can. i have been out once so far this year. It was the second day of the last warm spell we had (thursday March 31) so i was optimistic. I went to a small pond that i have never been to before. Weather turned a little on me and was very windy (about 55F). I fished from about 1030 to 430. I had 0 luck. tried jigs, chatterbait on bottom, susp jerkbait. Nothing. The wind killed me out on the main part of the pond (i stuck to a long outlet that had lots of submerged dead trees, bushes etc). The pond (like most i fish) was very shallow, maybe 10 feet deep max, dirty water, soft bottom with lots of vegetation (once it grows). I noticed water levels were very high (coming down though). Couldnt locate any of the fish. was nice to be out there but frustrating. I love fishing pads and weeds, but this early spring has me stumped.